NOTES:

1. KOEKCHUCH
A. DANCE OF AWAKENING
B. THE CATERPILLAR WHO COULDN'T DREAM
C. PURPLE ON THE INSIDE
D. THEY WORE TWO COATS AT THE SAME TIME
E. DANCE OF TWILIGHT
An incidental symphony originally recorded by a pseudonymous Estonian anthropologist in the 18th century, used to accompany ritual dances performed by the Koekchuch, a currently extinct gender identity from Paleo-Siberia. Depicted are the emergence of an obstacle, the realization of one’s inherent limitations and, finally, catharsis, leaving onlookers unsure whether the obstacle has been overcome or blissfully ignored (Most of “Dance Of Awakening”, including the ascending eight-note motif that occurs throughout the entire suite, was composed in a rough form no later than 2013. “They Wore Two Coats At The Same Time” was the first thing I taught myself to play after buying an electric piano in 2016).

2. CONSPICUOUSLY ABSENT
A celebration of major seventh chords (I was hoping to see you today, but I can wait a little while longer).

3. THE SUN SHALL SMITE THIS SLEEPING LAND (PART 1)
An excursion into dark ambient; “Feels like I’m onboard a bloody spaceship”, one connoisseur of the genre remarks. In reality, after the ascent into heaven depicted on the previous two tracks, this is a representation of descending through limbo, preparing the listener before they are cast straight into hell on the next track.

4. CAJAMARCA
A. CONFRONTATION
B. COLLAPSE
A conceptual piece in which the first part, an exercise in total serialism incorporating musique concrète and elektronische Musik, pictures the climactic battle of Cajamarca, while the melancholic second part, influenced by more recent varieties of electronic music, symbolizes the vast emptiness following in the wake of where a civilization once reigned. I hope the result is as agonizing to listen to as it was to create (the multi-tracked acoustic guitars were recorded on a built-in laptop microphone in March of 2014 and were originally intended as a ripoff of Fripp & Eno's “The Heavenly Music Corporation”. I’m glad I was able to use them for a more noble purpose).

5. HORKHEIMER'S HAJJ
Just like how Marxist philosopher Max Horkheimer found solace in religion after having witnessed the horrors of war and totalitarianism, the music is intended to represent a process of introspection followed by the discovery of a new purpose in life.

6. HIPPOMAMI
I was disappointed to discover, after having conceived this piece, that crossovers between jazz and drum & bass have existed for decades. The word “Hippomami” describes a sensation one might experience upon the sudden realization that they have somehow been fooled or cheated, similar to what the listener might feel upon discovering that the supposedly harmonically complex piano part is in fact entirely diatonic.

7. THE SUN SHALL SMITE THIS SLEEPING LAND (PART 2)
The land awakens, the guardians cease their observations, and the album comes to a reluctant close.

The majority of this album was created using FL Studio 12. My trusted 10+year-old nylon guitar was recorded for “Cajamarca” and part 2 of “The Sun Shall Smite This Sleeping Land”, while a Korg MS-20 Mini synthesizer makes a modest appearance on “Hippomami”. The album cover was created by the talented miss Fí: twitter.com/AnnieAronburg

I hope the fruits of my labour will be of value to you.