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A Listener’s Guide to Intimate Electronica, Synthpop and Squiggly Bits (by Yours Truly)

It all begins with Intimate Electronica. It’s not the kind of music you’re going to hear at a stadium – ever. It’s not even something you are likely to hear me perform live. It’s more likely you will listen to these songs through headphones, or leave them playing during quiet moments when you are thinking about stuff, daydreaming, chilling out, in a mellow mood, or want something playing in the background while you are reading or working on other things that need your attention. It’s peaceful music that just happens to be made with synthesized sound. It can be thought of as a personal sountrack that plays underneath whatever is going on in your life, at the moment.

The melodies are often very simple, often repetitive, as they play over a bed of interesting soundscapes. The songs may otherwise include long impressionistic or textural solo voices that wind their way through these audio landscapes. Sometimes these solos are performed on acoustic or electric guitar, or with virtual synth voices that simulate other analogue instruments, but the aesthetic still falls under the banner of electronica more than acoustic instrumental.

An example of Intimage Electronica would be the song, Floating Out to Sea.

Floating Out to Sea

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Second in line is Synthpop. While I make a lot of quiet instrumental stuff, I also like making more active music with the tools at my disposal, as well. I have a deep fondness for pop music of the sixties and early-seventies. I’m also quite fond of modern Asian Pop music, as well. Add to this all the great synth music that came out in the eighties, and you have an idea of what fuels my work within this genre. While my Synthpop tracks generally have more of a beat to them with more apparent use of drum and bass, they rarely approach the shores of electronic dance music. They are, instead, built with more of a pop song structure or mentality. This is the arena where songs with lyrics come out to play. In spite of that, I still write a lot of instrumental Synthpop songs.

An example of Synthpop would be the song, Down the Rabbit Hole.

Down the Rabbit Hole

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And finally, the Squiggly Bits are what I consider to be the oddball, one-off, or experimetal stuff. It can be a song that makes me laugh a lot, with funny lyrics, or it might be a bit dark or menacing. Maybe it’s a bit more jazzy or bluesy than the rest, or a bit more straight-up rock and roll. The Squiggly Bits are often a result of asking myself, “I wonder how this will sound?” It’s the musical melting pot where I play around with sounds, structures, recording techniques, and lyrics in a way that doesn’t really fit either the Intimate Electronica or Synthpop sensibilities. If you think of it as noodling around with sound, that might help clarify why I call them Squiggly Bits.

An example of Squiggly Bits would be the song, Skidmarks! (the demo was originally called, “Background Harmonizing Exercise”).

Skidmarks!

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Class Dismissed!

And there you have it!

In just a few brief paragraphs I’ve been able to explain the kind of music I like to make, and also a little bit about what influences and fuels my musical obsessions.

Hopefully, this helps to explain what I’m looking to accomplish and gives you an idea if it’s the sort of music you might like to listen to.