CD arrived yesterday. Playing it now. This sounds fantastic. Great job!
Glad to hear you've got it, and thank you so much, that's great to hear. I'm loving having a CD copy of this release, been playing it off CD a bit myself All the artwork and booklet on the CD release is based off scans of some of the boxes of reel-to-reel tapes in the archives.
I'm posting background and information on the production of these tracks over on the Rascal Reporters Facebook each day: https://www.facebook.com/rascalreporters/
Thought I would post them here as well in case anyone is interested!
"Improv Cost Me My Job":
This was a short blip of sped up Harpsichord I found on a reel containing Stabbing At Air demos (92-93, pictured below), though couldn't say whether this was recorded at the same time or not. Slowed down to it's correct speed revealed a short funky piece that was just so groovy I had to play around with it.
This is the first track I worked on, and did it just for fun, adding drums and converting the harpsichord track into an additional higher synthy layer and a bass track. When I sent it over to Steve K, that's what got the idea going for the project!
I think it’s a nice strong burst of energy to open the album with. The name of the track comes from a fun article headline in an issue of the self-published "Reporters Monthly" zine from the 90s.
“Hubert Greenery Peck”:
This 14 minute piece was written and originally recorded (the piano track) by Steve Kretzmer during the Reporters’ college years, 1976-77. Steve Gore had regarded this to be one of Kretzmer’s unfinished masterpieces.
Gore had written: “Steve (K) was beginning to make the mistake of writing music so complicated that neither he nor I were able to add anything to the basic keyboard track.”
The track had been revisited briefly during the early “The Mind Boggles” sessions in 2004 for a bonus track, where Gore had intended to add drums to the track and complete it, but unfortunately this never seems to have come to fruition.
One of themes from “Hubert” was reinterpreted for the section of “Moonstruck” off “Happy Accidents” featuring Dave Newhouse, where it’s developed further and goes some different places. To pay homage to this, I put some keyboard saxophone down on that section of “Hubert” for Redux.
I have to thank modern production tools for being able to complete this track, as I was able to approach it in sections, and tackle as much as I could memorise timing-wise on drums in one take, and work my way through the song piece by piece. Otherwise this would have taken me months to memorise if I had to play it all through top to bottom! Once the drums were down it became easier to visualise bass parts and what additional melodies or sounds were needed, so slowly worked my way through it over a few weeks fleshing it out. Really glad this one can finally be released now, as I think it’s an incredible piece of writing from Steve K.
And a lovely piece of very reverential production on your part, man. Very nicely done. I have several renditions of that here including the piano track (a beautiful solo piece in its own right). This is a definitive version, for sure
And the code is a play, a play is a song, a song is a film, a film is a dance...
Appreciated Kim!! The original piano recording is masterful by itself, and especially after become familiar with it's structure through working on this version, I am just so in awe of the combination of quantity and quality on this tune!
More story time...
"One Of Our Dogs Is Missing":
From 1977, this song is along the lines of 'Hubert Greenery Peck' in that it was just too complicated to complete at the time of recording. This one of the few in this set that was originally recorded with more than 1 layer - so for this I had a lead synth park to work with, along with an electric piano/organ and acoustic piano layer.
A reel from the 'The Foul Tempered Clavier' sessions reveals that Steve Gore had been working on this song again for that album - creating a new mix of the existing layers and detailing plans for how he would like to add heavy drums to it, and would need Steve K to come up with a bass line for it. This seems to be another one of those plans that never came to be. I would love to have heard a version of this song with the 'Foul-Tempered' sound pallette and production style.
For the album version of this I have re-mixed this from the single version we initially released prior to the full Redux release - rebalancing the drum sound to sit better alongside the other tracks on the album and levelling the original layers more natually. My parts on this are drums and bass, with a more 'live' sound than I imagine the 'Foul-Tempered' version would have had. I stuck pretty faithfully to the music in the original keyboard parts when writing the bass and drum parts for this. My work on this track I think sealed the deal with Steve K, and after showing him this, I was invited to join Reporters as an official member!
https://rascalreporters.bandcamp.com...s-is-missing-2
My favorite track on Redux Vol 1 - Egos Explode - that is some kick ass stuff all around.
Thank you - the late Mr. Gore's contribution is something that perked my ears up when I first heard it! This is actually from two separate pieces with two similar synth sounds that I pieced together. Definitely the most classically jazz-fusion with that weather report-esque synth!
merci beaucoup - i am so so proud of that one, never done anything like it before
some more story time!
"My Three Sounds":
This one was another piano piece recorded in the late 70s by Mr. Kretzmer. The 'three sounds' - a slow steady pulsing section reminiscent of the likes of 'Solomon Music' from 'We're God', into what I would call a 'spiky' upbeat piano riff section with a lot of energy, and finally a quote of the theme song from the 1960s sitcom 'My Three Sons'.
I found this on a tape labelled 'My Three Sounds', but didn't realise that was the name for this piece until I ran it by K. I also found it on one of Steve Gore's DAT tapes, leading me to believe he had intended to do something with it at some point.
For 'sound 1', I added guitars, synth and additional piano melodies; 'sound 2' got a fuzz bass, drum kit and Stylophone Beatbox; 'sound 3' got a thick bass, drums, plenty of Stylophone Beatbox and the original sample from the 'My Three Sons' theme tune chopped to fit to it.
https://rascalreporters.bandcamp.com...y-three-sounds
"Egos Explode"
The lone Gore piece on this record, this is one that jumped out to me when I first heard the original version of it on Tony Coulter's fantastic radio show. I was shocked at how far future it sounded for something from the early 80s.
This version on Redux is actually a combination of two Gore pieces - the first being the intro - a spacey jazzy synth piece that has been combined with manipulated sounds of waves and rocks crashing, and some lead guitar harmonies. The second piece begins around where the drums come in, where I've added some overdriven rhythm guitar and fretless bass parts! I was inspired by Thundercat when it came to the bass line, but overall was thinking of Weather Report while working on this.
Probably the most straight up jazz-fusion tune of the bunch, this felt like the most 'familiar territory' for me on this album coming from a fusion background.
https://rascalreporters.bandcamp.com/track/egos-explode
<3 <3 definitely going to be playing more fretless on the forthcoming new record!
"Her Kind":
The 'bonus track' of the bunch, Her Kind is a song that has been attempted in many forms, including various voice & synth arrangements with drum machines and even a demo by Gore, essentially 'covering' Kretzmer's tune.
This take on the song is built around the version included on 'Nice Not To Be Here', which has an acoustic piano track, synth track and two vocal layers. I stayed very faithful to the original song when adding drum, bass and guitar parts for this, mainly doubling melodies and aiming to enhance what was already there. Acoustic guitars were recorded for the verses that I felt came out reminiscent of Cardiacs, and I tried to bring more of a dynamic flow to the song by bringing the beat down during those sections.
And as we have reached the last song on the record, that will be the last of these posts.
Hope this has shed some insight on the record for some of ye!
Now back to work on The Strange Case Of Steve
https://rascalreporters.bandcamp.com/track/her-kind
Just made my absolute favourite Rascal Reporters album HAPPY ACCIDENTS available via the Bandcamp page, and should be getting to streaming services soon too! Check this record out to hear why I love these guys so much. Absolute musical genius. Super addictive melodies, rhythms & meticulous DIY construction.
https://rascalreporters.bandcamp.com...py-accidents-2
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
we'll make a deal, you can make it back when Cuneiform put out the next studio album just playing, unlessss... haha
i love the bits of guitar on this album, such a nice touch added to the tracks. never too much, just some lovely layers added to the melodies.
was this really your last recorded guitar performance or have you since done more?
if i can get to the point of writing melodies as addictive as these from the Steves i will be onto something!
can't understate how excited i am about this new album we're working on though - really giving it my absolute everything to make it a worthwhile RR release
will definitely send it your way once we have it done if you'd be interested in giving it a listen!
Steve F.
www.waysidemusic.com
www.cuneiformrecords.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Remember, if it doesn't say "Cuneiform," it's not prog!” - THE Jed Levin
Any time any one speaks to me about any musical project, the one absolute given is "it will not make big money". [tip of the hat to HK]
"Death to false 'support the scene' prog!"
please add 'imo' wherever you like, to avoid offending those easily offended.
NEW RASCAL REPORTERS SINGLE!!!! First Music from Steve Kretzmer in 18 years.
Now, this is kind of embarrassing: I have never heard them ... but there is always a first time, I will do my homework.
Pura Vida!.
There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind. ∞
Duke Ellington.
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