My music: Rastan (Remix)

Rastan by Father of Syn

I figured I should use this blog to post about the music I make myself, as I seem to be reviewing albums with about the same frequency as I finish tracks, and neither happen as often as I'd like.

So, the track above is one I finished recently; a remix of the main theme from the arcade game Rastan, released by Taito in 1987. I based it on the theme from the Commodore 64 port, by Martin Galway (Which you can hear here), as opposed to the arcade version, and as such there are a few minor differences. I think Galway's version is a little more readable.

I started the remix by transcribing the original track; simply recreating the original melodies using basic synths. Once I had everything down, it was a case of assigning synths to the individual parts. The bassline was as good a place to start as any, and I made something Moog-like, with a bit of release to make it sound less dry. I initially considered using a live loop for the drums, but nothing I tried worked, so I used an old drum machine kit, the 909, instead. Other sounds I used include an ocarina I played and recorded (And subsequently processed to get around the fact that it only has an octave range), a sample of a steel guitar that I processed and reversed, and a fairly straightforward lead synth.

With the basic sounds in place, I set about extending the track from the 50-second length of the original. I looped it once, changing a few things the second time around (an additional line to the ocarina melody, different drums, and a slightly altered synthline at the end), and then ran the entire track through a bit crusher for a breakdown. I took this opportunity to change the time signature, from 4/4 to 7/4, and brought the elements back in. It was interesting to write a long synth solo in an unusual time signature, and I didn't think it was going to work at first. Once I'd added the bassline and chord progression, however, it fell into place.

After 8 bars of this solo, I changed the signature again, this time to 5/4, and wrote another 8-bar solo, this time to be played on the ocarina. Again, the progression of the bassline is what makes it work. This solo is followed by 9 bars in 7/4 again. For all of the solos, the drums are a lot more complex than at the start of the track, and underwent a number of revisions to get them sounding right. My final concern was how to finish the track off. I added an extra beat to the last bar of the 7/4 solo, which leads back into 4/4 quite neatly, and then reprised the initial bridge section. I brought the bit-crusher back into play, and made the entire track crunchy and distorted again.

After this is was just a case of getting the mix right, by adjusting the volume levels of the individual sounds, and putting a compressor on the track. There's a bit more to it than that, of course, but those are the basics.

Clark - Totems Flare

Clark, formerly known as Chris Clark, seems to have become one of the new stalwarts of Warp Records, in a relatively short space of time. Following the breakaway accessibility of 2005's 'Body Riddle', his second album under the new shortened moniker, 'Turning Dragon' took things in a harder, glitchier direction, but enjoyed less success. The 'Growls Garden' EP, released at the start of 2009, hinted that the forthcoming album would mix elements from the previous two, and that is largely what you get.

There's more to it than that, of course. Clark has created an album that is constantly shifting, coming up with new ideas and only dwelling on them for short periods before moving onto something else. The end result is something that's almost progressive in nature, always remaining fresh and interesting. Case in point is 'Luxman Furs', which marks the start of the album's impressive mid-section, three tracks with several common elements to tie them together. It opens with a playful synth that seems to stumble around drunkenly, becoming progressively more distorted, while the drums are kept simple to highlight the melodic work. Shortly past the halfway mark, however, they fall away and the track mutates into something upbeat and frantic, all intermingling synths. This happens again in the next track, 'Totem Crackerjack'; it starts at a relatively sedate 150bpm, and is cranked up to 210bpm at around two minutes in. The initial section frequently swaps out drums and synths, but does so without appearing too obvious. After the tempo increase, initially delicate synths become gradually grungier, culminating in an intense finale. Two short melodic pieces round off the track.

'Future Daniel' opens with one of the grungy synths from the end of 'Totem Crackerjack'. It's as beautifully melodic a track as he has ever produced, with a clean, simple lead synth that sounds like 8-bit game music being recounted by a robot with a slightly broken sound chip and a poor memory. Clark pieces things together expertly, but just as things seem to be getting going, the whole track degenerates into a distorted growling. A delicate reprise follows, before receding into ambiance.

What Clark adds to the mix this time around, which isn't apparent from the middle three tracks, is vocals. Anyone who has heard the 'Growls Garden' EP will know what to expect from its title track, which also makes an appearance here; Clark's voice is heavily processed, matching the dirty synth that the song opens with. Rather than forming the centrepiece of the track in the traditional sense, however, Clark's vocals are more part of the sonic landscape. This is also the case in 'Look Into the Heart', a more straightforward track with drum programming by Wax Stag. Here he is vocoded and synthetic-sounding. Rainbow Voodoo is a more traditional vocal-driven song however, though the lyrics are a little impenetrable. Driving and frenetic, the distorted vocals are carried along by rapid kicks and a dirty, glitchy bassline. At the height of its intensity, the vocals become an incomprehensible white noise; it's almost like having an aneurysm.

In spite of 'Rainbow Voodoo's fevered intensity, however, it is at heart a playful track. The vocals sound like Clark is having a lot of fun, and after a breakdown in the middle the intensity is scaled back and he breaks into a keyboard solo that sounds like something you might hear performed by a gin-soaked musician in a Working Men's Club, circa 1985. He then ends things on a heavy note, with some huge drums. Similarly large drums are present in 'Suns of Temper', but only after a breakdown at the two-minute point. Initially upbeat, the tempo is halved, and the synth work is as slow and deliberate as the kicks. Repeated vocals round the track off, driving the point home. The album's final track, 'Absence', is a melodic guitar piece that reveals that both Clark and Bibio have been learning from each other. Aptly, it sounds like a sunset.

'Totems Flare's strength is its diversity; listen closely and you'll spot elements from all of Clark's back catalogue, an impressive production portfolio in itself, but gathered in one place like this it never ceases to intrigue. From 'Growls Garden's grungy bass, to 'Future Daniel's melodic splendour, to 'Suns of Temper's all-powerful drum programming, Clark grabs you and makes you feel everything.