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about
Westernsynthetics presents "The Offensive".
This is the first single from my second album "Pianodrumming".
Written and recorded in 3 weeks in Berlin using an old old of tune German upright piano to write and sample from.
It was mixed back in Sydney in a 2 day session in late 2011.
Final mix tweaks were made in early 2013 and it was mastered in January of this year by long time collaborator, comrade Jack The Bear.
Various factors including money, work commitments, and other projects conspired to prevent me from releasing this until now.
I wrote this at a time when I was completely fed up with electronic music and especially where the dubstep scene had headed. For better or worse Westernsynthetics was incubated in that scene. This album was written at a time when I was completely disillusioned with where my contemporaries were headed musically.
The punk ethic and underground edge of the Void parties and where the sound began were long gone. Forgotten were the soundsystem culture roots and sub bass emphasis. I felt and still do feel that the sound went up its own arse. So this album was written when I wasn't listening to any electronic music at all. I was actually listening to a lot of old blues artists like Lightnin' Hopkins, Leadbelly, Robert Johnson & Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
I was also listening to a lot of Alan Lomax recordings of black chain gang prisoner songs along with lots of early Jazz, Noise, Drone and 70's "Krautrock" records. It was also written at the height of the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement was just breaking out. I was heavily influenced by these events. The Offensive was written after getting my head bashed in by riot police at Occupy Berlin.
Upon returning home to Australia it was given the rigorous Hijack test.
I don't release anything before playing it on the Hijack sound system.
All Westernsynthetics tunes are purpose built for this system.
It was also tested at underground clubs in Berlin like Panke, About:Blank and unleashed upon munted ravers at the Outlook festival.
I'm too broke to put it on vinyl so I will probably give it away via bandcamp. I think it is by far my finest work as an electronic music producer.
What you think about it is up to you.
WS 16/4/13
credits
released March 5, 2013
Written & Produced by Rhyece O'Neill
Mastered by Jack The Bear
Photograph by Angelina Potapova, Berlin 2011
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