SPACE BUGS // SPRING 2019 ~posted by Chris Sandon
MLF had just finished a recording session and I was trying to work on some mixing of it in Logic.
I was new to learning the program and there were at least 10 tracks
(just on the drums!). I was feeling overwhelmed and to make matters
worse, it began to glitch out. I thought, “fuck it” and turned to my Tascam 4-track.
There was this idea for a song that I had been wanting to work on but I had never really introduced it to the band…probably because I had no idea how to approach it. Most songs were written on guitar, but all I had was one silly, cautionary phrase. "The space bugs are all around...." The lyrics had begun as something I repeatedly hummed while riding my mountain bike on trails as a reminder to avoid swallowing bugs.
Lately, I had been working out some of my song ideas by just playing along with an old drum machine and so that’s what I began to do. Over the delayed thumps I laid two sets of vocals on tracks 2 & 3 (accidentally messing up the timing on the second “verse”) The first vocal take was on a pink princess mic I had recently purchased at a thrift shop for $2, and the other was sent through an effects pedal that gave a sort of insect/alien quality. Finally, I overdubbed some random trash noises using a circuit-bent SK-1 keyboard.
The results were immediate and it was such a fun process. Listening back, I was overjoyed…it was the exact vibe I was going for in my head! It now felt like this silly phrase had materialized into a sort of primitive, digital age freakout warning of the dangers of living in a world of constant surveillance. The swelling ending was added with a Yamaha string machine that then reverses. It briefly but intensely alludes to the “ominous, lurking godhead” that the bugs work for (or something like that). ;)
the space bugs are all around
better watch your fuckin' mouth
They're flying all around us
you know they're gonna hear us now
the space bugs are all around
better shut your fuckin' mouth
they feed on our emotions
you know they're gonna shit em out
the space bugs are all around
shut your fuckin' mouth
they're flying all around us
you know they're gonna hear us now!
owww!!!
(om meditation)
There was this idea for a song that I had been wanting to work on but I had never really introduced it to the band…probably because I had no idea how to approach it. Most songs were written on guitar, but all I had was one silly, cautionary phrase. "The space bugs are all around...." The lyrics had begun as something I repeatedly hummed while riding my mountain bike on trails as a reminder to avoid swallowing bugs.
Lately, I had been working out some of my song ideas by just playing along with an old drum machine and so that’s what I began to do. Over the delayed thumps I laid two sets of vocals on tracks 2 & 3 (accidentally messing up the timing on the second “verse”) The first vocal take was on a pink princess mic I had recently purchased at a thrift shop for $2, and the other was sent through an effects pedal that gave a sort of insect/alien quality. Finally, I overdubbed some random trash noises using a circuit-bent SK-1 keyboard.
The results were immediate and it was such a fun process. Listening back, I was overjoyed…it was the exact vibe I was going for in my head! It now felt like this silly phrase had materialized into a sort of primitive, digital age freakout warning of the dangers of living in a world of constant surveillance. The swelling ending was added with a Yamaha string machine that then reverses. It briefly but intensely alludes to the “ominous, lurking godhead” that the bugs work for (or something like that). ;)
the space bugs are all around
better watch your fuckin' mouth
They're flying all around us
you know they're gonna hear us now
the space bugs are all around
better shut your fuckin' mouth
they feed on our emotions
you know they're gonna shit em out
the space bugs are all around
shut your fuckin' mouth
they're flying all around us
you know they're gonna hear us now!
owww!!!
(om meditation)
Yo Chris! Always thought the 4-track complimented your stuff (as you know). Hope to hear more of your stuff recorded this way. Fun track.
ReplyDeleteThanks brother. <3
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