Author Archives: zacbentz

STATION IDENT – ELLIS

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released April 28, 2019

For notes on how the visual side of the ident came together and a link to the final product in motion, read Roger Strunk’s post here:

rogerstrunk.com/client-work/warren-ellis-ident

Audio notes:

The basic concept was based around the track “NADIA” from my STATION IDENT: VOLUME 01 album:

zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/volume-01

That was something Warren said he would have liked to use from the start if only there was enough time within the ident. That track is essentially four heavily layered notes that swell and slide around each other, then fade off into the distance.

For my first attempt, “ALPHA,” (which ended up being the one chosen), I stuck close to that method. I first tried to simply speed up “NADIA” to fit the three second time limit and see how that sounded. That didn’t work at all, but it got me thinking about how I could pack the same amount of material into just three seconds.

To fit the spirit of the ident (based on some original BBC idents), I wanted to keep the sounds as analogue as possible from the start. Of course everything becomes digital at some point. If only I could have gotten my hands on a reel-to-reel tape machine for the final master, packing up the finished reel and shipping it overseas where it would arrive battered and covered in exotic stamps and stickers with tales to tell. But alas I settled for sending an email with the final .wav file attached.

The gear: I started with the main shimmery bit on top, using the Moog Animoog app on a very tired and overworked iPad 2. Animoog is wonderful for creating sounds that literally move through a sonic space. You can draw shapes for the sound to orbit around, causing it to filter through any number of variables. Using this feature, the orbit speed and shape could be set to take full advantage of the slim three seconds I had to work with. There are a handful notes played quickly, heading down through a few octaves.

The Animoog signal was routed through two effects. First, the Strymon Magneto, a modular tape echo and loop unit. Alongside it in a Doepfer A-100 mini case (it has a cute little carrying handle!), is an ADDAC Pedal Integrator, so that I can easily plug any instrument into the echo (in stereo!). This added the first layers of various extra echoing pitch and shimmer, along with that battered analogue tape feel I wanted from the start.

From there it went to a Strymon Big Sky reverb pedal. I usually have this maxed out when doing my longer drone pieces as Dirty Knobs. This time I used a very short “Shimmer” reverb for a second layer of added pitch shifting, as well as a bit of fabricated space around the sound. So now what was at first just a run of single notes had traveled through this system and ended up an expanse of sounds and octaves heading in various directions through time and space.

The low end was much more straightforward. I used the monophonic semi-modular Moog Mother-32. There are two notes, an octave apart, that rise together. The higher octave fades out while the lower octave rises a little louder at the end to resolve the overall sound and add some punch and warmth to the end. There is hardly any modulation to the sound at all, and no added effects. Just pure Moog bass.

There is only a little bit of added EQ and mastering overall. I tend to make things very dark and muted by default, but this time, knowing that it would be heard on a wide range of speakers, I wanted to make sure it had plenty of high end in case the low end was lost to low quality mobile sound systems (meaning hey, your phone/laptop speakers are shit, stop using them and at least get some good headphones). On the other hand, those with subwoofers will get a little bonus.

That’s it for “ALPHA.” The other three tracks included in this album were alternate initial possibilities. Basically using the same techniques outlined above, all working to create a sense of both the past and present revolving together. They were each very fun to work on, and seeing the final product is something special indeed. Thanks to everyone involved for the opportunity to make this happen.

NEW ALBUM: The Electric Witch – Wave of Sympathy

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released May 5, 2018

Four years and four days since their last album of original material, The Electric Witch is back with their fourth album Wave of Sympathy. The album spans a period of significant change, featuring robotized vocals from both retired member Marcus Matthews and the current embodiment of the TEW spirit Mary Bue. Years spent translating the previous albums into live performances has affected the trajectory of the new songs, taking them from dark internal monologues to grand theatrical experiences.

“…you think I’m asking…”

While the Witch has always strived to strip the humanity from their work, Sympathy is rife with emotion, both raw and bold. Fleshy hands are always at the controls. The fractured hiss and crackle of analogue technology is celebrated as a sign of life in the wires.

“…i’ve been so bad…”

Included in the track list are three a capella tracks. While still effected by the vocoder, they capture the essence of each performance and bring it to the fore. Again, the humanity once abandoned is here resurrected and its twisted wreckage celebrated.

“…fuck it, fade.”

Lyrics/Vocals:
1 and 5 (sort of) by Mary Bue
2 and 4 by Marcus Matthews

Everything else: Zac Bentz

Video for “Hallowed” youtu.be/isjvs4Fm46o
(Special thanks to the “Murder Hike” crew!)

Tracks 2, 3 and 4 have been remastered, previously available (with alternate mixes) here:

Hallowed: zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/hallowed
Barb (Don’t Be A Stranger): zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/barb-dont-be-a-stranger
Fuck It – Fade: zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-it-fade

NEW ALBUM: Dirty Knobs – Heliomori

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Heliomori
by Dirty Knobs

Combining the Greek “helios” (sun) and the Latin “mori” (to die). Surfing the harmonic sounds of light, and sinking into its absence.

All tracks performed and recorded live (more or less) at Painted Moth studio.
Everything by Zac Bentz (ASCAP)
©2016 Xero Music

NEW ALBUM: Dirty Knobs – True Norwegian Black Drone

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http://zacbentz.bandcamp.com/album/true-norwegian-black-drone

“Listen to the aching, end of the world atmosphere in Låtefossen Tåke posted above, and imagine yourself climbing the hill posted in the artwork to take a final, knowing breath of air before the world permanently clouds over and snuffs away all life in oppressive blackness.” – toiletovhell.com/gazing-too-long-into-the-abyss-erasing-the-sun/

“The waves and gentle drones are prevalent holding you in place, feeling the world around you. But something is beginning to seem quite wrong with this picture.” –terrarelicta.com/index.php/reviews/all-reviews/5158-dirty-knobs-true-norwegian-black-drone

Thank You x10

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I have nothing but massive thanks and humble appreciation for the first ten subscribers to my various musical efforts. I hope you’re enjoying all the extra stuff. And don’t worry, non-subscriber fans. Lots of regular releases are in the works (NEScapism 2??? Finally??? Maybe???) and will be rolling out throughout the year.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to swim in a lake of very black coffee…Good morning.

MORE INFO ON SUBSCRIPTIONS HERE

Dirty Knobs and The Electric Witch at Homegrown 2015

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The 2015 Homegrown Music Festival schedule is out! Both Dirty Knobs and The Electric Witch will be playing on seperate nights, and TEW singer Mary Bue will also be playing her own music. Check the info below and we hope to see you out there:

Monday, April 27
Red Herring Lounge
5pm Opening reception for Homegrown Photo Show
5:30pm Tim Kaiser
>>6:30pm Dirty Knobs<<
8:15pm Superfly McFlash
9:15pm Lorenzo’s Tractor
10:15pm I Am the Slow Dancing Umbrella

Friday, May 1
Pizza Lucé
10:30pm Retribution Gospel Choir
>>11:30pm Mary Bue<<
12:30am WOLF BLOOD

Saturday, May 2
Duluth Flame Nightclub
10:15pm Danecdote
11:15pm The Horror
>>12:15am The Electric Witch<<

Xero Music Subcriptions

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You can now subscribe to Xero Music. What? Why?

This is music that’s not for everyone. This is why I value your support so dearly.
I make a lot of music and this is the best way to get everything in one place. Everything from Dirty Knobs, The Electric Witch and more. Exclusive access to secrets that might not be ready for the wider world. All will be gathered in one place so you will never miss a release and can avoid having to chase things down on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Soundcloud etc. All without any added noise.

And you will also get the ENTIRE back-catalog…that’s over 30 albums!

Of course, if you’re supporting one artist, you are likely to be supporting several artists. With that in mind, I wanted to make your choice as easy as possible by offering a simple year-long subscription for what I hope is a reasonable price. Of course you CAN pay more if you feel so compelled. How much music did you buy last year? At what price? What is this all worth? Adjust accordingly. (Note: I released 9 albums last year, as well as several odds and ends.)

Another thing to consider is that you can stream the entire catalog anywhere, anytime. I do NOT get paid AT ALL for these tens-of-thousands of free streams a year. How often do you listen to Bandcamp songs right from an album page or the app? What might that be worth?

So, what’s in it for you? What’s in store for the next year?

I’m currently planning four (4!) new Electric Witch albums/EPs, a lot of new Dirty Knobs stuff (hoping to play a lot of live shows this year and make as much of that available) as well as an entirely INSANE new project that’s been swimming around for a couple years now. Subscribers will get early access to all new releases as well as exclusive in-progress demos, photos and anything else I can think of. I hope to capture as many live performances as possible on video, which will be subscriber exclusives as well.

Your support will go towards more live gigs, more time spent recording, merch (at a huge discount for subscribers), physical releases (who wants vinyl?) and general musical-life-sustaining needs.
As always, thank you for your continued support. You are all I have.

MORE INFO ON SUBSCRIPTIONS HERE

New album from Dirty Knobs, The Hermit Seeks the Stillness

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The Hermit Seeks the Stillness is the new album from Dirty Knobs. It is twelve songs, each exactly one hour long. It is currently available to pre-order for $1/pay-what-you-want and will be officially released on September 18th, 2014. The full description is below.

==

It took me a long time to understand what these songs were about.

At first I had an image in my mind of an empty room. A room left to its own devices. Maybe just for a moment, maybe for decades, maybe several lifetimes. The still air slowly drifting motes of dust from one corner to another. Sunlight and the moonlight sliding across the walls and the floor. Objects settling, sighing as they slowly dissolve. Rooms full of automation that still ran, its purpose lost.

Then I read a story (http://www.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201409/the-last-true-hermit) about a modern-day hermit who managed to live in the woods quite near to society for almost thirty years without anyone ever seeing him. He was eventually captured and sent to jail where he quickly fell to pieces.

When asked what he had learned in all that time alone, he replied “Get enough sleep.” Then:

“‘What I miss most,’ he eventually continued, ‘is somewhere between quiet and solitude. What I miss most is stillness…I’d stretch out in the water, float on my back, and look at the stars.’”

And there it was. That’s what these recordings were. The stillness. Whether it’s thirty years of it or just the world pausing for a breath for a couple minutes, that’s what I was looking to capture.

It happens to me often, if not often enough. A still moment. Where I live, when it gets very cold (much colder than the winters our hermit friend managed to endure), this is easy to experience. Sometimes, after the temperature nears more-or-less absolute zero for the twelfth day in a row and you step out into that cold, you can imagine atoms sluggishly clinking together. But there are also summer nights when frog-talk is the only sound, or the wind turns the tall trees into a white noise generator. One can try to hold on to these moments of stillness, but they always pass.

These songs are meant to be…not background music exactly. But something to change the environment around the listener. A sort of sideways transportation to artificially slow time, just as those moments of stillness are ultimately artificial. These songs are not meant to capture those moments, but to instead provide a space for those moments to be captured.