Album: Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido Artist: Michael Guy Bowman Cover Art: Tavia Morra, Richard Gung Track Art: Tavia Morra, Richard Gung Date: May 31, 2011 00:00:04 FG: #eecc22 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/album/mobius-trip-and-hadron-kaleido - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBZx4eTVu4Ufun - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Commentary: Michael Guy Bowman: Is there a linear story to this album, or is it some other form of story telling? I've seen a good handful of questions like this and I'd be glad to clear this up. This album does have characters and a story behind it, but it is not a linear story or a rock opera. It's an eponymous album by its members Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido. Back when Andrew proposed the music project in March of 2009, he made it clear that one of the things he wanted to do was create a lot of "fake bands" which would exist as actual musical entities within the Homestuck Universe in much the same light as the Gorillaz, the Monkees, or the Chipmunks (wow, those are all animal names). While we accomplished that somewhat with albums like "Squiddles Singalong", most of the concept albums have largely been musical homages to the actual characters. For example the Felt didn't "make" their album of the same name, the music team made it as program music. Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido is meant to be literally an album that Mobius and Hadron would make together. Like the Kernelsprites, they spread their knowledge of Sburb and The Ultimate Riddle cryptically through overtly complex riddles rendered as rock music. They have a seemingly limitless knowledge of all things in the Homestuck universe, or do they? For all their answers they don't just give anything away, they tease you with their songs. Hoohoohoo! How much thought did you put into connecting the album with Homestuck? Or was it just supposed to be a silly thing with a loose connection? From the very beginning I wanted to make this an album for Homestuck fans, but I also wanted this to be something which could be listened to from the outside-in. My goal was to create a solid set of songs that would revisit the basic themes of Homestuck, meaning that the fans would get a whole new dimension to the world of Homestuck and listeners unfamiliar with the comic could discover listen to it and, if so intrigued, discover the entire world of MSPA to create context for the album. Think of it as the relationship between House of Leaves and the band Poe - there is intertextuality between the literature and music and together they create a bigger picture. Plus, you can discover them in whatever order you like. Personally, I believe the album is very faithful to the basic ideas of Homestuck. All the big themes are there: time, eternity, repetition, survival, the unknown, fractals, betrayal, dreams, romance, hypnosis, pumpkins, etc. While I certainly had ideas for songs already floating around before the fake band project fell in my lap, my rule of thumb was to incorporate Homestuck any time I hit a dead-end and didn't know what to do. Plus, the process of planning the art was something that Tavia and I were working on from almost the very beginning. how much of the instrumentation was synthesized and how much of it was organic? i'm thinking specifically of the fiddly guitar bits in forever I play every instrument on this record, and all the ones that aren't real instruments I either played through a synthesizer or sequenced myself. All the guitar is real guitar played by myself. I did all of the singing except for some backup vocals by Tavia. About half of the bass parts are me playing an old P-Bass and the other half are some spectacularly vintage-sounding synth basses that I sequenced. While I do play drums, I was unable to use my drum set in the making of this album and instead spent an intense amount of time laying down the drum parts as the first step in making each track. Most of the performance side of the album was really quick and just involved running through the song and playing a midi keyboard run through patches. The "fiddly guitar bits" are played on a white Epiphone Les Paul named Glinda. Are there any intentional song similarities or specific inspirations, musically? Chain of Prospit reminds me a LOT of She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby, in a very good way. None of the songs are supposed to sound intentionally like any other song, but my style is informed by the groups I've listened to that I really enjoy. I can see the resemblance, but when I listen to my own music I always hear a demolition derby of every song I've ever liked. All the things I've seen posted about my music being a mix between groups like Daft Punk, David Bowie, or They Might Be Giants really satisfy me because those are most of the same things I listen to. I think I listened to "She Blinded Me With Science" a lot about five years ago. Thomas Dolby is a cool guy. I really like his soundtrack to Gate to the Mind's Eye. Tavia Morra: Also any fun stories you can share from taking the pictures for the graphics? For the portrait of Hadron's face, I cobbled together my little lighting and shooting rig with the following: tripod, camera, music stand, orange extension cord, nightlight, and a chair. It was super guerrilla, if you consider shooting in the comfort of your own home guerrilla. Either way, it was actually a very pleasant photoshoot that didn't require an extensive amount of time to set up. Oh, and I kept eating cookies during one of the photoshoots. That's all I can remember at the moment. Bowman might remember more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Forever Duration: 2:58 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/forever - https://youtu.be/O9Q5JvfBMYc?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Dawn of Man Duration: 5:44 References: Sburban Jungle URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/dawn-of-man - https://youtu.be/Fyib6VCDA2s?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Lyrics: I was about fifteen
I was walking the beach
I was racing a wave
It knocked me off my feet
I fell into the tide
It spat me back on the sand
I laughed without a clue
How lucky I was to land It's been a long long time
Since my life was spared
It's been a long long time
But I'm still not scared It was the dawn of man
I held the bone in my hand
I was hungry as death
Wondering through the sand
I met a wild boar
My bone came down with a crack
I tasted flesh and blood
And swore I'd never look back It's been a long long time
But I had just begun
It's been a long long time
Out in the African sun
It's been a long long time
Since I learned that skill
It's been a long long time
Since my very first kill If anyone's out there to see what I have done
Can somebody tell me what we are to become
Our tiny lives, they fly right by
This godly frame, it does not care
If we live or die It was the month of june
It Tiananmen Square
The thanks were on TV
But I was not yet there
The guns they all went pop
We heard the screams and shouts
I was brought into this world
As they were taken out It's been a long long time
So many people to mourn
It's been a long long time
Since the day I was born
It's been a long long time
And yet no time at all
It's been a long long time
And yet no time at all If anyone's out there to see what I have done
Can somebody tell me what I am to become
Our tiny lives, they fly right by
Who were they, and next to them
Who the hell am I? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Beta Version Duration: 4:35 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/beta-version - https://youtu.be/m6Km35fIHiw?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: No Release Duration: 4:28 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/no-release - https://youtu.be/ZO_ile-Mdsw?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Lyrics: She's changed, she's new now
She's moved on somehow
The pain is gone now
But she still needs room to breathe You've changed you're silent
For all those years spent
Explaining what it was that you really meant Now you won't say it aloud
You'd rather be silent and proud
But down inside you still lies the beast
If she's the reason you live
You'll only get what you give
And what you've given is no release You've changed, you've grown up
Your wounds have sewn up
Your time has shown up
Yet you still can't find your way No lies, no secrets
This is your life, now keep it
In time you'll see it The faces you have put on
Have held you back all along
You're a king, not a pawn, so cease
To be so loyally fake
You'll only get what you take
And what you've taken is no release And one day, everyone will smile again
We'll feel like a child again
And look behind us
And think of all the stuff that's going on
The stuff we're growing on It's an ashen quadrant affair
Except you just don't care
Your only aim has been to appease
Lay down your pride and your gun
You're not the only
Who's still looking for some release And if the rules they can bend
You know you still could be friends
But it doesn't rely on me
This is as far as I go
I only say what I know
And what I know is you need release ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Fly Duration: 5:01 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/fly - https://youtu.be/CUDkBTYWtGk?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Lyrics: Fly fly fly whatcha say
Whatcha gonna do
Change your ways change your life
Change your point of view
Been so long since your feet
Felt the open air
So far back down the line
Were you even there? It's so cold the rain blows in your eyes
It's so cold the days go flashing by
It's so cold you've lost all track of time
It's so cold you turn back into slime Dream dream dream dream your life
Make it up from scratch
In your dream you're the star
It's you who makes that catch
Can't hold on, cannot grope
Your fingers will not clasp
Measurements fall apart
The tools you cannot grasp It's insane you must be high on pot
It's insane the air this man has got
It's insane the stuff you must be on
It's insane you wake up and it's gone And you're on your way to work
And you still can't work it out
And you can't recall the details
Or what it was about
So you read a bunch of websites
And you study archetypes
But you throw away the answers
'Cause it's all a bunch of hype And you're on your way of work
But you just can't work it out
And you can't recall the details
Or what it was about
So you hustle through your morning
And you waste your afternoon
And at night you still are wondering
If you'll dream again so soon
And you lay awake and wonder
And you never get your sleep
Cause you're still waiting for the answers
But you never hear a peep
And you die alone and angry
And you're wrapped up in a shroud
And the world's far below you
And your feet are in the clouds ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Lies With The Sea Duration: 4:46 References: Sburban Jungle URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/lies-with-the-sea - https://youtu.be/LH_tBygClwg?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Lyrics: Lonely submarine in murky shades of blue and green
A silent knock on Davy Jones' door
Octopi and hydronauts explore unsalvaged shipwrecks caught
In coral reeves that span the ocean floor The geothermal chemistry
Of vents below the deep blue sea
Burning on and on
The winking of an angler's light
You make this underwater flight
Down where there is no sun My heart lies with the sea
My heart lies with the ocean My, the continental shelf and all its sunken wealth
Boens of those who walked the plank
The depth to which these pirates sank
Crushed by pressures deep The submarine has lost its way
Shall we ever make it to the bay
From where we once did meet
A sonar ping still rings for help
Diffused amongst a cloud of kelp
Where mermaid kingdoms breathe My heart lies with the sea
My heart lies with the ocean Commentary: Michael Guy Bowman: “Lies With the Sea” is one of two songs based on sketches from dreams that I put on Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido - the other, aptly enough, is “Dawn of Man”. During the time I was initially formulating a concept for a fake band during the summer of 2010, I thought it would be interesting to do something with a nautical theme. One night as I was falling asleep, I very vividly imagined a melody and accompanying refrain “my heart so full of love”, which I sketched and eventually transformed into “my heart lies with the sea” to fit the concept. Ultimately I ditched the nautical theme for the band after Squiddles! Sing-along came out and resolved to develop the concept that became Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido with Tavia. However, the song was already well-developed by that point and I opted to keep it around. My first sketch for that piece was actually a lot heavier - I produced a version over that summer as a demo for Andrew that featured a slow, dirge-like drum beat and an incredibly loud guitar riff that somewhat resembled the song “Grease” from the way-overrated musical of the same name. Perhaps later I’ll do some touch-ups to this “heavy” version of the song and share it, but until then I’d rather keep it to myself, being so primitively produced. One thing it has in common with the quicker, more lightly-produced version of the track I put out in May was a fairly strong inspiration from modern electronic acts. I drew farily heavily from the sensibilities of Gorillaz in chosing synthesizer sounds on tracks like “Rhinestone Eyes” and “El Mañana” and also pretty closely studied the mix on Daft Punk’s “Something About Us”, a down tempo track I greatly admire. The thing that most strongly made me feel comfortable using this track on Mobius Trip and Hadron Kaleido was its inspiration from dreams and the sense that it generally echoed the thought of being swept away in a wave as mentioned in “Dawn of Man” earlier on the album. Originally I even recorded an alternate lyric to the melody of “Sburban Jungle” to open the second verse which I ditched that went as follows: “Down, down far below, somewhere safe/ Lost in the wave once again.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Chain Of Prospit Duration: 4:37 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/chain-of-prospit - https://youtu.be/c9XA_P5g_4w?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Lyrics: Hold up before your hopes and dreams are sold up
You haven't failed yet don't hold up
Don't cut the tape before it's rolled up
You've always got a chance Rock it and if the picture isn't clear just shop it
You're swinging by the chain of prospit
The future's always there so pop it
Back into its place You've got a reason to live
Got a reason to live
No matter what you say
No matter what you take away
There's always something you can give
And buddy that's the reason
That you've got a reason to live
Got a reason to live
Don't care what you've been through
Don't care what people think of you
There's always something you can do
And no one knows it better than you Praise you, the absence in your life delays you
The note that desolation plays you
You know you mustn't let it phase you
If something's in the way Own up, there's data structures you can bone up
You might be feeling like you're Homestuck
But you can make it by your own luck
Snap it into place And if the wind should blow
I will know
I will go Reversal, all matter and its great dispersal
The secrets of the universal
This isn't just a dry rehearsal
We're living for today ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: Pumpkin Tide Duration: 3:31 URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/pumpkin-tide - https://youtu.be/lyxw3e3RvzE?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw Lyrics: Destroy your desk, it's useless now
Build yourself a fort to hide
Close your eyes and crawl inside
You're sailing on the pumpkin tide The ship you're on is yours alone
The wind will push your sweet sweet ride
But this foreign wave just appearified
You're sailing on the pumpkin tide Focus on the sound of my voice
You are under my control
Obey my will or I'll bury you alive
And it's you who'll dig your own damn hole Forget your friends, what good are they
Suckers filled with words that chide
Heads green with envy but orange with pride
Screaming at that pumpkin tide Listen to their whispering voice
The current where the pumpkins roam
You never saw a thing
Never saw the thing you thought you saw
Just shadows looking for a home The door into your heart is locked
Its key is buried in your mind
Too heavy to carry but too huge to leave behind
Without it you will surely die
But even that's just another lie
Sailing on the pumpkin tide ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Track: The Deeper You Go Duration: 3:36 References: Sburban Jungle URLs: - https://bowman.bandcamp.com/track/the-deeper-you-go - https://youtu.be/IMpM4xKg9vU?list=OLAK5uy_kT4A-zOvA1ht-UCuwStN-uoVIdxS7S7Qw