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WHAT WE SAY DRUMS AND MACHINES - Released February 13th 2000 This release has something for everyone. Very heavy drumming and tons of samples mix well with some nifty distorted riffs and melodies. Some have a distinct 60ish quality about them but it's all wrapped up in a spiffy new power pack format. The Guitar sounds great, and it's not even a guitar!! Somebody obviously spent a lot of time messin with Synth parameters. We loved it. Finally something new!
1. Heat 3:29 Overdriven distortion brought to the max. Serious drums & guitar stuff! A soothing ride through psychaumatic-rockland. 2. Sirens 3:39 Big phat bass unfortunately a bit low on small systems. Play this on a good system and let the fun begin! Intense drum work with synths going AMOK. 3. Dreaming of Fields 4:41 Poor guy who played the juice-harp must have chipped a few teeth. nice touch. Phat bass, nifty synth-work and drums galore. Great trance-and-dance feel about it. Sax player to be commended for playing very little.. 4.Making Monsters 3:29 Download MP3 Fantastic 'must listen' track. Cymbals wash real nice throughout. Bigtime effects layering. Drums and Guitar are hoppin! 5.Transmissions from Andromeda 4:40 This one has Jimmy turning in his grave. Weird voices, backwards samples and other sounds audible. Drums are having a real good time with the machine. Rhythm nutsoid-ville. 6.Natural Indication 3:50 Thank you father, I'm healed. Ever had your brain wired to a shortwave radio? This ones for you. Amen. 7.In Orbit Around Saturn 3:17 Download MP3 This is a heavy masterpiece. Great bass lines, guitar's real nostalgic sounding. Drums heavy and... is that a squeaky-toy I hear? 8.Riding Time Machines 4:21 Great 'checking-out' & shapeshifting tune. If this guy lays it on any heavier, I think I'm going to check in! WARNING: Head-spinner effect. Do not listen to while intoxicated, or... well, you'll be praying on the white altar once more!! 9.Hurricane 4:34 OK, I'm checking in! Unparallelled intensity piles on top of more and more... and more, and yet more powerbeats galore. The bass line churns 3/4 while the beat goes on in 4/4. Once you wrap your brain up in it, you're set for the full 4 minutes and 34 seconds. If this thing doesn't rock your soul, get a bypass.
Rod Marquart: Drums, Jimbe, Synthesizer, Keyboard, Sequencing, Sampling, Effects Duane, the "Doc" Kelly: Sound Engineer & Effects Dawn: Vocal samples All songs written and produced by RPM PRODUCTIONS. Registered with SOCAN 2000.
This album represents the culmination of 20 years of work in jams, bands, gigs and other extracurricular activities. Experience, really. I found working with people rather strenuous at times. Ego played a large role in that. There are people out there that genuinely believe that their time is more important than yours, and after years of not making any money whatsoever, these charades become not only boring but destroy bands, and sometimes even friendships. Music is such an emotional hot button with musicians that bands who are able to stick together to the end are really to be commended. The fact that musicians are commonly intense personalities to begin with doesn't help matters much. What I'm saying may not be true for many out there, but I can say that from what I've seen, it's cut throat cherry picking for bandleaders as well as industry types. When you're dealing with cutting edge material that's never been out there, this can easily become a bad band situation. When it works, it's the most exhilarating experience. That's what you're doing it for. Too bad it doesn't last. After moving from the city into the country, I was left to my own devices. Using the equipment I had salvaged from the toils and spoils of a decade of urban war, I began a quiet solo-career. Since there were no players of the genre where I worked, I had only myself to blame for bad tracks, or hoaky riffs. A lot of splicing, cursing, and mixing to all hours of the night eventually, after 3 years or so, brought more ideas to the forefront which, in the end, formed the basis of this CD. This project was possible due in large part to Duane's efforts. Duane's technical expertise was invaluable. All I had to do was to lay down the tracks. After renting all the necessary equipment, Duane and I proceeded to do the final mix on February 13th of this year. Even before he burned the master for me on his computer, I thought that the title of 'Sound Doctor' would be appropriate. Greedy studio hacks should beware... the doctor is out there! Thanks goes out to you Duane. Also to Dawn, who put up with months of agonizing, and was even willing to provide some vocal samples to boot. The CD would be a non-issue without her help and support. What is the meaning or message of this CD? Well for starters, half of the tracks were layed down in 1999, and the rest in 2000. Turn of the century vibes are throughout the songs. Tribal rhythms seem to herald the coming of a new age. Humans have never lost that bond with the drum. The emphasis being on all drums meant some serious work with drum machines, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Programming a loaded rhythm is as much fun to me as playing a kit. Combining the two proved effective in the past so I went all out with it. As far as the philosophy or meaning of the musical message on Drums and Machines, I think that listeners will gladly go on their own trips. The lack of shrill vocals and cliches helps. Anyone who sits down with this CD and feels no sense of imagery or emotion, either has no pulse or is rather hard of hearing. This is really the point of it all. To be able to merge two entities, the machine and the living. To be not only co-operating, but physically driving towards a common goal, in this case, an intense sequence of rhythmic events. - * - This column is dedicated to featuring new, 'red-hot', CD releases. Tell us your story, and we'll tell you what we think about your work. We also reserve the right to reject any submissions we receive (ex: lame, offensive or generic material). Only leading-edge material please! If you wish to have your CD reviewed, send a copy with information (see above) to:
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