Up no. 3
"up" no. 3 (subtitled "Nachtzug - Night Train") is an issue of Hardy Fox's newsletter, sent out to mailing list subscribers on May 10th 2018.
The third and penultimate issue to be titled "up" following the nominal end of the Hacienda Bridge newsletter in October, promotes the release of Fox's solo release Nachtzug, derived from his sketches for what became The Residents' 2017 album The Ghost of Hope, and the Klanggalerie CD reissue of the remix album RMX.
This issue is archived via Mailchimp; the below text has been transcribed from a copy of the original newsletter from the archives of a Mysterious Spanish Lady.
The newsletter
Note: Some format changes have been made (image positioning, additional headings, etc.) to create an easily readable version of this newsletter within the restrictions of this wiki. Such changes have been made as infrequently as possible to present the closest possible representation of the text as it originally appeared. Links in the text to other wiki articles are included by the admin in order to help facilitate easy navigation and further reading. Typographical errors featured in the original text have not been corrected.
NACHTZUG - NIGHT TRAIN
Hardy Fox was primary composer for The Residents for over four decades. He later released solo albums under the name Charles Bobuck before finally switching to his real name in 2017. After Heart, Nachtzug is his second solo album. In the beginning, this release was intended to become a TOOK release - simply releasing Fox's sketches for The Residents' Ghost Of Hope album. But this idea soon turned out to be not challenging enough, so Hardy started using his original sketches as the basis of an entirely new recording.
In the end, the Night Train became such an exciting album that we trashed the TOOK idea and made it a Klang release. It's too precious to be a limited edition, too good to be heard only by a few. The inspiration came from a real train journey, says Fox, towards the end of his time with The Residents: "It was nothing special. I needed to be in Zürich for a show and caught the last train leaving Vienna. Eight hours of rolling down the shiny tracks. Plenty of time to think. Too much time to think. Nachtzug, the night train, understands beginnings. Nachtzug, the night train, comprehends ends."
NACHTZUG
Hardy Fox
Klanggalerie
- Seven Songs
- composed
- for a
- Night Train
COMING MAY 28-29
€17 /copy incl. worldwide shipping.
A few people have noted that I seem to create short projects. And it is true I do more of those than most people, but then, the reality is that I do more projects in general than most people. I strive for a mix of longer and shorter projects.
When records were first invented, let's say the 78 rpm disc, each side held about 3-4 minutes of music so that became the length of songs. Once the LP came along, it held about 17-22 minutes per side. That became the length of a non-stop recording.
When I was young and first working, I played LPs by stacking 3 or 4 on a spindle which would drop each LP once a side had finished playing. I rarely listened to an album by turning the disc over and playing the two sides in sequence. I became quite influenced by the idea that a project was 17-22 minutes long. LPs were always designed to play as sides, that is to say the flow of the songs were set up to work as two projects, even when it was not considered to be two projects. All the early Residents projects were that way and some like Fingerprince and Duck Stab/Buster and Glenn actually were two projects. The first album designed for straight through listening was God in 3 Persons. The era of the CD had arrived. Though I still made short CDs, Pollex Christi and High Horses were, of course, mine.
I like a project that is less demanding on a listener's time. Usually an idea can be sufficiently explored in 17-22 minutes. Zappa's Lumpy Gravy was originally 22 minutes long. Supper's Ready by Genesis, also 22 minutes, took up a whole side as did Atom Heart Mother by Pink Floyd.
It is worth mentioning that I still do a full length album every year, maybe more than one. My shorter projects are in addition to the longer ones.
- Hardy
meanwhile... over in Residents land
Residents Music Xpanded - the RMX story
An interview with Hardy Fox
HF: RMX is not an album. That is to say, it was never intended to be anything but some experiments and learning exercises.
Klanggalerie: Can you explain that further?
HF: In the early 2000s computers had gotten powerful enough to cause a revolution in music. While largely invisible to the end user, computers could take in sound and process it so fast that it could be output again with no perceptible time lag. It became possible to alter pre-recorded sound in real time. That had not before been possible.
Remixing was born of this revolution. However, it does require some experience and exploration. This collection could be called Experience and Exploration rather than RMX because these are my tests. I was able to re-clock existing pieces of music, that is, tighten up beats and change tempo and keys so that they could be aligned with other chunks of music for layering. Yes, these days everybody, other than the dude with the acoustic guitar, is doing this now. A phone can do it today. Back then it was akin to magic.
Klanggalerie: How did it end up as a compilation if it was just experiments?
HF: Cryptic had been offered a deal to license a bunch of digital rights. At that time we needed the money and did a contract for 200 titles. But we didn’t have 200 titles that we were willing to commit (major album rights were being held back,) so I had to go hunting though my box of experiments. From the box, I selected the best remixes and put a little more time into making them more complete and thoughtful. I formed a project called RMX, created a cover image of a Residents photo in a trash can (illustrating my opinion that is was not actually recordings for the public consumption,) and used it to complete the contract requirements. It never got much attention. Maybe fans felt like they didn’t need another version of a song they already had.
Klanggalerie: I liked it a lot. I could really hear how the songs were tighter and better paced.
HF: My intent was not to go wacky, but to strengthen them structurally. Most remixing tends to be done to make a song danceable. That obviously was not my consideration.
Klanggalerie: This is a The Residents release, not a Hardy Fox one. I’m surprised you want to talk about it since it doesn’t financially benefit you.
HF: “The Residents” is my legacy. It is still my work either way. At this point, most of the releases that you and others are releasing are things I worked on. There is no more knowledgeable person to discuss the music and recordings than me. Anyone else is mostly guessing.
RMX
(remix by H.Fox)
1. Icky Flix Theme 2. Kawliga RMX 3. Blue Rosebud RMX 4. Teddy RMX 5. Jungle Bunny RMX 6. Jelly Jack RMX 7. He Also Serves RMX 8. Man's World RMX 9. Deadwood RMX 10. Just 4 U 11. Ship's A Going Down RMX 12. The Sleeper RMX 13. Baby Skeletons And Dogs RMX 14. Hello Skinny RMX 15. Golden Goat RMX
COMING MAY 28-29
€17 /copy incl. worldwide shipping.
Music Store
COMPACT DISCS
NEW CD
Night Train to Know Where
COMING MAY 28-29
€17 /copy incl. worldwide shipping.
NEW-ISH CD
"...I'm speechless...MIND BLOWN...going where The Residents never dared..."
NEW-ISH CD
Fred Frith and Hardy Fox
Twenty-five years in the making.
A DAY HANGING DEAD BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH
Now Available
€17 /copy incl. worldwide shipping.
"... a fantastic, 5-star masterpiece ... every aspect of it is perfect. This one's a classic -- highly recommended!"
NEW for BANDCAMP
RECENT for BANDCAMP
RECENT for BANDCAMP
RECENT for BANDCAMP
RECENT for BANDCAMP
Eggsistential Thoughts
Volume 1
RECENT for BANDCAMP
Eggsistential Thoughts
Volume 2
OLD BANDCAMP TITLES
Don't forget:
Nostalgic Residents Era Bobuck
@Bandcamp.
Websites
- hardy fox http://www.hardyfox.com/
- klanggalerie http://www.klanggalerie.com/
Sisyphus
Also, keep up with my older Residents stuff.
There is a bunch.
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See also
Resources
- up #3 (PDF file, 2.37 MB)