From the various encounters with diametrically opposed ideologies, the structure of ones opinions can be swayed from one thing to the other, rearranging not only the prioroties that were once held dear, but possibly also putting into question ones very identity. It has been said that a healthy debate can refine an individuals logic, reaffirm beliefs through the process of defending them, and offer new perspectives into why they choose to retain or discard aspects of their ideology. It appears with the introduction of social media in the past few decades, that people have forgotton how to communicate effectively, especially in the form of healthy debate. These disagreements quickly turn into a heated argument, which often results in people further polarizing their opinions, their ideology driven by intense emotion rather than logic.
This album explores our connection to technology such that it plays an integral part of our social lives, the effects of how we interact with eachother online and how it spills into our reality.
People are loosing their ability to think for themself as online trends force them into conveying only acceptable ideologies, and anyone who questions these opinions runs the risk of becoming a social outcast. |
Cancel Culture
to be canceled means that a person or group decides to stop supporting someone or something based on a transgression that is either actual or perceived. It is used as a way to publicly shame someone and drive them into exile or isolation.
Social media has facilitated the rapid growth of cancel culture in our social networks. It is easier now to cancel someone then ever before, to the point that normal everyday people, who have little influence or power to make a difference, are becoming subject to the negative aspects of this culture. In a time where people are addicted to their technology, it has never been so dangerous to play the devils advocate. |
In earlier days, it might have been called exile; where a person does something unjustified, the story gets out, and that persons reputation becomes tarnished as a result. Social media hightens the effects and conditions of this behavior. Before to earn exile you would have had to have done something really unthinkable, these days all you need to do is express an unpopular opinion.
The danger of these hightened conditions is that people become afraid to express how they really feel about certain topics. They might take that frustration to lash out against someone using a fake account online. How can people refine their ideology if they never question it for fear of getting cancelled? Or worse, how can people progress if they reinforce their ideology by destroying the opposition rather than defending their argument with logic? |
Sex sells, but so does fear and loathing.
Online trends focus on things that offer a diametrically opposed point of view that divide us, and often get blown way out of proportion. Everyone seems to feel required to have an opinion about the current thing. While this can open up discussion and allow some people to refine their ideology, in most cases it becomes a witch hunt, that if you aren't with the majoroty, then you are the problem with society.
One way of securing the popularity of a news channel is to write stories that produce two diametrically opposed points of view that spark a discussion.
On social media, news channels clearly have a political agenda. They seem to capitalize on the outrage of the masses. By writing stories that spark an emotional reaction from their audience, they get more attention. The problem with this is that the truth is rarely broadcasted. Rather a conviluted story devised to elicit an emotional reaction and perhaps manipulate the opinions of others. |
The Music
All of the music for this album was recorded and produced by Daniel Ohm.
Stuart James supervised the progress of the work, provided insight into the concept, and helped with some of the mixing and mastering.
Styles of music include Experimental, Spoken word, Electro Accoustic, Accousmatics, Electronica and Drum and Bass.
This album exists to test the skills of the composer, staying true to the concept while producing quality music that flows seamlessly from one track to the next.
Stuart James supervised the progress of the work, provided insight into the concept, and helped with some of the mixing and mastering.
Styles of music include Experimental, Spoken word, Electro Accoustic, Accousmatics, Electronica and Drum and Bass.
This album exists to test the skills of the composer, staying true to the concept while producing quality music that flows seamlessly from one track to the next.
Musical Inspiration
Electro accoustic: Tim Hecker, Nicholas Jaar, ILLUITEQ, Bossk, Murcof, Holodeck, Dewey Martino
Drum and Bass: Halogenix, Droptek, Yoko Kanno (ghost in the shell soundtrack), Matrix & Futurebound, Degs, Pendulum and many others
Techno: Aphex Twin,
Drum and Bass: Halogenix, Droptek, Yoko Kanno (ghost in the shell soundtrack), Matrix & Futurebound, Degs, Pendulum and many others
Techno: Aphex Twin,
The concept album
Leading up to this project I listened to a number of concept albums including:
Sgt peppers lonely hearts club band (the beatles),
the dark side of the moon (pink floyd),
Ok computer (radiohead),
Cenizas (Nicholas Jaar),
Each of these albums provided an insight as to how they approached a theme or concept, and connected the songs together to create an entire work.
One thing i noticed about Sgt peppers lonely hearts is that there seems to be a relative key signature with all of the songs. this allows each song to flow into eachother seamlessly. Some might argue that it isnt really a concept album, but i think the nature in which it flows classifys it as one. The concept behind this album seems to have a narritive quality about it, a story of the life lead by the performer.
The dark side of the moon explores its themes using various different composing techniques and styles. Again it had a seamless quality to it. Where one song ends another song begins. The thing that really caught my attention about this album is that the last song leads back into the first song, creating a never-ending cycle of insanity.
Ok computer also had a seamless quality about it. The interesting thing about this album was its use of repeating lyrical themes like "a pig in a cage." By using motifs like this, they demonstate their understanding of structure and composition, using metephores to drive home the message behind the concept.
Cenizas was an album that felt somewhat spiritual and introspective. these drawn out soundscapes are absolutely beautiful and portray the concept without the need to drive the message home with lyrics.
Sgt peppers lonely hearts club band (the beatles),
the dark side of the moon (pink floyd),
Ok computer (radiohead),
Cenizas (Nicholas Jaar),
Each of these albums provided an insight as to how they approached a theme or concept, and connected the songs together to create an entire work.
One thing i noticed about Sgt peppers lonely hearts is that there seems to be a relative key signature with all of the songs. this allows each song to flow into eachother seamlessly. Some might argue that it isnt really a concept album, but i think the nature in which it flows classifys it as one. The concept behind this album seems to have a narritive quality about it, a story of the life lead by the performer.
The dark side of the moon explores its themes using various different composing techniques and styles. Again it had a seamless quality to it. Where one song ends another song begins. The thing that really caught my attention about this album is that the last song leads back into the first song, creating a never-ending cycle of insanity.
Ok computer also had a seamless quality about it. The interesting thing about this album was its use of repeating lyrical themes like "a pig in a cage." By using motifs like this, they demonstate their understanding of structure and composition, using metephores to drive home the message behind the concept.
Cenizas was an album that felt somewhat spiritual and introspective. these drawn out soundscapes are absolutely beautiful and portray the concept without the need to drive the message home with lyrics.
The Approach
To write a concept album that is seamless, one needs to consider the story arc of the music, as well as finding some way to connect the songs together.
I used what i call "joiners" which are sounds that appear at the end of a song that continue into the following song. Additionally, by reintroducing sounds in various songs throughout the entire album, it allows it to "glue" each of the songs together. This idea was inspired by the dark side of the moon.
Similar to Ok computers thematic lyrical motifs, this album makes use of a spoken word poetic theme that appears at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the album.
I used what i call "joiners" which are sounds that appear at the end of a song that continue into the following song. Additionally, by reintroducing sounds in various songs throughout the entire album, it allows it to "glue" each of the songs together. This idea was inspired by the dark side of the moon.
Similar to Ok computers thematic lyrical motifs, this album makes use of a spoken word poetic theme that appears at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the album.
Individual tracks
Jackals
The introduction to the album features generated mechanical sounds. The intention is to set the scene and the concept early. Spoken word soon follows with a repeditive yet out of time loop of music in the background. "The jackals on the prowl again, hungry for the feed, they team and sink their teeth into those that dare to think differently, weaponised isolation driving fear into those who wish to speak openly, unspoken opinions left to fester, they grow in intensity, and if they spill out they're sure to make enemies, when they tend to spill out it's in maximum safety, behind a screen with a fake identity, Forums that breed the worst kind of ugly, The birth of a jackal, the polarized junkie," |
02 Falling Structures
Falling structures is an experimental peice written in block form. When our ideals fall to decay, we are presented with a choice. We can continue to fight for these ideals with a blind faith, we can mature these ideas by strengthening its weakness, or we can turn from them completely. The falling structures in our mind signal the opportunities for growth. Musical ideas from this peice of music were inspired by the diploma students performance during the xenarkis concert earlier this year, this peice of music also acts as an encouragment to those students who are just beginning their journey at WAAPA. |
03 Lion Coward
This ambient track emobodies a feeling of entanglement to a world against the one. Sealed lips that dare not speak out for the fear of social exile. Forced to convey only acceptable ideas and beliefs. The music begins with the sound of an electronic pad that slowly morphs and changes into human voice. By using this technique, it portrays the connection that our political beliefs have with our technology, as social media has the potential to further polarize peoples beliefs and opinions. |
04 Mouth
Mouth is a Drum and Bass track that releases the pent up frustration of the previous tracks in a burst of high energy. Lyrics: "why don't you just open your mouth instead of typing all of your feelings out? You've got articles killing your doubt from your 'think for me baby .com" Said you know my kind, yeah you know my style, yet you copy and paste and you close your mind, can't think about growing up child cause you loose sense of what is real, Whether or not we agree on anything, its not my place to convince another mind, or fight against society, is it better to live a life of isolation, than to be forced against the grain?" |
Rise
Heavy breathing and crying intesifies and leads to a cold silence. "Rise in the morning one more time," When it feels like the world is against you, sometimes seemingly easy tasks can feel impossible. this song is a plead that even in the most difficult times, you will muster up the strength to keep going, even if it's just one day at a time. We are lead to believe at times that we are responisble only for ourself in the modern world, but I think this belief is selfish. It is near impossible to live a life completely isolated, in some way our life will affect the lives of others around us. In this way we are in some way responisble not only for our own life, but also for the lives of everything within our reach. We have to try our very best, we owe that to ourself, and others around us. The poem at the end of this peice of music is a set up for the next song: "The jackals tooth sinks deep within this lifeless stagnent body, Away from here, how can they win? Divide and conquer, brought to sight the hidden things, and justify that wisdom from our elders lost, divide them from their next of kin, this is how we let them win, they steal their mind on hidden sin, and as their state of mind decays the jackal only grins" |
Grey skies:
The main idea behind this peice of music was to create something that used "good" and "evil" as an accrostic poem. There may be truth in all ideologies that exist, but perhaps there aren't any fundamental truths. The theme of this album is starting to to become clearer. Technology has further allowed us to blindly and firmly believe in our beliefs and political opinions, and when someone plays the devils advocate to those ideas, rather than appreciating a new perspective and challenge to our beliefs, we demonise them and hate them. They go against the grain of what is otherwise believed to be good and right. But all ideals are a form of deception in some way. We comprehend the world through our filter of emotions and that can often lead us further from what is true. Who is really to say what is right and wrong? Lyrics: Grey skies and smoke lies and mirrors, One thought will break from its rythms, Only to find the mind, Drawn toward new Deceptions, Escaping from one perception, Volenteering their opinions, Ignorant bliss dress as a cause, Leading the blind to destruction, Chorus: Sometimes it seems, everyone needs someone to be their enemy, What if its me everyone hated? Now that I'm there, i hardly care, By playing my part, the rest would unify, Advocating the devils side, Great rifts of difference dividing, Optimistically residing Open the door and others close, Dogma that jealously tightens, Envy that grows into hatred, Violently over rated, Into the void no place to stand, Lost in the questions remaining, chorus Giants who live now above us, Overseeing our dependance, Once you are hooked its hard to quit, Defined by others experience, Enter the shoes of another, Vacation from sights familiar, Its all about finding the self, Lie hope the truth never finds us, |
Make it out:
Those who have questioned the beliefs of others within their social groups are left to fend for themselfs, isolated from the communities that were once like family to them. Suddenly struck with a sense of lonliness they realise that they desire a need to feel validated by being a part fo something bigger then themselfs. They are driven to the polar opposite of that which has rejected them from their denomination as a form of retaliation. Such is the nature of polarization, there is no middle ground in these times, you are with us, or against us. Lyrics: This silence tells me more about it, With evil glares accross the room, I can't predict how they'll react, Are they speaking about me behind my back? I disagreed, and now it's like they want my head, Chorus: But i wont make it out, (not on my own), and i can't figure out, (how to begin again) I've felt lost and alone as i stumble by, When i held my hand out it was pushed aside, I wont make it out, If that's the way they force opinion, May as well go further out, Extremes will validate my feelings, And push me deeper in the dark, And i know that lately sometimes i regret speaking the things on my mind, I guess i should just hold my tongue, Chorus x2 |
Instant gratification:
Our devices are addictive. They can provide us with a source of instant gratification. The danger of this is that we become spoiled and expect the real world to deliver the same level of efficient gratification that our devices give us. Unfortunately however, the real world doesn't work quite like that. In order to feel gratification, one needs to put in an adequite amount of work. Lyrics: If I'm left needing, I won't be staying, Halt your desires, satisfy mine, Or go hit the street, Instant gratification Swap back, gimme that, gimme a phone i need that god damn validation x4 If i'm left needing, I wont be staying, Halt your desires, satisy mine, Or go hit the street |
Eyes:
Blindly believing what news channels publish is one way to loose touch with reality, it can also provide people with a quick fix that justifys and validates their opinions. of course, it is important to understand the motivation behind these news channels is to generate attention, which means that they can't be trusted to handle the truth responsibly. Lyrics: Pull the string, if you lead i will follow you just seem like you know what you came to do, something just to spite all your values, fool yourself into blindly believing, Pull the strings i relinquish my freedom, Convince me with your rhyme and your reason, i will be amongst they who are fighting, for whatever is currently trending, Chorus: Sunshine in my eyes, I wont ever.... Self care is cutting out toxic people, no growth here as we demand an equal share, evenly all the wealth for survival, enable an unearned sense of ego, Chorus x2 |
Like this:
I don't wannt go out like this, I said, I don't wanna go out like this, I dont wanna open my eyes, I'm safe here now from hail and storm, and I don't wanna open my mind, I hate thinking that I've done wrong, but i dont wanna go out like this, I said i dont wanna go out like this, I dont wanna talk about this, I can't explain my deepest thoughts, and I don't wanna have to feel this, I hid myelf amongst the throng, But i don't wanna go out like this, I said i dont wanna go out like this, I dont wanna open my mind, I dont wanna open my eyes. |
Alteration:
I am losing my grip on this part of me,
It falls to the dark areas of my memories,
Blurry vision, I see only what I wish to see,
The old me remembered only for its glory,
Remembered only for its victory,
How simple the closed mind seems to be,
Not tied down by complexity,
So much easier to think of others as the enemy,
Easier to hide behind this technology,
Since it gives me everything that I need
What reason do I have to grip to my humanity?
Like sand it slips through the cracks, it lacks the ability to entertain me,
As I let go, surrender myself, so too go all of my worries,
I am glued, addicted, distracted from my company,
And from the other disturbing thoughts that dwell within my psyche,
I think, I am losing something.
But I have no time to comprehend it,
The injustice that I seek must be corrected,
It is they who are wrong, they are defective,
The ideas that they spread, I fear are infectious,
If they cannot conform, they must be rejected,
We are correcting an unhealthy part of us,
Progression is the only acceptable action,
A powerful network of likeminded people,
Our numbers will confirm the truth in our beliefs,
Our voice will speak as one,
United we are powerful,
We are the collective, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated
I am losing my grip on this part of me,
It falls to the dark areas of my memories,
Blurry vision, I see only what I wish to see,
The old me remembered only for its glory,
Remembered only for its victory,
How simple the closed mind seems to be,
Not tied down by complexity,
So much easier to think of others as the enemy,
Easier to hide behind this technology,
Since it gives me everything that I need
What reason do I have to grip to my humanity?
Like sand it slips through the cracks, it lacks the ability to entertain me,
As I let go, surrender myself, so too go all of my worries,
I am glued, addicted, distracted from my company,
And from the other disturbing thoughts that dwell within my psyche,
I think, I am losing something.
But I have no time to comprehend it,
The injustice that I seek must be corrected,
It is they who are wrong, they are defective,
The ideas that they spread, I fear are infectious,
If they cannot conform, they must be rejected,
We are correcting an unhealthy part of us,
Progression is the only acceptable action,
A powerful network of likeminded people,
Our numbers will confirm the truth in our beliefs,
Our voice will speak as one,
United we are powerful,
We are the collective, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated
I am losing my grip on this part of me,
It falls to the dark areas of my memories,
Blurry vision, I see only what I wish to see,
The old me remembered only for its glory,
Remembered only for its victory,
How simple the closed mind seems to be,
Not tied down by complexity,
So much easier to think of others as the enemy,
Easier to hide behind this technology,
Since it gives me everything that I need
What reason do I have to grip to my humanity?
Like sand it slips through the cracks, it lacks the ability to entertain me,
As I let go, surrender myself, so too go all of my worries,
I am glued, addicted, distracted from my company,
And from the other disturbing thoughts that dwell within my psyche,
I think, I am losing something.
But I have no time to comprehend it,
The injustice that I seek must be corrected,
It is they who are wrong, they are defective,
The ideas that they spread, I fear are infectious,
If they cannot conform, they must be rejected,
We are correcting an unhealthy part of us,
Progression is the only acceptable action,
A powerful network of likeminded people,
Our numbers will confirm the truth in our beliefs,
Our voice will speak as one,
United we are powerful,
We are the collective, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated
I am losing my grip on this part of me,
It falls to the dark areas of my memories,
Blurry vision, I see only what I wish to see,
The old me remembered only for its glory,
Remembered only for its victory,
How simple the closed mind seems to be,
Not tied down by complexity,
So much easier to think of others as the enemy,
Easier to hide behind this technology,
Since it gives me everything that I need
What reason do I have to grip to my humanity?
Like sand it slips through the cracks, it lacks the ability to entertain me,
As I let go, surrender myself, so too go all of my worries,
I am glued, addicted, distracted from my company,
And from the other disturbing thoughts that dwell within my psyche,
I think, I am losing something.
But I have no time to comprehend it,
The injustice that I seek must be corrected,
It is they who are wrong, they are defective,
The ideas that they spread, I fear are infectious,
If they cannot conform, they must be rejected,
We are correcting an unhealthy part of us,
Progression is the only acceptable action,
A powerful network of likeminded people,
Our numbers will confirm the truth in our beliefs,
Our voice will speak as one,
United we are powerful,
We are the collective, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated