Hox Vox

Il Cavallo Spaiato released!

2011-04-25T08:37:00.005+02:00

I uploaded final release on Bandcamp and Last.FM yesterday around 11.00 PM. Right now I'm putting tracks on Jamendo.

Il Cavallo Spaiato is about schizophrenia, music is quite lunatic and moves continuously from avant-prog to glitch/jungle/hardtek, like two clashing identities in same body. Song Flipback is inspired by italian showgirl (and icon) Raffaella Carrà and her far above-the-mainstream songs, particularly "Ma Che Musica Maestro". Of course results are less commercial. I also made a bebop/avant rework on Jeux d'Eau by Maurice Ravel.

Record is available for free on

Bandcamp · Jamendo · Bittorrent · Youtube playlist

Marcel Duchamp, 2nd videoclip from Dada (Cabaret Voltaire)

2011-03-23T02:31:00.004+01:00

Yes, second videoclip from Dada LP, this time for Marcel Duchamp. I built that track taking some interview parts I found on youtube and glitching/fatboyslimming 'em.

To make this videoclip, I sync/adapted original footage to track treatment, added some pics of Duchamp's most famous art pieces, plus a few small animations floating around to give a joyful mood (Duchamp was a provoking guy, needless to say), or sometimes underline his concepts.

I believe it's like a documentary in music, so I found it quite apt for his duty.

Apskaft's Battleship Potemkin is online

2011-03-09T05:08:00.007+01:00

In Apskaft we decided one year ago to rebuild Battleship Potemkin soundtrack. Things floated in limbo until last autumn, when we reached to split movie in scenes - still not a real taxonomy :D, but enough to start - and random assign parts. I offered myself as video editor, so in end of october the project started, actually.

This is my part:

I finished to mount final movie on 13 february, and we uploaded it on Youtube (HD 1080p) and Internet Archive (640x360) the day after, so 14 february is the official release date.

We also released the album as usual on Last.FM and this time also on Internet Archive.

Mock Thrill released

2010-12-12T22:56:00.013+01:00

Mock Thrill is a record about suffer, solitude and hypocrisy, and it's dedicated to people who are or feel stump.

Mock is a guy who's born with a malformation: it has no limbs. So the only happy moment of his life is into the womb, when floating in limbo (first track), and it makes no difference for him having or not legs and arms. His birth ends in a metallic clang: life entering shock.

At the restaurant he's still a baby, but perceive people pretending they're not noticing his deformity. A taste of false piety.

There is a brief episode when aunt Jamima don't realize he fell from the electric wheelchair - he's desperate because he can't get up, feels stuck and helpless, useless.

Then in Abandoned Dog Afternoon he lives one of the innumerable afternoons lying on the couch like a broken doll, ridiculously bored and slowly going mad.

In one of these afternoon, he's catched by a butterfly flight, so he has a beam of simple beauty and somewhat forget for a while about him, forced by solitude to face himself day by day he quits his (sad) solipsism.

He refuses to see the new false friends when he's a teenager (Please Do not Want to Know Nice Fake New Friends), distrust of others who obviously consider him a "monster".

But one day he knows Eddie, a friend who does not seem to think he's an "useless stump", as bad kids called Mock.

They become rapidly friends, and start to have experiences together: they have a trip (Eddy Gave me a Coriander), then they go to see an art exhibition (Me and Eddy at an Art Exhibition), in short, everything's great now.

Suddenly, Eddy knows a brasilian girl cruising nightlife and start to get "unavailable" , too busy... and while he's busy, Mock start to become paranoid. He's right, Eddy disappear forever.

So Mock get back to his bloody couch again and again.
And we see, at the end of this record, when Mock's mind collapses and goes nut (Blast of Fury).

DOWNLOADS:
BANDCAMP · JAMENDO · BITTORRENT mp3 · BITTORRENT Ogg

New videoclip from LaGuardia, 3:00 AM

2010-12-06T01:53:00.008+01:00

A small story of not-so-ordinary rebellion from Outskirt.

Meanimal released on October 28

2010-10-29T03:44:00.006+02:00

Very fast record (12 tracks for 18 minutes), minimal in song duration, but also an admixture among mean and animal, primitive, sometimes solar tunes.

There are 4 ska/reggae/dub tracks (Alaska, Anaconda, Kind Titan - hommage to Gentle Giant - and Epifonema), a pereubian waltz (Il Valzer di Paolo), avantprog (Gestalt, Roundabout), exerimental (Ammutinamento!, Glasgow Coma Score, Entropia), a strange stomp& harmonica endless startup (Catfight) and a drama number (Panic in the Elevator).

You can listen / download it directly from Bandcamp, Bittorrent (booklet included) or from Jamendo (no booklet).

Loki by Andrea Ferrantelli

2010-10-18T03:11:00.006+02:00

My friend Andrea is a guitar/bass player and composer born in Turin and living in Helsinki. He started to play the guitar at the age of 17, in 1994.
He played in dozens of bands, ranging from Black Metal to Thrash, Technical Death Metal, Heavy Metal and Rock. Andrea recently started to play also the bass, both fretted and fretless.

He liked my intention to let replay Mjöllnir by (or with) other musicians (and change it if needed, according to their skills and attitudes), so he chose Loki. He first worked on a light keyboard + bass + drum version to add guitar layers, and I utterly remixed and deleted/changed some keyboars, to fit at the best Andrea valuable fretwork.

I'm really satisfied by this version of Loki, and Ferrantelli as well. He changed accents and mood, and even ranged into eastern scales, which is a common ground -as I indulged myself many times on it as well.
I believe it's very likely we'll further collaborate in next future.

Final track is already online on Andrea Ferrantelli MySpace page and Last.FM (in ./root: the Singles).

Dada (Cabaret Voltaire) is available now!

2010-10-01T01:00:00.008+02:00

This record is a brief journey through Dada art movement. Opening track is dedicated to Cabaret Voltaire, a swiss nightclub where all started by a group of european artists. First founder, and subject of second track, was Hugo Ball (he wrote the small poem I-Zimbra, which was subsequently used as a lyrics by Talking Heads in their namesake song). Hence continues the portrait gallery of Dadaists, interrupted sometimes by three small tracks called Shiver.

To people with few, or no knowledge about dadaists, booklet here is strongly recommended.

Downloads:

Bittorrent
http://www.mininova.org/tor/13195590

Jamendo
http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/76024

Bandcamp
http://hoxvox.bandcamp.com/album/dada-cabaret-voltaire

Dada EP released

2010-08-11T22:46:00.006+02:00

This EP includes first 4 tracks from forthcoming new record Dada, a concept album about Dadaism art movement seen through famous Dadaists' points of view.
Hugo Ball and Tristan Tzara are two electronic ballads, winding between kraut rock and trip-hop. Hans Arp is a tragic cabaret piece with a war scenario on the background, George Grosz is quite Motown meet Stockhausen.

Downloads:

Jamendo http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/72821
Bandcamp http://hoxvox.bandcamp.com/album/dada-ep

The Wanderer track on Dandelion Radio show july schedule

2010-07-01T15:44:00.009+02:00

The schedule for this month's show on Dandelion Radio (with its special Apskaftian section) is now available http://www.dandelionradio.com/schedule.htm. Playing almost daily through July.

The aforementioned apskaftian section is an experiment by Greg Healey (see HealeyIsland; also member of Apskaft collective). He asked if someone would create on purpose a track for his Dandelion radio show with these boundaries:

Each song must be exactly 3 minutes in length.
The songs must be an original Apskaftian interpretation of POP MUSIC.
All songs must be original material. No cover versions.

I joined the project with The Wanderer from The Wanderer EP.

The results will be analyzed in Greg's show second part.
Pay attention: schedule is in british summer time, so UTC +1

The Wanderer is out

2010-06-10T19:00:00.010+02:00

It's seventh record in Hox Vox discography, a story about a doped killer on the way to catch his victim, during a whole night in Savannah (GA). Five scenes including an introduction (The Wanderer, genre alt. pop), where the killer wake up from drugs effects, and the subsequent route through the latin area (La Posada de Joaquín Ortega, latin jazz), downtown (Downtown Strut, funky), and actually on Savannah waterfront (Port of Savannah, avant prog). Last three minutes of blistering hysterical chase are enclosed in ending track, Gotcha (hardtechno).

Downloads:

Jamendo (mp3 only) http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/68437
Bittorrent (+ booklet) http://www.mininova.org/tor/3193717

New videoclip for It's the Loveliest Thing I Ever Heard (Eight-Bit Deboned)

2010-04-22T19:40:00.007+02:00

I made a clip from this old track because its theme was domestic violence, loneliness within a couple, and women discrimination issue. I pointed directly to domestic violence and related despair ("legal" raping - which isn't in any way true, except in a known abetment among machos). It can be disturbing for sensible people.

Mjöllnir released

2010-04-09T02:43:00.006+02:00

Mjǫllnir (also spelled Mjöllnir or Mjölner, pronounced /ˈmy-oll-nir/ or /ˈmjɔːlnər/ in English) is the hammer of Thor, a major god associated with thunder in Norse mythology. Distinctively shaped, Mjöllnir is depicted as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains. Though generally recognized and depicted as a hammer, Mjöllnir is sometimes referred to as an axe or club. In the 13th century Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson relates that the Svartálfar Sindri and Brokkr made Mjöllnir at the command of Loki.

The Prose Edda gives a summary of Mjöllnir’s special qualities in that, with Mjöllnir, Thor:

... would be able to strike as firmly as he wanted, whatever his aim, and the hammer would never fail, and if he threw it at something, it would never miss and never fly so far from his hand that it would not find its way back, and when he wanted, it would be so small that it could be carried inside his tunic.

This record was finished during night between 4 and 5th of April, and uploaded on Jamendo. Assignment of Safecreative cose and acceptance by Jamendo staff on April 7.

First part is made by eight portraits (Jörð, Odin, Sif, Thor, Baldr, Loki, Freyr and Heimdall), plus two finals tracks:

Ragnarök ("final destiny of the gods"), in Norse mythology is a series of major events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures (including the gods Odin, Thor, Freyr, Heimdall, and the jötunn Loki), the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water.
Epilogue, referring to the afterwar.

Music is avantprog, loosely inspired by Magma, Frank Zappa, Faust, King Crimson, EL&P.

This record, as usual, is released with a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License, so it's free to listen, download and share.

You can download it in mp3 192 Kbps format directly from Hox Vox HQ official Hox Vox website (booklet included) or from Jamendo (without booklet). Also available via Bittorrent (booklet included).

Mjöllnir - passed track Hermóðr to Eros Zabeo

2010-02-15T19:07:00.003+01:00

Today I gave to Eros, a skilled guitar/bass player form Venezia (he played in Ugly Duckings, a rock band in the city) Hermóðr scheme. He'll work on guitar and arrangements.

Mjöllnir - passed track Loki to Andrea Ferrantelli

2010-02-06T02:50:00.001+01:00

Andrea Ferrantelli is an italian young mad (but very elegant) scientist living in Helsinki, who started to play guitars and basses 15 years ago in avant/jazz/prog/extreme metal area. He was interested in cooperate in making Mjöllnir, so I asked him to work on Loki, a track from first record half, and on 6 february I sent him a few waves.

Released Harry Up Harry part 1

2009-12-16T01:58:00.012+01:00

Uploaded on Jamendo and Last.FM Hurry Up Harry part 1, first record of three in Harry's breakbeat-trip/hip hop-chillout saga.

It's a series of songs clocking 2 minutes, except a couple of 30 seconds ghosts tracks and Rusty Nail / Cruisin' in El Monte "twin tracks" (one 1:00 @ 180 bpm, the other 3:00 @ 60 bpm). Scheme is very strict and the overall impression is a fast, brief record, with a series of short hooks one after the other.

The trilogy is dedicated to my friend - drummer in Death in Venice - Marco Bianchi aka Mark Winnipeg. This first part is about his hyperactive youth, expressed through an hysterical travel among California, Panama and Jamaica.

Update to HD for three clips on Youtube

2009-11-24T01:50:00.004+01:00

I rendered again Belief: Wrath, Belief: Greed and Thar Desert in HD 720p and uploaded on Hox Vox Box channel. I also added some variations.

Belief: Greed got no blue tint now, and it's tighter to original "Peyote" animation.

In Belief: Wrath I added sparkles when hammers land on the anvil and a couple of motion blur fx. Few and small retouches.

Last was retitled Thar Desert 2.0 because I added circa 150 new animations. Essentially is the old Thar Desert populated by many other moving elements.

Jeanne d'Arc clip is online now

2009-11-10T06:12:00.004+01:00

Just uploaded last videoclip from Étoile, Jeanne d'Arc. This time I worked with paint effects on some footages about Crusades, Jeanne d'Arc and east europe (looking like a little middle east) singers. Track is, briefly, about the juxtaposition of western guitar arpeggios and middle east vocals.

My intention was putting together women from both sides in Cusades: a western woman, the "étoile" in this case, which dared to act like a male soldier in a demented inquisition environment; and docile eastern singers. They got no moments of glory followed by dying on a pyre, but a continuous subordination, so actually it's a pondering about women's troubles in western or eastern world. Different ways and degrees of cruelty, same patriarchism.

Clip simply follow this scheme and adds a movie picture support. I needed just a couple of days to finish it as it's a "punk" expression in videomaking. This time I tried to catch the result on the fly, without exceeding in refurbishing every single frame. Not a draft, but a quicker language. And a different subject, it wasn't the right place to unleash some After Effects frenzy quirknesses. At the opposite, I worked on slow motion footages, to achieve a relaxed but a little gloomy mood.

I found quite cruel in the last sequence to put side by side Jeanne d'Arc in flames and a smiling singer. It was not intended as a revenge of muslim on a christian, but the cruelty in life itself. While one is dying, the other is enjoying his art.

Зимний дворец recommended videoclip of the day at Jamendo

2009-10-05T16:37:00.006+02:00

I received an email from Jamendo telling me Зимний дворец videoclip is recommended clip on their blog today. This is the review:

Hox Vox is a progressive rock project by Italian artist Gianluca Missero. His track “Zimniy Vorets (the Winter Palace)” is an experimental piano piece evoking the Russian revolution.

The video that goes with it is an interesting assemblage of old footage from the early 20th century and animated film made with collages, set in the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Not your typical pop music video; then again, Hox Vox’s stuff isn’t your typical pop music either.

Enjoy the weird atmosphere emanating from the whole thing below. This is taken from the album “Outskirt“.

Source blog page is HERE

Hell if the guy was scared the music was too avantgarde! :-)) The small, but proportionally decent feedback says that dance people escaped as it was logical to expect, and the few adventurous listeners had a taste.

I made a videoclip for IfSounds

2009-09-23T00:16:00.006+02:00

This time I had a new esperience: first time I make a clip for another band.

My friend Dario Lastella sent me some DVDs with IfSounds footages about Midsummer Raving, a track enclosed in their (then) namesake record If, a collection of songs from '93 to 2005.
They changed in these days their name from If to IfSounds, enrolled a couple of new bandmates (for singer Elena it's a coming back, plus a new drummer) and decided to give another spin to Midsummer Raving.

To me it was a double challenge: first of all, I had to assemble footages shooted without a storyboard. Second, I usually make videoclips from my most unlistenable / avant tracks (quite masochist, under a commercial point of view); while this track is a melancholic ballad about loneliness and abandon, with no bass nor drums - just voice, guitar, piano and viola. Very melodic and pop.

I pointed on a juxtaposition between B/W and color blasts by still images, slow editing with fades (just one dry cut in 6 minutes), a classical multi-splitted screen. Simple and plain.
I added a drummer video sequence, despite there are none in this track, as Ifsounds with this clip wanted also to present the new line-up enclosing new drummer Enzo Bellocchio.

Well, this is the result, I'm quite happy with it.

New Videoclip from Outskirt: Зимний дворец (Zimniy Dvorets)

2009-09-13T19:52:00.011+02:00

after Intro, from Etoile, I finished another video and released within september!
This time I went back to Outskirt, and chosen Зимний дворец (Zimniy Dvorets, the Winter Palace).
An historical theme: 1905 St. Petersburg bloody sunday. Subject is the Winter Palace, empty after Tsar Nicholas II leaved for Alexander Palace because of that massacre: an outskirts zone. Despite being in St. Petersburg center and rich as a royal manor can be, it was empty like a desert for a while. Interesting, when there are mutations.

Video tells about this story, showcase the palace, outside and inside, then steer to history with original footages - very bad coded, I had to struggle for half an afternoon to achieve a good acceptable quality - and pics, all taken from Wikipedia, pianist comprised.

Clip have a strange old russia taste, not communist nor tsar-like. A generical first last century russian scenario. And it seems more like a documentary than a videoclip, exactly what I aimed to right from the start.

Of course I added the famous stairs sequence in The Battleship Potemkin by Eisenstein, as it was what inspired me that endless scales hook in this song (the other, more romantic classical - opening and closing the track - was after listening the nth time The Carnival of Animals by my beloved Camille Saint-Saëns).

New Videoclip from Étoile: Intro

2009-09-05T21:23:00.007+02:00

I just finished to render and upload on Youtube Intro videoclip. This time I found right tech info on HD movies. Master is in HDTV PAL 1080p (1920x1080), but I rendered it at 720p (1280x720) to follow the exact Youtube HD standard.
No loss of detail as After Effects picks from same original files and redraw from scratch all frames. Rendering time about 2,5 hours. Online HD version of Intro videoclip is broadcast quality, in fact.
I think this is last video I assemble with AE: it's a madness make anim sync with audio. Because you can't hear anything while scrobbling the timeline. It's a powerful tool to make single sequences with FX, but not to manage a whole project, better go for Premiere or the like.

Subject of video is swines. I like them, they're clever and it's a stupid common place they love to squelch in the dirt. Vietnamese little pigs are clean like cats. Video is an operatic dadaist inferno - where pigs are menacingly main characters. Not an happy end (as it's my favorite mood), but everybody knows what's a swine destiny (no gory images, anyway). I think also a good video introduction for a live show, to let the people get at once what's the overall climate.

Complete Control is ready

2009-08-18T00:16:00.008+02:00

I finished yesterday afternoon (and sent to Lurholm) my track for last Apskaft covers compilation, it's Complete Control by Clash.

I followed more or less the original hooks as usual, and modified, enlarged, shrinked, cutted away parts 'til the result is barely similar to original song.

Briefly, it's composed by three movements: first one reminds Kim Thayil workout, the second is circus sludge, then third is a sudden turn to a latin with Trent D'Arbyesque vocals, and back to the first two movement.

First reviews at Garageband

2009-08-16T17:04:00.009+02:00

Well, of course I copy and paste the most accomplishing :-) ) People came back from holidays and had a dozen of reviews at Garageband for Behind The Curtain in Experimental Rock contest.
Now it's 57th on 129, a little above half chart, with a 3.1 score. A little better than Laguardia 3:00 AM (final score 3.0, sound logical :-D).

Song was Track of the day in July 25th.

REVIEWS

wow
interesting guitar harmonies. This is a crazy ass song, cant really wrap my head around it. Crazy guitar work, not much else to the song obviously. weird drum sampler used instead of real drums. One of the weirdest songs ive heard on here. definately experimental rock>? not sure what to classify this as.
Extra Credit: Guitars.

This is where math and rock meet
This is where math and rock meet, and it's messy. But through all the craziness there is a good melody and it's catchy. These guys are tight. I notices after the song ended I was kinda holding my breathe - cool.
Extra Credit: Guitars, Drums, Bass, Melody, Originality.

wow
amazing musicians.very very tight. sounds a little like primus. very original. i think i just had a convulsion.
Extra Credit: Guitars, Originality, Grooviest Rhythm.

Intersting and progressive
Guitar sound should be improved. Everything else in a mix is ok. Although it's complicated it has a memorable melody which is a good thing. Only problem is that there is no some chill out part. It's on and on all the time. Although nice shift around 1:50. It sure is interesting and original. Should have some more changes and dynamics. But considering it's shorter than 3 min it's ok.
Extra Credit: Bass, Originality.

Blipblop, a jazz for spazzez
What the f..!! did i just step into a japanese arcadegame??
Walking slapp-bass, skilled guitars, and good drummer = much creative jazzjamming. Dont know what to say? Its to much! hehe well for most people anyways. It changes the songcostym to fast and often, around 1:55 is the only melody i can remember 10sec after listning. Well it all depends on what your plans are for this song? No MTV hit i promise ;) haha. As for the for musiclovers its a goodvibe tune, making smiles appear.
Extra Credit: Guitars, Production, Originality.

Wowza
This is definitely out there. It is way interesting though. These are some crazy good musicians from a physical standpoint. Fingers and hands must be flying constantly. I could go for a bit more of a mood range, though. It is the same energy almost throughout the entire thing. Really good job though! The Ending is sweet.

ok
Very trippy. It sounds too artificial though. The midi sounding bass kinda ruins it. Very jazzy. A more natural recording will do this song justice. Sounds like a computer game meets primus.
Extra Credit: Originality.

50/50
Touch of primus sound in there. Would like it better if it was live instruments instead of so electronic sounding. As it is, unsure. Can heard the potential though.

Well, sound very pleasant. Many extra credits for originality, production (very clean, I used dry setups on Guitar Rig) and execution. A couple of guys just hated it and gave me for sure one star, so probably the average opinion in people who liked it (sometimes reviewer are not dealing with "their" genre(s), and I wonder why) is around 4.5.

I think this is quite positive!

Summary of activities

2009-08-04T00:01:00.006+02:00

Many things are on the go, maybe too much.

On Garageband still no reviews, seems like in august most of reviewers are on the beach. Meanwhile, I continue in doin' mine to earn another contest entry.

I'm a little stuck with Maya 3D. The usual wall of complexity at 25% of self-instruction, mostly based on the great number of new info (brain refuse to fill in further, it's "bored"). I need it for my job and next videos. Anyway I learnt basics in modeling and rigging, which is the most important thing. I've seen I can re-use my old bevelling basic solids Lightwave tecnique, and add new sculpting features to a defined shape. I prefer to go into deep with these two parts then start with FX (liquids, sparkles, fluids, mass scenes management and so on).

I have to do a Clash cover (Complete Control from first record) for Apskaft, we're doin' a compilation based on Rolling Stones top 500. As usual we random assigned tracks, I had to choose among Who's Baba O'Riley, Clash's Complete Control and a song by Springsteen. I eliminated Springsteen immediately :-D, so I was uncertain between clash and one of the very few songs by Who I like, but Clash was nearest to me, I listened a lot to that record (and to London Calling or Sandinista!)

Collaborations. I'm keeping contact with various musicians to make a team-up record in the next future, but I'm too busy to start anything. Good luck they are all calm, pacific and patient people :-D

I found a NING group pretty interesting, Progrock.ning, and joined immediately. After a half dozen NINGs by electronic musicians, I can talk about avant & prog with a few nice people. They inserted three songs of mine (intro, Behind the Curtain and Møre og Romsdal) in the main playlist, and we started to exchange info and opinions via forum or shoutbox. Friendly, and freaky as prog deserves. Well I'm passing most of the NING-time :-D there.

Behind the Curtain at Garageband contest.

2009-07-24T02:16:00.009+02:00

Today I entered Garageband's Experimental Rock contest with Behind the Curtain (from Étoile). I was unsettled on what genre, as this song is progressive but also math rock, a friend of mine told me it's quite kingcrimsonian, and KC are one of the biggest example in oblique music ranging from avantgarde to prog or simple mechanic rock.

Zappa is one of the Big artists suggested by Garageband to define "Experimental Rock", with Mogwai (!). Really, can't see anything in common. But seems to me I'm more zappian than similar to Satriani, suggested by Instrumental Rock (another hypotesis I pondered on, but left after this evidence).

OK, cross my fingers and let's see what's happening! Wooooohoooo!

Étoile - world & symphonic progressive meets kraut rock - is out!

2009-07-09T02:46:00.006+02:00

Fourth release by Hox Vox, it's a concept album about stars - both intended as prima ballerinas and celestial bodies - and their issues.

Genre is a series of mixes with world music, symphonic progressive, a bit of contemporary and kraut electronics, always with the free approach of Rock in Opposition tradition (from Zappa to Henry Cow): sometime resulting in complex structures with mindbending pairings of melodies and subtle detuned arrangments.

Étoile start with a Residents-like intro sung by a couple of real pigs, then a piece of math/art rock, sounding like a too dry death metal. Then from Rhythmbox the record begins wedging prog, contemporary, world and electronics.

Updates: new record, new band

2009-05-28T17:52:00.004+02:00

I made a song for a cover album by Apskaft. We decided to remake "Spice" by Spice Girls (plus a couple of bonus tracks), and we random assigned tracks to 12 bands. My song was Mama, and I made an industrial-goin'-to-japanese-naive-and-back avant-rock (almost unrecognizable) track.

Record is called Apskaft presents: Spice and is uploaded at Last.FM, plus I enclosed it in ./root: the singles compilation of singles by Hox Vox.

Meanwhile I started new sessions for Étoile, my new record.
This time I'll have a couple of bandmates side by side, they're Gert Breitenkamp (long-experienced drummer) and Sami Hotakainen (whose electronic solo project is Hotsam). We're starting to exchange tracks and refine the scheme I made 'til now.

We are trying to see if we work well together: if the experience will be positive (I think so) we join as a trio, so Hox Vox will be my solo side project and the main activity will be in this band.

I released Das Chamäleon today

2009-03-15T00:51:00.007+01:00

3d release by Hox Vox project, Das Chamäleon is a 5 track EP - about mutant music, obtained through bizarre pairings or juxtaposing uneven genres.
Everything on this record is made by me, cover included (except some crowd cheering samples in Plastic Boots).

Tracks description:

Springbound is an electronic/IDM number. I think sometimes its melodies remind The Gasman style, I like his work so this is a consequent fact.
Plastique Boots is a fake live act between white reggae and punk rock. Track is very basic, I resisted to add another guitar or some atmospheric pads as I needed a simple but crisp phase between Springbound and Entr'Acte.
Entr’acte - inspired by famous Renè Clair movie - puts together electronics and latin. Song is based on an opposition between two solutions in melting cold electronics with a warm melody.
Cockroach got the darker Residents influences plus a slow and harsh fusion bass guitar, this is a "dual" song as Entr'acte, but this time it's based on a root melody played first straight then reversed, with different arrangements.
Das Chamäleon starts in a funky fashion and developes a series of themes usually considered as incongruous, being the manifesto of whole record: jazz, avantprog, latino à la Santana, post-rock, funk again. Song closing got the best bassline I've conjured in my tiny carrier.

Back on net

2009-03-11T16:42:00.003+01:00

My ADSL works again, so let's summarize what's happened meanwhile.

Endlessly looking for a job in a very hard recession, I'm recording my last record. It's composed of five pieces: first four tracks are almost finished, now I'm working on last one. It's very complex and twisted, so I wonder as usual if I'm goin' too baroque or - worst - quite wanky.
(I don't want to say titles as I can change them on the go, or even 5 minutes before upload; so better be vague)

I already made album's cover, so I only need to finish last song, go back to final arrangments on first four songs, and make last maniac analysis before upload and see if there's feedback.
I think I'll subscribe last song of record to Garageband experimental rock contest if the result will be what I got in my mind. Can't say "exactly" because the track as I said up here is quite zigzagging so it's difficult to imagine all the details in an overall view. This could result in a drastic simplification, but I take this option as very far.

Slowly LaGuardia climb up the charts in Garageband, got a 3.2 score now and it's about at half way in all-times progressive charts (#1,015 of 2,167), but sadly it's only #50 on 66 in active Prog Contest. Still I think it was better subscribe it on Experimental rock contest, but I was a newbie and didn't get the situation.

Future plans

2009-02-23T01:30:00.007+01:00

I took a long rest after Thar desert videoclip: I was really overhelmed after three videos in one month - and without a break, I started to work on clips right after Outskirt's end.
In these vacation days I still was thinking to music, some new songs came in my mind, and forgot as well (except one, which will be the first I'll work on). I think what I forgot was not so impressive, resulting in kind of filter for bad material. I mean, thinking this way it's at least conforting.

This time I would make a less eclectic record.
For many reasons:

few people can listen to a whole record if it's made of mazurkas, death metal, classical, pop, funky, electronics, punk, general absurdities... the average listener likes one or two... maybe three (not very) different genres.
having more than a musical identity result in a vague global identity. People can't remember You, it's the same dynamics in advertising, unfocused=forgettable.
I could say I don't care about the previous two points, as I play for my pleasure so if You don't like it, listen to another musician :-D. But I myself want to make a record more compact, and go into deep in a single genre.

It's hard to decide what genre. I think I'll finish to split my ideas on smaller units, like Eight-Bit Deboned which is less than 18 minutes.

Another 2 Awards on Garageband for LaGuardia, 3:00 A.M.

2009-02-16T14:56:00.013+01:00

Yes, this time it happened something I couldn't imagine: my composition style impressed reviewers as they massively voted LaGuardia, 3:00 A.M. as

Best Programming overall, week of 16Feb2009

and, consequently,

Best Programming in Progressive Rock, week of 16Feb2009

I'm very proud about this fact, there are many keys to analyze it. Many listeners hate the plastic sound: they called "sounding like midi", referring to the fact I used willfully very basic sounds - bordering GM - in that and other songs on Outskirt, but they perceive as bad (or better: not very cool) result; or - worst - that's an error in choosing samples. They didn't get they're not samples, I used just three in whole Outskirt :-D Anyway, somebody punished me remarking the fact it's "programmed". I'm not so dumb I didn't get it. Somebody else, instead, found it's a positive feature in my music.

So seems like people, for instance, believe real bass is a midi score when it's played tightly and with plastic amplification, and can't hear the difference from another song with a VST bass emulator... or they even believe VST bass is a real bass (or the opposite), so they're totally faked. It opens a wide array of opportunities.

But going back in theme, giving an award to programming means that people perceive it as a coherent work; whether they like it or not, music sounds reasonable and having a logic underneath.

This is important as I had a precise feedback on my work's reliability. I don't really aim to be a rockstar, as I know I'm moving in an avantgarde context, despite there are listenable - not mainstream - melodies in many songs of mine, so I got it that my genre is about 0,1% of world's listeners taste. I mean, the best in this area is a Big Badass if he can sell 5000 copies of his record :-D.
No, I point to a very small group of people around the world who share my ideas. And hopefully find into that number some people are making music in total freedom like me, so we can exchange our tracks and experiences.

Let's see what's next.

LaGuardia, 3:00 A.M. "Track of the Day" at Garageband

2009-02-12T17:36:00.012+01:00

Despite it's in Progressive Rock contest, and probably should stay better in Experimental Rock (but I already had first reviews so I gotta go on) LaGuardia, 3:00 A.M. was elected Progressive Rock Track of the Day on february 8th.

Here's the badge with link:

And now let's hope I got better reviews than last two :-(( One said it seems videogame music, (very interesting carrier opportunity, but wasn't what this guy meant); the other "hold music"... Jeez!

Actually Rockstar's life is very hard nowadays: blood, sweat & tears!!!

HVB - 3rd videoclip: Thar Desert

2009-02-06T21:58:00.005+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I modified last tiny details and saved master file for Thar Desert, 3rd videoclip from an Outskirt track.

This time I worked on a more ordinary videoclip concept, but I couldn’t just trace out. I recorded by a viewcam me playing Thar Desert and extracted a discreet number of frames (a nightmare cutting them out, really), then assembled again in animated sequence form.

Alberta Marchiori gave me pictures she shooted in Egypt last December, so I made a great use of them to create the environment and some absurdities (as usual).

The result is obviously grotesque as I still believe in The Residents / Frank Zappa / Pere Ubu and share at 101% their nothing-is-sacred approach.

HVB - Belief: Greed videoclip online

2009-01-17T17:31:00.008+01:00

Belief: Greed videoclip is OK, I uploaded it in Youtube Hox Vox Box channel.

I worked on a video of mine which won a couple of animation contest prizes in first 90s, called "Peyote". The strange process was 1) clean the video like it was done nowadays 2) add animation part missing and create... an aged film aspect, like it was an old documentary film. :-D Seems strage but the real video damages were very bad, the computer-generated are somewhat pleasant, they look like vintage but without destroy too much the footage.

Plot is about a peyote experience by a late 60s hippie on mexican mesa. I think is a good companion for Belief: Greed, as song and images are both dealing with psychedelic (but song is more aptly tagged as avantprog/rock in opposition).

HVB - Working on two new videoclips

2009-01-15T14:35:00.007+01:00

In these days I'm doing a fierce battle with Garageband technicians to solve a problem about a double subscription. It was my fault, I made a mess between iLike and Garageband: didn't get I was wrong making artist page in iLike, and then another on Garageband...
I should do that ONLY on Garageband. Then iLike build automatically a copy of info and music. I'm upset but mostly with myself.

Back to my battle, they have only to change my definitive band account from Hox Vox 2 (temporary name to permit deletion of othe band account) to Hox Vox.
I can't submit songs to contests and radios as I don't want feed confusion. It's from December 12 I'm writing dozen of email, but delete a couple of letters from a name via database query seems a very hard chase to accomplish.

While I'm waiting for the miracle, I'm working on a couple of videoclips. The one for Belief: Greed is almost finished, maybe I'll close and upload tonight.

The other clip is for Thar Desert: I'm stuck with a missing camera cable, but I'm going to solve it this afternoon thanks to Cianoiz. Tomorrow morning I can work on that.

HVB - Belief: Wrath videoclip online

2009-01-07T04:05:00.008+01:00

I just finished first videoclip from Outskirt, and uploaded to my new Hox Vox Box channel on Youtube.

I've chosen Belief: Wrath because that anti-song (which I tag as "grindcore classical") was very apt to a sarcastic point of view about live concerts. I was always surprised how people are totally mad during them, but calm and serious just before and after. :-D

I mean, it's more noticeable than people disguised in carnival... seems like they were waiting for eons to give vent to their need of raising against normal boring lifestyle. It sound me as a clear pent-up driven expression.

While I respect it, I got the right to kid it. I used a mixed technique (die-cuts in the usual way but also 2D puppet which gives movements a gummy elasticity) so the result is very near to Terry Gilliam's (of Monthy Python) animations, it has the same "Max Ernst meets Tex Avery" taste.

Probably frenzy animation rhythm override music in itself, I mean it tends to steal the lead role; as the music is mechanical and obsessive, so it goes on the back. Not the steel snare, of course, it stick in your cranium as a nail. You can't forget it.

I think it's exactly what I wanted: a video not confortable, but funny all the same.

Hox Vox Box: my new video channel on Youtube

2009-01-07T03:36:00.010+01:00

As I was at the end of Belief: Wrath videoclip, I opened a Youtube channel, called Hox Vox Box (a little cacophonic, but very modular so I like it).

According to the name I created a logo, a carton box with some blue (my favorite color) stars coming out. I love ochre + warm blue (with a little % of yellow in it) pairing, so I didn't spend too much time searching for right colors. That's what I like in a solo project: nobody disagree :-D.

I'll use it like a TV channel logo, superimposing it in classical position - on the right corner down.

Now the page is a little basic, with a tiled background with the name of the channel, but I think few more will be done as YouTube pages' scheme is quite rigid, with few customization possibilities.
Seems like You can change box colors but not shapes, or put a texture behind a title area: just have a background, and not bigger than 256 KB).

Anyway, after a couple of days needed to make the channel start, now it's ready to fill with videos.

Outskirt - Last song, album closed

2008-12-08T16:47:00.005+01:00

On Dicember 8 16:30 (so this is the exact "release date" :-D) I rendered last song and uploaded on MySpace, Last.FM and Missero.it:

15. Belief: Pride

It's an endless single cuban (in my way) loop, with compulsive bass, an insistent xylophone and a reasonable amount of small percussions layers (but drum set is definitely rock.) It prepares with diablo rhythms and lightheartedness to approach melancholic Pet's Repository intro.

I got a largely foreseen sense of emptyness, and temptation to add another song or two. Or three... Probably they should sort out kind of cover of the rest of the record, after one month passed on this project the reason is obvious. Better leave it alone, it's over... Never flog a horse after the finish!

Now have a rest with music, and prepare graphical announce(s) to friends (and enemies).

Outskirt - Belief: Slot & Wrath

2008-12-08T02:53:00.006+01:00

On Dicember 7 I completed both Belief: Sloth & Belief : Wrath, and uploaded on MySpace, Last.FM and Missero.it:

12. Belief: Sloth

A bit sloth and a bit lazy, 7/4 . Maybe it's the most mainstream part of Outskirt, a contaminated synthpop.

13. Belief: Wrath (Hommage à Shinu Mazafakingu Ujimushi)

It's a cover of TBA by Shinu Mazafakingu Ujimushi, an english grindcore band who recorded only that song on a Lo-Fi or Die compilation. I listened to it zillion of times, for a couple of reasons:

1) I got it only in mp3, and it's disgusting low quality, maybe they did it with a VeryVeryLame mp3 codec for bad cell phones. Sounds are melted like you were listening the band from into a washing machine, except a tom, in fact ...
2) song's "melody" (...) is overpowered by a single note, the one of a very acute tom, metallic like the snare drum by Metallica in St. Anger (years before Metallica).

I just couldn't stop to listen that watery roaring made by bass drum, bass, guitar and snare drum, and above this hammer hits piercing my brain. Sometime I think that I probably I'd never love so much it if it was not so really bad coded. Points 1) and 2) are in symbiosis.

I replayed (almost) slavishly same drum sequence, with different timbers and sounds, and recreated the "roaring" with three violas. The result is kind of "Kronos Quartet plays Shinu Mazafakingu Ujimushi". And I putted on a different layer the rest of drums, reaching three plans instead of the original two.

Now I only miss 15. Belief: Pride. So I'm just a little late (one day) on my supposed timeline.

Outskirt - Pet's Repository

2008-12-06T19:03:00.006+01:00

On Dicember 6 I completed album's closing song, plus uploaded it on MySpace, Last.FM and Missero.it:

16. Pet's Repository

After a pondering time, I decided that cemetery or graveyard are terms too gothic. Repository is ambiguous, can be the ultimate repository, or kennel. It's difficult to argue who's more tied to solitude, so O.T. is off.
Song is a result of contructing and dismantling. First I grew up with dozen of instruments and atmosferic pads 'til the grosser. Then I had a u-turn and started to delete part after part, so i obtained a skeleton progressive, I mean more similar to Cardiacs than Camel. I like the result of a punk approach to prog, such as Pere Ubu (in an avant fashion) or Cardiacs (more melody aware) did.

At this point songs I have to finish are: 12. Belief: Sloth - 13. Belief: Wrath - 15. Belief: Pride.

Outskirt - Belief: Envy

2008-12-04T02:08:00.014+01:00

On Dicember 3 I completed Envy part of Belief suite, plus uploaded it on MySpace, Last.FM and Missero.it:

14. Belief: Envy

Envy is in my opinion a childish/unripe kind of defect. So this is the seed.
Talking about the song in itself, it's an electronic section starting as cold sum of sequences, dense but minimal, with shifting changes on the like of Raymond Scott's Soothing Sounds for Children, and its develope is dotted in a crescendo by some Carl Stalling 's intruders.
Don't know if conceptually speaking I went on a cacophony, or better, an unnecessary remark on what was already remarked. The result sounds much frenzier and brilliant after Stalling invasion, that's the most important thing.

This evening I worked on (old named) Pet Cemetery (16th and last song): I completed the sad main sax theme and a seed of variations, so I'm at 25%. I feel it's getting better than I expected, so I'm in euphoria about it. Meanwhile, I think this title reminds too much Ramones' homonym song.
I don't dislike them: with Dickies they're my favourite idiot punk band. They reached out the sublime, in their kitsch, primitive but effective approach. I listened a lot to both for years. But I change the title whatever, just to avoid somebody think about a cover; so now it's Pet's Graveyard. I keep it for a couple of days, to test if start to seem unsuitable after a while.

Then I tried to go on with Belief: Sloth, but some pegs doesn't fit in their right hole. Days in, days out.

At this point songs I have to finish are:

- 12. Belief: Sloth
Something to re-work, or throw and make it another way.
- 13. Belief: Wrath
Hommage à Shinu Mazafakingu Ujimushi, great one-day band, so it's a grindcore part; yet to start. But got it all perfectly clear in my mind, I only want to play it for last.
- 15. Belief: Pride
Got the cuban theme, and some hypothesis on the (coherently) cuban develope. Here the problem is keeping the piano fresh as a rose.
- 16. Pet's Graveyard
Started at the best, probably tomorrow this will be the song I'll work on for first.

If I'm in the right mood, maybe I finish the four songs within monday. So I can let a couple of day pass and then make the last full check, before declaring work done, and think about a videoclip.

Outskirt - from Thar Desert to Belief: Greed

2008-12-02T00:12:00.009+01:00

On November 30 I completed songs I described while working on them in last post, so I uploaded all on MySpace, Last.FM and Missero.it:

08. Junction Box
09. Belief: Lust
10. Belief: Gluttony
11. Belief: Greed

On December 1st I solved a couple of problems in song n.7, so I finished it as well.

07. Thar Desert

Bass, which serves both rhythm & melody, a compulsive-riff guitar and a very dry drum set. Funky to the rougher, I had in my mind Bill Laswell style when he played in Massacre or first Material record (Memory Serves), plus the old No Wave funk area (Konk, Contortions, Liquid Liquid and the like).

This evening I made some modification in another couple of songs: orchestral background in Reidsville, NC and a couple of passages in Zimniy Dvorets. Updated both songs and uploaded to the usual repositories.

Outskirt - Update

2008-11-28T14:11:00.005+01:00

I've been sick a whole week, it started while I was recording song n. 7 Thar Desert, so my (supposed) timing now is a little longer. I left that song (a funky number) on W.I.P. , 'cause I'm still not satisfied with the groove - I thought I had to pick up that song again later, so I went on with next songs.

08. Junction Box

It's an electronic joint between first Outskirt half and Belief + closing two song. Works like a teather curtain.

• Belief suite

I'm not a believer (in neither deity nor men), so everything related always gave me a scent of loneliness. I perceive the subject doesn't fill, as probably doesn't exist. Capital sins are symptomatic: no honest man can deny they're bad acts, whatever point of view, being religious or not. So if You don't believe when You face them You think it's a trial where judge is absent. Obviously a true believer cannot accept this pont of view, as he thinks that simply the Judge exists.
I'm not interested in demonstrate anything, it should be a bumptious and silly claim. But I'm interested in my particular point of view, and develope in music.

09. Belief: Lust

First movement is an obscure carpet of percussions with a couple of solo inserts by saxophone and a dry guitar acting both a crescendo and then a physiological after-coming decay. I don't deny it's grossly didactic (on purpose).

10. Belief: Gluttony

Second movement is cleaner, with a off-beat jazz drum, double bass groaning in your belly like hunger and an oboe trio from far like a smell of delicatessen.

11. Belief: Greed

Third Movement is greed in timing (less than a minute) but it's the most RIO song in Outskirt, in debt with Henry Cow or Art Bears' dischordant melodies.

I'm working at the same time on this four songs, I'm near to complete 'em all; maybe tomorrow.

Outskirt - Zimniy Dvorets (the Winter Palace)

2008-11-15T16:42:00.009+01:00

Song n. 6 uploaded to Outskirt's play/download pages at www.missero.it and Last.FM.

6. Zimniy Dvorets (the Winter Palace)

I changed my mind yesterday while working on Amazon Rainforest. I had as startup a classical romantic theme, something between Mussorgskji and Saint-Saëns, but more on the russian side. I've seen in my mind old documentaries and ancient pictures about the Bloody Sunday while I imagined the rest of the song, an endless zig-zaggin' progression chords ostinato, very grave, dramatic.

And same time I imagined this enormous building getting empty by czar Nicolas II sudden leaving for Alexander Palace. Right place for the pianist I left on Enterprise in Sigma Hydrae strike back.

Also, I found interesting having a song about a New York airport and then another about S. Petersburg's Winter Palace.

So, I shifted Amazon Rainforest to cue's end, and thinking about rebuilding a logic from this song onward. Maybe I have to fill with a couple more small songs this outline change.

Outskirt - LaGuardia, 3:00 A.M.

2008-11-14T03:57:00.010+01:00

Song n. 5 uploaded to Outskirt's play/download pages at www.missero.it and Last.FM.

5. LaGuardia, 3:00 A.M.

Airport totally smoke free "thanks" Rudolph Giuliani: a nightmare. I draw on this to catch the surreal atmosphere broken by sneaky zombies supposed to be fresh managers ever on the go, and tired immigrates side by side with young cheap travelers, all looking for nightime low-cost flights.

Song result is something like Cardiacs playing be-bop in front of Starbucks coffee-shop night time.

Next song is Amazon Rainforest, a quite complex (to me: I'm not Liberace) piano part in Outskirt. I think I'll need a couple of days to build the structure.

Outskirt - First 4 songs

2008-11-13T10:38:00.005+01:00

Ended up with song n. 4 Giant Star Antares, and uploaded with the other three to Outskirt's play/download pages at www.missero.it and Last.FM.

1. Sigma Hydrae

It's Outskirt's intro, comprising a vivace drone (in comparison to those of GI!BE) growing up progressively (...) with chorus to his theatric closing, disturbed by an elusive pianist involved in a spastic series of tryouts, searching for the right theme. I imagine him on an Enterprise-like starship's bridge, trying to get in vain inspiration by Sigma Hydrae nebula slow approaching.

2. Møre og Romsdal

It's a Norwegian County splitted in countless fjords and isles. I could only describe the feelings through a glacial jazz-death metal approach, so I tried to melt the cold Meshuggah and Mike Barr kind of outputs. I wanted to give a couple of unexpected twist to add lunacy, I hope I achieved that aim.

3. Reidsville, NC

I've been living in Greensboro (and going back to Italy sometimes) from 2002 to 2005 when I was a designer in a Reidsville company.

Reidsville was an average industrial area before China's low-cost production side effects, and it was never high populated anyway.

Near Greensboro there's Winston Salem (up here my favourite pub), Tim Sparks' (and other more moonshine-conventional guitarists) hometown. Some of them I've heard in concert on different nights while eating at a small pine-wooden restaurant in Reidsville.

The guitarist usually took a chair from a free table, went in an apt corner and started to play, surrounded by voices, noises and when warm weather (so windows were opened) with car passing sound. This song was the most emotional to put together.

4. Giant Star Antares

I'm quite satisfied with the results. I avoided to pump sounds on purpose to get an early kraftwerk/krautronics taste. Electronics sounds like minimal classical instead of being a multilayered baroque pastiche of pads and ambient sounds covering nothingnesses, which is more than boring.
Back to outer space (after the intro Sigma Hydrae), it's 5 minutes of audio travelogue about revolving around Antares, from door to door.

Now I'm working on song n. 5, LaGuardia 3:00 A.M., I hope I'll finish the recording within friday 14 evening.