So I got Oceanarium on Saturday and gave it a first spin last night. Have to say, I had a bit of trepidation about 80 minutes of Deluge Grander, who I like a lot, but I find extremely dense and I tend to like them in smaller doses. I was concerned about this being an 80 minute sonic beat-down.
I'm pleased to say this album was anything but that. While still unmistakably Deluge Grander (or unmistakably Dan Britton, because I think Birds & Buildings have a very similar sound and feel), Oceanarium has a much more "open" sound. I think this is a combination of composition and production. From a sonic perspective, I think this recording is a lot more dynamic than the earlier albums where everything seemed to be a bit squished into the middle frequencies. I hear much more separation on Oceanarium, and I can much more easily distinguish the instruments, particularly the bass which I always found a bit thin on previous efforts.
Compoisitonally, I find this to be equally complex as the earlier stuff, but somehow less frantic and cluttered. There are tons of melodies and parts that weave in and out, but the whole just seems so much easier to follow. The pieces also have a lot of internal dynamics and a really organic flow to them. I was shocked, but at the 80 minute mark, I was actually surprised that it was over seemingly so quickly.
So, this is an album I'm now looking forward to spinning more, and will likely be among my favorites from the year, and it wouldn't surprise me if this winds up being my favorite Deluge Grander album. I'm super glad this found it's way to a normal CD release. It would be great if Heliotians got the same treatment, or got tossed into a future CD as a bonus disc (hint hint ).
Bill
I'm just waiting for my paycheck this week!
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Any ETA for the vinyl version of Oceanarium?
Also, CDBaby still has Heliotians available for sale on vinyl, but its status is back ordered. Has the second batch completely sold out, or will CDBaby truly be getting more copies?
Sputnik's breakdown is spot on.
Much better recorded.
Better than "Heliotians" (and that is saying a lot.)
Thanks for your writing your thoughts, Bill / Sputnik! Very heartwarming, since, for the past couple of days, I have been going through my traditional post-release "If only I had done THIS or THAT differently...." regret regarding the production (Specifcally, I wish I had used a better preamp during the recordings, and probably should have done the mastering differently, since the overall volume is a lot lower than most albums released nowadays). I still think I could have done a better job in those departments, but now I don't feel horrible about it! I do still think that just turning up the volume can alleviate 50-80 percent of these shortcomings for most listeners.
The manufacturers told me I should receive the vinyl copies around December 8. As long as there aren't any obvious flaws, I'll get them out for sale soon after that.
I sent a few more copies of the "Heliotians" LP/CD to CDBaby over a week ago, so I'm a bit surprised they apparently haven't received them yet, but I bet they do over the next couple of days.
The plan is still to release "Lunarians" as an LP/CD with handmade artwork and handwritten lyrics (I'm about 70-percent done with it already) in 2018 (with a cheapo $10-15 CD version as well), completing the "HeliOTIANS + LunARIANS ~ OCEANARIUM" trilogy, then do a similar trilogy with "CREEk + DIN ~ CRETIN" during 2019-2023, and then release the top-of-the-heptalogical-pyramid "CREATIONARIUM" around 2025 or something, along with a collection of all 7 albums from all 3 levels on 7 CDs for $37 or 10 LPs for $73.
For what is worth, I adore the Heliotians' production, and consider it one of its remarkable strongpoints. Imo, there is a strong late 70's early 80's vibe which adds to the music's atmosphere and the instruments sound very lively and clear.
As for Oceanarium I can't tell yet, since I am still trying to wait for the vinyl, although I would bet against me holding out here.
This plan looks like this on http://emkog.com/DelugeGrander.html
dg7albumplanbigger.jpg
Totally agree.
Mixing/mastering is torturous for the artist, because you hear something in your head, and sometimes you think you captured that, but it doesn't sound right on this system or that system. So then you doubt yourself and beat yourself up. Meanwhile, the listeners don't have that pre-conception, so they are hearing something completely differently. The things the artist sweats in mixing/mastering are usually not worth the consternation they get. Overall, your albums sound fine. In this case, I think it sounds really good. I'm sure there are things you'd like back, like I would on some of my stuff, but no one has ever said one thing to me about the parts that bug me. So I just let it go. Ultimately you have to, or you wind up never releasing anything.
Yea cheapo CD version!
I hope you live this long. Hell, I hope I live this long! 7 CDS for $37 is a good deal, though.
Bill
This might be my go-to Deluge Grander LP.
Really nice work.
Can't wait for the vinyl.
The Prog Corner
This disc arrived earlier this week and I just settling down with it tonight (and a bottle of wine). Boy, it's excellent! Really digging it.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I'm waiting for the vinyl to be available, but I'm imagining the title track (if there is one) as a re-write of Metallica's Sanitarium... O-cean-ARIUM....
Is it a CD-R?
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I could have sworn that on BC, the only thing available was a download. Wut up wit dat shit?
Interesting album.
It sounds like a kind of roots-progressive music, combining psych sounds with jazz harmonic vocabulary, classical structures, and compositional ambition. The arrangements tend to use orchestral instruments - flute, violin, trumpet, and many more - for the lead lines, as well as the usual guitar and keyboards. Dan's keyboard selection leans heavily on late-Sixties stalwarts such as various organs, electric pianos, and Mellotron-like samples; as do the bright, non-sustaining guitar tones, the understated drums, and the peculiar and characteristic mid-fi recording quality. The result often evokes proto-prog or early Canterbury, and even the Dead once or twice. But it's not intentionally "retro", as is the output of bands like Wobbler and others, who consciously attempt to imitate early prog. It sounds more like Dan Britton listened extensively to the kind of music those early bands listened to, to late psych, compositional jazz, and classical music, then re-invented the creative process that led to music like Sgt. Pepper, early Caravan, or the first two Yes albums. And that he wasn't necessarily trying to sound like fifty-year-old music so much as just listening to what he liked, doing what he does, and what came out was what came out.
Last edited by Baribrotzer; 11-27-2017 at 02:33 PM.
Picked up my copy from the post office this morning, and listened to the first 11 1/2 minute piece. Oh man, I had tears in my eyes, especially from around the 4 minute mark on... I find it very moving-like it's my new life theme music, or something. This may sound over zealous especially after just one listen, but, the minor chordings feel like the music of my heart, the stuff I've always kind of felt, but it's never been properly expressed. A touch of Bo Hansson and a touch of Karda Estra? So needless to say I love this so far, and am so pumped to not only hear it again, but to hear the rest of the album.
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