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Thread: The Devil's Staircase - prog inspired by math and science (Sonus Umbra, Might Could)

  1. #26
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nearfest2 View Post
    This a solid album. I bought the CD from Tim earlier this week.
    I just ordered it yesterday. I briefly sampled a couple of tracks and was pretty impressed!

    Bill

  2. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by boilk View Post
    You might be looking at an earlier version of the page. The latest has the The Devil's Staircase, also.

    https://thedevilsstaircase.bandcamp.com/releases

    neil
    Ι shoved it in Gnosis with the apostrophe, and hope it's alright

  3. #28
    Member mightcould Tim's Avatar
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    It's been too long since I visited the PE forum. Anyway, thanks, all for your comments, and I'm glad you've been enjoying it. It is The Devil's Staircase.

    One comment I will make is that on the two shorter songs (mine, though the band adds lots of ideas), there are differences between recorded and live versions. The recorded ones are slightly more technical and the live favors groovier arrangements.

    The overall idea is that while we use very nerdy math and science for ideas and structures, they never completely dictate what to do.

  4. #29
    I'm here for the moosic NogbadTheBad's Avatar
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    Nice stuff, I like it, and good people to boot.
    Ian

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  5. #30
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    Spinning this now for the maybe fifth or sixth time. Loved it on the first spin and it's only grown on me. This is really in my wheelhouse, technical enough, melodic enough, room for the players to stretch out but it never turns into a wankfest. All of the elements I love in Prog with none of the fluff. Great production, and I absolutely love the integration of the acoustic guitar into the more generally rock format. This will be among my favorites of the year for sure!

    Bill

  6. #31
    Member mightcould Tim's Avatar
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    The acoustic guitar player appreciates that!

  7. #32
    Member Sputnik's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mightcould Tim View Post
    The acoustic guitar player appreciates that!


    BTW, thanks for the Might Could album you shipped with the Devil's Staircase CD. I have Wood Knot and really enjoy it. I haven't spun the NESFAN album yet, but will. Really appreciate it!

    Bill

  8. #33
    Member gearHed289's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sputnik View Post
    Spinning this now for the maybe fifth or sixth time. Loved it on the first spin and it's only grown on me. This is really in my wheelhouse, technical enough, melodic enough, room for the players to stretch out but it never turns into a wankfest. All of the elements I love in Prog with none of the fluff. Great production, and I absolutely love the integration of the acoustic guitar into the more generally rock format. This will be among my favorites of the year for sure!

    Bill
    All this ^^^.

  9. #34
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Hey, I preordered the CD on Bandcamp and you can still only listen to the one track there - the album isn't supposed to be released until June 9th I think! Mattias, if people are getting CDs already, why not make the whole album available on Bandcamp while I'm waiting for my CD to arrive?

  10. #35
    Member Mascodagama's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Hey, I preordered the CD on Bandcamp and you can still only listen to the one track there - the album isn't supposed to be released until June 9th I think! Mattias, if people are getting CDs already, why not make the whole album available on Bandcamp while I'm waiting for my CD to arrive?
    I think the problem may be at your end - the whole thing is streaming on Bandcamp.
    “your ognna pay pay with my wrath of ballbat”

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  11. #36
    I've bought it digital on Bandcamp. Will my phone show rot signs after some years?

  12. #37
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by arturs View Post
    The math involved in making the music is interesting to me, but its funny, I saw the band at Progtoberfest in 2018 and they were a head-banging good time. Nothing more/nothing less. I didn't "hear" anything more sophisticated going on than for example the 5/4 of Lark's Tongues Pt. II. Not that I find myself counting time signatures or bars of melodic motifs during shows I'm enjoying... So I'm sure it was there but I wasn't paying it any mind.
    Yeah...after listening to this twice the math component definitely does not stand out (perhaps its just because I'm a moron, especially in the field of mathematics), which does lower the score for me a bit. For the moment, I would file this under interesting concept, but normal results. Not to mean it in a negative way, but it just sounds like some modern prog to me. Perhaps if the more math educated among us could elucidate on the inner mechanics of the songs and how the math is used in the creation of the music it might help me jump on this enthusiasm train.

    That said, I still like it (and have bought it) but right now it's a solid but unspectacular album to me ears. But I'll continue to listen and see where it goes with time.
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

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  13. #38
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    The math doesn't matter to the sound.

    It's just an interesting way of putting compositions together so they're neither too repetitious or too scattered, and so the sections have interesting and varied lengths. That Luis & Co. know that math doesn't mean that you have to know it, or anything about it to enjoy the music. It's like David Shire's score for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (the original one, from 1974) - you don't need to know that it's twelve-tone, or the reason for his odd, all-bass-and-treble orchestrations to enjoy it as great New York crime-thriller music.

  14. #39
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baribrotzer View Post
    The math doesn't matter to the sound.

    It's just an interesting way of putting compositions together so they're neither too repetitious or too scattered, and so the sections have interesting and varied lengths.
    I see.

    Thanks. I'll put this as a misconception on my end then.
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

    Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.

    I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.

  15. #40
    Member mightcould Tim's Avatar
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    I think a lot of the statements here have been right - you don't need to know the math to "get" the music. I'd say (at least for me) that the ideas from math and science were more sparks of ideas than anything else. On https://thedevilsstaircaseband.blogspot.com/ I try and write out the mathematical or scientific influence for each song (I speak better for my own than Luis's, but I know where he's coming from too). But in some cases, the choices we make are ordinary ones any rock or jazz or prog act would make.

  16. #41
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mightcould Tim View Post
    I think a lot of the statements here have been right - you don't need to know the math to "get" the music. I'd say (at least for me) that the ideas from math and science were more sparks of ideas than anything else. On https://thedevilsstaircaseband.blogspot.com/ I try and write out the mathematical or scientific influence for each song (I speak better for my own than Luis's, but I know where he's coming from too). But in some cases, the choices we make are ordinary ones any rock or jazz or prog act would make.
    Thanks, I'll give this a read tonight.
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

    Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.

    I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.

  17. #42
    Subterranean Tapir Hobo Chang Ba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mightcould Tim View Post
    I think a lot of the statements here have been right - you don't need to know the math to "get" the music. I'd say (at least for me) that the ideas from math and science were more sparks of ideas than anything else. On https://thedevilsstaircaseband.blogspot.com/ I try and write out the mathematical or scientific influence for each song (I speak better for my own than Luis's, but I know where he's coming from too). But in some cases, the choices we make are ordinary ones any rock or jazz or prog act would make.
    Took me a bit, but finally read this. Despite the fact that I'm not a mathhead, I found this an engaging read and definitely helps to put the creative process into perspective. Cheers
    Please don't ask questions, just use google.

    Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.

    I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.

  18. #43
    Casanova TCC's Avatar
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    Hello Gang!.
    I'm all over it: second spin here and it's right up my alley and second Bill's words! (#30)

    Also, I've reconnected with Ramses thanks to this album: I had no idea that he was involved till now!. (great!)
    It's always good to hear from old friends!


    Cheers,
    Tomás.
    Pura Vida!.

    There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind. ∞
    Duke Ellington.

  19. #44
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Just listened to this for the first time in about a year, and I really enjoyed it. Despite the math used, it's a very easy-to-listen-to album. One thing I'm hoping Tim or Mattias or someone will come along and answer: does track 4, Morse..--.., reference Rush's "Jacob's Ladder" in the first few minutes? The percussive part of Jacob's Ladder, as well as the "all at once the clouds have parted" melody? there's clearly Morse code in there. i don't know if there's any Morse code in Rush's song, and I never thought about it before, but maybe there is. Regardless, just wondering if there's an intentional Jacob's Ladder reference in there?

    Wait, hang on, there also seems to be (or maybe it's only) a reference to Rush's YYZ, and I just Googled a tad and found out that Rush used Morse code in YYZ, which seems more obvious though I didn't think of it before Googling. I never knew this, but probably lots of you did: YYZ is the airport code for the Toronto airport! So THAT'S why the song is called YYZ. So maybe the reference is ONLY to YYZ, and not Jacob's Ladder. But I still think I hear that melody from Jacob's Ladder in there...
    Last edited by JKL2000; 03-31-2021 at 02:08 AM.

  20. #45
    Member mightcould Tim's Avatar
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    I didn't wrote the Morse tune, and I can't speak to whether Luis was referencing Rush. But I can say that the Morses are different. The Morse who developed the Thue-Morse sequence Luis used to write the "Morse-code-like" parts in the song is mathematician Marston Morse. Samuel Morse (of telegraph fame) invented Morse Code.

  21. #46
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    ^Tell Luis to get his ass over, would you?

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