‘Trance and Bass: Evolved’ is a concept. It’s a theme. It’s a story. It’s a story within a story.
For those unaware, the title is not completely original, but fully inspired.
Once upon a time, Mixmag packed Compact Discs in the back of their magazines. One of those CDs was titled ‘Trance n’ Bass’…a mix performed by John B. At the time, I had never heard anything like it. I heard it the day I got the magazine, which was the day it came to my local Hastings, an old media entertainment store. (Those magazines weren’t cheap, lol.) That was over 20 years ago.
Originally, I wanted to find similar sounds a record a DJ set, then I wanted to produce the songs for the DJ set so it was all my creation. Then I didn’t hold confidence in music production for my own songs, so I wanted to remix the songs in the. Throughout all of it, my health was of concern. Half of that time, I was unaware. This is over the span of something 11 or 12 years ago, when I got the idea to create some kind of nod this incredible Collection of Drum and Bass tracks put together by an incredible Drum and Bass artist/dj.
The part of the title ‘Evolved’ is also a nod to John B., and his track ‘Evolve’. The track for me feels like a universal message, and the various voices during the VERY long break hits for me on the level of simply existing. So it ties in the inspiration of this project.
‘Trance n’ Bass’ introduced to me a completely different myriad of sound possibilities within Drum n’ Bass production.
The concept of the project is simple: Infinity. It is a journey that never ends, but is only a moment in time. It is a reflection of my own experiences, ongoing desires, and forgotten memories. In a literal sense, it is collection of recorded sounds, drums, progressions and incomplete file ideas I’ve made and had over the past 13 or so years.
Some old drum loops, samples, an unfinished chord progression here and there, recorded sounds of whatever the DFam, Subharmonicon, Grandmother or whatever Plugin spat out in whatever year. Segments of song ideas I never finished…etc. Fuzzy snares, messy bass, panning errors, random compression settings..it’s all in here. It was a joyful experience to go back clips and recordings with terrible labeling, and remember what I was doing or thinking at the time it was recorded.
By then, I hope this album can be looked back upon with a deeper understanding of the world I am attempting to build through writing and music. Sharing myself and existing beyond all constraints we as Humans know.
This is not a sequel or competitive work against any other. It isn’t a club/festival album, a chart topping award winning album, or even a modern album. It’s just me sharing what I think is a cool idea that gives proper nod to its source of inspiration.
I did not think to try and make visuals with this long production piece/mix until about 2 weeks out from the LP being released. I did try to convey the journey visually. This is a production piece, not a Dj mix.
The album and this video are intended to be heard in their entirety upon the first listen. The title of each track is a facilitator of understanding this throwback space walk. I wanted to present to the observer a slice of my Infinity. What I saw, experienced, and imagined…and WILL see, experience and imagine. A story/journey that is all encompassing in time and space. A moment in a life cycle that could be forgotten on a random Tuesday.
I feel we are just in a melting pot of Infinity. In an Infinite ocean full of soon to be Universes and near death Universes. One tiny bubble that we sit in amongst Infinite others full of possibilities. One bubble pops, a dozen more emerge. It goes on forever. So what are we doing with so much stress and negativity in our time here?
Two things that will bother me until I’m gone….I won’t be here for the future to see how all of this plays out, and I’ll never get to know what we - our Universe as we know it - are inside of…
The details in the images in the music - especially the intermissions between songs - are present with the intent of fleshing out this story even further. I hope people go over this with great attention in the first run through. This was all my work, and no person or website was hired to help me. I simply don’t have financial availability for such assistance.
All visuals are meant to be connected. For example, the intermission after ‘Happy to Make Friends’ has a giant light we enter. It is visible during the ‘Vapor Walk’. That is not a sun. The Black Figure throughout the full video represents intelligent life. Just a couple of things to share there - you can interpret it all for yourself. Just ask if you feel you miss anything or don’t fully get it!
‘Trance and Bass: Evolved’ is the midpoint of this musical effort. I hope to effectively communicate this epic story that in the end means nothing and will be lost to Infinity in due time.
Thank you for listening.