Episode 8: The Horror

Halloween in June??!! Strangely enough, Kicksville has a deep connection with the haunted house industry thanks to City Council member Beaker Parpovich. Along with Bad Boys Scenic Design, he runs Terror on the Fox, one of the country's largest and most recognized haunt attractions. The Horror was initially written as a background piece for Terror on the Fox - it's not exactly your usual horror-flick music, but we think it's pretty creepy in its own way.

The Music
Advanced recording techniques 201: Fun with parallel compression! Program (or play) a short drum loop. Route the signal through a bus, and insert a send to a second bus. On the second bus, insert an effect made by SSL called the LMC-1 (you can download it for free HERE). The LMC-1 is a software emulation of the listen-mic compressor from the SSL "E" series consoles, and it does horrible yet somehow beautiful things when you run anything percussive through it. [Not that we normally suggest listening to Phil Collins, but one of the most famous examples of this sound is the drum part from his song, "In the Air Tonight".] Anyhoo, now that you have your drum lop going through the LMC-1, crank up the one giant knob on its interface until that loop has been squashed into submission. Now, send both mix busses to your master so you're blending the abused signal with the un-effected sound. Mix to taste, and now you should have a drum sound that is compressed beyond recognition, yet lively and full of nice happy transients too!

Citizens
cover art: "The Death of Melody" by Tone Deaf
Conrad St. Clair: bass, keys, guitar, programming
Mike Stehr: keys, programming
Lou Caldarola: drum kit
Beaker: guitar, percussion
Andy Ewen: vocal samples