corduroyinstitute

[corduroyinstitute]

March 3, 2018: Six years ago today, we recorded "Youth," the second song we ever devised using what was becoming Corduroy Institute's signature methodology.

On that Saturday, S.A. Morin returned at the location which would eventually be christened the O'Higgins Laboratory of Recorded Sound where W. Ruiz had a makeshift recording setup centered around a Tascam DP-24SD Portastudio multitrack recorder.

Just as on Tuesday's session for "Fear Is Your Choice," S.A. Morin's tools consisted of a portable pedalboard and the Squier Bass VI. W. Ruiz wielded a mixed array of machines consisting of the Korg Monologue through a Hall of Fame 2 shimmer reverb, plus a Roland SP-505 through an Electribe ES-1. There are at least two layers of drums (the glitch-centric one being audible at the end of the song) and three layers of Bass VI.

After recording our improvisations, we made stanzas using cutups from the B. Davis Archive and proceeded to sing. On the final stanza, we recorded ourselves independently reading the words plus part of the chorus, then we collated these takes by alternating between them on the Tascam.

The recording we made on that occasion six years ago today became "Youth." It was song on the first EP we ever released to the public. Bandcamp download codes for this EP are available upon request for the rest of the month.

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #youth #roland sp-505 #Electribe ES-1 #vintage sampler #sampler #pedalboard #guitar pedals #effects pedals

[corduroyinstitute]

Friday, March 1, 2024: Today marks the second Bandcamp Friday of the year. In honor of this event, we would like to share a collage of some images we crafted on the eve of the release of our album Take the Train to Manchester.

On December 28, as we began uploading the album's master WAV files to Bandcamp, S.A. Morin noticed that each song could receive it's own unique artwork. Corduroy Institute had made custom images for 2019's Guilt in the Faithless Age, but we hardly recalled this fact four years on.

In a spur of creative gusto, S.A. Morin decided to digitally collate text and photographs so each song could posses a unique image. The text came from scans of cut-ups which W. Ruiz had begun making in late September. The pictures were outtakes from the November 12 photoshoot with cover model Sara Prieto in the Golden Hill neighborhood of San Diego. Rarely seen outside of Bandcamp, these collages manage to present an additional dimension to Take the Train to Manchester.

We hope you can visit our Bandcamp page and download Take the Train to Manchester on this special Friday. Indeed, we also recommend revisiting Guilt in the Faithless Age as well. Both albums are the only ones to feature unique images for each song, and we would be pleased if you downloaded both on this unique occasion.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/take-the-train-to-manchester

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/guilt-in-the-faithless-age

#corduroy institute #artists on bandcamp #Bandcamp friday #bandcamp #take the train to manchester #guilt in the faithless age #experimental pop #experimental music #independent music #collage #san diego #golden hill

[corduroyinstitute]

February 27, 2018: Six years ago today, we recorded the first song we ever devised using what would become Corduroy Institute's signature methodology.

On that auspicious occasion, S.A. Morin arrived at the location which would subsequently be christened the O'Higgins Laboratory of Recorded Sound. There, W. Ruiz had prepared a makeshift recording setup centered around his Tascam DP-24SD Portastudio multitrack recorder.

W. Ruiz wielded a mixed array of machines consisting of the Moog Sub Phatty, the Volca FM, the Electribe ES-1, and the Volca Beats. S.A. Morin's tools consisted of a portable pedalboard and his newest acquisition, the Squier Bass VI. This six string instrument became our unofficial third member by appearing on every single song we have ever released.

After recording three layers of multitracked improvisations, we consulted the B. Davis Archive. We made stanzas using only cutups taken from across the spectrum of print media. This has remained our sole method for generating lyrical content for our songs. Then we sang, and then the session ended.

The recording we made on that occasion six years ago today became "Fear is Your Choice." It became the first song on the first EP we ever released to the public. Bandcamp download codes for this EP are available upon request for the rest of the month.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/track/fear-is-your-choice

https://music.apple.com/us/album/fear-is-your-choice/1448639683?i=1448639690

https://youtu.be/1ORg10-Topc?si=GGpqDZhuNGY-9gCZ

https://open.spotify.com/track/5KFJwXxLAd3k2EK10nqSUj

#corduroy Institute #experimental pop #fear is your choice #cutups #collage #collage art

[corduroyinstitute]

Five years ago, following the release of four EPs and one mini-album, Corduroy Institute finally delivered a full-length record: Chair No. 12.

It remains a unique entry in our discography by virtue of featuring no vocals whatsoever. The guiding logic behind this aesthetic choice is explained below.

Chair No. 12 was recorded at a moment when one of our members served as a jury member at the beginning of 2019. Protocol prevented any verbal disclosures about the proceedings, and we incorporated this silence into the album itself. Subsequently, we refrained from singing or creating any lyrics for the nine instrumental pieces. Only the song titles, formulated after the jury decision was rendered, offer oblique clues about the court case. None of this need necessarily concern listeners, for the music still consists of Corduroy Institute's unique form of multitracked improvisations which employ Bass VI, Telecaster, effects pedals, synthesizers, drum machines, and samplers.

As our discography grew over the course of 2019, Chair No. 12 fell by the wayside. Now, on its fifth anniversary, we invite you rediscover this little-known instrumental album. Available for $5 on Bandcamp for the remainder of February.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/chair-no-12

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #independent music #bass vi #bandcamp #digitakt #chair no. 12 #instrumental #improvisation

[corduroyinstitute]

Four years ago, Corduroy Institute released a thirteen song compilation called End of Term Review. Initially conceived as a concise way to introduce the media and prospective listeners to our work, this collection offers a tidy summation of our public accomplishments of 2018-2019.

The compiling process began with each member of Corduroy Institute selecting what he deemed to be our most exemplary works, and the thirteen songs on this collection were collated based on the overlapping pieces. All the songs feature our particular brand of experimental pop, blending improvised music and lyrics derived from cut-ups. No instrumentals were included as emphasis was centered around songcraft.

The earliest songs were then remastered to allow them to coexist seamlessly alongside material released in the second half of 2019. The artwork was created using digital image editing software which superimposed all of the releases covered in this collection.

End of Term Review, viewed retrospectively,  documents the development of our approach to pop music while simultaneously offering a glimpse into a zeitgeist which dissipated mere weeks after this compilation was released.

Available on Bandcamp for $5 for the remainder of February.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/end-of-term-review

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #independent music #bass vi #bandcamp #home recording #digitakt #end of term review #digital collage

[corduroyinstitute]

This week, Corduroy Institute will celebrate two consecutive anniversaries: February 22nd will be the fourth anniversary of the End of Term Review compilation, and February 23rd will mark the fifth anniversary of our instrumental album Chair No. 12.

We hope you will contribute to the longevity of our project by purchasing both of these historical releases.

For the remainder of the month, the pair shall be on sale on our Bandcamp page for the reduced price of $5 each.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/chair-no-12

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/end-of-term-review

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #independent music #bass vi #chair no. 12 #end of term review #bandcamp

[corduroyinstitute]

Today, the illustrious Dave Cromwell has crated a track-by-truck rundown of Corduroy Institute's Take the Train to Manchester. We now invite you to peruse the totality of his peer review.

#dave cromwell writes #music review #album review #corduroy institute #take the train to manchester

[corduroyinstitute]

Our Daily Bread 607: John Howard, James P M Phillips, Corduroy Institute, Charlie Butler…

January 18, 2024

A ROUNDUP OF REVIEWS FROM BRIAN ‘BORDELLO’ SHEA

#corduroy institute #take the train to manchester #experimental pop #monolith cocktail #brian bordello shea

[corduroyinstitute]

Take the Train to Manchester

The new Corduroy Institute album is finally available for download on Bandcamp—link in bio. This record contains nine songs which were created between December of 2019 and August of 2023— the longest span of time we have ever devoted to any of our releases.

Take the Train to Manchester coalesced around the principle of discontinuity. Every piece was crafted intermittently over a period of years, thus allowing audio recordings from different moments of our past intermingle to create compositions which we ourselves could have never foreseen. The end result is a document of alienation written to and from the forgotten.

As with previous efforts, the music was created through multitracked improvisations and the lyrics were derived from cut-ups taken from across the gamut of print media. During the course of our sonic research we employed the Bass VI, synthesizers, guitars, drum machines, samplers, guitar pedals, loopers, digital modular synthesizers, and even a microcassette recorder to create the sonorities on these recordings.

We invite you to listen, download, and provide your peer review.

#corduroy institute #take the train to manchester #experimental pop #experimental music #san diego music #new music friday #new music #dream pop #post minimalism #ethereal darkwave #progressive electronic #art rock #art pop

[corduroyinstitute]

November 27: Corduroy Institute finishes the front cover of Take the Train to Manchester.

After midnight, we decided to have new eyes look at our cover design before returning to work. We debated whether the logo should be added, particularly since the words "Corduroy Institute" were nowhere to be seen on the design. S.A. Morin used his tablet to subtly affix the logo onto the figure on the album cover.

And thus, the cover design was done.

What about the back cover? W. Ruiz browsed through the images from the November 12 photoshoot. It was the first time he had seem them since that day. Now he could see them with a fresh perspective and reconsider them for a new purpose. He found one image which, if cropped and zoomed, offered an image of the subject in a position quite similar to the one in the 1970s image which inspired us back in October.

S.A. Morin liked the image and he tried to add the song titles, but ultimately the color palette of the overall image did not feel right to W. Ruiz. By that point it was almost 5 in the morning, so we decided to leave the back cover for another day.

#corduroy institute #take the train to manchester #album art #san diego artist #digital artist

[corduroyinstitute]

Sunday, November 26, 2023: Corduroy Institute establishes the composition for the front cover of Take the Train to Manchester.

We convened again, this time at night, to finish the album cover. Though we had decided to follow the design cues of a Talking Heads live album, we decided to readjust its borders in a new way. Rather than an upper and lower black border, we decided to place black borders on the upper and right hand sides.

This added not only framing but also balance to the visual composition. Text with the album's title was added, and a slightly asymmetrical placement ended up yielding the harmony we needed to complete the piece.

We were now done with 95% of the album cover. Still, there was more to be done.

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #take the train to manchester #album cover #digital art

[corduroyinstitute]

Sunday, November 26, 2023: Corduroy Institute selects the font for Take the Train to Manchester.

After midnight, we convened to explore different possibilities in typography. Fonts, beyond just their curvature and rectitude, convey subconscious implications rooted in the history of their use. As we looked at numerous fonts, we had to discard possibilities whose connotations we disliked.

W. Ruiz then recalled a font he had taken note of several months prior. This font was used on the cover of a British memoir, and it was also seen on the cover of an EP from Sheffield. S.A. Morin approved of the aesthetic, but we now had to determine how we could integrate it onto the existing album art.

Should the text be superimposed on the image? Should we add a border? What sort I'd border might this be? Could the text be added on a border? Where should it placed? What should it say?

As daybreak loomed, we parted with one idea: The Name of This Band is Talking Heads.

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #independent music #take the train to manchester #fonts #artistic process #design process #album cover #talking heads #the name of this band is talking heads #sheffield

[corduroyinstitute]

November 13, 2023: Corduroy Institute drafts ideas for completing the album cover for Take the Train to Manchester. While the previous day's efforts had largely completed the visual element, we still had questions to address.

First, should there be text? If so, what sort of text should the cover feature? Should it be the album title? Should it feature the words "Corduroy Institute"? Would our logo suffice?

In an attempt to answer these questions W. Ruiz drafted this mockup image, one whose placement choices ultimately did not make the cut. It offers insight into a stage of the album art process which requires thoughtful consideration since the choices made during this juncture will become an essential component of the album for its ensuing history.

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #experimental music #independent music #take the train to manchester #artistic process #album art #album cover

[corduroyinstitute]

Sunday, November 12, 2023: The album cover of Take the Train to Manchester continues to take shape.

Following a photoshoot involving S.A. Morin and his acquaintance, Corduroy Institute convened to review the photographs. These files were moved from the Nikon D90 onto a tablet for enhanced viewing and mobile editing capabilities. 

We were pleased to discover that many shots were well-composed and well-lit. Two pictures soon emerged as having album cover potential. S.A. Morin digitally edited and superimposed these photographs, both of which were taken with different techniques. Then, to provide greater coherence to this composite image, there arose the need for a more suitable background. 

W. Ruiz delved into his own historical archives and located a photograph from Santiago de Chile taken in August of 2018. S.A. Morin incorporated this picture into the composite image, thereby integrating an architectural element which completed the subconscious semiotic message we never knew we wanted to convey. 

Before the day was over, the album art for Take the Train to Manchester was 80% complete. Finishing the remainder of the cover, however, was to prove an arduous task. 

#corduroy institute #santiago de chile #san diego #independent music #experimental pop #take the train to manchester #experimental music #digital art #digital artist #nikon d90 #album art

[corduroyinstitute]

Sunday, November 12, 2023: The album cover of Take the Train to Manchester begins to take a concrete shape with a photoshoot.

Earlier that week, S.A. Morin had arranged to meet an acquaintance whose aesthetic echoed the figure in an image we found of 1970s Manchester. In the late afternoon, they met in the Golden Hill area of San Diego to take advantage of golden hour lighting conditions. She wore a decadent coat which would prove essential for the album cover's intent.

S.A. Morin employed different photographic approaches and angles during this photoshoot. His intent was to capture images that could convey the mood of the music whilst reflecting the 1970s image that inspired this shoot.

Beyond close ups and posed shots, he also took photographs which employed his Nikon D90 camera's multiple exposure abilities. These images were meant to allude to the early 20th century work of art which also inspired our cover concept.

The hour-long photoshoot yielded a large number of images. The pair said their goodbyes, and soon afterwards Corduroy Institute convened to transform reality into something transcendent.

#corduroy institute #experimental music #experimental pop #independent music #take the train to manchester #photographer #nikon d90 #nikon camera #nikon photography #dslr photography #dslr #album cover #photoshoot #album art

[corduroyinstitute]

Thursday, October 12, 2023: Corduroy Institute finally establishes the direction of our forthcoming album's cover art. We abandoned our earlier British-railway-route concept in favor of a synthesis of two new ideas.

This bout of inspiration sprang from a pair of elements we each contributed during a telephone call. S.A. Morin cited a monumental piece of early 20th century visual art whose composition implied continual motion. W. Ruiz then discovered an archival image of a fashionable woman out in the streets of late 1970s Manchester. To pursue an original synthesis of this vision, we opted to pivot towards our own photographic proclivities.

Over the next month, we endeavored to find an individual who could echo the aesthetic profile of the woman in the photograph. We each went to distinct locales and engaged with new people, but we found only false starts and inconclusive ends among all the pleasantries.

Simultaneously, we sharpened our abllties behind the camera. In addition to investigating novel locations and lighting conditions, we also delved deep into each camera's unique capabilities.

On October 29 in Ocean Beach, S.A. Morin unlocked the multiple exposure possibilities within his late 2000s Nikon D90 camera. His test shots, pictured above, demonstrated the potential of this feature. This technical breakthrough set the stage for what was to come.

#corduroy institute #experimental pop #take the train to manchester #triple exposure #dslr #nikon d90 #nikon camera #san diego #ocean beach #multiple exposure #surfers #dslr photography

[corduroyinstitute]

Monday, December 2, 2019: Four years ago today, Corduroy Institute released Guilt in the Faithless Age. The title came to S.A. Morin in a dream, albeit in the form of a short phrase: "Faith in the gilded age." W. Ruiz misheard these words and accidentally reversed the elements whilst rendering them aloud, and the permutation resonated with both members of the Institute. It is internalized Jungian Dadaism in the most unintentional sense.

Guilt in the Faithless Age contains seven songs characterized by seven contrasting approaches. Some of these pieces were the result of experiments created as entries for challenges in a now-defunct online community whose members we will never forget. Other pieces were outtakes from the same fertile period which yielded the preceding release, The Gamut of Their Philosophy.

As always, the music was created via improvisation and multitrack technology. Four instrumentals sit alongside three songs which explore distinct ways the human voice can be used within a musical context. Despite their eclecticism, all of the compositions coalesce into a record whose strength comes from the multiplicity of approaches within.

Now, as we approach the end of 2023, we invite you to re-evaluate Guilt in the Faithless Age. It is simultaneously our odds-and-sods clearinghouse as well as an effective treatise of the multifaceted musical domains we continue to explore as San Diego's premier sonic research institution.

We await your peer review.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/guilt-in-the-faithless-age

https://tidal.com/browse/album/124220666

https://music.apple.com/us/album/guilt-in-the-faithless-age/1490019731

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtfdKG47R7jBLkhxsO4K96upTy31n6VVe&si=6mnb7Bh5jkiLuvdp

https://open.spotify.com/album/4sNE3qgG3XG49PNAscSRm8?si=k3lgFlxhTwa1TkW5P8flrA

#CorduroyInstitute #GuiltintheFaithlessAge #BassVI #synthesizer #experimentalpop #experimentalmusic #plunderphonics #loopmusic #avantpop #synth #2019 #independentmusic #electronicmusic #southafrica #romania #independentartist #electropop #synthpop #postpunk #modular #synth #microfreak #improvisedmusic #volcadrum #sandiegomusic

#Corduroy Institute #guilt in the faithless age #Bass VI #experimental pop #synthesizer #synth #romania #south africa #san diego music #plunderphonics #loop music #synthpop #improvised music #improvisation