dawn ardent

music: another

2010-07-30T10:21:00.000-05:00

this one was previously posted as an excerpt with the working title "the fire in which i burn." it's been refined and finished. i'm a month late on this because i couldn't figure out how to do the vocals. i ended up singing them from across the room, and using three different takes together for the chorus effect.

(exploding planet image taken from orange.edge)

download "another"

music: hostage prelude

2010-03-17T02:33:00.001-05:00

(caged heart necklace picture from http://www.lushjewelry.com/ used without permission)

recipe for melancholy. ingredients: 1 piano melody with a stray 9th. 1 diminished chord progression (it can resolve. still works.) 1 abandoned lyrics from 2 years ago. 1 guitar.

marinate piano melody and chord progression in reverb until soft. finely chop old lyrics, discarding all but 1/3rd. using guitar, find a wandering solo. stir in solo.

serve with a dash of heavily distorted power chords. garnish with drums.

download "hostage prelude"

music: the last dance

2009-08-14T21:13:00.001-05:00

i haven't finished anything i had previously started; but i started something new, and it looks like i managed to wrap it up. this is decidedly not-metal, but it does have many layers of distorted guitars, and one layer of clean guitar.

i'm fond of the interplay between the synth drum and the "real" drumset. i can tolerate my vocals. listen for the cello in the choruses.

download "the last dance"

process

2008-12-18T08:34:00.000-06:00

there's a rule i haven't been following that seems worthwhile.

rule 8: don't try to create and analyze at the same time. they're different processes.

we'll see how this goes.

thanks to matt olson at rolu | dsgn.

in progress: the fire in which i burn (excerpt)

2008-12-02T00:07:00.001-06:00

another long-time no-finisher. this title, half-stolen from company flow, is only a working title, which is currently being used by multiple completely different melodies. we'll see what happens when words start cooperating.

download: "the fire in which i burn (excerpt)"

in progress: heart held hostage (excerpt)

2008-12-01T23:10:00.000-06:00

this has been in the works for a while now. the music is as done as it can be without knowing the words. i've been through several first verses, but nothing's worked yet.

download: "heart held hostage (excerpt)"

music: last night i dreamt that somebody loved me

2008-09-26T23:51:00.000-05:00

i first wanted to do this song in 2003. i was doing some original songs under the name jack casper, in a folky style reminiscent of (and strongly inspired by) m. ward, and decided to cover a smiths song in that style. i wrote the trumpet line -- it was originally intended for either clarinet or oboe -- and came up with some basic instrumentation, but my recording attempts failed, and i gave up.

then yesterday something clicked, i was inspired, and i got to work again. only the trumpet line and the lyrics remained untouched from the 2003 version.

it's very different from the rest of my "dawn ardent" material, but i'll stubbornly insist that this was meant to be a dawn ardent song all along.

download "last night i dreamt that somebody loved me"

music: careless whisper (rough 1)

2008-06-13T07:14:00.000-05:00

if this is "rough 1", then let it be known that there exists a "rough .5", with straight vocals. it will come as a surprise to nobody that george michael (who wrote this song) has a better voice and a higher range than me. the straight vocals were a little painful to perform, and a little painful to hear.

i don't think this is finished yet. it needs some cleaning up on the guitars and bass, and i think it would benefit from a guitar solo. but it's good enough for now.

download "careless whisper (rough 1)"

music: in brains and blood

2008-04-02T18:39:00.000-05:00

new song, finally.

this one's called "in brains and blood". i'm going to try different vocalists eventually, but for now, i'm happy with my buried-and-echoed performance.

download: "in brains and blood"

music: disposable planet

2008-02-21T22:38:00.000-06:00

new song, "disposable planet", about the end of the world. described by some as "synth-pop" and by others as "a little like nine inch nails, a little like devo".

download: "disposable planet"

dawn ardent

2008-02-21T12:00:00.001-06:00

dawn ardent is me and a bunch of gear coming together to make music.

i have previously played bass in rock band the skinnys and post-rock band kids with numbers; and keyboard in long-defunct psychobilly band blues-o-tron.

as songs are completed, or even near-completed, they will be posted to this blog. feedback is welcome.