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The photo.. I call it “ina de neighborhood”. I took the photo with my iPhone whatever the model.. but. I liked it and I’m sharing it. 

Since I’m taking you through some of the process of me finishing up this album, I’ll share this part of the process with you also. The song writing, arrangement, performance and or programming and mixing is all done bu me.  On the first two albums by Likuid Eklektik I use both fixed and loops that I can manipulate, parts that I record generated by my keyboard drawing sounds from a multitamberal sound generator that has more sounds than I will use.. or I can go direct into my recording program which as far as sound selection definitely surpasses the external sound generator in the number of sound available. This way I can choose anything from exotic ethnic instruments to orchestral to what would be considered more traditional western instrumentation… including country and western.. Anyway, everything you hear has been in some form or fashion either programmed, manipulated or performed by yours truly. 

Another part of the process in putting all of the music together is doing so in a way that does not mimic automation. I achieve most of this by humanizing all my programs. This can be a tedious process and would be much easier done if I were more proficient with playing the piano.. But, I’m not, so I compensate by manipulating loops and programming parts and then mixing them in with the live parts that I can play and there you have it. All of this together needs to include inflection and nuance to the music. The personality of each individual song must be developed so as to allow it to speak clearly. To me it’s about telling the story so it is beyond a doubt believable. Not to win converts necessarily but, to make a clear statement. 

I have to say producing music from a studio as opposed to live performance has one huge difference in that.. when I performed live there was the instant feedback on the music. Before, during and after there is a complete circle of energy exchange with the people that came to be apart of the performance. In the studio I am separated from that instant exchange. My intent and hopes are that when you listen to my music that it does emote some if not all the inspiration behind it and if for only the length of the song, make a positive difference in your moment.

Now we get to the list again. Last week was 3 and 4.. so now we’re on to 5 and 6.                                                   

>1. move me

>2. what have we done now

>3. Tomy

>4. my kind of day

>5. from this point forward

>6. you and me

>7. groove instinct

>8. the beauty

>9. sahara frolic

>10. tree tops                                                                >5. from this point forward… This song is dedicated to my oldest daughter. Things with us have been strained for a good portion of our relationship and the idea here is to leave any and all issues back there somewhere and move from this point forward. The melody carries itself in an awkward way.. but fitting for the situation.. the song stands on that and improvises it’s way through here and there. I feel the song is very solid and upfront in a positive fashion and says what needs to be said with clarity. Not all the conventional parts and pieces of what would be considered the norm is there, but what IS there… works.

>6. you and me … This is my wife and I. Moving through territory that is familiar from a time other the present. It might seem like a dramatic statement but, that’s only because things of this nature are either not encouraged or accepted as valuable conversation in mixed company. Energy is cyclical and we.. us humans.. are bundles of energy cloaked in these flesh covers moving from one plane to another. This is not our first encounter nor will it be our last.

And now.. Where am I in the process with the album?  Still refining.. The drummer in me allowed the snare drum to have more presence than it needs in some of the songs.. there were a couple of bass drum issues. Too hot, too heavy. The Synth bass sounds great in lesser volume. Low-mids… meaning frequencies around 250 Hz – 500 Hz some in the area just above that range has to be balanced out.. over all and in particular with some instrumentation. I’m working on all of it a bit at a time. But the holidays… the reason the Friday Progress Report is happening on Saturday is because my step-son and his girlfriend dropped in for the holidays.. so you know.. between these things, I’ll get what I can in when I can.

Well.. I genuinely appreciate you dropping by.. Once again, take good care of yourselves. And may many blessings be bestowed on us all these holidays!!

Hello again.. Happy Friday and welcome back to the Friday Progress Report. Right off the bat.. the photo.. I take no credit but I want to be there. This is Whislter. A ski resort town located about an hour and a half or so north of Vancouver, B.C., Canada. To me, being in the mountains is like being cradled by the Mother Earth. I realize there are things about this kind of location that does not appeal to some.. and okay.. nice photo but, cold. Yeah..you’re right. I happen to be one who likes cold and Whistler is a setting I can get along with. Prior to leaving the northwest and moving to Texas, I got my “cold quota” in every year and then I moved to Austin…. Texas…. In the middle of August…. and there we stayed, my children and I, for just about 25 years. Which.. now that I’m back home in the northwest, my extended visit to Texas doesn’t feel like it was that long. I certainly missed home while I was there though. Sometimes while driving, I would pretend that a far off Texas cloud banks were snow capped mountain tops off in the far distance. There were times in the sweltering Texas heat that I thought I actually felt some of the cold from those imaginary snow capped mountain tops.. definitely made me homesick.

Well.. onward and forward.. In my last episode I pointed out that I was finishing up mixes and things and, shared some light on what generated inspirations the first two songs. Let me continue with the list songs on the album again and pick up where I left off with song number 3.. Tomy.. yes I realize there’s only one “m” in Tomy. The name I went by as a child was Tommy.. my oldest son.. Tomy.. was named after me… Thomas C. Tarpley, III.. I’m Jr. To distinguish his name from mine… Tomy.                  

>1. move me

>2. what have we done now

>3. Tomy

>4. my kind of day

>5. from this point forward

>6. you and me

>7. groove instinct

>8. the beauty

>9. sahara frolic

>10. tree tops

>3. Tomy    My son Tomy is the inspiration for the number 3 song. Long story short.. At two weeks old, a healthy young baby boy contracted Meningitis as an infection in his spinal fluid. As a result, this severely hindered both physical and mental growth. Tomy was non verbal and quadriplegic with a spirit stronger than any I’ve witnessed before or after Tomy’s stay here. Although he outlived the expectations of his doctors, he passed at the age of 12. I could speak for the next twenty episodes sharing what I learned, what he gave to us and everyone who knew him. The main thing I learned but at times found it hard to practice was Love… and the power of Love… Without uttering a single word, Tomy tough me this on a daily basis. I learned that communication exists in other forms beyond what I can actually convey here. I do not understand the mechanics but, I do know the presence. A while after Tomy passed, this song came at me almost too fast to catch.. but.. I did and it is one of my favorites.                                >4. my kind of day    The photo of Whistler at the top of this piece… my kind of day. I started writing this one in San Marcos, Texas and finished it in the house we bought in Elgin, Texas. Snow to me is a kind of cleanser as well as an excellent damper. Quiet happens.. people find a place and spend a lot of times in a more confined area. During snow time, one of the only reminders of automation in the neighborhood is the sound of the snowplow shovel scraping the top of the streets. With me I find a lot of peace in that quiet..you know. Coffee and Cognac as antifreeze and it’s a done deal. While putting the music together, a memory walked in on me of a time I visited a friend of a friend that in a high rise apartment. The view out the large picture window was of countryside… Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon-Great Gig in the Sky was being played on a very expensive stereo and that whole moment was perfect.  My kind of day” is of that same spirit. The tempo reflects calm, slow and easy… take it all in kind of groove.  That’s me and where the song took me… you could imagine something totally different. Maybe along the lines of weasel’s rip my flesh kind of thing… and that’s all good. One of the wonders of music. The very same song shows itself in a thousand different ways to a thousand different people.. a personal journey.. together… you and the song.

Here’s where I’m at now in the process. All of the songs have been bounced down. What is that??? A song, consisting of several individual instruments on individual tracks… say 24 tracks… is then bounced or condensed down to 2 tracks, in stereo-2 tracks and mastered (polished up and optimized sonically) and is then ready for human musical consumption. But first I have to do some referencing.. (listen to the songs on different mediums.. okay stereo, sucky stereo, phones, pads, kick-ass stereo ( my wife’s car stereo)…and if it sounds good across the board… it’s ready. So I’m bouncing now and I’ll do some referencing and get back to you next time around with another progress report.

My genuine thanks to you for stopping by and checking in. Remember… you can respond, request, chime in, halla.. or interact in your own special way.. interact, tell your friends, your mom, your brother and your distant cousins to stop by also…. music is near. Take good care all.

Welcome back… Well this is a revelation of sorts for me in working to improve all the way around with each project. In particular with this one.. it’s the sonic quality that I’m working on right now and it’s going to take a minute. As I mentioned a couple of episodes back, Paul Ramsey of Austin’s Perfect Pitch Studio set me on a path for clearer, punchier individual tracks and I’ve accomplished the punchier part… that’s pretty solid. Now on to the clearer part. There’s a lot of tuning that has to happen in the EQ/Equalization or adjusting frequencies for each individual instrument to an optimum point so the sound is as live acoustically as I can get it. Ten songs and on the average of 20-30+ tracks per song and you have a lot of adjusting going on. I’m going to get it to a level of marked improvement from the first album. At this point in the process I’m going through the EQ of every instrument in every song and essentially cutting our any frequencies on all instruments that are not considered resonant.. not a part of the organic sound. It will be take a minute. Time frame you say??? I’m guessing at least 5-6 weeks and I feel that’s pushing it. I’ll certainly fill everyone in as it goes.

While that clock is running, I’d like to make mention of some of the inspirations behind the songs. I’ll go through couple here and there and attempt to stretch it to the point where I’m near finishing up the mix and master. Here’s the order:

>1. move me

>2. what have we done now

>3. Tomy

>4. my kind of day

>5. from this point forward

>6. you and me

>7. groove instinct

>8. the beauty

>9. sahara frolic

>10. tree tops

1. move me – This one I call the “Left Lane” song. From the instrumentation to the rhythms, it is deep in the “World Hybrid” lane. Here are the instrument samples for this song: Indonesian Gamelan which is a set of melodic bells played with wood hammers in Indonesia.. Java and Bali.. mainly in Bali. The Japanese Katana drum.. I haven’t found any real information for this drum. I will keep looking and come back to it. Anyway, I’m distorting the sound a bit through effects and it won’t come across with it’s natural sound. The rest of the sound scape is synthesizers.. one chorded and the other is a Moog bass. I’m working with sonic textures on all of these songs.. this one in particular is more textured than the rest. The rhythmic motion here will move you. I just wanted a bit of different here.
2. what have we done now – This one will build in intensity both rhythmically and melodically moving to the ending with a one note sting. What the song signifies is the many things that have been thrown in the mix of everyday live from lack of union, lack of support for one another, lack of care for our home… Mother Earth and the lack compassion overall.. from one human to another as well as our lack of connection and respect for nature. We are a living, breathing organism as a part of this planet yet, we continue to disconnect and shirk our responsibilities for one another and the planet… Mother Earth will heal herself. She’s done it time and time again over millions of years. Ridding herself of being invaded for a few thousand years by a harmful bacteria called the Human Race is nothing in the scheme of things. Stinger.. BOOM!!! It’s over.

Okay..so that’s the run down… somewhat, a look into the birth of a couple of these songs. More later. When you finally get to listen to the album, you can run these mental images yourself and see if they catch. If not, develop and run you own images. I do that with songs that move me. Sometimes in songs with lyrics, the music takes me to a totally different place that has nothing to do with the lyrics.. That’s art for you though.. there are many interpretations for the same piece and… they all fit the individual.

That will be it for now.. take good care all and I will be back next Friday.

Oh yeah.. the photo is me using my phone and placing the lens on one side of the bamboo chime and… cheese.. it’s a photo.

Here we are.. Friday, November 17th and holiday gatherings’ just around the corner. My family, like many families, still have distance, jobs, houses, family stuff and miles between us. I miss them all the time but, birthdays and this time of the year, even more so.

So.. Music things. Once again, I can’t thank Paul of PPS in Austin, TX. enough. Working with the template is the ticket. This process carries the consistency from song to song that has much better end results and is easy to work with across the board. Getting to a sonic consistency is smoother and carries from one song to the next in a pretty tight tolerance. Me and these 10 songs have been hanging around one another for a good while now… some longer than others and I’m ready to shine them up and turn them loose already.

Just started on 5 – 10.. I’ve been doing a little to a lot in the evenings after work and making good progress. Onward and forward. Next week it is then. Take good care all.

T