New to the board/feedback

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InterstellarOD
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New to the board/feedback

Post by InterstellarOD » Mon Aug 29, 2022 9:41 am

I just created an account here after discovering the Tape Op magazine at a book store. I am very much interested in the analogue sound and I've been recording music with an old Pioneer reel to reel for several years so I wanted join this analogue community you guys got going on here.

Like many members here, I post my recordings on Bandcamp and I've been doing so for about ten years. I've recorded several albums and besides the first two I did, the rest were all recorded using the reel to reel I mentioned. I call my project Interstellar Overdose, which is sort of a play on the early Pink Floyd track Interstellar Overdrive. Early Pink Floyd is one of my biggest influences and more specifically, Syd Barrett. All the albums I've recorded are instrumental, but are each based on a concept.

The first album I recorded using the reel to reel was titled Jupiter. In addition to the analogue sound, I also go for a lo fi sound as well, but with this album even more so. While Syd Barrett is a major influence on my music, there are of course many other influences involved as well and in the case of Jupiter it was strongly influenced by Lo fi Norwegian black metal. The album Filosofem by Burzum would be the main influence here. In addition to the music I also do the album art and in the case of Jupiter I held a cell phone (not a smart phone) up to a telescope which was pointed at the planet Jupiter and that is cover art. The quality of the photo is lo fi as well, but in addition to Jupiter, you can also see Jupiter's four inner moons in the photo and the five tracks of the album are named after the four moons and Jupiter itself. At the time I recorded this album I had a SunnO))) tube amp and the guitar I used, which I pretty much use on all the albums is a Danelectro DC59 (like Syd). I had a microphone for part of the recording, but I blew it out by trying to make sound come out of it, so instead of using a mic I used a big set of head phones to pick up the sound, which adds to the lo fi sound.

The next album I did was called Psychiatric Sounds. I continued using the set of head phones to record this album, but I sold the Sunn amp. Instead I got a 1967 Selmer Zodiac 50, which has been an amp I wanted for a long time. Syd Barrett used a Selmer treble n bass head and cab, so I basically got a combo version of that amp. The only thing I'm really missing to fully nail that Syd sound would be the Binson Echorec, but that's out of my price range. Instead, I had been using the Danelectro Reel echo pedal.

Third album is titled Saturn and could be said as sequel to Jupiter. I took a picture of Saturn with my telescope in the same manner as I did for Jupiter. This album has some influence of drone music like SunnO))) or the Japanese band Boris, however, the drone influence will be a little more apparent on the next album.

The following album is titled Subconscious Reflection and the concept here is of dreams. I try to make most of my music sound dreamy, hypnotic, and introspective. For this album I recorded two long tracks, each over 20 minutes. I'd say a lot of my stuff would be good to maybe fall asleep to, but I would say listening with head phones/ear buds would be the best way to listen. I've continued recording using the set of head phones as my mic. I ditched the Danelectro echo for a pedal that recreates the echo if the Binson Echorec, that's called Boonar and is made by Dawner Prince Electronics; far better than Danelectro. The cover are for this album is a close up of a painting I made.

From here I'm currently working on the third album in the "planets" trilogy, which will be called Neptune.

My Bandcamp Link is: InterstellarOverdose.bandcamp.com

I know this was a lot of info right out of the gate, but if anyone feels like checking out my music and or commenting or leaving feedback that would be great. I guess I'll also mentioned that I've started working on making Cassette tapes of the above mentioned analogue albums as well to have something to physical. I'm not sure if I'll try to sell them or maybe try and give them out to help spread the word. Thanks in advance for any input.

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Jitters
suffering 'studio suck'
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Re: New to the board/feedback

Post by Jitters » Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:25 pm

I’ve listened to Nightmare and I think you’re onto something. The sounds are all interesting and it moves and flows in an interesting way. I also like the way you’ve used the stereo field. I would say that it sounds like you’re probably nailing what you’re after. I don’t know much about cassettes, marketing, or such, but it seems like it would make for a nice side of vinyl.

InterstellarOD
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Re: New to the board/feedback

Post by InterstellarOD » Wed Sep 07, 2022 9:20 pm

Jitters wrote:
Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:25 pm
I’ve listened to Nightmare and I think you’re onto something. The sounds are all interesting and it moves and flows in an interesting way. I also like the way you’ve used the stereo field. I would say that it sounds like you’re probably nailing what you’re after. I don’t know much about cassettes, marketing, or such, but it seems like it would make for a nice side of vinyl.
Thanks for the reply/feedback Jitters! I'm glad you found it interesting.

It would be cool to some day maybe put some of my music on vinyl, but at this point I don't have the money for it, not to mention a wide enough fan base to have people buy them. That's why I'm at least doing something with the tapes for now to at least have something in the physical world. I don't really intend to make money from them, but rather just kind of distribute them in some way or another. Maybe bring some to a couple record stores? Not quite sure the best way to do that yet, but they are not finished yet any how.

Would love to hear more feedback if anyone listens...

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digitaldrummer
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Re: New to the board/feedback

Post by digitaldrummer » Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:09 am

most of the vinyl requires a minimum order of at least 50 units so it can be a big investment. Except for http://kunaki.com. with them you can order 1 unit. however, the catch here is that they are $33 each (as of today) + shipping. so it might be interesting if you just wanted a record or two for yourself, or if you had some sort of kickstarter or Patreon campaign where you could provide a vinyl record if a fan/supporter say donated $100 to your cause/studio fund...
Mike
www.studiodrumtracks.com -- Drum tracks starting at $50!
www.doubledogrecording.com

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Jitters
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Re: New to the board/feedback

Post by Jitters » Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:41 am

That's the problem with physical media these days. I was just talking to a friend who plays in several bands, and they just all just consider their CDs to be 'business cards' anymore.

InterstellarOD
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Re: New to the board/feedback

Post by InterstellarOD » Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:14 pm

There is a market for vinyl these days, I buy vinyl in fact, but not for something like my stuff that's so unknown. From what I understand there has been some interests in cassettes resurfacing in some genres. That's one reason I decided to start making some tapes; I figure it's better than doing CDs atleast if I want to have something physical. Plus it keeps within my analogue sound that I'm going for and it's cheap enough to do cassettes.

I've been trying to think of different ways to promote my music and get people to listen to it. I don't have Facebook or use any social media so I'm sure that probably hurts me, but I don't want any part of that. I should probably try uploading my stuff onto YouTube maybe?. I'm not sure if that would get me anymore traffic than Bandcamp does, but maybe it's worth a shot. I've thought of maybe making stickers of a QR code that would link to my Bandcamp page and then just sticking them around where people might see them and take interest. I'd have to make it look interesting enough for people to notice, but I'm not sure how well that would work. Do people even bother with QR codes? I have no idea.

If anyone has any advice on promoting, I'm open to any thoughts or ideas.

And how about some more feedback/listeners to my music? Feel free to be honest, I just want some real thoughts & opinions. I want to know what people really think or feel. And if you do like what you hear, help me out and tell your friends or post my Bandcamp link out there. Thanks in advance!

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