◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ the fabric of everyday life (Tape 4)

by @burr Mod · @zecoop Mod · @guatecoop · @beto Mod · @fourtracktape

Liner Notes

◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ TAPE 4 for the #Cassette #4Track #Collab challenge! https://write.fawm.org/forums/2947

T1: @beto - teenage engineering po-28 T2: @guatecoop - korg minilogue xd T3: @zecoop - korg volca beats T4: @burr - lyrics, vocals, arturia microfreak

burr says: this tape arrived in the mail TODAY and i was pumped to just go ahead and turn it around, so here you go! it was a little unique in that it was recorded at 2X speed and used track 4 as an analog "sync" track so that the first 3 collaborators could clock their synths to it and stay in time without the use of MIDI. of course, i was last on the tape so i had to record over that track.

i was challenged by @ltunes to "write a song about a boring daily activity featuring an instrument you haven't used yet this FAWM" in the "Give a prompt, receive a prompt!" thread: https://write.fawm.org/forums/3323

so here's a #Darkwave ditty about doing laundry in the basement. i haven't touched my arturia microfreak yet this FAWM, so achievement unlocked. really cool foundation laid by beto and the the brothers coop on this one for it. if you've watched episodes of the "4 TRACKS 1 TAPE" series on youtube, you'll know that #LaundryCore is already a thing in FAWM 4-track collabs...

(sadly, my denoiser plugin decided to stop getting along with logic pro, so there's more tape hiss and other noise than i'd like in the final master...)

Lyrics

a sanctuary underground rhythmic thrum of the universe vessel of reclamation womb of chaos and rebirth

colorful kaleidoscope separating dark from light some sing of passion some whisper through the night surrender to the machine and every mechanical heartbeat

alchemy unraveling a tempest of sound and motion stains unsaddling letting go of corrosion a patchwork of memories to recall cascading like a waterfall

every fold a meditation every crease a promise of care

the fabric of everyday life and the bell that breaks the spell

Comments

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A little unsettling sonically, but I can almost hear the washing machine trying to speak in the background. as someone who has a lot of the Bedroom Cassette Masters, I don't mind that tape hiss at all. Nice track!

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I don’t fully understand the technical comments related to the creation of this four track tape but I love the result of your collective creative efforts! Really cool beats and synth sounds! I love the interplay of the instrumental tracks and the smooth legato vocal melody delivering the lyrics that fit the music well - I love that they were inspired by doing laundry and all the little nods to that in the lyrics that one might never realize without the liner notes - as they are so wonderfully introspective and poetic. Fabulous life metaphors. Love your writing! And great sounds!

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@bijou

A wonderful cacophony of swirly-ness, depth and warmth. I enjoyed this very much.

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Yes! Wonderful poetic lyrics. Analog juiciness to the sounds. The dynamic changes and warbles are the lifeblood. 🙌🎶

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This is so up my alley! These lyrics are awesome. 4 Track pretty damn cool. We are all in search of the “Bell that breaks the spell”. That will break us out of this f’d up simulation 🤣🙏🏻

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Love the jittery synths on here! These sync-track tapes are always so much fun. Everything works together so well and the vox turn it into a wonderfully dark pop song at the end. Crunchy drums sound so 😍 on tape!

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@cathreu

Nice synth jam, very cool that you all were able to sync this up and make it work with the synths. This is definitely a montage or pre-climax scene in an 80s movie. The ostinato that pops in here and there is eerie, and the vocals are definitely haunting. I appreciate how much the tape effect comes into play here.

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This is so cool. Creative and edgy. The cassette noise only adds to the coolness of this colllab. Nice job everyone!

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@pfoo

This took me back to the 80's, even though none of these instruments are from that time period. I forgot it was about laundry until the word "stains" brought me back from the fantasy novel underground world I was envisioning. It's awesome the way you all built on each other's parts! I recognize the Korgs and I think I can pick out the others, which makes it fun to think about how this evolved into this super cool song.

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@brisk

There's a complex bed of synthy plunks and wheezes here - it's really enjoyable and gels incredibly well, especially considering how the song came together from isolated individuals contributing in sequence. Mindboggling really. The vocals complement the backing really nicely - they add a certain air of menace, but more than that they seem to mirror the lyrics attempt to find the alien in the everyday. It's a cracker.

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@peccary

This is a great one to let lost in. Everything came together great, that little pinging, bouncing synth sound has been getting stuck in my head.

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@beacon

Yeah, what they all said. This is amazing and especially on cassette.

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@kosch

OK - I didn't see this coming (I think cassette, I'm thinking - erroneously - old school instrumentation. 🎸 ) My bad - this is a very cool collection of sounds that come together to make a fine track - the vocals rise to the top, and hold it all together well.

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…great work with the synths - also really nice that there is still a lot of space/air between the single instruments/tracks/contributions - this is a very good example for a cassette collaboration - well done!…

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Love that you all actually got sync to work and were able to do this. Killer sounds, and the cassette flavor is working in your favor here for sure. I love your voice for this @burr, it works so well. Let me know if you figure out a decent denoiser that doesn't cost $700...

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possibly Kate Bush's worst song about a washing machine.... this is FAR better! i love the squelchy synth sounds, they just sound so fat and juicy. it was a pleasure to let it all wash over with me with Burr's syd barrett vocals/lyrics. Those sounds are all so good. Nice collab!

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I love the four-track challenge. It is so interesting to see what emerges! And Laundry Core is pretty sweet! This definitely had an industrial-space vibe. Love it!

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well isn't this a little earworm - am loving this. it's warm and fuzzy - just want to let it envelop me.

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@nadine

I have absolutely no idea how to create such strange synth sounds. And no idea about laundrycore. The dark vocals are a good choice!

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it's been a long day and I just sat back and enjoyed this! it's an earful of music, too many little touches to count! this might be a sub genre maybe spin core or drier core

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@b3nut

Man, this is channeling some early John Foxx! Love the synth textures and rhythmic bloops and blorps going on. Probably the most spacy-sounding ode to doing laundry one could possibly pull off!! The lo-fi vibe from the cassette really fits it like a sock...the one that didn't get lost in the dryer at least...haha! Great stuff!!!!

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@ltunes

Challenge met indeed! Well done. If I had known that laundrycore is a thing, I may have given you a different challenge :-). I love the "spacy" vocal filter with the microfreak. This is a really well done 4 track collaboration, it sounds so well integrated, as if you'd planned to write a dark wave song about laundry before starting the tape. Nice job.

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Lolling at the darkwave take on laundrycore. The lyrics are so perfect. And the vocal delivery so deadpan. Love the multiplicity of synth action!

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So fun to hear how this ended up!! It was so minimal when Rob and I got to it last weekend. We added our parts, but I certainly didn't expect a laundry darkwave! It couldn't have turned out any better, imho! Such a cool concept piece and has a super unique vibe. Love it!

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I love how all these heavy synths are in the service of a song about laundry. I am always amazed at how well these things turn out! I mean like holy cow! every fold a meditation, every crease a promise of care....ha! I love that. I can't tell who is doing what, but I love all the sounds, everywhere here.

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@aeye

Now this is a crazy way to describe laundry. I would have never thought of all of these ways to describe it. Great use of the tape and everything that came before this.

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@george

So good. Take this directly to the Death Guild goth night and clean house!

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Y'all coaxed an amazing vibe out of this, my laundry has never felt this stained. All of the components work here. The varied synth tones tickle my many ears. Killer collab!

[FAWM]