Digital EP: Side B by Disco Antenna

Lots has been going on behind-the-scenes, so let me start with a quick update. Five finished songs for the new Manitou album are in the wings, and I'll be looking at releasing those now that the new Disco Antenna EP is complete. I've also been hard at work with the band No More Cries, arranging keyboard parts for their songs, and working with other local artists at Wild Bill's Studio.

Side B, as the title suggests, is the follow-up to Side A, the Disco Antenna release from last year. In due course both releases will be combined into a full album.


1. Disco from the Stars (suite) is a song that dates back to 2010, when Disco Antenna first became an entity. It was my attempt to write something in the disco style after Jimmy, my collaborator, and I had begun work on his song, 'There To Remind Me.' It existed as a rough demo for a long time, for which Jimmy provided some vocal ideas that eventually became 'Superstitious.' When I came up with a proper chorus for the track I decided the Superstitious vocals weren't really going to work. It wasn't until last year, and the success of the segue format of Side A, that the idea of making the two songs into one came about. There was just one problem ... it was such an ambitious undertaking that it was going to take extra time. But for me, it was worth it. We released 'Superstitious' as a single last year. I've since done some tweaking to the mix for this 18-minute 'suite.'

2. Prayer (suite). When searching the archive of Jimmy's material for another song to include on the EP, 'Prayer' jumped out at me. I'd actually suggested it would make good Disco Antenna material in an old e-mail. Unfortunately, between that e-mail and its rediscovery, Jimmy discovered he'd lost the vocals in a hard-drive crash. But all was not lost: he had the backing track and the original Orion session. It also provided him with an opportunity to write new lyrics for the verses. The demo was something like four minutes, maximum, and it wasn't my intention to stretch it out to 10 while adding my parts. I had, in the back of my mind, the idea to keep each EP under the maximum 24-minute running-time of half a vinyl LP. In this case, I had to go where the music led me.

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Instrumentation-wise, these songs include the usual Disco Antenna kit: Synapse Orion, Novation K-Station, Orchestra Silver, Roland HS-60, Ticky Clav, Crumar Performer, our patented secret mix of drum sounds, bass guitar, and tambourine. A Yamaha TG-33 guest-stars on Superstitious, and a Yamaha FB-01 guest-stars on Prayer. Oh, and there's some Minimoog V for good measure.

Digital Single: Superstitious by Disco Antenna

A lot has been going on at Manitou Productions behind the scenes, including a major upgrade to the studio. Unfortunately, the time spent wrangling hardware and software has eaten into time that should have been spent creatively. I've also taken on some consultancy work, but more about that later. This post is to celebrate the release of Disco Antenna's new single: Superstitious.

Way back in 2010, when Jimmy sent me a demo called There To Remind Me, and Disco Antenna was effectively born, I was inspired to write a song of my own for the project. The working title was Escape Pod - because it had a spacey feel to it. This was quickly abandoned in favour of Disco From The Stars. Jimmy then laid down some improvised vocals: the essence of which you can hear on this track. As years passed and Disco From The Stars evolved, becoming more ambitious and sprouting a chorus along the way, much of the original feel of the demo eroded away. With the release of Side A out of the way, I turned my attention to Disco From The Stars with the intention of finishing it off for the follow-up. We both loved how it had come to sound, but also lamented the loss of the parts that had made the demo special. What to do?


Side A had familiarized us with the concept of creating extended disco 'epics' as well as the concept of songs that blend into one another to form a larger whole, or 'suite'. Thus, it became obvious to give Superstitious its own distinct place within the larger framework of Disco From The Stars. Elements of that original demo were brought back in and polished up to compliment the new production, half-baked ideas were cooked to perfection, and the best bits of Jimmy's vocal improvs were re-jigued to evoke the spirit of the demo while still creating something new and exciting.

The full 17-minute version of Disco From The Stars is still incomplete, but the section consisting of Superstitious is done and dusted, so it didn't take much to lift it out and master it for single release. As we did with There To Remind Me, it's released under a Creative Commons By-Attribution license: you may download and share it as you see fit. You may also use it in non-commercial podcasts or video productions as long as Disco Antenna are credited for their hard work. Here, then, are the pertinent links and embeds:

High quality download via Bandcamp.

Streaming Audio (SoundCloud):

Streaming Video (YouTube):

Work continues on the rest of 'Side B'...

Digital Single: There To Remind Me by Disco Antenna

As part of the promo campaign for Disco Antenna's Side A e.p., I've prepared two edits of the second track, There To Remind Me. The full 9-minute epic has been whittled down to 5:08 for the 7 Inch Version, and 6:44 for the 10 Inch. In case you're wondering, these measurements refer to the width of the vinyl record that singles were pressed on back in disco's heyday. I'm not certain that our "7 Inch Version" would actually fit the format, but as it's being released digitally I don't see that it matters.

We're doing something a little different with this release. It's going to be a free download with a creative commons By-Attribution license. This means it's 100% podsafe: you can use it in your podcast, youtube video, or any other non-commercial production. All we ask in return is that you acknowledge Disco Antenna as the author somewhere in your project.

Bandcamp Player:

1. There To Remind Me (7 Inch Version). This is a re-creation of the original 7 Inch Version we made way back in 2010, which was an attempt to pare the track down to its essence and make it as brief as possible. I intentionally stripped some instruments and vocals from the mix, and re-sequenced the 'breakdown' to preserve the song's momentum in the shorter format.

Audio:

Video:

2. There To Remind Me (10 Inch Version). This is an edit based on the 'album version,' with the additional instruments and vocal samples left intact. Something for our listeners who may not have nine minutes to devote to the 12 Inch.

Video:

Digital EP: Side A by Disco Antenna

The Disco Antenna project is a collaboration with my friend Jimmy Aaron that's been in the works since 2009. If you've been following this blog you'll have heard Jimmy’s distinctive vocal contributions to my Gary Numan cover songs, and his programming talents on a remix of The Mechanicals. For this project we decided to choose a proper name for ourselves. This is our debut e.p., 'Side A,' released on New Year's Day 2015. It's a tribute to the disco epics of the past, drawing inspiration from the earliest proto-disco to late 80's electro and the dawn of digital sampling. As the title suggests, it represents the first 'side' of an eventual full album.

Bandcamp Player:

1. Love Is Never Cold. When I revisited There To Remind Me (track 2) to prep it for release, I added an arpeggio that we both thought could be expanded upon. I combined it with elements from the other two songs, added some new strings and percussion and this is the result. It was by far the quickest and easiest track we've done: three days to flesh out the basics, two more days to add Jimmy's vocals and finishing touches. By comparison, tracks 2 & 3 are two of the most labour-intensive songs I've ever worked on. I liken Love Is Never Cold to an overture. Its laid-back groove is a perfect intro to the set.

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2. There To Remind Me. This is the first Disco Antenna track Jimmy and I worked on. We even released an early version half-heartedly back in 2010. It began with a vocal demo Jimmy had made, with a backing track created in Synapse Orion. I thought the song had potential, and my initial intention was to polish up the production and add a few ideas that had jumped out at me. It quickly ballooned into a longer and more complex creature. I picked-and-chose from Jimmy’s original synth parts, and added all the disco clichés I could think of. Perhaps I pushed the limits of good taste, but it was all done with sincerity. 

I relied heavily on Orchestra Silver for the strings. It samples real orchestral instruments and allows you to play them via MIDI. I favour layering at least two stringed instruments per patch, such as a viola and violin or violin and cello combo. On this track I had some fun with the pitch wheel to give the violin stabs a more human touch. On the outro I used some synthesized strings from the Yamaha TG-33.

Jimmy's drums, a kit based on the Roland TR-505, were augmented with some percussion from TR-707 and Alesis SR-16. The vocal samples were manipulated with the Akai S1000 (before it was retired from the studio). Bass guitar (both played and sampled), Lounge Lizard electric piano, and Novation K-Station round the track out.

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3. I Need You. This started with a complete backing track, carefully crafted by Jimmy in Orion and inspired by Giorgio Moroder’s distinct brand of arpeggio-laden synth programming. It took me to another dimension when I started layering my own parts over the top. I really felt like I was tapping into something magical. Because I was working to a rigid backing track you may find the song-structure a little unconventional. It threw me quite a few surprises. We recorded the bulk of this one circa 2013, then it lay dormant until I finished my album Radioatomic.

Orchestra Silver was again called upon for string duty. By this time I had acquired the Roland HS-60, so a lot of the synth parts were done with that. The electric piano was recorded hastily using an old stand-by patch I created on the K-Station, with the view that I'd redo it later with Lounge Lizard. But we both liked it so much that I kept it in. A funky little VST called Ticky Clav was used for the clavinet parts. Sampling duty was taken over by Shortcircuit Sampler. Additional percussion came once again from the Alesis SR-16,
and a tambourine recorded in-studio.

Audio: (Soon!)

4. Side A (Suite) [bonus track] is a continuous-mix of all three tracks. Even though the tracks are designed to blend seamlessly, not every media player takes this into account, so we decided to provide this bonus track so the listener can hear the e.p. as intended.

Audio: (Soon!)

I asked Jimmy if he had anything to contribute to this post, and he provided this short-but-sweet message for our listeners:

"Enjoy the beat, enjoy the music! May it bring back fond memories, and let you make new ones, with 'Disco Antenna'. XOXOXO."

Stay tuned for more video and mixes from us in coming weeks!