Treatments - A Free Remix EP
Treatments is a small compilation of remixes done by names are for tombstones for his music peers. NAFT also plans on recording covers of songs that had been performed live and release them also for free and make it a continuation of the Treatments series.
Following are brief backgrounders of the songs and artists featured in this initial compilation. To go directly to the download area, click here.
CERUMENTRIC - Bleeding Into My Dreams (Hearing Voices)
I am very fond of the 4AD sound and the production technique of venerated producer and former head honcho Ivo Watts-Russell was my all encompassing template. This remix is very This Mortal Coil, especially their first album. Erick Fabian, aka CERUMENTRIC, was pleasantly surprised with my version and said that it sounded like a 4AD track.
Initially, I was planning a Paul Van Dyk type of trance remix but early on during production dropped the concept and made it ambient, droning and brooding instead. Erick posted a link to this song and asked if people are interested to remix it. I also heard it live in a past Synthicidegig so I gave it a go.
Bagetsafonik - Halogen (Incandescent Version)
Here’s another 4AD-inspired remix. Marcus, keyboardist of Bagetsafonik, asked if I could do a take on the carrier track of their debut album Travelogue to be included in the the anniversary/remix album Travel Agents. It was a challenge because it had to live up to reputation of the song aside from doing it the first time for a commercially released (but independently produced) single.
The hardest part was to make the programmed drum tracks sound natural. But there wasn’t enough time and I hope all’s forgiven that the rest of the Bagets seemed to become a slave to a sequencer. Finally, the idea was to work on the concept of halogen which is an incandescent gas hence the remix gives that sound of air being pumped from time to time.
Eudoxia Vervain - Fallen Star (The Nameless Remix)
This is one of the earliest remixes I did and I have featured this in another article here. Technically it’s more of a cover version since I was the one singing instead of Libby Borjal (aka Eudoxia Vervain). But there are samples of her voice and playing of the keyboard. I remember someone accusing me of ripping off Depeche Mode’s Home which of course is really baseless.
There are triphop and DNB elements here. But since those genres aren’t exactly my specialty it was a failed attempt. Hehe. The beats however were inspired by a dub version of a Neneh Cherry song.
FoodShelterAndClothing - Meet The Dead (Reanimation)
Finally, the track for FSC. If I remember it right, it was a for a Halloween release some years back. I remember being angry when I was doing this and I guess it manifested in the overall feel of the the remix. It’s one of my rare excursions into cyberpunk (EBM) territory–an area NAFT cannot effectively cover since my voice cannot ever sound like a hardcore punk rocker without voice FX.
I remember Bong (1/2 or 1/4 of FoodShelterAndClothing) describing the remix as uncharacteristic of NAFT. True in a sense because most of what he heard were “softer” than the character of this remix. I do have tracks with a similar feel but they’re either unrecorded or limited to being performed live.
Eternal Death Wake 8
Last October 30, 2010 was Eternal Death Wake, an annual Halloween event organized by Subkulture Productions.
Stressful night for me because I had to deal with circumstances I can't do anything about. That usually translates to having a bad mood. And there were a lot of pissed and pissed off people that night.
Saving grace was seeing members of Psydoll dancing during my set. Bless them. Unfortunately we weren't introduced but we got Internet to remedy that.
It was also one of those moments that I wish I were not performing and just part of the audience. Dressing up during Halloween was not a luxury I experienced when I was a kid. Also being carefree and just goofing around is something I miss doing.
New Website
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Music To Die For - Mick Mercer
More than a year after Mick Mercer wrote me directly through email and the NAFT MySpace account, I finally got my copy of his goth catalog book Music To Die For. I was lucky enough to find a school mate living in the UK where I had my book delivered to and he had a friend who went home to the Philippines and brought the book with him. (Thank you very much Arnel & Me-Ann Mabbayad for the assistance!)
There had been some discussion about the list after I shared the info with another featured band (and they later posted it) in Multiply. It went in the direction of who should be there instead of appreciating that at least the Philippines was finally put in the goth map. The mission now is to provide a regular supply of info to Mr. Mercer for future volumes of this awesome catalog.
Thanks but no thanks
My MP3s, particularly songs from the EP/album Swans, had been getting a lot of downloads lately. I should be thankful that people are grabbing them. Unfortunately, they just link directly to the songs bypassing the website. That, of course, I found rude.
I refer to the Chinese site BAIDU.COM and its users. So, if you're from that site, and you could read and write at least an elementary form of English, I believe some "Thanks" is necessary.
