Tag: backward masking
Orchid Track #17: Silent
by Christopher on Aug.31, 2009, under Orchid - The Demo
17) Silent (2:45)
Not available since 1999
`Silent’ is the beginning of the last song cycle called `First and Last.’ This cycle bears little to no resemblance to the former 3. It yields but 3 songs which do not adhere to the `Orchidian Dogmas.’
I think it was a conscious decision to make `Orchid’ asymmetrical. There might have been a numerological subtext, but that’s been long forgotten.
If there is an underlying theme of this cycle, it’s apology and absolution.
When I listen to `Silent’ after all the other tracks that came before, it almost seems to decimate all the previous musical statements. For all the vocal shortcomings that I had in 1999, I have a fondness for this track. Music for White Noise and Voice.
I’ve always had an affinity for chanteuse-sung jazz and the lot. There’s a little bit of that in this song.
This track consists of backward masked voices as well as melodies sung underwater. I filled up a bathtub, put my microphone wrapped in a garbage bag, and stuck my head under the water and started singing. Oddly enough, I cannot tell the difference between these melodies and the ones that were backward masked. They both have that sense of `dead space.’ It was a cool experiment, definitely worth trying again.
