色即是空日記 2020年7月5日に開催された Miaoux Miaoux の3rdアルバム『School of Velocity』のリスニングパーティ。あとでじっくりツイート読もうと思って、気づいたら1か月以上経ってた。こうやって人生は過ぎてゆくのだなァ。
ジュリアンが語るアルバム制作秘話、どんなんかな～？
目次
Opening
Right here we go then! Title of the album is stolen from https://t.co/YqlIGPKho6 but is supposed to be a description of the mad speed of modern life, the city on the front cover being a literal school of velocity, haha #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Amazonリンクが切れているぴえん。「Velocity Complete Schirmer Library of Classic」という商品は見つからず。『The School of Velocity, Op. 299』のことだろうか。
「School of Velocity」は直訳すると「速度の学校」。速さといえば「speed」を思い浮かべるけど、「velocity」とはちょっと違う。
speed ： 速さ（大きさのみのスカラー量）
velocity： 速度（大きさと方向をもつベクトル量）
日本語訳では「速さ」と「速度」として使い分けるみたい。違いは向きの有無と捉えればいいのかな。
で、モダンライフのマッドスピードの説明になる……？ 表紙の都市は文字通り速度の学校……ハハ……ダメだ、英語ワカラナイ。現代社会の狂ったスピードに警鐘でも鳴らしているのですか違うよねもっとライトな感じよねきっといや違うのか（泣）
01． Launch Loop
Launch Loop – the title is from an invention to put people into space with a giant mechanical slingshot, sounds dangerous https://t.co/p50j24PJEK
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Launch Loop – it’s supposed to be a summation of the album’s themes, the chorus being a literal ‘chorus’ in the theatrical sense #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
一曲目「Launch Loop」。ローンチループ（またはロフストロムループ）は、上空に持ち上げられた移動ケーブルを用いて、 軌道上に宇宙機や人工衛星を打ち上げるために提案されたシステム（Wikipediaより）。
「巨大な機械式パチンコで宇宙に人を入れる発明」、確かに危なそう。
アルバムテーマの集大成で、chorus は演劇的な意味での文字通りのコーラス。ってこれは合唱ではなく、反復、再現のことだと思ってたんだけれど。だってループだからね。chorus にはポピュラー音楽の主題のソロパートという意味もあるのかー。へー。
まあまあまあ、難しいことはさておき、最初のファンファーレっぽいのがいいよね。始まりますよーって感じで。金管楽器のファンファーレと違って、シンセの音（？）だから爽やかで軽やかよ。人間をミャオミャオスペースに打ち上げるミュージックなわけですね。
Launch loop – Wikipedia
ロフストロムループ – Wikipedia
02． A Flutter Echo
A Flutter Echo – I like this one, I think it turned out well. Many arguments about whether to mark it ‘explicit’ haha. In a roundabout way it’s about a good friend of mine that passed away giving a message of positivity through the non-linearity of time #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Some quality samba drums from my friend @LChapmanDrums who also played on a lot of the rest of the record, and in the live band
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
I realised recently it’s partly inspired by Talking Heads ‘This Must Be The Place’, that synth line at least
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
この曲大好き。Miaoux Miaoux の楽曲で一つだけ好きな曲挙げろって言われたらこれ選ぶ。それくらいツボってる部分が多い。
フラッターエコーは、日本語で鳴き竜、多重反響のことを指すらしい。
歌詞はまたあとでじっくり味わうとして。
大好きなトーキング・ヘッズの名が出てきて嬉しびっくり。「This Must Be The Place」からインスパイアされている部分があったと。言われてみると確かに。なるほどなるほど。そりゃツボるはずだ。
ドラムはリアム・チャップマンさん。高品質のサンバドラム。自分サンバのリズムパターンも好きなんだろうな。余談だけど、彼のサイト、素敵だった。
03． Star Sickness
Star Sickness – that arp was written on an SH101, then the rest of the song sort of followed. It’s about jealousy and trying to get over negative feelings through jamming out. And the title is from here! https://t.co/nci2VpMf2s
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Like a lot of songs on the record, this went through many, many versions before it was good #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
More ace drums from @LChapmanDrums
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
04． Luxury Discovery
Luxury Discovery – I wrote this while cleaning the dishes, it just popped into my head. The demo is absolutely blinding and we never managed to make the final version sound as good, I don’t think. The bass is from the original demo, I’ve never played bass as well since
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Luxury Discovery – I wrote this while cleaning the dishes, it just popped into my head. The demo is absolutely blinding and we never managed to make the final version sound as good, I don’t think. The bass is from the original demo, I’ve never played bass as well since
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Reharmonised the ‘Oh My God’ melody at the end to make it darker, like ‘Oh my god, the horror’ rather than ‘Oh my god it’s amazing’ #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
05． School of Velocity
School of Velocity – had this riff in 5/4 kicking around for ages, took a while to make a song out of it. It’s a shout into the void, that I’ve got no idea who I am or what I’m doing! Haha. We went mad in the studio mixing it very loud, engineer said he felt like he was on drugs
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Me playing drums at the end, big guitar, trying to make it as huge as possible #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
06． Giga Shrug
Giga Shrug – a title corrupted from @deerhoof ‘Giga Dance’. It’s a slow funk jam about depression. Again, took ages to get right, the early demos are terrible! Enjoyed just shifting the chord sequence through keys for the sections #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Like the production on this actually, been a while since I heard it. Obviously the shite demos made it better in the end #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
This keyboard solo is good fun. We never played it live but should have #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
07． It’s the Quick
It’s The Quick – made on an MS20 and SQ10, that pretty much drives the whole thing! Just a fun bit of techno. ‘The quick’ as in the vital core, the essence of something #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
I think the original version is like half an hour long haha. The hardest bit of this track was editing it down to make sense #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
There’s a bit of guitar feedback here we did in @Chem19Studios, which is where we mixed the album as well, adds a wee something #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
cover art and trailer
Shout out to James Houston @1030 for making the amazing cover art and this sick trailer https://t.co/Pb0sq4JcMV #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
08． Peaks Beyond Peaks
Peaks Beyond Peaks – a song about the illusion of progress, there’s always a point higher and better just up ahead, and you’ll never get there! #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Strings by @CairnQuartet #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Then it goes all weird and heavy, as you realise you’re never getting there. Bit of anger I think haha #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
09． Unbeatable Slow Machine
Unbeatable Slow Machine – title from Philip Larkin:
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
“Life is an immobile, locked,
Three-handed struggle between
Your wants, the world’s for you, and (worse)
The unbeatable slow machine
That brings what you’ll get”
In retrospect this is quite a bleak record haha #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Anyway I wrote this while hanging up washing, again just arrived in my head. Has a sample of a train outside Duke Street Station in it, that’s part of the hi hat. Probably one of the most successful productions as it’s the least busy #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
10． Mostly Love, Now
Mostly Love, Now – this song was floating around for ages. Title is from the poem ‘Testament’ by Hayden Carruth:
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
“The stuff
of ego with which we began, the mass
in the upper chamber, filters away
as love accumulates below. Now
I am almost entirely love”https://t.co/URB5uz4hwB
A positive note to end the record on, a hope for the future & development, and getting over the shit #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
“I’m sure you’ve heard this all before, you will again. There is no end, it’s not an easy trick, I guess what’s worth it never is” is pretty much the best way I could sum things up #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
The album ends with the same arp that it starts with, so you have heard it all before and you will again. It’s cyclical, like so much of life #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
Ending
That’s it! Thanks for joining in everyone. Proud of that record and glad you all enjoyed it #sovlisteningparty
— Miaoux Miaoux (@miaouxmiaoux) July 4, 2020
