What instrument do you play?

[sigh33n]

Not really a lot complete that I'd be entirely willing to share at this point (too much of a perfectionist, especially about my own music), but here's a short cover I did recently of Peter Gabriel's Wallflower.

You like Peter Gabriel? Very nice cover, you sounded so much like him. And when you finish some material be sure to share it with us!

 

[Channa]

I play the piano

 

[Nick01]

You like Peter Gabriel? Very nice cover, you sounded so much like him. And when you finish some material be sure to share it with us!

Thank you. That's very nice of you to say.

I might as well link you to my soundcloud - I kind of use it as a notebook for sounds and grooves more than anything else. The only thing that's mostly complete on there is Ebb and Flow, but that's not a great take and I haven't had a chance to sit down and fiddle with arrangement and do a decent recording of it.

A lot of the other tuff is older versions of things that are more current. Two Minds has vocal sections now, a different chorus and a different outro, and 'Thing' is actually more or less complete (but not with a full recording) but most of the ideas are in there. Going to Ground was a one take recording with the basic progression in place, and the barest of melodies in place, and no lyrics - needs a lot of work! There's also a couple of purely instrumental things up there that were basically just improvised, and me experimenting with real-time synths. Nothing up there has been mixed or produced at all, really, except for maybe some very basic EQ and compression.

You seem nice enough, so feel free to have a listen

Are you a Gabriel fan at all yourself? Who would you pick out as your musical influences? I can hear a bit of the Bon Iver-style nu folk in your sound.

 

[sigh33n]

Are you a Gabriel fan at all yourself? Who would you pick out as your musical influences? I can hear a bit of the Bon Iver-style nu folk in your sound.

While I'm not an avid listener of Peter Gabriel, what I've heard was really nice. Funny that you mention Bon Iver, the first Peter Gabriel song I ever listened to was Bon Iver's cover of Come Talk To Me. I like Gabriel's version a little more, honestly.

And I guess I used to be influenced by that type of sound. Artists like Sufjan Stevens and Elliot Smith sure did play their parts but my music doesn't sound anything like that anymore. I'm trying to finish up this lo-fi melodic noise rock album before the year ends actually.

Dude, thanks much for the in-depth explanation and Sound cloud link, I can't wait to check it out.

 

[Nick01]

While I'm not an avid listener of Peter Gabriel, what I've heard was really nice. Funny that you mention Bon Iver, the first Peter Gabriel song I ever listened to was Bon Iver's cover of Come Talk To Me. I like Gabriel's version a little more, honestly.

And I guess I used to be influenced by that type of sound. Artists like Sufjan Stevens and Elliot Smith sure did play their parts but my music doesn't sound anything like that anymore. I'm trying to finish up this lo-fi melodic noise rock album before the year ends actually.

Dude, thanks much for the in-depth explanation and Sound cloud link, I can't wait to check it out.

I don't know how much you'll get out of my sound cloud - I would classify it more as 'interesting' rather than 'good'. My weakness as a musician is an inability to finish my own work. I tend to get a lot more enjoyment out of playing other peoples stuff, but when I've workshopped my own stuff at open mics and it 'clicks', that's what spurs me on in my own writing.

If you're ever of a mind to listen to something Gabriel-ly in more depth, I'd recommend either his first or third albums, and only then go on to his 'bigger' stuff (i.e 'So' and 'Us'). His first album is an amazing mashup of styles (80s art rock, soul/blues, progressive, and a bit of orchestral stuff) without a clear focus, very much an experimental album, while his third album is a good mix of strong hooks, some amazing art rock writing, and instrumental experimentation (he forced himself to abandon any cymbals or hats on the drums through that whole album). He's an interesting case study in experimentation, I feel.

I look forward to your noise rock album! I enjoy listening to people who shake up their styles and don't get stuck in a 'box' musically.

 

[sigh33n]

I don't know how much you'll get out of my sound cloud - I would classify it more as 'interesting' rather than 'good'. My weakness as a musician is an inability to finish my own work. I tend to get a lot more enjoyment out of playing other peoples stuff, but when I've workshopped my own stuff at open mics and it 'clicks', that's what spurs me on in my own writing.

If you're ever of a mind to listen to something Gabriel-ly in more depth, I'd recommend either his first or third albums, and only then go on to his 'bigger' stuff (i.e 'So' and 'Us'). His first album is an amazing mashup of styles (80s art rock, soul/blues, progressive, and a bit of orchestral stuff) without a clear focus, very much an experimental album, while his third album is a good mix of strong hooks, some amazing art rock writing, and instrumental experimentation (he forced himself to abandon any cymbals or hats on the drums through that whole album). He's an interesting case study in experimentation, I feel.

I look forward to your noise rock album! I enjoy listening to people who shake up their styles and don't get stuck in a 'box' musically.

Hey I might actually do that tonight, I have nothing else to do, and Gabriel is such an adored and important artist, I should really check out his music more.

Sweet man, I'll be sure to PM you when it's done. Do you like Soul Junk or Ariel Pink? Their lo-fi music, along with the beach boys and neutral milk hotel are my main inspiration musically for this album. Please do more open Mic nights, we need more Christian artists haha.

 

[Nick01]

Hey I might actually do that tonight, I have nothing else to do, and Gabriel is such an adored and important artist, I should really check out his music more.

Sweet man, I'll be sure to PM you when it's done. Do you like Soul Junk or Ariel Pink? Their lo-fi music, along with the beach boys and neutral milk hotel are my main inspiration musically for this album. Please do more open Mic nights, we need more Christian artists haha.

No, I have to admit I've never heard of those two bands. I do know the Beach Boys, and am a bit of a fan. I'm actually quite a bit fan of progressive music in general, and I like all the innovative stuff the BBs did, basically influencing the Beatles and then quite a few of the progressive bands of the 70s and 80s.

I wouldn't call myself a Christian artist per se - I've not really tried my hand at writing explicitly Christian lyrics, and from what I've seen it's really easy o pigeonhole yourself as a Christian artist. A couple of American musicians I really respect in that regards are Andrew Peterson and Andrew Osenga.

I think Andrew O in particular does an amazing job of tackling Christian themes and being thoroughly 'Christian' in his music without being a Christian music artist. He wrote a concept album about a divorced man who is distraught when his ex wife dies and so goes out on a spaceship into a deep space mission he expects never to return from to deal with his emotions. It's amazing.

 

[sigh33n]

No, I have to admit I've never heard of those two bands. I do know the Beach Boys, and am a bit of a fan. I'm actually quite a bit fan of progressive music in general, and I like all the innovative stuff the BBs did, basically influencing the Beatles and then quite a few of the progressive bands of the 70s and 80s.

I wouldn't call myself a Christian artist per se - I've not really tried my hand at writing explicitly Christian lyrics, and from what I've seen it's really easy o pigeonhole yourself as a Christian artist. A couple of American musicians I really respect in that regards are Andrew Peterson and Andrew Osenga.

I think Andrew O in particular does an amazing job of tackling Christian themes and being thoroughly 'Christian' in his music without being a Christian music artist. He wrote a concept album about a divorced man who is distraught when his ex wife dies and so goes out on a spaceship into a deep space mission he expects never to return from to deal with his emotions. It's amazing.

Wow now I have two more amazing artists to add to my constantly growing backlog of music! I can see what you mean, far too often we see Christian artists feel like they can't fully express themselves with that label, almost as if they started creating art for their fans and not for the sake of music or God alone. Groups like Soul Junk and Trees Community showed me that although rare, it's totally possible for artistry and on-fire fully worship for God to grow and cultivate together without sounding generic and in fact refreshing even from a secular viewpoint. I'm really hoping you're the next artist who will do so.

That concept album sounds so crazy man! I have deep respect for those who can tackle on issues like that. I don't know if you're familyre with Sufjan Stevens but his song, Casimir Pulaski Day, deals with the loss of a friend and the forced acceptance a Christian must face if they're to trust God (alluding mostly to Job).

Oh dude, you actually sound like you've listened to a bit by the Beach Boys, I'm impressed. Definitely one of my all time favorite bands, I adore their material post-pet sounds especially.

 

[Nick01]

Wow now I have two more amazing artists to add to my constantly growing backlog of music! I can see what you mean, far too often we see Christian artists feel like they can't fully express themselves with that label, almost as if they started creating art for their fans and not for the sake of music or God alone. Groups like Soul Junk and Trees Community showed me that although rare, it's totally possible for artistry and on-fire fully worship for God to grow and cultivate together without sounding generic and in fact refreshing even from a secular viewpoint. I'm really hoping you're the next artist who will do so.

That concept album sounds so crazy man! I have deep respect for those who can tackle on issues like that. I don't know if you're familyre with Sufjan Stevens but his song, Casimir Pulaski Day, deals with the loss of a friend and the forced acceptance a Christian must face if they're to trust God (alluding mostly to Job).

Oh dude, you actually sound like you've listened to a bit by the Beach Boys, I'm impressed. Definitely one of my all time favorite bands, I adore their material post-pet sounds especially.

TBH, I'f you're going to listen to anything I've recommended, listen to that Andrew Osenga album first. I think the style is more in your ballpark than PG, and it is Christian, and hits on this discussion we're having about what Christian music should be. Definitely listen to Gabriel (he is honestly one of my favourite artists), but listen to Andrew first. I think he's selling the digital album ('Leonard the Lonely Astronaut') for 12 bucks on his website. Well worth it, IMO.

 

[sigh33n]

TBH, I'f you're going to listen to anything I've recommended, listen to that Andrew Osenga album first. I think the style is more in your ballpark than PG, and it is Christian, and hits on this discussion we're having about what Christian music should be. Definitely listen to Gabriel (he is honestly one of my favourite artists), but listen to Andrew first. I think he's selling the digital album ('Leonard the Lonely Astronaut') for 12 bucks on his website. Well worth it, IMO.

Rockin', I'll be sure to tell you what I think when I'm done too, thanks

 

[posthuman]

i've been playing hand drums for over 20 years

 

[SoulWeaver]

None. I couldnt live without music but I hate notation, it is wasting time and energy and making something enjoyable into work which also caused me to quit musical school at one point. It is both faster and easier to do anything by hearing! I write music and sing.