Music

PHX is a creative outlet formed on 17 February 2006. It is the place where I throw everything I come up with and write out. Incidentally, it’s also what I call my “band.” Band is the wrong word; it’s just me on my computer. For those not wanting a history lesson, I suggest you skip a few paragraphs down.

In February of 2006 I downloaded a program called WavePad onto my computer. It didn’t occur to me until a few weeks after that perhaps I would be able to record myself into this program playing piano and whatnot. A particular song struck me as a likely candidate for experimentation. The song was “Suspense” by Bobby Prince for the always popular shooter “Doom.” (for Doom buffs, it’s E1M5). The song features simple strings creating overlapping harmonies that build upon each other as it progresses. I had picked out the notes on the piano in a short time and began the recording process. I don’t remember it being very hard to mix the different layers on top of them, but then again I had just learned how to do it and I guess the result was less than pleasing. (I have since done the song twice more, with the final version appearing on the phantom EP I call “Ersatz.”)

Following the limited success of Suspense, I took on a much greater challenge: a piano cover of Moby’s “Porcelain.” Because this was early on in my music producing career, I had neglected to save every element of the song I had created which made it impossible to redo it from them when my recording skills had improved, as I had done countless times with other songs. The song consists of four simple piano chords played in reverse while I bang away on my piano bench with pens and drop 5 pound weights on the floor. (yes, that is what the drum track consists of) Mixed on top of that were the piano parts from the actual song, and later, bass guitar. I think it’s ingenious considering I had no idea what I was doing. I had attempted several covers after that, among them another track from Doom (E1M2) but those never saw the light of day. It was a long road to composing my own music; I had covered a variety of songs, ranging from a Doom track called “The Waterfront” to Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” before I finally grew weary of recording an out-of-tune piano with the microphone from a headset and the painstaking work that was required to mix and perfect the guitar and bass elements into them. It was time to make life simple.

I did some research and found this program called “Reason” and had my brother download it for me (legally, of course). Initially it was used for producing somewhat convincing drum tracks for my acoustic covers (Paranoid Android, Pyramid Song, and Clocks) before I figured out how to tap into its awesome power. Somehow I could just not figure out how to use multiple tracks. Apparently you have to use a mixer (who knew). Turns out, it’s basically the most amazing part of writing music in this program, but I digress. In late April of 2007 I tore the skin off the bottom of my feet. Random, yes, but don’t ever run on a track without shoes. I admit it was pretty cool and I enjoyed not being able to walk, but I wouldn’t do it again. Back on topic, due to this injury I was immobilized for several days. Not allowing boredom to set in, I began to experiment with Reason. It was then that I came up with the song “Solar Wind.” It was a loose emulation of Moby’s “Alone” that I threw into 7/8 time and added a drum beat that fused Radiohead’s “Optimistic” and “Morning Bell,” both from Kid A.

At the same time I had been fooling around with a simple chord progression on the piano that I had been meaning to turn into a full song. Once the moment arrived, I put it into notation and added tracks to it. The song was finished about a week later and titled “Arcadia.” Originally it featured acoustic-sounding piano and sparse electric guitar, which were later scrapped for two ethereal sounding pianos while the bass and drum tracks remained the same. It was over a month and a half before another song came to light. Once again developed by tinkering on the ivories, a piano song had evolved from just six chords into a five minute piece reminiscent of Coldplay’s “Amsterdam,” the song’s main inspiration. I gave it the title “Resurrection,” due to its crashing climax and soft resolution, as well as tying it into the PH[oeni]X theme.

In July, I was on vacation in New Hampshire. Though an idyllic and serene environment, I was completely lacking of inspiration. The day before we were to depart, I had spent basically the whole day (rainy and miserable, unfortunately) in our friend’s basement trying desperately to write something. What I came up with was an amalgamation of many sources. I developed the chord progression after playing Muse’s “In Your World” repeatedly. Immediately after, I decided that I wanted to experiment with reverse sounds, a la Radiohead’s “Like Spinning Plates.” A simple repeating motif was born. It was published with the title “The Whirlpool” though it would soon after be replaced with a updated version featuring added sound effects, ambience and white noise, as well as a sudden full volume slash reminiscent of The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” It remains today the shortest song (2:56) in my extensive six song catalog.

Seven days into August, I was repeatedly thinking to myself that I wouldn’t be able to write anything all month. I had come up with three prototype songs on the day of the arrival of my brand new electric keyboard two weeks before, though none seemed to have any potential. The third was just a bass riff that I had a few chords to go with. Turns out, that’s all I would need. I had only expanded the riff a week into August when I discovered the potential of video game music in giving nice drum beats. With a beat, my newest song was born. It was an attempt to create a song that would be worthy of Unreal Tournament, though I feel it still needs a little work. I titled it “Epic” after a suggestion from my brother, but it is also an indirect reference to Epic Games, creators of Unreal Tournament. After a long day’s work, I felt the creative well had run dry. Turns out, after a listen to Philip Glass’ “Koyaanisqatsi,” and having a discussion with my girlfriend about shades of gray (philosophy, not colors) I thought of another song slightly along the same lines. It took about four hours to completely write the day after I wrote “Epic.” This song, which I titled “Blackwhite” because it has more of an impact than “Gray” and is also a reference to George Orwell’s “1984,” was released to the public immediately thereafter.

Late August saw my leaving for college. The transition was completely time-consuming; after all I moved a great deal of my life to my new school and it had to be organized. The first few weeks of college were spent solely meeting new friends, settling into my new residence and getting accustomed to classes. It would be another 5 weeks before any creative developments came around. Toward the end of September I had a weekend free in which I indulged myself in importing old MIDI files into Reason. Several of these had elements which I lifted and combined into my own new work. The concepts of delay and reverb had suddenly entered my vocabulary and from them a vast, deep piece emerged. I titled it “One-Way Voyage to Oblivion,” a phrase I had read in a Buffalo News article concerning the old ship Aquarama and decided to save for later use. It immediately became the favorite among my compositions and to this day remains among the best. It features low synth strings and bass under a light piano riff with broken drumming. Its climax was designed to move the listener onto their own voyage to oblivion.

I had been successful in keeping the piece per month rate in tact even during college, but toward the end of October it seemed unlikely that I would be able to continue this success. Still, I forced myself to compensate for this near failure by writing two songs at the beginning of November, neither of which I was particularly thrilled with however. The first was an experiment with strings entitled “Cellar Door” after a quote from Donnie Darko. It was a simple steady eighth note cello beat with syncopated violins on top, but they never sounded quite right. Eventually it was decided that they would fade into an electric copy of themselves, which was ultimately all that was taken for the final version. It is musically similar to “Oblivion” and serves as a sort of interlude. The other piece written in early November was a pseudo-ambient synth driven bit featuring delayed harpsichords. It was developed very quickly and changed little. It begins with soaring high synth and moves into a driving drum beat, giving a slight flying feeling. As such, I titled the piece “Aerie.” Later the drum beat would be scrapped and remade, contributing greatly to its sound.

An experience in late November instilled in me a love of the number three. I was inspired to write a piece that was three minutes and thirty three seconds long, was in 3/4 time and was, of course, called 3. This piece began with Unreal Tournament 3 inspired polysynths moving over each other for the duration of the piece while stronger bass and guitars dominated what could be considered the chorus. It was probably the most fun piece I’ve composed, with many secret references to the number three to listen for.

December saw the last creative effort put forth for the first LP. It was a dark repeating piece called Dystopia. I had developed the idea as an evil twin, of sorts, to Arcadia. It was based on the same chords but featured Orwellian sound-effects, a deep heart-beat bass drum and a percussion motif heavily based on Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer.” This terrifying song was the last of what I consider the first-generation PHX. Nine tracks would be compiled for the LP and it would be released in February of 2008 on the 2nd anniversary of PHX’s creation. The titled of the LP, “Symphaesm” is obviously not a real word. It is, however, an acronym for something…

The creative process ceased that day. That is, until early April. It took a distant piano riff from the other side of the Student Union to inspire something new. The riff was unknown but from it came something that had seemed very familiar. Some playing with drum refills in Reason led to renewed energy. Three pieces were started between April and May 2008 but it wasn’t until the end of my freshmen year that it really took off. I wrote nearly 14 tracks in a two and a half month span. Unlike the process for Symphaesm, the composing of my second LP was much more unified and structured. Therefore, I will save individual descriptions for below as these tracks are all currently available for listening and purchasing online.

Isolation and lack of anything to do in the summer led to my greatest productivity yet. It took only four months start to finish to write, mix, and master my second LP which I titled “Neutral Eyes [The Burn]” after a Massive Attack lyric and a quote from Fight Club. It was released on 8 August 2008 (08/08/08). Since then, nothing has been created. I can spend hours studying chords and messing around on the keyboard, but nothing serious has developed. In the last month, my theoretical musical understanding has increased incredibly and I look for its continued development in the weeks to come. For now, that’s all for me.

As far as my music is concerned, here is a complete list of my final creations.

Uncollected Tracks:

Porcelain – March 2006
Blackwhite – August 2007

Ersatz EP: (23:52)
Recorded August 2006 – April 2007
Released April 2007

1. Clocks (5:05)
2. Pyramid Song (4:44)
3. Suspense (2:39)
4. Like Spinning Plates (3:37)
5. Paranoid Android (6:23)
6. Figure 8 (1:25)

Symphaesm: (38:59)
Recorded April 2007 – January 2008
Released 17 February 2008

1. Epic (4:44)
2. Aerie (4:13)
3. 3 (3:33)
4. The Whirlpool (2:52)
5. Solar Wind (6:22)
6. One-Way Voyage to Oblivion (4:29)
7. Cellar Door (2:32)
8. Dystopia (4:53)
9. Resurrection (5:25)

Neutral Eyes [The Burn]: (48:46)
Recorded 3 April – 11 July 2008
Released 8 August 2008

1. Fractal (5:27)
A distant bell grows ever louder and distorted before relinquishing itself to a fuzzy bass riff and steady driving drum beat. A quiet pad moves in underneath, eventually leading to a soft interlude with distorted synth and bells. The crashing conclusions features all of these elements together as one musical force. Heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails’ “The Day The World Went Away” and Unreal Tournament’s “Mechanism 8 Necros”
- Listen
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2. Celestial Fissure (2:43)
Distant drum beats echo a subdued thunder before being dragged up by a synth reminiscent of a howling wind. Scattered sound effects and piano call up visions of a powerful rainstorm. The haze at the end blends into the next track. In reality, this song was written in about a half hour during a torrent in June 2008. Loosely influenced by Nine Inch Nails’ “The Frail.”
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3. Electrical Storm (4:37)
A heavy drum beat flies over weather effects while a steady bass riff and fluid guitar riff continue to push onward. High echoing piano and synth are prominent in the center interlude. Following the crashing conclusion of guitar and bass, a quiet piano comes in. Gradually growing in volume, an ominous distortion and bass trigger sensations of foreboding. Upon reaching their climax, the piano continues with only one synth pad to accompany it. Both shift downward in pitch to blend into the next track. Influenced by Nine Inch Nails’ “No You Don’t” and “With Teeth”
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4. Mare Tranquillitatis (4:12)
Starting with slow piano chords, acoustic bass and subtle effects build into a dissonant, chaotic, synth soundscape driven by a syncopated drum beat. Based loosely on Nine Inch Nails’ “La Mer.” This is the conclusion of the blended tracks.
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5. Oblivion v2 (4:11)
A remix of the original “One-Way Voyage to Oblivion” featuring a steadier drum beat, faster tempo and improved mixing and effects. A standout of “Neutral Eyes.”
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- Buy
6. Warning Light (3:44)
Waves crashing onto rocks begin a quest along a foggy oceanside. This piece is ambient and features heavy synths with minimal percussion and piano.
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7. Arcadia (4:42)
This song was in limbo for nearly a year after no creative development was seen on it. The solution was to scrap it entirely and rebuild from the base up. It now begins with a quiet high synth slowly building into a crash of drums and piano. Instead of a fluid piano riff right off the bat, there is a minimalist soundscape of effects and bass driven by quick percussion. They build to a pseudo-climax similar to the original. However, they are cut off by a quiet interlude featuring the iconic piano riff which rises up to a massive conclusion.
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8. Low Tide (4:03)
The closest venture to trip-hop so far, Low Tide features a syncopated drum beat, light bass, acoustic guitar and steady piano. Strings are added along with waves crashing and sea gulls to instill a feeling of being on the ocean. A very chill piece of music.
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9. Redemption (красная) (4:32)
Another short ambient piece featuring delayed drums and a slight climax. Heavily based on Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.”
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10. Voltage Spike (3:52)
Experimental piece featuring heavy distorted bass and polyrhythm. Originally it had begun with the sounds of a train rolling through a crossing, but that idea was scrapped for the sake of length.
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11. The Escaping (6:47)
The first song composed for Neutral Eyes, it starts with piano arpeggios shifting a half step and builds along that progression the whole way. It is an adventure through dark lulls and fast paced urgency. A fitting conclusion for the album. Influenced by Nine Inch Nails’ “Ghosts I-IV” and Massive Attack’s “Heat Miser.”
- Listen
- Buy

PHX can be found at:
cherrypeel
Amie Street
Last.fm
purevolume
iLike
MySpace