◄1► spirits in the gallery
by @burrMod
Liner Notes
i'm blowing out the cobwebs by catching up on projects my overloaded 2024 self wasn't able to follow through on last 50/90 challenge.
🚨 weird alert 🚨
i had an ambitious idea to do a #CommentsFirst #Cassette #4Track #Feast so i posted not one but FOUR #Titular titles and let people go nuts.
then, once the prompts came in... i sort of saw a narrative emerge and decided to try a mini "concept EP" that tells a story, on top of the cassette and comment constraints. why? because i'm a glutton for punishment.
this ended up being very ambitious and, while fun, results were mixed. i don't think i'll try this combo of constraints again! 😅 i kinda had to "cheat" from time to time either pre-sequencing some parts in a DAW or playing VST instruments and then routing the audio to the deck, since i don't have (or even know how to play) some of the instruments i was prompted to use.
original comment prompts from last summer:
the tracks & instruments: T1 ► univox sr-55 drum machine T2 ► accordion VST (recorded backward) T3 ► guitar T4 ► vocals / kazoo (autotuned!) / live drums
all the songs are: 1 ◉ THIS! 2 ► https://write.fawm.org/songs/309130 3 ► https://write.fawm.org/songs/309131 4 ► https://write.fawm.org/songs/309132
Lyrics
==== MOAR NOTES ==== this is FIRST in the series. in which we meet our narrator who is an alien anthropologist fascinated with the work of an artist who fabricates alien artifacts not unlike those he studies.
the original title i was given from titular was "through the spirits" but in the end i changed it, while sticking to the prompts. song structure on this one is all over the place because recording backwards with just a drum machine was hard. in general this one is pretty ad-libbed and most of the recordings are first takes. the live drums was to try and make the long outro less monotonous. it's a miracle that i stopped playing both guitar and drums just as the drum machine ended.
i didn't even consider trying to the greenbaum/police samples. the "polyrhythms" are in the bridge/kazoo solo (not the chorus) and it's really just mashing buttons on the drum machine to add a waltz on top of the other rhythm preset. and who knew that a kazoo played through a hard pitch-correcting vocal effect pedal would sound kinda like a saxophone?
======== alien ambers enveloping me i trace out the lifelines as they secretly, silently sweep through…
spirits in the gallery drunk and and staring back at me like static in a memory lost in what i see
odor of ethereal ozone a puzzle missing a part (in a work of art) traces of language carved in stone wanting to be known by…
spirits in the gallery drunk and and staring back at me like static in a memory lost in what i see
Comments
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That’s a lot of constraints to put on oneself, but I enjoyed the output. The reversed accordion sounds great, and the heavy drums and guitar towards the end reminded me of The Cure. Extremely creative!
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song. There is wonderful mix of electronic and acoustic things happening in this song that make it feel a bit other worldly and I love it.
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Very beautiful song, singing and playing. I love the instruments choice. Hypnotic and memorable 💖
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I've definitely got a soft pro for your voice...and the crunchy power drums! Love it.
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As a Fawmling and a huge 4track cassette fan, this is exactly what I joined FAWM to hear. Good writing, very original and a super creative use of common instruments. This inspires me to be more creative in my future FAWMs.
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Haunting write that captures spirits as well as prods them a reader's way with finesse, @burr . Cryptic music and vocals rock the eerie in play. Nice interstellar-like song experience!
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I love the reversed accordion! The kazoo is so weird but cool
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Somehow you turned those comments into something chill, warm, and more than the sum of its parts. I would seriously listen to an album of this.
Great lyrics and great sounds! I agree with @sapient - the autotuned kazoo sounds like a vintage synth "horn" sound.
![[avatar]](https://fawm-avatars.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/fawm2025/8ae0ec24-fce7-4c28-b31d-acd72e75852a.png){kind=avatar}
You create a beautiful hybrid with the organic and electronic tones blending beautifully. I think the analog tape helps too. This well seasoned stew actually serves well towards the world building you are doing in this series.
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I kind of really love this. And the kazoo sounds super cool with that effect! The chorus is really cool + also pretty catchy. My favorite lines are:
a puzzle missing a part (in a work of art) traces of language carved in stone
I'm really glad you got back to this. I have listened a couple of times!
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It's hard to credit that you could even work within these constraints, let alone pull something this cool out of the hat. And that kazoo? More like "very expensive vintage synth" 🤣
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Ooh it’s spacey and ethereal and the lyrics are deliciously vague to match the vibes!
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Dig this, very dreamy and very ageless , at times it feels like a hidden 80s gothic alternative pop gem, 90’s lofi singer songwriter and then the very 00’s auto tuned kazoo rattles that experience. Great stuff
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Ok now this is a fantastic way to do a comments first challenge. Great use of the prompts here.
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This is dreamy. You certainly nailed the brief.
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Well played! You got plenty and it’s so coherent and pretty! Really well done!
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yay you got loads (all??) of the comments covered! I could definitely hear the harmonics chinks and it all sounded great. Nice one Burr!
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As one of the people partly to blame for this song, this is a lot of fun and I'm impressed what you were able to do given the self-imposed constraints.
![[FAWM]](/static/img/slothcore.svg)
Ambitious and wonderful! Another super cool headphones listen. And you create a fascinating character and setting as well.