Getting to the Point
N—this is the only one i played the drum kit on but its mixed real low so tough to hear…this one is definitely one of the first ones we did…before we knew it was gonna be an album…
P - I think Getting to the Point was the first song to have a vocal on . We more or less kept the songs in the order they we're done , once Noah got his vocals down and they started to flow through it was clear there was a story sort of unfolding .....
From early on we had the feeling of the record was sort of like a sort of contempary musical . A "West side story" for the21st century . We like the idea of making a modern musical . Something for adults and kids alike .
Go On
N—pretty rocked out for me kind of like mr noah or part of the math…ive wanted to do something full on for a while…idk maybe the next one after SG…the song is thinking about economics and efficiency…
some concerns floating around about the dangers of ai alignment but id wager were already pressing against systems unaligned with our values.
P- Go on was a real surprise when it came back with the vocal . I loved the way Noah did the spoken "Give it to me" that I later joined on , and I could hear what I thought was some of his most dynamic singing with some new voices coming thru .
I think it's an unusual song structure that follows songwriting structures but in a very contrasting way - for me the sweet pay off comes when the riff finally gets snatched away in that dramatic way near the end
Everyday
N—with AC i feel like the albums are better when theres more voices so i was really glad Pete was down to sing and write stuff…
he would send me phrases and ideas sometimes and i would blend them into my own stuff when it felt right…i like that his songs function as rounds or cycles and they act as bookends on the 3 chunks of the album
P - Originally Everyday had a loop from the Temptations "Its growing" which we removed due to the large stake that any sample rights drained from the songs . We wanted to LP to have an altruistic element & it was too sapping to keep all the samples .
Where we were able we tried to strip them out although it sometimes was too foundational to change .
l little keyboard parts were inspired by the song " My conversation" by the Uniques , which has that amazing nagging riff in it .
This song was mostly created in editing .The arrangement usesDub-y echos percussion to create the mirage of the song .
Edge of the Edge
N—Pete and i often get together since he lives close and many of our post dinner conversations informed songs on Reset…this is maybe the clearest example of that…
i suppose anything powerful is benign and its perhaps the uses that deserve scrutiny…the song considers that
P - Edge of the Edge is partly a result of our after dinner hanging sessions where we would chat about different things
but also about the worries we had and things that we're alarming us & how we could see Pandoras boxes being opened and the increase in slowly developed bad habits .People dangling at the end of Alerts & Notifications & "Last Seen" expectations .
Noah played that awesome post-Kraftwerk-y sort of tinkly keyboard riff . It immediately put the track into upgrade mode & inspired me to put in the sleigh bells to keep that icicle bearing winters day vibe flowing in the channels .
I believe it's preset number 1 on the Arturia Microfreak we used as a primary sound source.
There's a fake Guiro run of about a minute that starts at 2;30 .
A real Guiro doing that 'run' would need to be about 50 metres long : )
In My Body
N—probably my favorite still…the og sample was really beautiful and had a very lonely sound…ive noticed evils within me and things that seem rotten….sometimes ive only really noticed them in retrospect…
forces within and without shape us and our experience and i find it much easier to act in loving and forgiving ways when i keep that idea close
P - In my body originally used a sample from A Righteous Brothers song - "Night Owl" which we removed .
The electronics on RESET were all done using the Eventide H910 Harmonizer .
We wanted something fresh & futuristic to contrast with the traditional rock n roll elements of the record .
I felt early on the record had a strange Joe Meek meets Kraftwerk element that sounded nostalgic for a past that never existed & dreaming of a future that never would . Joe & the Krafterk were both ace at summoning that sort of sci fi vibe .
Whirlpool
N—this one felt bleak to me at first…the whirlpool was dragging down towards something unwanted…but more recently it feels more like letting go…
i guess sometimes when you get used to something wrong the right thing feels at first foreign and improper…
P - Whirlpool was influenced by the whirlpool of emotions and doubts that I was experiencing at the time . I felt strong almost chemical emotions during the period we were doing this LP and it wasn't easy , but somehow , it was very focussing & inspiring .
I love the disco vibe to this song , with the arpeggiating grooves & that killer bongo that Noah played . Another of Noah's dub bass lines .....
The song always reminded me of "Rock your Baby" by George Mc Crae which was a big jam I heard in the 70s and really loved . This song reminds me of Sam Cooke a bunch too , and the silk hi strings we're an homage to him & his productions .
Danger
N—in my memory this is the first one and the blueprint for the rest of the thing…but empirical evidence says otherwise…feel like ive caught a bunch of very vivid but false memories recently maybe im losing it…
this is a song of love and tragedy and grew in the opposite way to Whirlpool…it was always a mixed bag but it had a sweetness thats very bitter now
P - Danger is the ballad of the LP . It takes me to a hot sunny hispanic afternoon . nursing a beer & trying to avoid the heat of the day .
The acoustic guitar is from the Everly Brothers " love of my life" song . The samples were really foundational as the starting vibe . The samples really created a cushion to float the songs on .
The two lazy Guiros in this that call & reply to each other really add a nice rhythmic element that Noah's keyboard dances around .The castanets I've had but not used since my "Spectrum" solo lp .
I would LOVE to hear Dion (DiMucci) sing this ....
Living in the After
N—this is the only one of the audio files Pete sent me that i made edits to…just felt like it might sound cool with the architecture slightly different…
sometimes ill make things wrong to see if i can make them right…the idea was to have the song never rest so its always kind of pre-chorusing…ive been trying to make songs without verses for a while
P - Living in the After was one of the big surprises of the LP for me .
I think it has a real fiesta vibe .
I think it has a real fiesta vibe .
It seemed that part of the inspiration for this track was about how the rules in our lives we're shifted & the endless on again off again dangling we were going
through with the lockdowns .
Trustin’,When it won’t go well ,When it won’t go well , And we’re headed back to the drawin’ board
Don’t like what we’re headed for (goin’ in circles) , So I’m strummin’ on a chord , Windin’ back disaster
Everythings Been Leading to This
N—took a minute to get that keyboard line loop but im not dextrous on the keyboard…i could play when i was very young with lessons and recitals and that sort of thing but not for a long time…
it does feel like were at some kind of inevitable crossroad and id guess stuff is about to get real weird
P - I did the 2 different keyboard parts on Everythings been leading to this the same day I did the Everyday parts & I love the childish sort of music box quality of it
I love Noah's Cossack shouts in this & the interplay between our vocals & his "here it comes" parts giving a "Walking with Jesus" meets "Hey man" sort of vibe .
This song originally had a sample from "let her Dance" by Bobby Fuller . It's often known as the theme music used in "Fantastic Mr Fox" film adaptation from Roald Dahls book .
The sample gave a real propulsive energy to the song which I crossed with some sort of Moroder Hi-energy synth .
For those who don't want to use that fascist website
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