Christmas and 2019

So here's our Christmas album, a collection of classic Christmas covers and original instrumental bits.  It's a really good Christmas album and the material on it is brand new, recorded less than a month before it was released. This one is pretty self explanatory, so instead I'll be talking about what 2019 holds for The Brown Christmas.

First and foremost, we're just about up to date with releasing all the new albums we have recorded. This March will be three years straight of releasing a new album every month, and I figure that's a good stopping point. We no longer have piles of recorded audio backing up our output pipeline; so if we were to continue at this pace we'd literally have to be recording, editing, and making art for a new album every month. Truthfully we probably could do that, but I'm not sure for how long without loosing our minds. This isn't to say we will no longer be releasing new albums; we'll just be slowing down to maybe one every few months, or basically whenever we have new material and time to edit it.

Not having a new Brown Christmas album to put out every month will also allow me time to shift my focus to some other projects. I'd like to go through all the music we've release these past three years and make some weird music videos to accompany some of the tracks. I'm also hoping to get our really early albums cleaned up and made available on our bandcamp, along with some bonus tracks.

Aside from Brown Christmas related stuff, I'm planning to start going through the hours upon hours of solo material I have recorded as Chalk Harmonica Vibe and gradually start trickling out albums for that project. There are also several new side aliases and collaborations I hope to release as well, including my newage/ambient project Bathroom Plants. So clearly there will be no shortage of musical output coming this year.

Get ready for new, exciting, strange sounds coming your way in 2019!

Almost Live Volume 3: Stop Making Cents (Playing catch up part 6)

Here we are, finally all caught up! As with the other two volumes this is a practice session for a live set we played, so there's not too much that can be said about it. There are new versions of several tracks originally from our album Hash Not Hash, https://thebrownchristmas.bandcamp.com/album/hash-not-hash

The one unique thing with this volume is that it opens with some actually live, and completely new recordings. We were setting up to play the show and were just planning to do a quick sound check. Well that sound check started sounding so good that we just kept going, next thing you know we have almost 15 minutes of new music. The soundcheck was not recorded on video, but the main performance can be seen here.
https://youtu.be/IyptQVJUYgA

Too Christmases (Playing catch up part 5)

This is a first for The Brown Christmas; a split album with fellow experimental synth weirdos Too Dogs. Our half is pulled from two practice session for live shows, where we went off script and wound up with a few new tracks. These make heavy use of Joemazing's guitar mangling skills and the percussive synth patches of the Korg Wavestation. They tend to start as dreamy phantasms that build to triumphant climaxes. There wasn't quite enough material here to make a proper album, so the obvious solution was to round things out with fresh songs from the hottest dogs in town.

Too Dogs' half was recorded and edited by yours truly, and provides the first (somewhat) polished presentation of these crazed canines who have until now, been doing mostly zany live sets. Buoyant synths and twangy guitars pour through pedals, taking the listener on a whimsically psychedelic voyage. Frenetic percussion programming is punctuated by a booming live drum kit, acting as the wiggling spine that supports the wash of sound.

Enjoy these two distinct flavors or experimental improvisation!

Some Kind of Birthday Party (Playing catch up part 4)

Party animals rejoice, it's Some Kind of Birthday Party! There is indeed good reason to celebrate; this is my favorite album we've released this year, and probably a new high water mark for The Brown Christmas. You know you're in for something truly special as Al Santillo introduces the album with the words; "Every slice got something different on it..." Each track is a different experience, with different flavors of synth patches spread across the whole album.

Seamlessly we slip from the electronica infused melodies and shattering grooves of "Neon Glass," to the gritty lo-fi sizzle of "Crystal Shards," and  the silly chaotic panic of "Hyper Train Rail Workers." Dreamy guitar ambiences and soothing synth sax playing on "Lunar March," contrast the harsh walls of noise on "Storms of Jupiter." Deep rumbles of feedback attempt to smother the listener; occasionally allowing a pensive breath of fresh air before attempting to suffocate you again. There are absolutely no lulls on this album, it constantly pushes forward with the purposeful energy of a charging rhinoceros.

What really sets this album apart however, is that it rocks. It rocks earnestly, it rocks hard, and it rocks the full way through. The shredding solo on "Hard Nights, Harder Dreams" has no business being so hard hitting and emotionally charged. Revel in Joemazings ability to take his synth from sounding like it's on it's last breath short circuiting, to then emerge with a victorious crisp lead line. Feel the high energy orchestra hits of "Get Fucked or Die Frying" and prepare for a head to head battle in a cloud of synth drones. Wrap things up with the forceful growls of "The Last White Rhino" with it's weeping marimba-like solo, and you've got an album that's good to the last slice.

The art work on this album is also my favorite of everything we've released this year. A fun combination of several techniques that have been used on previous covers. Bright and welcoming, while also surreal and disconcerting; Michael Burke knocks it out of the park again.

This album is also available on KRXMA Records, be sure to check it out there as well. https://krxmarecords.bandcamp.com/album/some-kind-of-birthday-party

The Brown Christmas Vs. The Bored of Education (Playing Catch up part 3)

The Brown Christmas is the perfect cure for your boredom; with ten tracks covering everything from ambient, synth-pop, to sludge rock, you're sure to be entertained. Enjoy the loosely held together chaos that you've come to expect from The Brown Christmas. You'll find plenty of composed build ups and steep energetic slopes on this short rollercoaster ride.

The opening track "Raven's Talons" grabs the listener with piercing synthy claws, cascades through hazy drones, and drops you into a nest where you're devoured by abrasive chattering. As the anxiety of the first track fades away the tone shifts on "Leisure Speed" to a kind of triumphant yearning. This track is one of those catchy, almost pop tunes that seems to occasionally emerge from out murky slurry. A simple melody punctuated by a bouncy bass line, and gently fading away with a piano solo.

This leads to probably the highlight of this album; a slow droning version of "Cataract Jack" that is both ghostly and beautiful. What is normal a frantic, zany jig has been stretched out and melted. Deep percussive tones echo the main melody at a snails pace, while breathy textures create a sense of unease.

"Cataract Jack" is a delicate veil gently blowing in a dusty window; contrast this with bellowing heavy presence of "T-Boned Semi." Lumbering along powerfully, this track's defining feature is the sludgy distorted bass playing by Joemazing. I set a steady pace with the drums and then simply enjoy the ride as Joemazing pushes his mixer to the limit, turning it into a crunchy fuzz pedal.

From here things get kicked into high gear with the feverish "Scarab Outrun." We're skidding along barely maintaining control, kicking up plumes of dust, and quickly approaching a summit. With the toll of a bell we fall apart and gradually float to the ground with the track "Course Winds Blow Brittle Reeds."

The album ends with a short duet between the Roland D50 and it's modern recreation the D05. It's merry, light hearted, and the perfect silly goodbye.

Walter Westinghouse (Playing catch up part 1)

I have fallen quite behind on these album write ups, but I suppose that's what happens when releasing new alums monthly, while also working on other projects, working a day job, and moving. So now let's see if I can get caught up.

With the recent passing of Hardy Fox from The Residents, it seems fitting to be starting with our  "Walter Westinghouse' cover album. The Residents have always been a favorite band of ours, they're probably the reason we started playing music together in the first place. So we jumped at a chance to be a part of their "I am A Resident" compilation contest.

We wanted to choose a song that was more of a deep cut, rather than going for something well known like 'Hello Skinny.' Walter Westinghouse was the perfect choice since the original is fairly long with a very simple skeleton that we were able to jam out on. The back and forth dialog of the original also gave both Joemazing and myself a chance to do funny voices.

As with most instances where we've tried to do something deliberate and constricted to a theme or time limit, it spiraled out of our control and out of bounds of the set parameters. What was suppose to be a recording session for one song quickly turned into a +30 minute jam session. Unfortunately we did not make the cut to the compilation album, so we took our submission and the additional jams and turned them into this short EP.

Hash Not Hash

This recording session comes after a five month unintentional break, but I often find the best way to improve is by not practicing. All our creative energy gets backed up, until the floodgates are finally opened and then the desire is to make up for lost time. Hash Not Hash is a clear example of this, being a huge leap forward from Tropical Fruits, and covering fresh sonic ground.

The album starts with the sullen, down tempo ballad "Blue City Rain Storm." This track's mixture of synthpop-esque melodies and harsh textures of noise exemplify a new direction our sound has been branching into lately. While not entirely new (we've certainly done catchy pretty sounding stuff with noisy elements previously) this is a juxtaposition that we've been delving into more deeply.

You can hear something similar on display in the track "Sleep Paralysis;" which concludes a mostly continuous, dream themed section of the album. Instead of synthpop elements we have a very delicate ambient soundscape drifting on an deep abrasive undercurrent. This combination is perfection to my ears, and definitely my top track for this release. A close second would be the closing track, which is an extremely cinematic interpretation of our classic "Cataract Jack."

For those with a discerning ear for synthesizers you'll also notice some textures previously unheard for The Brown Christmas. This was around the time I started acquiring some vintage digital synthesizers. This album marks the introduction of the Korg Wavestation and the Casio CZ101 to my set up.