A Whale's Lantern @awhaleslantern@mastodon.art

“I’m lucky enough to write songs for my living. Sometimes I do not know how I will conjure these things I’ve promised. I go back to books. I read until songs start surfacing …”

-- from A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader, edited by Maria Popova and Claudia Bedrick, from a letter by Thao Nguyen, page 160

#smallquotes
#MusicCollab
#songwriting

Just a little reminder that we recently released our fourth #MusicCollab album, "Portraits", with collaborative songs by some of your favourite Mastodon musicians: https://awhaleslantern.bandcamp.com/album/portraits

#Music #CreativeToots #MastoMusic

Question for electronic music makers: anyone actually using MPE (Midi Polyphonic Expression)? Like, really? How? And why?

I never got around to mentioning what a great job @sixohsix did on the mastering of the Portraits (Whale's Lantern 4) #MusicCollab album. It makes the version I sent in sound like a sloppy mess. Thanks!

Replace me, writer,
with a machine,
algorithm, software,
and our fields
may go fallow

the genetically
modified organism
of words may be
planted, watered
and sown

but it is only in
the unique experience
of being human
that we nurture

a poem

#smallpoems

— inspired by some explorations on algorithms and writing by @tellio

I have a real question for any plumbers out there. We have this thing - over the past several years one tap in the house doesn't produce any hot water. -and it moves from one tap to the next, very slowly over time. Mysteriously. Used to be in the kitchen, then bathroom sink (shower worked fine) then all ok, but now our shower :( NO HOT WATER, but it gets tepid if you flush the loo and have the washing machine on, so we think it's a pressure/burp issue.
Any ideas??
#AmAsking #Plumbing #mystery

Listening to Daft Punk's album Human After All, and suddenly remembering that I'm still emotionally scarred by the gory music video for "The Prime Time Of Your Life". #np

I won't describe it and I won't link to it.

Hazmat Modine #konzert im Jazzhaus Freiburg. Großartiges Konzert, tolle Musiker und viel Raum für coole Solos. Die Band ist jetzt 4 Wochen in Europa on Tour. Empfehlung!

I think about this collab some time ago, it's now out! :O Gotta listen to this.

@awhaleslantern

listen to Photobooth -- a song that @flavigula and I created in collaboration for A Whale's Lantern on the theme of "portraits." This is the fourth iteration of the collaborative songwriting/music-making project.

https://awhaleslantern.bandcamp.com/track/photobooth

And be sure to listen to the other tracks, too. Pretty cool stuff being created ... interesting how the idea of "portraits" takes on different slants

https://awhaleslantern.bandcamp.com/album/portraits

#MusicCollab

Our fourth #MusicCollab album, "Portraits", is now out! You can listen, download, and pay-if-you-like here: https://awhaleslantern.bandcamp.com/album/portraits

Over the last few months, some of your favourite Mastodon musicians have been working on these songs in randomly assigned pairs - this #Music would not exist without the fediverse!

Enjoy!

Waiting to hear the fruits of labour from the latest @awhaleslantern #MusicCollab iteration 🎵🖼️

A Listener's Guide to the Portrait

A Whale's Lantern Diary, part 6 https://fediverse.blog/~/YourSixNewHeads/a-listener's-guide-to-the-portrait/

@valrus @awhaleslantern @y6nH @motorb @flavigula @vanhaase @drembot @reinhard @estebanm @LouInABox @js0000 @sixohsix @maher @Thuslyandfurthermore @marmalbear @birdsofpraise @safertohatethem @adambredenberg @flavigula
Great reflection ... this line stayed with me (upon your return to song after other project):

"So I went horizontally (into the song) rather than vertically ..."

Finding new ways into songs is always an interesting compositional strategy .. Thx for sharing

#MusicCollab

@dogtrax @awhaleslantern @y6nH @motorb @flavigula @polymerwitch@sunbeam.city @vanhaase @drembot @reinhard @estebanm @LouInABox @js0000 @sixohsix @maher @Thuslyandfurthermore @marmalbear @birdsofpraise @safertohatethem @adambredenberg @flavigula After some stalling and being distracted by other things, I finally knuckled down and wrote the blog post I'd been meaning to since the original request: https://ian.mccowan.space/2019/05/15/A_Whales_Lantern/

@y6nH Thanks! I do think our song was the most immediate. Not a value judgment from me either; just that despite the formal shenanigans it was pretty straightforward in overall structure. The poppiest song among several where I don't think poppiness was the goal.

@awhaleslantern I'm very excited about how it'll turn out! Hoping I can participate in the future! 🤞