Thursday, June 9, 2011

These Vibrations Will Not be Sold

It's been far too long since any kind of post, but better late than never.  Or maybe better red than dead, not sure. Either way, been busy working on songs while focusing on shaping the sound of FFS.  As the writing began, it seemed three distinct albums were coming out and I had to filter through at least a hundred song ideas before settling on a cohesive style for FFS.  The other material has been transferred to other projects that I won't elaborate on here.   

So how come it's taking so long to hear anything?  Well, because I've had so many ideas and really wanted to nail the sound of this project.  I figure it's better to be patient and realize the full potential of FFS rather than rush something out that lacks polish.  Also, having a family makes things slower too :)  But believe me, I'm getting close to where I need to be to start releasing songs.  The first of which, is the title of this blog post. I've been working on this one for about a year now, using it as a prototype of sorts for the album.  I plan to be done this song in the next couple of weeks and will post it later in the summer after it's mixed and somewhat mastered. 

Here's a sample from the lyrics:

I'll bet this guitar was built by a child overseas. 
And maybe this mic I hold was once held by a mother chained to a factory. 
It's true, yes it's true, through and through. 

Thursday, December 9, 2010

The Creative Process, Welcome Steve Biss!

Hello FFS fans!

Thought it might be interesting to discuss the creative process of False Face Society.  As some of you may know, the music of False Face Society isn't written by a band in a jam setting.  Quite conversely, all of the music has been written by layering in Ableton Live with most of the writing occurring in the mind first and then being recorded using a Firewire interface and a very generous quad core iMac.  It's also worth noting that very few performances are captured using mics.  Instead, direct inputs are used to record combined with several plug ins, audio units and Ableton presets.  This is an attempt to keep things inexpensive yet professional.

The work flow for the current album has been as effortless as possible.  All of the instruments are organized and ready to turn on and just play, therefore creative inspiration is seldom interrupted.  There has also been a conscious effort to create music using a variety of timings, rhythms, tempos and sounds.  Some songs have been made from a DJ perspective using loops, others from a rock band perspective, and still others from an industrial perspective manipulating sounds and performance.  However, don't be surprised when you hear a lot of distorted guitars and upbeat drumming because the music is sometimes unforgiving to the ears.

Speaking of unforgiving sounds, Steve Biss will be joining our society this weekend to record vocals for "Archetypes".  check out his old band Shoot the Messenger   Steve is a dear old friend and fellow Weyburnite.  Mandatory mask pic to follow.

Take care everyone! 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Too Much Writing....

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the first entry of the blog.  Woot woot!  This blog will become a space to discuss the creative process, then down the road it will become a place to promote the album, the videos, all that stuff.

So far, the album is coming along great.  I think I'm more motivated than I've ever been before as I'm up in my studio almost daily.  However, this has left me a bit overwhelmed with ideas.  I've almost completed a few recordings and am starting to think I might have two separate albums happening, but I don't have time for both.  So for now, False Face Society is going to morph into a more aggressive and scrappy sound than what I had originally intended.  You can't really stop the process once it starts, so I might as well go along with what's coming out.

Steve Biss will be joining me soon to record some vocals for a track tentatively entitled "Maladaptive, Narcissistic".  Should be lots of screaming and bleeding ears.  The track is alot of fun and is sort of a cross between classic rock riffing and post-punk scrappiness.  You'll be hearing it in the new year likely as I won't be able to mix and master anything completely until then, but the recordings are quickly piling up.

Anyways, we'll see you again soon!