Some music I’ve been listening to recently: Breakwater, The Whispers, and Morella’s Forest

I discovered Breakwater on a whim. When I heard the first few seconds, I realized that Daft Punk sampled this song to make “Robot Rock”. This was a really fun song with the right mix of guitars, bass, and synths. How did I not know about this band even though they were before my time? This song really slaps and I want to check out their other songs and their albums.

Can’t you tell I’ve been on a bit of an old-school kick? I heard the song Rock Steady a few times a long time ago, but this song came to my attention after seeing it used while synching the Sami Zayn dancing meme. I was unaware that The Whispers have been around since the 60s and I have heard some of their other songs before. One such example is “And the Beat Goes On” which I also recently heard while I was shopping one day. Of course for my generation, we mainly know it because “Miami” by Will Smith used the beat for that one. “Rock Steady” is a really fun song that will certainly get one moving.

Technically, I’ve listened to this song before, but not this version. This is the lost band Morella’s Forest who were a gothic rock/new wave band from the 80s. Two of the members would be none other than Ronnie Martin and Jason Martin of Joy Electric and Starflyer 59 respectively as well as their one-time side project The Brothers Martin. Joy Electric would re-release this song in their typical experimental synth pop sound, but I wasn’t aware the song was older than that. It was surreal hearing that song with guitars, basses, and drums though. I also found out Ronnie and Jason were only 18 and 16 when they recorded this album that was lost until this year. It was very fascinating getting into the musical history of the Martins since I listened to both bands starting out in junior high and Joy Electric was certainly an influence on Ospreyshire as a recording project. No, this is unrelated to that Tooth & Nail band that was there in the 90s and early 00s.

Ospreyshire Origins: Art in the Midst of Pandemonium and Pandemics

Here’s the other new song that’s on the DFxO split album. I multitracked some bass tracks while playing it unplugged. I played some riffs as well as using that instrument in unconventional ways for extra sound effects when layering them. I used a hand drum to provide percussion for it. Despite these anxious times, I wanted to have a message where people can still be creative. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed this, but I reference a certain emo band in one of the lyrics.

This song was also an Ospreyshire first. It was the first time I had a guest vocalist in a song and it was Dave from Dystopian Futures himself who wrote and performed his own verse. He did a great job and I liked how he tied in references to all the songs as well as making an extension of some of the lyrics I say in this track.

New split EP! DFxO! That’s Dystopian Futures X Ospreyshire, for those scoring at home.

This is what I referred to last week!

I, Ospreyshire got to be involved with a split EP and it’s the first time I’ve ever done a collaborative album with anyone. The other part of the split involves the Scottish experimental punk band Dystopian Futures whom I’ve mentioned on this blog before and I’ve even made a music video for them on their first EP. Dave Emmerson (lead singer/bassist) and I are good friends. We had an email conversation a while ago about potentially collaborating and once the Coronavirus was unfortunately spreading worldwide, he came up with an idea of coming up with a “lockdown” project. Despite him being in the UK and me here in America, we sent each other songs.

I got to remix Dystopian Futures’ song “Apocalyptic Romance” which was really fun. I added some digital synths, random sound effects, a lo-fi recording of me playing a keyboard and I do back up vocals in the middle of the song. Dystopian Futures also got to cover the song “Corona” by the Minutemen. Some of you might recognize that song as the theme to Jackass.

For me, I got to bust out with two new Ospreyshire tracks. The first one is “Is This a New Normal?”. I used an organ setting on my keyboard while adding my trademark acousmatics in it. I also freestyled all of the lyrics which was a first for anything I’ve ever done as a way to reflect about how I felt about the pandemic. The second one is “Art In the Midst of Pandemonium and Pandemics”. I wrote down the lyrics to this one as well as doing some avant-garde soundscapes by multitracking live sounds of me playing bass in traditional and unconventional ways. This was also an Ospreyshire first since it involves a guest vocalist with the aforementioned Dave. He got to write and record his vocals in the song and it really tied in well. I liked how he referenced all the other songs in the split EP with his verse.

Just so you know, this split EP is either FREE or pay-what-you-want. Whether you want to chip in some money or not is totally up to you to get some new music.

Have a great day, everyone!

Dystopian Futures Interview from The Antidote

http://www.theantidoteradio.com/interview/interview-with-dystopian-futures

Very recently, Dave Emmerson from Dystopian Futures was interviewed by The Antidote. He had some great insight for his current band. Dave also talks about the weaknesses of social media, rampant narcissism, and sci-fi. Shoot, I didn’t even know he was a fan of Dr. Strangelove. Hahaha! I thought this was a great interview and you should check it out.

Don’t forget that Dystopian Futures’s Low Arts EP comes out on 6/11/18 on http://zaprecords.bandcamp.com.

Check out the Fear EP: https://zaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/zap-033-fear-cs

Don’t forget, Dystopian Futures has a new music video for their Low Arts song. Yes, I worked on it and I threw in some stealth puns. Hee hee hee…

ZAP Records Spotlight: Dystopian Futures

Here’s another spotlight from people on ZAP Records.

This is Dystopian Futures. It’s an experimental punk side project from Dave of The Old-Timers fame. They make some noisy and angular music that has a surprising message to it. The Fear EP is available digitally and on cassette (I have both, by the way).

Definitely check these guys out if you like some creative music!

Friendship Friday: Oceans & Oceans

My pick for this week’s Friendship Friday is Oceans & Oceans!

I’ve known them for years and they have an awesome live show. They are a humble bunch that make some fantastic genre-blending music. If you ever get the chance to see them play, then please go. You won’t be disappointed.

Check out their split with fellow Elginites Home Burial here (it’s free or pay-what-you-want) : https://oceansandoceans.bandcamp.com/releases

-Curtis