|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
| Before I go back
to where the journey of Volitar began, I'd like to express my gratitude
to all the people that contributed to making this dream happen. (Check CREDITS
to see the who's who of Murder Mystery Mayhem.) Thank-you all so much! I
know at times I wasn't sure we'd ever finish this monumental undertaking,
(3-1/2 years), but with your support, love and hard work we were able to
pull it off.
Super special thanks go to my loving wife Becky. Not only did she put up with the noise, trips to LA, and late nights but she played a lead character. Becky was instrumental in the development of Dr. Desiree Lear. Her career as teacher came in handy as the saucy / sexy lines of Volitar's planetary geologist came to life on tape. Talking 8 hours a day in the Juneau school district paid-off. (More on Becky later.) Thanks Becky, you're one bad-ass woman! (I f you have any questions for Becky, she is taking Volitar related questions at ASK DESIREE.) Ray Imel, super man, new father and also a school district teacher uses his gift of gab playing two characters, Felix Liddy- public relations and Officer Mort. (Ha! Ha!) Yes, he does die on Volitar. Ray, thanks for everything! Check-out FEATURED ARTIST, for more on Ray and your favorite Volitar actors/actresses, musicians and artists. Each month Volitar will feature a new artist. This months featured artist is Bud Curtis. Hey! If you would like to tell these people how awesome they are, you'll find email links attached to their names in Credits. Some names may not be emailable, those persons wish to remain private-thanks. Let's start at the beginning. |
|
"
The Making of Volitar " (part 1)
I love playing my Mom's baby-grand Steinway & Sons piano. So, whenever I visit her I make sure to spend plenty of time composing music on it. The compositions seem to come easy on her grand as opposed to writting on other electronic mediums but, with 900 miles between us I don't get the opportunity very often. I do try to spend ample time with her too while I'm there. During a magical trip to Mom's in August of 1998 the core song structure of "Deep Freeze" was born. At the time I had no intentions of creating a science-fiction based progressive-rock CD called Volitar "Murder Mystery Mayhem" but, was inspired by Composer Philip Glass's soundtrack to Koyaanisqatsi (1982) Directed by Godfrey Reggio. "Koyaanisqatsi" is a word from the Hopi Indian language, it translates - life out of balance.The movie hasn't any words or main characters, just images and music. Glass's soundtrack perfectly complimented the movies depiction of life on Earth in the late 20th century. Repetition of musical themes, arpeggios and rhythms described a mechanized world out of balance- computer based cultures clashing with more primitive ways of life. After watching this disturbing, eye-opening film, I felt a strong urge to experiment with these "rolling arpeggios" Glass had so often used in the soundtrack. A few days later I was visiting Mom in Anchorage and KABOOM!!! "Deep Freeze" had it's birth. If you're interested, take a listen To Track #2 on (MMM). You'll here those "rolling arpeggios" throughout the song in the Touchsynth voice. |
|
Ar-peg-gi-o n. Tones of a chord produced in succession and not simultaneously. (Webster's Dictionary).A Rolling arpeggio is a term I created to describe those notes outlining the chord in a repeating pattern. As "Deep Freeze" began to take a life of it's own it began to reminded me of the musics from older sci-fi movies ie... (The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Space Odyssey 2001, The Forbidden Planet (1956), Star Trek - "the original series"). Although these programs were all very well done, It seems the further in time we move from their creation, the "cornier" they appear, (corny, B-rated sci-fi cheese). This would, in the years to come, be the beginnings of a powerful concept from which to build a music CD from. Combining elements of 1950's sci-fi cheese and contemporary progressive-rock. For "Deep Freeze" I wanted that main core voice to sound like an old synthesiser voice. I chose the Touchsynth voice from a Roland D-110 synth module. The D-110 appeared on the market around 1988 so it's not that old sounding but, technology has come a long way since then giving the voice a dated sound. An example of an older voice would be that of Harold Athey's cell phone ringing in "laser Research" which came from a Yamaha DX7. (1983). Even older are mechanical sounding room voices in "Desiree For Dessert". Those voices came from an ARP Odyssey which, I believe to be pre 1980's. The rest of the arrangment in D. Freeze is more contemporary rock, a raw drum kit, bass, guitar, some modern synth voices and trumpet. What a minute! Did you say Trumpet and Rock in the same sentence?!! Yeah, trumpet in rock ROCKS! Thanks to Jon Hanson, a man who knows how to blow his horn. and let him know you love him too! Jon helped take an oridinary sounding Power-rock instrumental and change it into something original. You can here more of Jon's trumpet in "The Fire of Section 17" as a rhythm instrument. Stay tuned as the "Making of Volitar" continues in May 2002. Written by A.A.Engstrom |
|
|
|
|
©2002 Volitar Industries
|
|
|
®
