PANTOMIME EP LINER NOTES

LURAVE

The thesis statement / proof of concept of this Broken Spear era, mashing up most of my influences: club rhythms, heavy guitars, chopped choral / k-pop vocals. Neo-grunge deconstructed club? Started this tune shortly after my partner visited the “Luray” Caverns in Virginia. Four parts: spacious one-shot club progression, punishing choral jazzmaster blasts, heart-rip orchestral transition into the k-pop chaos-assemblage, smooth shoegaze breakdown. Process-wise, was very useful to to lay down a looong recording of improvised guitar riffs as sample material, and finding that S.E.S acapella (the latter being part of my Korean identity-gender hunt). Originally the tune ended with the chaotic bit, but I realized that I had to just ride out that kick pattern, with the half-time guitar riff – breath of fresh air on the dance floor/in the pit, trying to make the music I wish I heard in the club.

EMO CRUISE FEAT ECE ERA

Originally called Emo Cruise II, because version “I” was a post-punk guitar demo that I sent to Ece (a close collaborator – we met on the subway 5 years ago and have been connected ever since!) – who sent vocal stems from Belgium. I remember listening to the vocal demo on the beach in South Carolina on earbuds, and being blown away – she really nailed it (I sent her some Hilary Duff and Michelle Branch for melodic inspo). I deleted the instrumental, and began re-building it from scratch using cold keys and a new chord progression – keeping the “aura” of the song’s post-punk origin in the vocals rather than the instruments (although the original guitars peek through briefly in the second verse). Love the obnoxiously fun “foghorn” bass synth, and the indulgent post-rock guitars that open up to the reprise of the chorus melody in context (like a remix discovering its original..). Ece’s vocal delivery is so emotionally rich (“maybe I am now.. fo-o-ound”), and when I asked her to do some harmony overdubs, the melodies she chose were perfect (fo-oo-oo-und). She told me that the lyrics are about the abuse of stray dogs in Istanbul, which she just released a documentary film about.

COMFORT

This is a cover of my favorite tune by Basement, off their important heavy emo-revival record “Colourmeinkindness”. Love the long intro with a dramatic “drop” (formula also used by Title Fight in Head in the Ceiling Fan) Recorded this with a toy-feeling acoustic guitar in South Carolina that had a stiff / metallic action – added pitch automation to simulate a whammy bar.. Took A.G Cook’s “anything can happen” approach to heart, allowing the track to dramatically evolve, section-by-section. The switch-up in the middle came really naturally, where I “heard” the key change and stuttering kicks in my head, and then rushed to get it down before I lost the idea (technical skills slowly catching up to my musical instincts..) The outro allowed me to exit the “cover” into dreamier territory. Sample sound candy by friends Holly Waxwing and Galen Tipton in this track, as well as others.

FOOLISH FEAT VAIN GIRLS

Oldest tune on the record – was originally an unreleased remix for a close friend who now goes by Country Girl. Most of the production is from the Hawaii sessions where I was working on Vera Mist, so it sounds a bit more clinical and tight than my more recent music. I invited Vain Girls (who contributed to my last record) to send some vocal stems from Finland, which thankfully she agreed to. She sent multiple different verses and hooks that were all quite magical and fully-fleshed out with lyrics. I love how her accent, auto-tune, and formant-shifting really gives her a “signature” vocal print. It took a while to shuffle, cut, and wrestle these melodies to work with the instrumental. In order to align with the whole “icy digital meets warm analog” spirit, I replaced the first verse with acoustic guitars, which felt good (auto-tune singer songwriter moment.. a track off the new Yeule record does this also). Since this track is so ADD, it’s really Vain Girls’ vocals that give the track its “DNA”. For the ending, I was inspired by the deafening section in Palette by Tielsie, but it ended up feeling Transylvanian (?), some Dracula-dread, that pivots into wispy fantasy (anime version of Labyrinth or The Neverending Story)

PANTOMIME

This was originally released as a single on Club Cringe Compilation Volume 2, but it felt important to re-release with the context of these other songs. Pantomime is similar to Lurave - a proof of concept for a high-octane, “live”-feeling hyper-guitar club genre. It follows the orthodox quiet acoustic verse (Swiftian?), loud-chorus formula, but adds a post-chorus of rolling club kicks and jazzmaster shreddage.. The transition from the first chorus to second verse is always challenging, as it’s typically the restart of the pop loop, but ended up being my favorite moment in the track -- adding the filtered drum breaks and pausing for those shimmering chords. The chirping, footwork-y section near the end came out of a chaotic Ableton spiral, speeding up acoustic guitar harmonic plucks and the kick pattern, and resampling other elements. Before heaving into a “slowed” version of the chorus – a signature throwback to my Seattle origins (the anchor-DNA of this release) where as a teenager, I would slow down my own and others’ heavy guitar songs for listening pleasure (daycore? chopped and gazed?)