DEMO 5.25.05 12:58pm

Here are the demos for An Alien Communique, the final track from A Forest Through The Trees.

5.25.05 was the first occurrence of this idea anywhere, just a single guitar laying out the basic form. By 7.6.05 a few weeks later, I had added more guitars (doubling acoustics, electric leads), vocals (which might have been used on the master), and various keyboards (bass, pads). The ending had begun to take shape, though without the bevy of eventual noises.

The next three versions (7.29, 9.13, 10.16) are all fairly similar to the previous file and are included for the record. There may have been some new tracking/mixing in each session, but it's beyond my capacity to decipher at present. You are more than welcome of course.

Here's the studio version. The ending is still something I can't quite explain, although I wish I could very much. Ten years later and I still can't figure it. Perhaps it represented an exciting new way to create, fueled by a stronger than usual sense of anger and uncertainty. That's a guess though. I'm happy it exists regardless. It was instrumental (yup) in opening up my thoughts about how music and sound could be created and recorded. It continues to educate and inspire me and for that I'm very grateful.

I'd also be remiss without mentioning Mr. Glenn Matullo. What a pleasure working with such a great producer and engineer. He is responsible for a variety of great mixing ideas here, plus many more throughout the entire album of course. A few weeks ago I thought about how it could be fun to re-record an entire album with the same group of musicians, discovering how we interpreted the music at different times in our lives. It could either be a fun creative journey or more like looking through your high school yearbooks for a while.

I prattle on though. Thanks for listening.

AN ALIEN COMMUNIQUE

I WAS AN ALIEN


CAUGHT IN THE MAKER’S EYE


ALL THAT I COULD’VE BEEN


WAS ALL THAT YOU COULD DENY



I WATCHED THE FIRES BURN


AND LOST ALL THAT I HAD KEPT


ALL THAT I EVER SPURNED


IS ALL I WILL NOW ACCEPT



NIGHT FOLLOWS DAY


THOUGH THE LIGHT NEVER FADES


SOON I’LL BE HOME!



MARCH DOWN THE OPEN PATH


WHERE ALL OF THE SPACE IS NEW


ALL THAT I WANT TO GRASP


IS ALL THAT YOU KNOW IS TRUE



NIGHT FOLLOWS DAY


THOUGH THE LIGHT NEVER FADES


SOON I’LL BE HOME…