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Post by diego4533 on Apr 17, 2019 19:38:48 GMT -5
I don't know if I wrote this here or spoke it elsewhere, but Heartland's chronology is all out-of-whack, too, which is an unfortunate by-product of "the best sequence". Originally, the album was to begin with "Red Sun No. 5"-- Lewis leaving his family-- and go from there. "Midnight Directives" was another "exploit" song, until a friend specifically told me that it HAD to be the first track, musically, and so I rewrote the lyrics to essentially be similar to "Red Sun No. 5"-- Lewis leaving his family. "Keep The Dog Quiet"/"Mount Alpentine" were originally meant to be later in the album, just before "Tryst With Mephistopheles"-- lyrically it makes more sense for Lewis to be singing of his boredom and frustration just before rising up the mountain to execute Owen. "Flare Gun" and "E Is For Estranged" were meant to be on a separate EP. There were other songs that were meant to be on "Heartland" in their place-- "A Watery Day", "Owen's Voice", a version of "A Man With No Ankles" with different lyrics. The recordings I made of those songs at Greenhouse in Iceland didn't work with Heartland in the end, or I couldn't figure out how to work the lyrics/melody into completed instrumentals. I felt frustrated with the fractured chronology of Heartland in the end (even if the album hangs together very well musically to my ears), and I put a lot more thought and care into making sure Island was working both musically and lyrically. It's coming out Q3 2019 btw. We've set the date but we're gonna announce much closer. Already shot a video and two more on the way. Really can't wait for it to be out, at long last. Can’t wait!! Do you think we will get a 7” with a B-side while we wait for the whole album? A Watery Day is (I’m being absolutely honest) my favorite b-side, along with Vampire Weekend’s California English Pt 2. Since you brought up A Watery Day, how did it fit thematically / timeline-wise in Heartland originally? Can’t imagine lyrics or it’s position in the album! |
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Post by Owen from Final Fantasy on Apr 18, 2019 10:13:50 GMT -5
Heartland was so long ago. The original working track list, story-wise, went like this:
1. Red Sun No. 5
2. A Man With No Ankles (different lyrics)
3. Scandal At The Parkade (different lyrics)
4. Lewis Takes Action
5. The Great Elsewhere
6. Oh Heartland, Up Yours
7. A Watery Day
8. Owen's Voice
9. Keep The Dog Quiet
10. Mount Alpentine
11. Tryst With Mephistopheles
12. The End Of Time (Midnight Directives, with different lyrics)
13. What Do You Think Will Happen Now?
Heartland was to be accompanied by a separate EP, which contained discrete stories that happened within the world, but was not part of the original Lewis-turns-on-Owen narrative:
1. Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
2. Flare Gun
3. E Is For Estranged
4. The End Of The End Of Time
So, what happened was this. "A Man With No Ankles", the version we recorded in Iceland, it wasn't good enough for release, so I scrapped it. I revisited it in 2010 with Rusty Santos as producer and I changed the lyrics.
"Scandal At The Parkade", similarly, wasn't coming together in Iceland, so it also got the axe.
"A Watery Day" sounded amazing-- it was one of my favourite instrumentals from the session-- but I was having trouble finishing the lyrics and/or figuring out how to have them sit, so I chopped it, and presented it as an instrumental instead.
"The End Of Time" (aka "Midnight Directives") was identified by my friends as being a perfect opening track, so I changed the lyrics and the title and put it at track 1, and essentially wrote it as being the moment Lewis leaves the farm. The lyrics cover the same topic as "Red Sun No. 5".
"Keep The Dog Quiet"/"Mount Alpentine", similarly, worked better up top, even if the lyrics refer to Lewis's state of being after his crisis of faith, so they got moved to track 2 and 3.
"Owen's Voice" was, similar to "A Watery Day", not coming together vocally-- couldn't figure out a good lyric. Also I felt like the instrumental was sounding too much like Wu-Tang Clan, in a kind of anachronistic way. I eventually put it out on the Export EP.
I decided to include "Flare Gun" and "E Is For Estranged" in the body of "Heartland" even if they were originally intended to be discrete.
I was told that "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt" was too strong a song to leave off the album, so I put it in there too. Rusty was campaigning himself for it to be Track 1.
"The End Of The End Of Time" still exists on my computer. It is an unimpressive instrumental that I will never release.
"A Man With No Ankles" and "Scandal At The Parkade" were rewritten with different lyrics and recorded with Rusty in 2010 in NYC. I also included an ancient song from 2006 called "Honour The Dead, Or Else", which I myself was not a fan of, but lots of people told me they loved, so I recorded and released it. "Don't Stop" was an experiment at taking my live show and integrating post-loop effects-- it didn't work well, it was fussy. My current looping set-up is extremely streamlined and relies on post-loop effects, but I've also eliminated the synth from the equation so "beats" like what was featured in "Don't Stop" no longer will be making an appearance.
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Post by Owen from Final Fantasy on Apr 18, 2019 10:34:28 GMT -5
"Island", comparatively, was extremely the opposite. The track listing and lyrics and everything have always been set in stone. It developed and changed, but there have been next-to-no compromises to the narrative or song order.
I'm not going to divulge what the extra material for "Island" will entail at this time.
I will say that there are three songs that were recorded for "Island" that have been cut. Two of them-- "Vengeance" and "Lewis Takes A Breather"-- will never be released, those songs are dead to me. One of them-- "Black Bishop"-- is halfway done (I recorded the strings for it) but it is such an intense 8-minute song with big blast-beat drums that it'd take me two month just to finish tracking and mixing it, it was very ambitious and I don't think I'll ever be able to finish it, but who knows.
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eamas
Pretty Girl
Posts: 73 
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Post by eamas on Apr 18, 2019 12:21:07 GMT -5
This is so amazing!! Thank you Owen!!! I feel like my eliciting such a thoughtful response from a post about my dnd character represents some odd form of entrapment-- fishing for creator's commentary in the guise of innocuous dorky rambling-- but also I guess I'm fine with it!  Ok, feel free to pretend you didn't see this if it's not something you want to get into just yet (Owen), but I am really gunning for an opera set in Spectrum.  The prospect of an OP opera in general is exciting no matter what the subject, but Spectrum as a setting is just so exceptionally well-suited for such a project imo. That was my first thought when I heard the opera news. |
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Post by xfs_xth on Apr 18, 2019 13:35:51 GMT -5
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Post by lucyndaria on Apr 18, 2019 14:23:23 GMT -5
Oh gosh, this is so amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Owen!
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Post by adrestia on Apr 18, 2019 16:19:11 GMT -5
Oh wow!! This made my day. So much awesome new information about Heartland and Island that I wasn’t expecting! I was telling eamas about this over Twitter, but Heartland has always made me picture a DND campaign. I’ve considered running one related to the narrative, but how would that end? Would me, the DM, have to be the final boss? I’d also not want to confine player characters to a set narrative, but it was a cool idea to entertain. In addition to brainstorming DND campaigns, Heartland is the most “visually” inspiring album I’ve ever heard. I’ve been in an quasi-depressive art rut for years now, and giving Heartland a listen the whole way through somehow did wonders for my creative process again. I’ve even been chipping away and small digital paintings for each song on the album (it’s so easy to picture scenes in my head!), but I’ve only gotten so far as Mt. Alpentine... PHEW! Sorry for the text wall, I got excited seeing so much activity here again as well as news about island’s Q3 release. If it’s not too much to ask.... any news or information you can share on those remasters of old songs that was posted about on Instagram the other day? |
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Post by xfs_xth on Apr 22, 2019 12:26:07 GMT -5
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Post by unctious on Apr 23, 2019 22:28:09 GMT -5
This is all super interesting to hear--likely because I've built my emotional understanding of the album on the I-beams that currently stand. Especially surprised to hear that Lewis Takes Off His Shirt wasn't going to make the original cut--I understand it as such a fundamental emotional crux of the story for me; the movement from disillusionment to defiance.
I've been thinking a lot about the way that Island may change the listener's perspective on Heartland in retrospect, the way we don't understand history until decades after its fruit has come to bear. Thrilled to see how Island might shake things up sort of hermeneutically.
Are there parts of the original story that you think the published version of Heartland misses?
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Post by Cat on Apr 24, 2019 16:14:23 GMT -5
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Post by saint on Apr 24, 2019 21:22:55 GMT -5
Oh wow!! This made my day. So much awesome new information about Heartland and Island that I wasn’t expecting! I was telling eamas about this over Twitter, but Heartland has always made me picture a DND campaign. I’ve considered running one related to the narrative, but how would that end? Would me, the DM, have to be the final boss? I’d also not want to confine player characters to a set narrative, but it was a cool idea to entertain. In addition to brainstorming DND campaigns, Heartland is the most “visually” inspiring album I’ve ever heard. I’ve been in an quasi-depressive art rut for years now, and giving Heartland a listen the whole way through somehow did wonders for my creative process again. I’ve even been chipping away and small digital paintings for each song on the album (it’s so easy to picture scenes in my head!), but I’ve only gotten so far as Mt. Alpentine... That's what I was thinking! My current D&D campaign is semi-influenced by Heartland. There is an "Owen"-like deity that influences and manipulates different characters in the world. There is a "Lewis"-like character that is a farmer turned Paladin/Warlock for "Owen" that the players interact with, possibly join in his quest, and/or fight with. It's mostly a lot of references to Heartland through the places they go (Mt. Alpentine), the setting, and the enemies they fight (cockatrice/basilisk). I was always so captured by the world and narrative of Heartland. It's honestly one of my favorite albums to listen through! D&D really is a cool way of exploring and expanding upon the world Owen produced. |
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eamas
Pretty Girl
Posts: 73
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Post by eamas on Apr 25, 2019 10:35:09 GMT -5
Saint, that is AMAZING! I have nothing to add except that everyone in this thread is so cool! :')
It's wonderful to know that there are people out there doing such amazing, creative things, like running Heartland-based DND campaigns, making digital paintings, etc. I tend to think that interpretation of art is deeply generative. Also, I think that what's generated via the act of interpreting is often just as beautiful as the original product that's initially being interpreted, itself. This thread is, like, Exhibit A.
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eamas
Pretty Girl
Posts: 73
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Post by eamas on Apr 29, 2019 12:03:59 GMT -5
Does anyone have lyrics for Cyclops? |
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Post by xfs_xth on May 1, 2019 10:10:00 GMT -5
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Post by slugzuki on May 2, 2019 12:12:23 GMT -5
I came to this thread for an Island update and instead got a cornucopia of info about one of my favorite albums ever. Thanks so much for taking the time to lay all that out, Owen!!
eamas & saint: It's so cool (although I guess it makes sense) that other people have used their inspiration from Owen in roleplaying games! My first ever D&D character was a githzerai rogue named Lewis. He left his wife and occupation as a mushroom farmer in the underdark to fight the gods with his psychic power. That campaign was a blast.
Eventually the group kind of drifted apart, but in a later campaign with one of the players from the previous campaign DMing, my character glimpsed a mysterious gith-turned-Worm That Walks in a saloon on the astral sea. He had a straw hat.
May Owen's Lewis have a better fate!
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The prospect of an OP opera in general is exciting no matter what the subject, but Spectrum as a setting is just so exceptionally well-suited for such a project imo. That was my first thought when I heard the opera news.
