Sunday, September 30, 2007

Album of the Week #6: E. Phantasmata

Project name: NueroMorgue
Album name: E. Phantasmata
Release date: April 5, 1994
Release format: cassette
Studio name: Circle IX Studio

NueroMorgue - E. Phantasmata

Tracks:
1. Searching for Lore (demo)
2. Hush
3. Lack of Motivation (2nd demo)
4. Familiar Noise (remix)
5. Lothario's Absence (demo)
6. Palace (1st demo)
7. Vade Mecum

Around the time this album was released, the Studio was experimenting with the shorter EP albums. Instead of a full-length tape, these used cut-down tapes that lasted only 15-20 minutes per side. After the success of NueroMorgue's Devis Tortura album from the previous year, it was decided to release a NueroMorgue EP. The EP contained new tracks, demos, and alternate versions of Devis Tortura tracks.
* Notice the name E. Phantasmata is a play on words that uses the letters E and P to begin each word (since this was an "EP" album).

The outside of the album cover was a section taken from the Jason Watson drawing "Primordial Water and Lotus."

The inside of the album cover listed the seven tracks. It also stated that "NueroMorgue is Gargoyle". The cover art drawing was also credited to Gargoyle.

This album was released when the Studio was still known as Circle IX Studio.

This EP may eventually find its way to CD. It has been considered to be part of a 2-disc NueroMorgue retrospective cataloging the two NueroMorgue albums along with unused tracks, demos, and alternate versions of songs.


Next week's Album of the Week: Binary Pipedream from 1994.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Studio News: New Project Cancelled

October is rapidly approaching!

Rumors of an album being recorded during the month of October are rampant. This post will quell all rumors and provide the community with the facts it deserves.

A decision has been made as to whether to dedicate ALL free time in October to the recording of a new album. After an idea file was created (which rapidly grew) listing song ideas and song titles, after several recording sessions dedicated to getting hardware and software set up properly for a whirlwind month of recording took place, after all meetings and Studio events were canceled or postponed in October to make dedicated time for recording, a decision has been made.

There will not be an album recorded in October. While doing all of the above in preparation for the album, it was realized that the logistics of such a project make it too hard to accomplish at this time. Unfortunately, to keep to the original theme and mood of the album, it will be another year before it can be attempted again. But that's not to say it won't be attempted for a different type of album before then.

So we'll see how the new year goes as far as a new recording project. I'm sure something will materialize!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Collector's Corner #11

This is the schematic of the proposed second version of Metal XOR Studio... Metal XOR-B.

Collector's Corner 11

Metal XOR Studio was built in the basement of a house Jason rented from 1994-1996. Many songs were recorded in what later became known as Metal XOR-A. But when moisture and dampness started affecting the equipment, it was quickly realized a new studio had to be built.

The above scan is the schematic blueprint for the two systems that would be needed in the new Metal XOR-B Studio. The main drawing shows the audio connections needed and how to hook up all the audio cables. The drawing at the bottom of the page shows the MIDI hookup, the data connections between the equipment.

This drawing was completed in the fall of 1995. It was soon after that the Studio was moved upstairs to the main floor and Metal XOR-B was created.

The original drawing now resides in the Studio Blueprint and Redesign Wing of the Metal XOR Studio Museum.

* Additional note - when Jason moved from the rental house, Metal XOR-C was built at the new house. And in 1999 when he moved to his current house, Metal XOR-D was built. Since XOR-D was built, there have been a few "rebuilds" and "revisions" to the Studio, so those designations became known as XOR-D1, XOR-D2, etc.

Update: for more information, see the Studio Chapter feature.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Collector's Corner #10

In the early days of the Studio when there was a lot of public foot-traffic going past the Studio door, a sign was created that had a flashing light on it. When the light was on, everyone knew not to come into the Studio for there was recording going on inside.

Collector's Corner 10

This sign was used in the early to mid-90's, before the Studio was called Metal XOR. It wasn't until the Studio moved from that location to a different house that the sign was retired.

Since then, Studio grave robbers have looted the flashing light so all that remains in the Electronics Wing of the Metal XOR Studio Museum is the sign itself.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Project Spotlight #5: Who is Paige Watson?

Paige is the 3-year old daughter of Jason and Nikki.

Paige's music career began in early 2006 when she was recorded singing some of her favorite songs. Over the course of the next year she was recorded several more times. From those recording sessions songs were compiled to create her first CD. It was released last month as My First Album.

Plans are to record her again throughout the upcoming year so by this time next year she will have a second CD released.

She has also recently begun learning to play the piano. She is taking lessons in the Studio itself. So look forward to hearing her play her own music as well as singing in the coming years.


Next week: What is Isthmus?

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Article: Recording Techniques

Metal XOR Studio has undergone many hardware and software changes throughout the years. From primitive recording with minimal equipment to state-of-the-art digital recording, this is a brief history of how Metal XOR songs have been recorded over the last 17 years.

1. The first recording technique used introduced a lot of noise into the songs. This was the recording process: the first layer was recorded to a standard cassette tape using a regular cassette deck. This first layer was usually the drum track (sometimes with the keyboard playing along with the drums). Then the first tape would be played back on another cassette deck and an instrument would be played along with the tape in real-time and recorded to a second tape. Then the second tape, now consisting of the first two layers together, would be played and another instrument or vocals would be added in real-time and recorded to a third tape. By this third generation the first layer of music was usually real muddy and the recording itself was very noisy and muffled. So most songs did not go beyond the third layer.

2. In 1991 a 4-track recorder was purchased and multi-track recording became much cleaner and more tracks could be recorded. Using certain techniques a song could now have six to seven clean tracks. This is how the vast majority of songs were recorded in the Studio.

3. A sequencer unit was purchased to connect the synthesizer, drum machine, and sound modules together via MIDI. The sequencer would be programmed to play each instrument and when it was time to record, [play] was pressed on the sequencer and all of the instruments would play at once and the music track would be recorded to the 4-track recorder. Then the guitar(s) and vocals would be recorded.

4. The sequencer unit was replaced with a computer program called CakeWalk. Now songs were much easier to program and there were more MIDI options to take advantage of. These songs were recorded to 4-track and vocals and guitars were added on the 4-track recorder.

5. A new version of CakeWalk was used, one that could handle both MIDI and audio files. So now the instruments could be controlled via the computer and the vocals and guitars could be recorded into the computer and everything could be played back at the same time. But it was all still being recorded to the 4-track recorder.

6. A new program called Cool Edit was then used to record audio into the computer. So now all instruments and audio tracks from CakeWalk could be recorded directly in the computer as a .wav file. Now there was no need for the 4-track cassette recorder.

7. The sounds from the synthesizer and sound modules were good, but not very realistic sounding. So today a program called Reason is now being used. It has sampled sounds from various instruments for realistic sounding instruments. I also has a vast array of synthesized sounds and drums.

8. The program Audition (formerly called Cool Edit) is now used as a multi-track recorder in the computer. All instrument sounds are played using Reason and recorded into Audition. Then all guitars and vocals are recorded in Audition as separate tracks. So now the quality is all first generation and very clean and the number of tracks available is only limited by the amount of processing power the computer has.


Books could be written about each of the steps above, but this article was to provide a snapshot of the evolution of recording techniques used throughout the years.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Collector's Corner #9

This is a drawing from 1994 by Jason titled Primordial Water and Lotus.

Collector's Corner 09

This was used as the last page in the book "Devastation and Minim Opi" that accompanied the 1993 NueroMorgue album Devis Tortura. It contains many hidden things and various refereneces to NueroMorgue songs.

A section of the drawing was also used as the album cover for the 1994 NueroMorgue EP E. Phantasmata.

The drawing is on display in the Modern Art Wing of the Metal XOR Studio Museum.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Album of the Week #5: Devis Tortura

Project name: NueroMorgue
Album name: Devis Tortura
Release date: December 14, 1993
Release format: cassette
Studio name: none

NueroMorgue - Devis Tortura

Tracks:
1. Second Sunday Song
2. Ataxia
3. Breathe in the Fire
4. Smolder w/o Name
5. Vision of Immortality
6. Two-Tone Rhythm Kill
7. Lack of Motivation
8. Familiar Noise
9. Holy War [Extended]
10. Imitation of Voyage
11. Return to Dust
12. Palace
13. Plane Crash
14. The Silver Cord
15. RYO [Live]
16. Johnny T.
17. Star Part

Mune Mud had been around for a few years by now. So when this album was released it attracted a whole new audience. This was the music that was too heavy or weird for the traditional Mune Mud style. The title is a botched up version of Latin meaning "torture device", which could refer to the album itself being torture (for some people) to listen to.

The only guest musician was Jimmy who provided additional vocals on "Two-Tone Rhythm Kill." A music video was even shot for this song which showed Jason and Jimmy outrageously costumed and lip-syncing the song in the Studio. There were many samples taken from various songs and sound effects tapes in the Studio used on this album. And Jason got real experimental with the 4-track recorder by changing recording speeds, backwards recording, etc.

This album was heavily influenced by Faith Mo More, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and many other techno/industrial/heavy metal bands.

The album cover was hand-drawn by Jason and showed stones with runes and various mysterious symbols on it. It was the first (and possibly the only) hand-drawn album cover the Studio has released.

This album had an accompanying book titled "Devastation and Minim Opi." It was a main story and several short stories that linked all the songs together and contained every lyric on the album hidden within the stories. The last page of the book was a full-page drawing by Gargoyle titled "Primordial Water and Lotus" (watch for it as an upcoming Collector's Corner post).

There are plans to re-release this album on CD, possibly as a 2-disc set with extras that include demos, unused tracks, and alternate versions. There is almost enough material to release a second full-length NueroMorge album but that project has been on hold for years.


Next week's Album of the Week: E. Phantasmata by NueroMorgue from 1994.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Collector's Corner #8

Track #16 on Mune Mud's Sleep State F album from 1997 was called "Biobot." From where did the inspiration for this song come?

Collector's Corner 08

This page is from the July 1997 issue of National Geographic. It is from an article called "Robot Revolution" that discusses the different fields of science that robot technology has been applied and new developments in robot technology. The above scan shows a picture of an insect with a circuit board attached to its back to control its movements. The bold type on the right side of the page explains the picture. In that explanation is the term "biobot" and that is where the title and theme of the song came from.

A copy of this magazine now resides in the Library Wing of the Metal XOR Studio Museum.

Friday, September 21, 2007

This Day in Studio History

It was September 21, 1996, when Harry, Jason, and Jimmy got together in a driveway and recorded an outdoor jam session as the group Isthmus. This session became the second Isthmus album, Lambskin Temple.

Isthmus - Lambskin Temple

For most of the songs Harry was on guitar, Jason on bass, and Jimmy on drums. Jason sang most of the songs. The album was released on November 19 of that year.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Studio News: New Project Progress

After watching some of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu yesterday, I have decided to move forward on plans to record a new album in October.

I started a file of possible titles and ideas. A couple of song titles I'm kicking around are "100,000 Miles Away", "The Land of Phantoms", "Plastic Mask", and more. The album is starting to take on a dark, horror, creepy feel. But then again, I haven't recorded any music for it yet. So who knows?

The Studio equipment was fired up last nite and a quick test song called "Fog Test 1" was recorded. I will "practice" with my equipment for the next week or so to get back into the swing of things. So on October 1 I can dig in and start recording new songs.

I will keep the blog updated as to the progress of this project...

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Project Spotlight #4: Who is Nikki Watson?

Mrs. Mune Mud. That is who Nikki Watson is.

With Nikki's vocal talent and Jason's attempt at music, it was natural for these two to be married in 2000. For two years before that, Nikki had recorded vocals to a few songs recorded at the Studio. A small collection of these was compiled on a CD under the project name 'Nikki and Jason Watson' and was released in 2001 as an EP titled Love Songs.

They also collaborated on a couple of songs that Nikki sung at their church.

There is always talk of more material from the team. But schedules are hard to match and being in a family of four now, their time is limited more than ever.


Next week: Who is Paige Watson?

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

A Look Back...

In 1995, Jason was part of a team of several people who started a project that pooled their individual talents to come up with something creative, whether that be something audio, visual, or in print. Jason's contribution to the group was his music/audio skills.

A Look Back 3

To announce the team's start-up, a couple of members of the group put together the first issue of the Timely Creative newsletter that would have articles written by team members and highlight projects they were working on. Above is the front cover of issue #1. It was a 4-page issue basically calling all members together for their first meeting to decide which direction they were going to go.

One of the team's first proposed projects was a commercial for a local company. A storyboard and rough script were created but the team fell apart before it could be completed. And this was the only issue of the newsletter completed.

On the cover of the newsletter, above the word SUPERTRAMP, is a field that says "Jason's new release." This was referring to the recently released NueroMud album Nine Days Wonder. This was one of the few instances of advertising for a Metal XOR Studio album.

The name of the team and the newsletter was Timely Creative. The member of the group that had the video production studio in his home has since moved to California and continues to do work under that same name. The rest of the group have been scattered across the country.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Studio News: A New Project?

A new project? A new album?

I had an idea today. I haven't decided if I want to pursue it yet. It would be a big commitment on my part, but one I feel is needed. What is this idea? Read the next paragraph to find out.

A marathon music month. Huh? Starting October 1 and ending October 31, my spare time will be nothing but music. The goal is to see how much material can be produced in just my free time (usually the hour or two after everyone else in the house is asleep) over the course of thirty-one days. Ideally I would like all songs to be completely finished within that one-month time period, but if post-production is needed I can do that in November.

I would like to have a new album out by the end of the year. And if I can dedicate every spare minute to this project, I think I can do it. Some things to consider if I decide to attempt this:
  • It would require a new project name. This will not be Mune Mud!
  • Preparation of new hardware and software. My recording computer and new recording software will need to be fine-tuned and ready to go within two weeks.
  • Inspiration will need to be found. It's hard to record music if I'm "not in the mood."
  • An album theme. With it being autumn and the month of spooks and ghouls, should I give the album a horror/spooky theme?
  • A new album title will be needed. This will best be determined after the songs are completed.
  • Should samples be collected? Will the album be sample-heavy or just instruments and vocals? I need to decide.
  • Will it be just me making the music or should I have others involved?
  • Should I start collecting song titles now or let the inspiration come as the songs are recorded?
  • Will it be mostly electronic instruments or will the guitar play a big part?

I will mull this idea over for the next few days. Can I give up all of my other hobbies for one month to concentrate on music? That's what I am trying to decide. Even though it would be really hard to not watch movies or play PC games or read books/comics or any of my other hobbies, I really think something very cool could come out of this. It may be something very different but it could be cool nonetheless.

And of course if I decide to do this, this blog will be full of information regarding the project. . . as it's being created!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Album of the Week #4: Nine Days Wonder

Project name: NueroMud
Album name: Nine Days Wonder
Release date: November 1995
Release format: cassette
Studio name: Metal XOR Studio

NueroMud - Nine Days Wonder

Tracks:
1. Total ConversionTrack list - Nine Days Wonder
2. Sunrise
3. Eloqui de Sleep
4. Song of Songs
5. Down In Me (Synth mix)
6. Blue Rust
7. A Dreamworld (Acoustic)
8. Blue Wish
9. Legacy of the Harvester
10. Magic:
11. Lumina
12. Blind
13. For All Sheep (Pt 1)
14. S.N.O.W. Hear (Redemption mix)
15. Carmen
16. No Bunker
17. Wreck of It All
18. At the Last (Extended)

This was the second NueroMud album released. There were many songs recorded for this album, including a few milestones for the Studio. This album was the first to have a "cover" song (a remake of a song recorded by someone else). The band Anything Box had a song called "Carmen" and that song was recorded and put on this album. The other first was the use of someone else's lyrics on a Metal XOR album. A friend of the Studio provided the lyrics for "Blind" and the reverse spoken word on "Lumina".

The above scan lists a couple of songs that were cut from the final album. It also lists the final three choices for the album title. The two titles that were not used were Scented Journey and This Too Shall Pass.

By now the Studio had been named Metal XOR. It was a studio built in the basement of the house Jason was renting at the time.

There is not much to say about this album. It, like the first NueroMud album ...Libra 971, had a limited release so not many people even know it exists.

There are plans to eventually re-release this album on CD, most likely containing extra tracks of demos or unreleased songs.


Next week's Album of the Week: Devis Tortura by NueroMorgue from 1993.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Collector's Corner #7

Which came first, this gooey relic or the Metal XOR project name?

Collector's Corner 07

The first major project to be named from the Studio was Mune Mud, which was a play on the words Moon Mud. And based on that play on words, a song was recorded in 1991 called "Moon Mud" that appeared on the Olympus album. But were both of those titles inspired by this little gem?

No. In fact, this was found in a store in Union Station a few years after the Studio had been using the term Moon Mud. So it was purchased and placed in the Metal XOR Studio Museum in honor of the project and song.

Friday, September 14, 2007

A Look Back...

The year was 1995. One of Jason's co-workers had a wife who worked in the medical field. She had come up a new technique for a specific type of surgery. To demonstrate the technique, she had a video made of her "operating" on the body of a dead pig. It was a documentary that needed background music.

So Jason was approached and asked if he could record some music that could be used in the video. He recorded a piece of music which he jokingly titled "Bacon" and took it to work. The music was fine, but not for watching a surgical technique. Even though his music was not used, he was paid a small fee for his effort.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Interviews from the Past (3 of 3)

For more than a decade the fictitious magazine Eclectic Musician has been the exclusive publication to feature Metal XOR Studio. It has published three interviews with the Studio which can now be read at the Metal XOR Studio Information Source link below.

The third and final interview appeared in the June 2004 issue. It took place as Mune Mud's Hobson's Choice album was in its final stages of production, so most of the interview was about that. The interview ends with plans for upcoming Studio projects.

Read this doc on Scribd: 2004 June Eclectic Musician interview

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Project Spotlight #3: What is NueroMud?

In the beginning, there was Mune Mud.

When the music being recorded at the Studio became too diverse, Mune Mud remained the slower, upbeat pop style of music and another project was created: NueroMorgue. It focused on the faster, electronic, heavy metal style of music.

Then along came a new style, one that was more experimental and new age. It used unique sounds and dealt with astronomy, astrology, and various deep, dark subjects. So what could a project be called whose music fell somewhere between NueroMorgue and Mune Mud? NueroMud!

There have only been two NueroMud releases to date, 1994's ...Libra 971 and 1995's Nine Days Wonder. They both had real limited releases, so not many people know of this project. There are plans to eventually re-release both albums on CD, including unreleased bonus tracks, some time in the future.

Who are the players in NueroMud? The same as Mune Mud and NueroMorgue... Jason Watson. There have only been two guest musicians on NueroMud songs. The first was Jimmy who sang vocals with Jason on "Pedestal Song" which appeared on ...Libra 971. This song was also the beginning of their side project ORC. The other guest musician was Darrin on the drum machine at the very end of "Remembered for Living" from ...Libra 971. Darrin happened to drop by the Studio as the song was being finished and he was asked to play drums however he wanted to during the noise at the end of the song.

As for the future of NueroMud, it can best be summed up as "living in the past". There are no plans for new NueroMud songs to be recorded so therefore we will allow this giant to continue its slumber.


Next week's Project Spotlight: Who is Nikki Watson?

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Collector's Corner #6

It was Easter of 1996. Jason woke up and discovered a basket the Easter bunny had left for him. One of the first things to catch his eye was a large, pink, rectangular crinkly package with a transparent window displaying its content of popcorn. And the label read "Bumpy and Jumpy: Popcorn Bunnies"!!!

Collector's Corner 06

It wasn't long after Easter that a new song was recorded for Mune Mud's Equation of Time album that came out later that same year. The name of the song was "Bumpy and Jumpy" and it was the story of two young bunnies made of popcorn whose mother warned them not to venture too close to humans or they would be caught and used as Easter treats. As the sad story goes, Bumpy and Jumpy were caught and put into a human's Easter basket. But in the end their mother had more bunnies so everything turned out ok.

Jason just couldn't bring himself to eat the popcorn bunnies that inspired one of the silliest songs the Studio has ever recorded, so it remains on display in the Metal XOR Studio Museum.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Collector's Corner #5

Track #7 on Mune Mud's 1996 Equation of Time album was called "Essence of Pearl". Where did that name come from?

Collector's Corner 05

In February of 1996 Jason noticed the soap in the lunch room at work was smelling much nicer than it normally did. So after a while of using it, he looked at the soap dispenser... the Essence of Pearl. That would be the perfect title for a song! He had recorded some music the previous month that still needed lyrics and a title. So he titled the song and wrote the lyrics, even though the song has nothing to do with lotion soap. But that is where the name of the song came from.

The empty dispenser now resides in the Personal Hygiene wing of the Metal XOR Studio Museum.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Album of the Week #3: ...Libra 971

Project name: NueroMud
Album name: ...Libra 971
Release date: October 18, 1994
Release format: cassette
Studio name: Circle IX Studio

NueroMud - Libra 971

Tracks:
1. Shut Up!
2. Can't Climb Out
3. A Dreamworld
4. Brittle Side Bones in Your Eyes
5. Dusk Channel
6. Pathos
7. M45/NGC1432
8. Up in Wind
9. Pedestal Song
10. Celluxism
11. Dead Clown
12. For All Sheep (Pt III)
13. Chaos of the Credit Fix
14. Grave
15. Stormfrunte
16. Remembered for Living
17. September's
18. Air
19. Jhwy

This was the first NueroMud album released. NueroMud was a project for music that did not quite fit into the Mune Mud or NueroMorgue styles. It was the "strange" music that often had to do with astronomy or astrology. The above scan shows the track list that was used to figure out the order of the songs. The final order was slightly different than what is shown on the scan.

This album, as would the second NueroMud album, had a real limited release. But it did make it somewhere that no other Metal XOR album has. Jason had applied as an intern to a local radio station and this album was used as part of his "portfolio". So his music was at a radio station for a while. Side note: he did not get the job.

This was recorded at the time when the Studio was known as Circle IX Studio. It was the Studio located at Jason's parents' house.

There were a lot of experiments in sound and recording on this album. A lot of background sounds or sound effects were used to create sounds previously unheard at the Studio.

A few of the songs worth mentioning:
The opening track, "Shut Up!", was actually a faster version of the song "Hush" that appeared on the NueroMorgue EP E. Phantasmata.
"Pedestal Song" featured guest vocalist Jimmy in what was one of his earliest contributions to the Studio. This is what led to the project ORC (with Jason and Jimmy) that released their own album in 1999.
"Stormfrunte" was inspired as a mean-looking storm approached the Studio. As the strong winds and heavy rain arrived, the song was recorded and named.

The tape jacket was mostly done on a computer. The symbol on the front is, of course, the zodiac symbol for Libra. And have you ever wondered why every song has its running time listed except "Grave", it just lists (x:xx)? It is because the inside of the cover was typed up away from the Studio and the running times were not known. So every song had the (x:xx) placeholder. When the times were added to the cover at a later date, "Grave" was accidentally overlooked and it was not noticed until after the album was released.

And what exactly does ...Libra 971 mean? Jason was born on October 9, 1971. The sign for October is Libra and 971 is the 9th of '71. So the album title is actually Jason's birthday. The scan below (from September 6, 1994) shows various phrases that were considered for the album title. Moonless Voyage was the working title for quite some time, then it was changed to ...Libra 971 at the last minute. Also notice the sketch of the Libra symbol in the upper-left corner. That became the front of the album cover.

NueroMud design

This was the first of only two NueroMud albums. Their 10th Anniversaries were missed, but there are still plans to re-release the albums on CD some time in the future. There were several unused tracks recorded too, so there will probably also be bonus tracks on those CD's. There was an effort several years ago to re-record each song on this album in a different version and release the songs on a CD, but only a few songs were finished and the project was abandoned.


Next week's Album of the Week: Nine Days Wonder by NueroMud from 1995.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Interviews from the Past (2 of 3)

For more than a decade the fictitious magazine Eclectic Musician has been the exclusive publication to feature Metal XOR Studio. It has published three interviews with the Studio which can now be read at the Metal XOR Studio Information Source link below.

The second interview appeared in the October 1997 issue. It took place as Mune Mud's Sleep State F album was in its final stages of production, so most of the interview was about that. The interview ends with plans for upcoming Studio projects.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Interviews from the Past (1 of 3)

For more than a decade the fictitious magazine Eclectic Musician has been the exclusive publication to feature Metal XOR Studio. It has published three interviews with the Studio which can now be read at the Metal XOR Studio Information Source link below.

The first interview appeared in the October 1995 issue. It took place during the recording of NueroMud's second album, Nine Days Wonder, so much of the interview discussed that album. Also talked about was the second NueroMorgue album (which has yet to be finished). It was also at this time that the Studio had just been renamed to Metal XOR, so there is a little talk about the different studios. This was also at the beginning of digital recording, a little is discussed regarding that. And the interview ends with plans for upcoming projects which is an interesting look back at where the Studio wanted to go and what has been accomplished and has yet to be accomplished.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

A Look Back...

In 1994, one of Jason's co-workers (not from his Studio career but from his secular, non-music job) said his wife's place of employment was creating a new promotional video to send out across the country to promote their carnival supplies and festival games. The name of the company was Lefton Productions and soon Mr. Lefton called Jason and asked for a sample of music. A piece was recorded and Mr. Lefton liked it, so a contract was drafted and signed by both parties that stated all rights of Jason's Lefton song was turned over to Lefton. . . for a mere $60. But this was a monumental moment, it was the first time the Studio had made money off of its music.

A Look Back 1

The Studio still has a copy of the promotional tape that was sent to many companies and clients across the country.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Project Spotlight #2: What is NueroMorgue?

By late 1992, Mune Mud had already released three albums and the fourth was being recorded. But the music was becoming more diverse. It was feared that the varied types of music on one album would turn most people off to the album (people who liked slower, more melodic music would not care for the new faster, more industrial sound, and vice versa). So it was decided to branch out and create a new project: NueroMorgue.

Where did the name come from? The word nuero had been tagged as usable for something for quite some time and to represent the dark and heavy moods of some of the songs the word morgue was used. So NueroMorgue was born. The name was relatively easy to come up with. No project logo was ever decided on, but below is the design test sheet from March 25, 1993.

NueroMorgue design

NueroMorgue was keeping true to the earlier Mune Mud influences of Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and other industrial groups, especially with the recent biggest equipment upgrade the Studio has ever seen at one time. Overnight, the Studio had a new sequencer, new sound modules, and the supporting equipment for a MIDI studio. So the distorted guitar and synth sounds evolved.

Who was in NueroMorgue? It depends on who you ask.The credits on the album say Jason Watson. Credits on the 1994 EP and lyric booklet go to Gargoyle. But others report an entire line-up of players: Python XYZ (bass guitar), El Cid minor (drums), Agnus Dei (lead guitar), and Venus Psyche (rhythm guitar). So the actual member(s) still remain a mystery.

The first NueroMorgue album, Devis Tortura, was recorded at the same time as its bipolar opposite album, Mune Mud's Pryme Material. It was released on December 14, 1993, and was chock full o' samples from other Metal XOR songs, TV clips, pieces of other music, and much more. It was a very complex album. A few months later a lyric booklet titled "Devastation and Minim Opi" was released. This contained every lyric found on the album buried within a main story and seven short stories. The book ended with a full-page drawing by NueroMorgue titled Primordial Water and Lotus.

Following that album and book was a seven-song EP called E. Phantasmata, released in 1994. It contained some demos and alternate versions of songs from Devis Tortura plus a couple of unreleased tracks.

There was a break from NueroMorgue for a while, then recording started again. There was a lot of new material recorded for the second full-length NueroMorge album but it was never compiled and completed (see the proposed track list from January 10, 1996, below).

NueroMorgue 2 track list

There have been plans on re-releasing Devis Tortura on CD, but its 10th anniversary has come and gone and the idea has been dropped again for the time being. There were also plans to release the unused songs on a new album, but the track listing was incomplete. So until more material is recorded, these dark and dreary treasures will not be heard. Recording techniques have drastically changed since NueroMorgue's hay day, but the new techniques actually lend themselves better to recording the type of music NueroMorgue creates.

So until the project is resurrected, R.I.P. NueroMorgue!


Next week's Project Spotlight: What is NueroMud?

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Collector's Corner #4

This is a unique item that is on display at Metal XOR Studio.

Collector's Corner 04

Jason's father had this license plate made on one of his over-the-road truck driving jobs. He delivered it to the Studio on December 24, 1997, and it has been on display ever since. It is the only one known to be in existence, thus making it priceless.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Collector's Corner #3

Track #8 on Mune Mud's 2001 The Search for Metropolis album was called "Urban Gaxiola." Where did that name come from?

Collector's Corner 03

This is actually the second piece of mail the Studio received that was addressed to Urban Gaxiola. The first piece was something about feeding the hungry kids in some third world country. Jason had just recorded the music to a new song when the Studio received that first piece of mail, so why not use Urban Gaxiola as the title of the song? Jason actually thought Urban Gaxiola was Russian or some other language that meant "current resident." And that is where the chorus for that song came from: "I wish I knew what it meant..."

A couple of years later at church, the pastor was out of town so another pastor came in to lead that week's sermon. He introduced himself as... Urban Gaxiola! What a spiritual event for Jason! After the sermon Jason briefly talked with Urban and found out Urban used to live a block away from the Studio but had since moved. So the post office had delivered a couple of pieces of his mail to the Studio by accident. It was not mentioned that there was a song named after Urban.

So the above artifact remains in the Metal XOR Museum as a piece of history for one of Mune Mud's songs.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Album of the Week #2: Olympus

Project name: Mune Mud
Album name: Olympus
Release date: November 12, 1991
Release format: cassette
Studio name: none

Mune Mud - Olympus

Tracks:
1. Etesian WindTrack list - Olympus
2. To Clementi
3. Waterfall
4. Castor & Pollux
5. Another Troubled Night
6. Sittin' At Home
7. Moon Mud
8. The Last Temptation
9. Infernal Tree
10. Scales of Justice
11. You and Me
12. Paroxysm
13. I'm With You
14. The Solitude
15. So Many
16. Redman
17. Slow It Down
18. In the Morning
19. Matter in General
20. Night Sea
21. Ministry
22. Moon Garden
23. Audobaun
24. Telescope

This was the first album released to the public. The purchase of the 4-track recorder in March of 1991 immensely improved the quality of song recordings. So from mid-March to October many songs were recorded, a lot of them experiments with the new equipment. But there were enough songs to compile a new album. The above scan shows an early version of the track list. Note the list shows the temporary titles that some of the songs had when recorded. It was later on this track list that those songs were renamed to their final titles.

Some of the lyrics were a bit deeper than what was previously written. The first 'negative' song, "Infernal Tree", appeared on this album. Musical influences were still on the heavy side, including Metallica, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and more. But there were some slower songs on the album too.

This album spawned the first single from the Studio, "Etesian Wind". "Etesian Wind" is still the most re-recorded song of the Studio to date with over six versions existing.

The equipment used was almost the same as was used to record the debut Mune Mud album, but this time the recorder was more sophisticated. An electric guitar thru an amp provided the guitar sounds. There were two options: distortion turned off for a clean sound or distortion turned on for a dirty sound. A portable Yamaha keyboard provided keyboard sounds for the earlier songs, then a Casio keybord was purchased and replaced the Yamaha. A drum machine was used for the drum sounds. And a Shure SM-57 mic was used for vocals. Another new piece of equipment was a delay/sample pedal that was used for both the guitar and vocals.

The recording technique was improved since the last album, the Mune Mud debut album. Four tracks could easily be recorded while maintaining the first generation quality. But sometimes a method called ping-ponging, or bouncing, was used. This was to record the first three tracks, then mix those to the fourth track. The first three tracks could then be erased and reused. So doing this could result in songs having up to seven tracks or so. And this method was used a lot in some of the more complex songs.

The tape jacket was mostly done on a Brother word processor. The outside of the jacket listed all the songs that were on the album and the inside had a continuous typing of all the lyrics on the album. Each tape was also individually numbered.

In October of 1996, nearly five years after the album was released, a book came out called "Olympus: Mountain or Molehill?" This was the definitive guide to Olympus. It had a small production run and not many copies were printed. It explained how the album was recorded, details about every song, notes about guest musicians on the album, and MUCH more.

In 2001, Olympus was the first CD in the 10th Anniversary Collection. This collection was a re-release of the original album, ten years later, with remastered songs (including bonus tracks) on a CD rather than cassette as with the original release. The bonus tracks on this CD were "Country Ill", "Chaser", "Just Defied (2)", "Test", "Off Silence", and "Mystical Dream."


Next week's Album of the Week: ...Libra 971 by NueroMud from 1994.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

State of the Studio #1: September '07

This feature will appear on the first of every month to let the public know recent accomplishments and what is currently happening within the walls of Metal XOR Studio.

Obviously the biggest news of the past month is the creation of this blog. It does not take a lot of time to create a post, so I think I will be able to maintain this for quite a while. I have had a lot of posts this first week, but that is because I have a lot of information I want to share. I have so many ongoing series ready to start that it is a bit crazy. Some will be on a weekly basis, some will be at random times whenever I have a chance to post a new one. Unless real life gets too crazy, expect the blog to be around for a while.

Reviews have been positive on the latest album release, Paige's My First Album. It was fun to do and I hope in the upcoming year to record her more often than I did in the year that CD covers. Kids only sing like that once, when they get older they lose the "kid" voice. And we will see how Will does in a year or so. . .

As far as my music goes, I have an album about half-finished. I started it in September of 2006 when I was on vacation when Will was born. I got a lot of material recorded and some of it even made it to its final stage, but I have not had much time to continue with it since. It is an entirely new music project, it does not even have a name yet. It is all synth/keyboards and done within one computer program called Reason. The sounds are incredible and are one of the things that inspired me to go in a new direction with my music. Some of it sounds Middle Eastern, some Asian, some African. I know this sounds like a strange mix, but it does come together nicely. This CD will be perfect for listening to in bed in the dark. It is very atmospheric. I will update next month if it is any closer to completion.

The Studio equipment setup has changed over the last year or two. The 4-track recorder that was bought in March of 1991 really needs to be in a nursing home. It just can't do the job it used to. So I try not to use it any more to record so it will still work when I need to play back one of the old 4-track master tapes. So I have been experimenting with multi-track recording using a computer. Vocals are the hardest thing because I am used to running vocals through a processor before it gets recorded (a habit from recording to tape for so many years). So now when I try to record vocals dry to add whatever effects I need after they are recorded, it is very hard for me to do. And getting sound levels and techniques down when you don't get to record very often is also difficult. But I am still trying to tweak out a new equipment setup that will be easy-to-use and versatile. That is another reason my unnamed object took a different music direction, it is all instrumental and done in the computer, so I do not need to record guitars or vocals. That makes it much easier.

And that's about all I have to say about the current situation. No new albums will be out any time soon, even though there are many started or in the pre-planning stages. I will continue work on the instrumental album and try to continue recording Mune Mud songs with guitars and singing when I get the equipment layout straightened out. I will continue recording Paige singing now and then. And we will see where I am a month from now. . .