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space_io (volume I)

BASSCAPOLOGY

that’s the term I invented to describe my new solo album, ‘spaces_io (volume I)’ – a means of escape from the confines of your room during lockdown.

It’s my fourth album but it’s also the first of its kind, sort of.

AUDIO, VIDEO, DISCO

I started ‘absurdcus’ back in 2003 as a means of always having a creative öutlet at hand. But it wasn’t until recently that I realised that it has become my most valuable educational resource.

Basically I learned everything I know or am good at by working on my absurdcusian craft. From composing, playing and recording instruments, using a DAW, mixing, to filming and editing videos, 2D and stop-motion animations, writing gear reviews, playing in bands, social media skills etc.

The absurdcus motto is my own motto – audio, video, disco – I hear, I see, I learn.

SPACES_IO (VOLUME I)

my fourth release is a sort of return to the roots, as cheesy as that may sound.

Lately it has become increasingly difficult for me to write any music, I felt nothing I wrote was good enough, I needed to raise the bar with every note. Every chord progression needed to be something one wouldn’t expect, every melody innovative, every beat unheard of. And that basically stopped me in my tracks, the joy of writing was slipping through the cracks.

This record is the opposite of that, it’s a reminder of why I started playing music in the first place. It was not so I could swing a psychic bat at my head for not coming up with the most original basslines. It was not because I had something very important to say and felt other people should hear it, too.

It was because it was easier to pour emotions into sounds than into words. And learn along the way.

‘spaces_io’ is a reminder that I DO NOT have to adhere to any guidelines. I can write a 13 second punk song using only spoons if I want to. Well, maybe on the next record, not this one, though.

So, without further ado – here are 30 minutes of bass scapes,  explorations of spaces. All sounds are  made with electric, fretless, acoustic and electric upright bass. The album is mostly built on improvised pieces recorded during quarantine in 2020, what a year, right?

 

As always, you can download it for free (or pay-what-you-want) at absurdcus.bandcamp.com/album/spaces-io-volume-i

Or listen to it on YouTube below.

Or stream it on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and the likes soon.

Or check the hyperfollow link here.

Or do none of the above, that’s ok as well!

#norc

 

Well, this one is done, on to new adventures then!

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end of year album list

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audio, video, disco

I’ve always loved this phrase

it’s such a good description of a huge part of my life. It means “I hear, I see, I learn” in latin. It somewhat explains why I try to keep my music as free downloadable albums.

I am self-taught at everything I am marginally good at. This, of course, has its advantages and disadvantages. An immediate disadvantage would be lacking the terminology and having to use my own convoluted maps instead of the common shortcuts. On the other hand, the biggest advantage would be coming to appreciate and treasure the learning process.

I never considered myself to be a real musician, though I’ve been playing an instrument for 20+ years. Sounds odd, I know, but bear with me. I grew up not knowing that music can be taught but instead I thought you must be born with the ‘gift’. Music must be a magical, mysterious phenomenon, no way you could reduce it to rules and structure and mathematics. I always labelled myself an amateur even when a large chunk of my income was from playing music. Damian Erskine recently changed my mind though with this video and I upgraded the label to ‘music enthusiast’.

My first album’s called ‘the Öutlet‘ and it’s more of a collection of tunes from 2003 to 2011 than an album. I put it up online because I have some very insistent friends. My second album is called ‘a drop of Calm‘ and it was composed in 2 weeks after the very difficult oct-nov of 2015. My third album is from 2017 and it’s called ‘T‘. Initially it was meant to be a soundtrack to a video-game, hence the more electronic vibe. All 3 albums are free to download, or you can pay what you want for them. They are free not because I don’t consider them valuable. Quite the contrary, they are free because they are very valuable to me.

Album no.4 is in the works

and slowly but surely it will come to fruition. I’m in the 8th year of carefully balancing a steady full time job (albeit working from home), a very actively gigging band with family life and other paraphernalia. Slowly but surely new lessons will be learned.

And talking about new lessons, here’s a video I did.

‘A day in the life of’  type of skit. And I admit it, besides having received quite a few messages on FB from absurdcus fans, the only other reason I wanted to have my albums on streaming platforms was to be able to have my own music on my Instagram stories. And it’s very cool for my cat videos to have an absurdcusian soundtrack!

Also, here’s my VIP LINK if you want a Distrokid subscription. You get a 7% discount off your first year. And it’s very easy to use, yay. Have fun!

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