I.
1// morgan manor was the future
2// fridays for october
3// what i know now
4// the keep going back
5// i wanted you to fly
6// dusty and scratches
7// not much left (to give)
8// pancake mix
9// he remembers
10// to rewind
11// no mo' chicken
II.
12// your fingertips know me
13// dealation
14// f-stop
15// having lost its wings
16// we are, lifelines
17// in which he wasted ink
18// carolina
19// on november 10 ...
20// the groove back
III.
21// from the ground up
22// jazz
23// the negative ones
24// searching for shape
25// three shades of grey
IV.
27// big butt
28// (don't) mess up
29// soon to be on medication
Background info
one month after completing the first album, i decided to record a new one. i was poking around the internet and found a few samples that i liked, and quickly learned how to manipulate them through audacity. this technique was something that i used to much greater effect on escapism, but i was just learning it here.
before making this album, i was pretty depressed. i had gone through yet another failed relationship, which sparked a lot of writing and reflection. during this time, i was also diving deeper into my musical past as a kid. i listened to my old tapes a lot, and was subconsiously trying to connect with that time in my life. thus, spawned the concept -
"dealate" is an adjective with the definition, Having lost the wings. Used of ants, termites, and other insects that shed their wings after a mating flight. i saw the "wings" as a metaphor for my former, happy, musical self. listening to those old tapes was an eye-opening experience that sparked an intense period of reflection. i decided to make this the theme of the album; to sonically connect with my past by sampling my old tapes, while reflecting on my current state of mind as a beaten down twenty-something who obsesses over relationships. i wanted to ask the question to myself, "what happened?"
depressing, i know.
Story behind some songs ...
there are 29 tracks because i was 29 years old when i recorded this album ... "morgan manor" is the name of the street i lived on in maryland when i first started recording as a fifth-grade student ... i added new beats to "no mo' chicken," a song i originally recorded when i was 11 ... all of the samples of me as a kid were actually sampled using an old tape player, fed into my computer ... there are four prince references here: "the negative ones" refers to "the beautiful ones" off of purple rain, while "pancake mix" and "soon to be on medication" use the sped-up vocal effect prince used on the camille songs and "dealation" uses slowed down vocals he used on the black album ... "jazz" first appeared on minimalism, but i re-mastered it for here ... a lot of the songs have samples of me reading from my journals, uncensored ... "dealation" was recorded when i was completely hungover, and was meant to sound like it ... i originally wanted my friend shalee to do a new version of "hollow star" for the album, but we ended up drinking wine, thus "november 10" ... my best friend jason is on "the groove back" ... "fridays for october" was for victoria, and uses a sample of her poem "i, me, mine" ... all of the songs feature me recording over myself multiple times (guitar, drums, keyboard, samples, vocals, etc.) instead of just twice, as with minimalism ... the album is in four parts to simulate how it would be laid out as a double-vinyl package, which i also did by adding a sampled needle sound throughout the album ... "three shades of grey" ironically leads into three happy songs that end the album - that was my way of letting people know that i'm ok, i'm ok.
