Inspiration: Björn Olsson and Flying Steps

I came up with a trailer of Johannes Nyholm's Las Palmas movie which is brilliant! I'm waiting to see the whole movie. Another brilliant thing in it is Björn Olsson's track called Låt i H-moll. After hearing that I had to listen to other tracks of this seemingly talented guitar dude. See the Las Palmas trailer here:

Another superb thingie that's not actually new to me is Flying Steps. This b-boy crew started to release their own music around 2007 and after that urban dance music world hasn't been the same. It is incredible how they are able to capture so much energy into a single track. Blankly the best inspiration at the moment especially for Fat Operations tracks! Check out their "We are electric" (even the name for the track is something so so cool!):

Inspiration: Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand

First I hated it, then I loved it! Duck Sauce - Barbra Streisand makes your feet move on dancefloor. I prefer the original video over the plain sound versions as it has some extra sounds that make the track even more interesting. Also the video is magnificent not least because of there are many living legends of modern music appearing in it. I was especially thrilled to see my all time favorite Chromeo there. Check it out:

Inspiration: Imperial State Electric

What a name! What a sound (beware that crappy / noisy sound of video below, though)! Imperial State Electric!

Inspiration: Róisín Murphy

With preprogrammed meanings like a little more pep, alien feelings we have to accept...

This is what Róisín Murphy is signing at one of her superior tracks, Overpowered from album with the same name.

Róisín and her former band, fantastic Moloko are one of the finest reference sound creators that can be found. Elektropol admires their combination of electrish sounds, bubbly basses, minimalistic yet intriguing beats and especially soulful sound of Róisín Murphy. All topped with creative ways to arrange sounds and create effects.

The Electric Phoenix

The Electric Phoenix is up-and-coming 8-track release from Elektropol. Tracks are filled with elektropolish soundscapes, beats, vocals and such - each having it's own story but being also a part of the ensemble.

 Cover draft v. 0.1 (Phoenix design by H-L Saarenmaa)

In-cover text draft

The Electric Phoenix itself is a mystical creature of Elektropol, electroborn from the oscillators of analogue synths (mainly Fatson 6000 and Urania Pattern Mk 3) that reborns after 888 years of living. It lands on the heat of the oscillators, disintegrates into square waves and is also given rebirth from the purest of them - new sound design, that is wiser than the previous in all fronts.

The Electric Phoenix reminds us about the chance of giving a rebirth for ourselves, finding new paths to travel, having an opportunity to change our direction. As The Electric Phoenix, we are not bound to selections we have made in the past. Our history should not be burden for us and it should not dictate our actions.

The Electric Phoenix, as flying through the air, isn't also guided by any outer force or environment it confronts. Phoenix is a super resolute, ferocious and filled with the sense of direction. It has wisdom to choose the best and the strength to achieve it. Wind makes no challenge for it, but merely reminds it that it is up for a challenge that it is yet again able to grow over with. Yet another small step to take towards the 888th year of rebirth into better self.

Tracklisting draft

1. Electroborn
2. Unbound
3. Vast Array
4. Zeniths
5. Scapefly
6. Harmania
7. Fairlight
8. 888th

Style draft

1. Electroborn - Rising, pure-sound soundscape, minimalist drums, orchestral sounds, choir, pads, angelic chorus, distorted arpeggio, edgy and sharp bassline, appropriate vox
2. Nonbound - More groovy and active melody, dancy yet soundscapish, ambient parts, rare and filled drum patterns, vocoder, app. vox
3. Vast Array - Varying ambiance, lots of small effect sounds at the background, different sampled vox, underlining bass and lead (yet not dominating), offbeat drum patterns
4. Zeniths - Glorious wind instruments, stabs and fx, glorious vox, strong and defined bass
5. Scapefly - Maximum ambience; pads, choirs, angelic vox, rare drums, long effect sounds, piano
6. Harmania - Darked sounds, distorted yet ambient, heavy, industrial
7. Fairlight - Final Fantastique, grand piano, electric lead, edgy bass, ambient breaks, glorifying vox, vocoder
8. 888th - Partly sad, melancholic sounds, minor keys, longer track, hints of happiness, app. vox

Notes for the whole album

• Zeniths continues from where Vast Array ends, appr. 50 % same instruments.
• Other tracks have 4 + 4 sec. silence in between.
• Same piano sound used in every track with different effects and / or setup.
• Same basic pad sound used in every track with different effects and / or setup.
• Same drumkit used in every track (2 kicks, 3 snares, 2 open hh, 2 closed hh, crash, congas, bongos, rims)? Mixing, effects etc. could be changed.
• 88-135 BPM.
• Vocal samples mainly from the Prelinger Archives.
• Same basic mixing setup used for the whole album (drum comp, bass comp, drum eq, bass eq, lead comp, lead eq, master comp/limiter/eq) - settings could be at least lightly varied.
• Same mixing channels used for the whole album: lead 1, lead 2, vox 1, vox 2, bass 1, bass 2, kick, snare, open hh, closed hh and rim, bongos and congas, pad 1, pad 2, pad 3, fx 1, fx 2...
• All the tracks (except Harmania) should be airy, sunny, pure, fresh and intriguing.
• Some references: Giant Robot, Air, YMO, Brian Eno, Massive Attack, Portishead, FSOL, Aphex Twin.
• Old sound elements: scratches, radio etc. buzz, Vintage Warmer, Prelinger vox, virtual analogue sounds, slight distortion.
• Lots of velocity variations, slight timing errors, automation (pitch, cutoffs, resonances, volumes, reverb/echo/delay variables, distortion levels...)
• Although being mostly atmospheric / ambient music, every track should have some catch; vocoder vocals, sample vocals, singing, one-line, lead or bass melody or such.