I Know I Am Not Alone

I know I am not alone
Although I am far from home
And under this bright night sky
I hang my head and cry

A thousand tears for a thousand years
Of death
A shrouded face in a crowded grave
Takes his last breath

Call it crusade
Call it jihad
Aim to be close
You're so far from            God

The One Divine Essence

Today I saw
A bomb deny His presence

The Revillusion Will Be Mesmerized

"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship." - George Orwell, 1984

I created a new track affectionately titled "Revillusion". You can check it out on MySpace:

http://myspace.com/indaskyes

OR

listen right here in the blogosphere:

Be the Change You Wish to See

1984 has been one of my favorites for quite a few years. Fortunately it was not a book I was made to read in school (no matter how good a book might have been, I always hated being forced to read anything...go figure), instead I discovered it on my own in a period of my life when I was very wary of authority and looking for some revolutionary inspiration.

When I got a few chapters into 1984 I was incredibly excited. I felt this book would be my manifesto for revolution, a how-to for political subversion and political change. Not that I've ever been a "let's violently overthrow the oppressive regime" kind of guy but I am definitely a "there's something seriously fucked up here, let's take a deeper look" kind of guy.

What a shock not so many pages later. Winston was a real spineless pseudo-hero and suffice it to say, the end of the book royally pissed me off. Why hadn't anything changed? Why did evil prevail? Where was the justice?

What I've come to realize over the years is that the only truly successful revolution has to be a personal one. When we seek to change everything/everyone around us without changing ourselves, we immediately put the responsibility for our own well-being in someone else's hands. When we can only see the external flaws of our own leaders (or friends or parents for that matter) and not our own, we forfeit one of the most powerful weapons we have - our own ability to change. This is not to say that revolution isn't sometimes necessary or that some regimes/system don't need to be overthrown, I am simply saying that we are destined to repeat the same mistakes if we don't first change ourselves. The word "revolution" itself has a cyclical connotation - when you revolve 360 degrees you're right back where you started. We have it upsidedown - don't look outside yourself to change the world, look inside and evolve first, the world will follow.

This idea was the primary inspiration for the sample in this song "I could give it to you, but whatchu gonna do with it?" I think too often people focus on what they think is wrong with the world rather than what they would do differently. If I gave you the keys to the castle tomorrow, you were supreme ruler of the world with the power to call all the shots, what would you do that would so drastically change humanity in a positive way? The real truth is, no matter what laws you impose, no matter how many weapons you destroy, no matter how you re-allocate resources, your "perfect" changes are dependent on ALL the individuals in the system behaving how YOU want them to. You cannot force everyone to color inside the lines. Making a law so "Everyone makes the same amount of money" or "Everyone is now officially equal" is just as good as saying "Everyone has to be really nice to each other" - you cannot force people to be what they aren't, change has to come from within.

So next time I find myself thinking how shitty things around me are, I'll think about how I might change something I'M doing to make it better.

Gandhi's "Be the change you wish to see in the world" never made so much sense.

The Making of a Slumper

This has been one of my absolute favorite tracks to make. Although I still think it needs plenty of work to be an epic dancefloor slumper, it arose very organically and came from a simple seed. The "upsidedown" lyric you hear looping throughout the song was the first inspiration for the track. Originally I had no idea where it would go, I just liked the sound of the sample.

As I kept exploring my sound library I found the haunting yet beautiful female chanting voice and loved how the 2 samples sounded together. From there I added the dub-esque drums and Bassnectar wannabe wobble I love so much. With this simple palette I just moved down my file list (1000's of titles long by now) and I ended up randomly stumbling upon the "revolution" lyric.

This is when I experienced what I like to call the "Cheshire Cat grin moment" - when this non-cohesive meld of sonic ideas suddenly finds its glue and an actual concept is born, giving way to a smile of Alice-in-Wonderland-like proportions.

Preview 1984 online here

Buy 1984 at Amazon

Party on.

Everybody Move Remix - Tech N9ne vs. Deftones

Yo yo yo.

I was drunk as hell at 3 in the morning and decided to rock this mashup/remix of Tech N9ne's slumper "Everybody Move" off his latest album "Killer". I took instrumental sections from a Deftones track called "Passenger" from their White Pony album and added some of my own drums, bass & misc. awesomeness.

Enjoy!

The Beast Within

I stood in the center of a never ending labyrinth - dilapidated, rundown, disgusting. The loosely strung together series of rooms, built by careful hands many years ago, had long been forgotten and left to rot in the rain and sun. A pungent odor of mold and decay (the source of which I could not pinpoint) weighed down the air, relieved only in moments by strong drafts billowing through the cracked ceiling. I took a few steps backward and felt an unappetizing squish under my feet. Thankfully it was only fresh mud seeping through the broken tile that stretched in every direction with jagged, asymmetrical chunks.
That's when I heard it. At first faint but quickly growing - those powerful awkward footsteps intermingled with heavy panting. I twisted around to my left to see what was heading my way. The first thing I couldn't help but notice was its smile - so sinister and unforgiving. The beast had broken and yellow teeth that would have glistened in patches of sunlight if it wasn't for a protruding pig snout covering its awful mouth in shadow.
I ran. I had no idea where, but the fear was just too strong. Even though the beast's pounding steps sounded arrhythmic and uncoordinated, I could feel it getting closer - there wasn't much time. I rounded what I knew would be the last corner before I met my fate at the hands of this half-human abomination, when I saw a glimmer of hope in front of me; a large glass case with a heavy lid.
I sprinted forward with every ounce of energy my terrified legs would give me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, reminding me how close I was to being eaten, but the smell of its breath wouldn't let me forget. The instant I reached the glass case the horrid beast leapt for me. I ducked out of its grasp just in time and heard a bitter, hateful squeal as it toppled into the case. I immediately slammed the heavy lid down above my tormentor, now thinking I was safe. But my momentary relief wouldn't last - there were 3 brass latches on the outside of the case I needed to secure to keep the beast trapped for good. I latched the first two down hard trying to ignore the inhuman sounds echoing from inside the glass case. I felt the sweet sting of triumph as I motioned for the third and final latch, but the beast kicked and writhed inside his holding cell, popping the first latch open. We played this game - me locking him in, him kicking his way out until I realized I was no match for him this way. I could not hide from the beast within. I pounded the top of the case with my fist in frustration as the beast unlocked the final latch.
There was a momentary silence, and then a violent explosion as this wretched monster freed himself from my prison and leapt out to meet me face-to-face. I stared in horror as it landed in front of me, eyes glaring, drooling and panting like a victorious lion about to devour its prey. As the beast raised its hands and leaned in for the kill, the overpowering fear suddenly drained from me as I looked into its glowing red eyes. That's when the beast hesitated - this was its weakness - being seen for what it really was.
This was not some hell-sent demon of pure evil that could be so easily hated and feared. The beast was me, or rather that part of me with a deep need for self-destruction, consumption and blind greed. I stared the beast straight in the face and said aloud, "I am going to kill you."
That was the instant I awoke in a pool of my own sweat.

Wasting Away

Another day
Wasting away
With my pain
Wrapped up In a smile

Time moves fast
But its a slow decay
And I think I'll stay
For awhile

Cause its so hard to move from this place
And I don't know why
I can't remove this disgrace
And it makes me cry

Apocalypse of i

I pour a tall glass
And take a small sip
Apocalyptic gift
Spilled from my lips

And I can't rest
Until the deed is done
You know I'll never run
No matter what the outcome

Fight through the pain
All my desire
To ignite the spark
Start a house fire

All you liars and cheats
Sleep on your feet
You get no relief
Neck deep in deceit

Dead in the street
Devils sew what devils reap
And your maker you will meet
When the cycle is complete

I see you smile in denial
Through your crooked teeth
But all the while
Bodies pile underneath your feet

Can we compete with all this
Vile wickedness
Sure as hell don't know the cure
But I can tell you what the sickness is

Vicious crimes
Wraught against a neighbor
Its evident the president
Believes he is the savior