Dave Skipper - Essence

Track List:

1. Nascent (2:40)
2. Spumescent (5:40)
3. Intumescent (10:10)
4. Quiescent (7:44)
5. Irascent (10:10)
6. Fervescent (5:40)
7. Evanescent (2:40)

(Total running time: 44:44)

 
Order

Artist's Track-by-track Comments:

1. Nascent: being born.
"Like peering into a dark cave containing unkown delights." Sets the scene for the album, drawing the listener in with dreamy pads and tantalising volume-swell guitar solo (one-take improvisation). Hints of what is to follow with squawking synth noises, speedy guitar licks and an Eastern-scale section.

2. Spumescent: frothing, foamy.
A frenetic concoction of sonic mayhem channelled somehow into a flowing 15/16 trip. Possibly the oddest track on the album. All sequenced parts are palindromic, although this is very hard to spot as the main bass riff starts part-way through the cycle. The extended demented guitar solo (1:41-3:30) took about 60 takes to nail. The tablas were recorded in one take.

3. Intumescent: expanding.
Progressive acoustic/electric instrumental rock, laced with Satriani-esque guitar soloing. Stylistically akin to the album "Unknown". First section is very modal, then into 7/8 for eastern funk, then back to the original chords to round off. The percussive sounds were programmed and performed on the Andromeda.

4. Quiescent: resting, dormant.
Tinges of industrial electronica with off-the-wall guitar solos. "A track that breathes and rumbles along an undercurrent of brooding pads and synths. An oasis of sound - vibrant musical foliage which does not obscure the view of the desert beyond." Screwdriver-slide guitar at 1:48-2:22. The second half is in 5/4.

5. Irascent: becoming angry.
A concoction of aggressive, syncopated, Eastern 12-string riffs. A flute appears on this track, albeit with distortion, delay, reverb and chorus! The guitar solos in the second half of the track were total improvisations during a 2am session.

6. Fervescent: becoming feverish.
Frantic improvised tablas coated in mutant squelchings, followed by a hybridised rock/dance thing with wind pitch-shifting guitar extremities, then finishing off with fractured reminders of the various track consituents.

7. Evanescent: fading away.
"Ambient balm to our shredded ears."Beautiful chilled-out epilogue. The lead guitar was recorded in just three improvised takes on the Box RC-20 Loopstation, recorded backwards onto the Yamaha, then panned left, centre and right and faded in and out to create a weaving stereo effect.

 

Album Overview:

The title "Essence" is appropriate at two levels: 1) it is the summary term for all the individual track names; 2) it denotes the aim of the album, namely to exhibit the core features of my musical tastes and horizons.

The album takes a palindromic structure in two regards: 1) track lengths; 2) track styles/emphases. Thus, tracks 1 & 7 (2:40) are ambient album affixes, constructed on top of the same pad sound; tracks 2 & 6 (5:40) concentrate on squelchy synth excursions, tablas, and guitar work of a particularly experimental nature; tracks 3 & 5 (10:10) grew from and around 12-string acoustic guitar rhythms. Track 4 of 7 is 7:44 in length; total album is 44:44.

Essence is designed to work as an album, taking the listener on a carefully constructed trip through varied aural sceneries. Shifting styles, moods and dynamics are aimed to intrique and enchant.

 

Equipment Used:

All the electronic/synth sounds were programmed on the Alesis A6 Andromeda, except for a few brief appearances from the Korg Prophecy (bought from Eat Static!). All sequenced parts were programmed within the Andromeda's internal 16-2tep sequencer. The electric guitar was an Ibanez JS1000 recorded through a Behringer V-Amp2 (plus a few other pedals). Rhythm guitar duties were undertaken on a Kimbara 12-string acoustic.

A few oddities also found some space: a small wooden flutely thing on track 1, an atonally-tuned malimba (Kenyan thumb piano) on track 2, a single repeated sample from a Texas Instruments Speak & Spell on track 4, and my coval chords on tracks 1, 2 & 5 (exclusively for bizarre alien noises).

Everything was recorded an mixed on the Yamaha AW2816 digital audio workstation with Mackie HR624 studio monitors.