Recorded in February 2017, this was the first track laid down for the album. Like 'Dictator' it reflects my irritation in the politics of the time, though in a less obvious manner.
I wanted to experiment with unusual time signatures, and ended up with something that channelled both Van Der Graaf Generator and Threshold's debut album. This proved to be a problem, as I ended up composing a bassline on the sequencer which I was not actually able to play.
I could have done this on a DAW, but that would be boring. So instead I slowed the tape machine down and switched key to make it easier. I also recorded the bass on two channels, which simplified things further but also made for a nice stereo effect. These varispeed games during tracking are also how the song is able to end on a note which is impossible to play on a 4-string bass with standard tuning.
The random organ notes in the middle were originally a marker to say "tape collage to go here" but I kind of liked it, especially after I ran a screwdriver down the bass and got that to make some weird noises as well. I also spliced in a section of backwards organ music just for fun.
The tape loop of 'Saludora' in the middle was originally taped directly from the verse, but it was off-tune and had to be done with a fresh recording. Still a tape loop, though.
lyrics
Saludora
In the land that they call Saludora, evil men do dwell
They’re the rulers of a kingdom that has lately gone to Hell
In the land that they call Saludora, no-one dares to cough
Lest the guards descend upon you and then hack your head clean off
So we never dare complain
We just ignore the pain – and stay alive
In the land that they call Saludora, each man plays his part
And there’s nothing so convincing as an arrow to the heart
In the land that they call Saludora, no-one questions why
Or you’ll end up in the dungeons and they’ll sentence you to die
When life’s so very cheap, with men worth less than sheep
And you’ll only find the justice of the grave
In the land that they call Saludora... Saludora... Saludora...
In the land that they call Saludora, evil things occurred
And the rulers were replaced with ones the common folk preferred
In the land that they call Saludora, no more tyrants reign
And we changed the constitution so it won’t happen again
Well they just ignored our pleas, so they got strung up from trees
And they only found the justice of the grave
Siguiendo la evolución de Michael Whiteman , encontramos temas con desarrollos más largos introduciendo piano , xilófono y flauta . Buscando un estilo más propio digamos . Igor Huertas
The hard-hitting, genre-agnostic songs on the latest from Dan Webb were inspired by conversations he had with a wide range of musicians. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 18, 2023
Basically a great album with top-notch songwriting... unfortunately bloated with annoying improvisations and other distracting noise, which wreck the wonderful musical arcs in an instant. As people sometimes say, "less would have been more"... Sven B. Schreiber (sbs)