◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ fragments (Tape 1)
by @burrMod · @zecoopMod · @guatecoop · @eargoggle · @fourtracktape
Liner Notes
◼︎◼︎◼︎◼︎ TAPE 1 for the #Cassette #4Track #Collab challenge! https://write.fawm.org/forums/2947
T1: @zecoop - electric guitar T2: @eargoggle - vocals, bass T3: @guatecoop - drums T4: @burr - keys, vocals, electric guitar
burr says: this tape arrived TODAY, so i decided to turn it around ASAP! eargoggle did something freaking cool that i've not experienced in the 4-track collab before: he wrote & sang verses, but played bass (w/ octave & mu-tron?) in the chorus! the brothers coop played instruments all the way through their tracks, so i felt invited to write & sing the choruses and fill out the low end for the verses. there were two bridges, though, which invited some sort of solos.
so, i sang, played keys, and guitar all in a single take (since my deck isn't 100% reliable for "punching in"): bassoon+cello mellotron "bass" for verses 2&4 (because i know eargoggle loves mellotron), rhodes "bass" for verse 3, and fuzz guitar solos in the bridges. i must have done a million takes before i got something good enough, but here we are.
really cool foundation by zecoop on this one and excellent drumming from guatecoop as always. i think all the different bass textures make for a cool sonic journey, and i'm really happy with how this turned out. i hope eargoggle thinks my choruses complement his verses well, and everyone else likes it too!
Lyrics
you won't believe me but i had to talk about it was like a feeling kind of spectral something waiting for us like a path ahead you've never seen, been there before like i said you won't believe me but i swear it
when you're a fragment in the dark waiting to play your part the universe speaks, and then you know your piece of the whole
have you felt like you were only one of several like you were incomplete till another one gets played not see the future more like there is no forward or back again like i said you won't believe me but i swear it
when you're a fragment in the dark waiting to just push start the mystical muse opens her eyes and you know you've arrived
and so i wait to see what kind of piece i'll be in the whole push my lever till i crackle or pull back like a breath i am nobody till another lets me see where i stand just a silent pilot till someone helps me land
when you're a fragment in the dark waiting to make your mark the fabric of fate will unfold so just let it roll
i know this must sound like the ravings of a demented mind like someone sure they'd soon have company just forward in time but it's so strong the feeling i can almost hear it like i said you won't believe me but i swear it
Comments
Great example of how good a 4-channel collaboration can be. This is great, and the choices all of you made musically worked really great together.
These 4-track collaborations are such a great idea. The results of this one are particularly successful. Nicely done to all!
Yeah this is so good. It's got that great groove going on, all those open string chords sound very cool and alt-90s. Can't imagine how stressful it was going between keys and guitar on the fly. The somewhat walking bass in the choruses is really cool, as well. Good work!
Great stuff, always enjoy the duet approach to four trackin' and this is a great one! Really cool laid-back vibe, I will echo that Wilco comparison from an earlier comment.
Nice! This is one of the coolest 4-track performances and arrangement of the year that I’ve heard so far. Lots going on. Great playing. Feels loose and alive in the solo sections and comes in tight for vocal sections. Has a 90s alt-rock vibe to it, but even better with some modern twists. Feels even larger and more hifi and tighter in the top end of the vocal lines to me than a lot of 4-track recordings. how?! There is something about listening to these cassette collabs that always reminds me of the earliest recordings that I did and why I fell in love with recording in the first place. 🙌🎶🤘
I don't know how this manages to feel so large and so lose and open at the same time. That bass tone is really just in the perfect place, and I love the drum sound, too. Lots of texture with the guitars and the vocals, this just kind of opens up around you and pulls you in.
interesting how this was built. everything about it is top notch, love the vocals, both, and the arrangement is so solid. really well woven together, what a great collab!
Top notch soundscape! I like the way it kinda drags it's feet. Jeff Tweedy and Stephen Malkmus had quadruplets and they wrote a song.
Yeah, this is solid! Really great idea for the verse/chorus alternation, makes for a super cool (and complex) arrangement! You guys rock!
The process still boggles my mind, but the results is fabulous and sounds like you were all in the same room. Amazing.
It's the 4 Track Tape Supergroup! Awesomeness all around, I'm getting a little shoegazy vibe in with all the guitars. Great guitar solo.
Excellent collab! Wow!!! I love the idea of someone writing the verse and another writing the chorus. So cool!
The band does indeed rock on! Fabulous. Nice dynamics and so full for just 4 tracks. Hard to believe this was created piecemeal. Sounds like a cool garage jam I would like to be at. Nice work everyone!
Am I listening to the best music of the 90s? May as well be…the vibe brings me back to riding the bus in high school. I particularly love the melody and great vocal delivery 👍👍👍
The echoey guitar sets the stage nicely for the song. Love the guitar solos and the bass line, especially in the chorus. I can’t believe how you played instruments simultaneously to get more than 4 voices on the 4-track. Holy cow! Really well done!
I'm getting Wilco vibes, just to add to the comparisons. Love the traded vocals and bass parts - the exchange sounds seamless to me. Great dynamics! I particularly like the second fuzz guitar bridge dropping down to the more subdued last verse. Tasteful playing by all, just the right balance of propulsion and space.
Great collab! I hear a novel mix of Radiohead, Pink Floyd and Neil Young that combines in a really cool way. @eargoggle @burr y'all's voices complement perfectly between the verses and the chorus. The performance is really tight! Great job!
Holy moly!! I almost completely forgot about doing this, and hearing this now is so awesome, I love it! @burr , I love your lyrics! They make my weird verses make more sense actually (a fragment in the dark waiting to just push start, yes!!). I wasn't sure when I played bass and then sang on the same track (which is kinda nerve-wracking by the way! Because you have to un-press record quick enough not to erase your other part) if that would be trouble for the parts yet to come, but this worked out so well. Once again I'm amazed at how good this sounds, @zecoop and @guatecoop rocked it, and we sound like a band in the same room!
Oh boy. You folks run things HOT and no mistake! This is self-assured and characterful; my first thought was that it sounds like the RHCPs in "slow ballad" mode. Dang, this makes me miss having a working 4-track...
how is this huge but relatively minimalistic in its instrumentation.
this chaps is a triumph
…somehow timeless, as in you heard it before, but it is fresh and new at the same time - steady like a train with a real nice relaxed vibe about it - great performance, all!…
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 Holy cow, I totally forgot what I played and this really turned out incredible! I planned the line-up on this one on purpose, because I love 'playing with' these three artists and it has always seemed like a band in previous tapes. The band rocks on - awesome unique choices throughout has led to a totally unexpected song! :)
I love the heaviosity of the chorus! Great guitar. Interesting chord sequence. The vocals are right on with their deliberateness.
Really nice voice. Sounds natural and relaxed. Good work all around!
Enjoyed this one and liked that last note which really felt unresolved. It still amazes me that this is put together this way, rather than an actual band in a room somewhere. Awesome!