New solo album out today
Plus studio shenannigans and recent listening
Hiya. I know. I’ve been away. To catch you up real quick - Summer was great. Fall was fine. Holidays were busy. Things have breaking all over my house. I discovered rats in the attic. A billionaire sociopath and his spray-tanned lapdog are scamming Americans one government agency at a time. Everything is fine.
Let us proceed.
Burzum Funtime is out now
My new solo album, Burzum Funtime, is finally out. It contains 7 tracks of material I recorded throughout 2023 and 2024. Everything was improvised and tracked live. It was mastered by my brother, Ashley, in a far away land called Norway. It is available to download for free (or pay what you want.)
Sonically speaking, this is one the best things I’ve produced so far. I’ve tended to favor lo-fi and over-driven sounds on past recordings, but this one sounds full and open. The gear is not the point, but because you are nice enough to read my newsletter, here are couple shots of items I used to make this record - specifically my hand made noise box and my modular synthesizer. The track Radio Bird Impaler was made on a Tascam 414 Portastudio that I’ve had since 2001 (not pictured).
Making music has become more and more like my drawing and painting process in the last decade - focused on developing a language, uncovering layers, and creating conditions that force me to find myself somewhere different than where I started. One could say this is the case for most good art - having a predetermined ending as your goal from the beginning usually produces hot garbage. While traditional composition aims to create something more fixed and structured, my process inherently embraces destruction. The tools I use are not intended for crafting repeatable music. Unlike conventional songwriting, which often features distinct time signatures, recognizable harmonic elements, and a familiar structure (such as verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus), my approach has ephemerality and loss built in from the beginning.
Quick side trail - Modular synthesizers are highly customizable. That said, the format has had experimentation baked into them since their inception. Surprise and randomness are central to the design. To "repeat" a performance with my particular synth, I’d need to leave all the patch cables in place, document knob positions (boring), and hope nothing gets bumped (likely) on the way to the venue. Even then, subsequent performances might differ due to impulsive adjustments, accidental nudging of knobs (again - likely), environmental factors like temperature, or just forgetting the exact sequence of events from the first take. At this point I’ll have painted myself into a proverbial corner. To make anything new I’d need to yank out all patch cables to be able to do anything else. My main synth is designed to skip attempts at formal composition and get right to intentionally creating conditions for improvisation and then moving on to the next thing. Creation, and even practicing, is a constant search and destroy mission.
Not all is randomness though. There are conscious melodic elements throughout this record, as well as samples and found or pre-recorded sounds. This makes curation, and my role as a listener, as big a factor as any musical ability I bring to the process. I’m interested in odd rhythmic and sonic textures. I like a combination of dread and playfulness - like the Dadaists making nonsensical poetry within earshot of the front lines during WWI. I like it when things sound like they’ve been distorted by time or accidentally discovered. I like using only a few elements, and definitely no more than three tracks. I think this record ticks all those boxes.
I’d love to hear what you think of Burzum Funtime, or at the very least, what it reminds you of or makes you think about. Shoot me questions if something pops into your melon whilst listening. Questions are our only way forward as a species.
Recent drawings
As always the studio is mostly about drawing. I’ve got a graphic design-based project I’m working on that will launch late spring, but for now, here are a handful of things I’ve made in the last couple months. Click on an image to largify it.
I’m not using Instagram as much lately. Even though I really like the format, its algorithm has turned into a real taker. I’ll still post occasional new work there to keep links and announcements updated, but for now you can find me mostly on Bluesky. My handle is @destroyalldestroyers.com.
Bonus Round
Because I love you, here is a short list of things I’ve been listening to lately -
Cumbia Siglio XXI by Meridian Brothers - Delightfully weird synth and drum machine dance music from Colombia.
Genuine Dexterity by Kenny Segal and K-the-I??? - Textured indy hip-hop, great beats and lyrics.
The Way Out of Easy by Jeff Parker ETA IVtet - Cerebral jazz from Chicago influenced by hip hop and minimalism.
Sti.II by Taylor Deupree - Deupree recently remade his own 1998 electronic ambient album, but with acoustic instruments.
Attempted Martyr by Prostitute - Pulsating, industrial post-punk from the Midwest.
How to Rescue Things by Bill Orcutt - Solo electric guitar backed by sweeping string samples from an RCA “easy listening” sampler disk.
Järnnätter by Civilistjävel! - Glacial dub techno with hints of industrial textures from Sweden.