Black Moon Club, is an album that took me more than a year to finish it. It was made with an absolute minimum resources and not because of that diminished my intentions that it sounded as pro as it could.

TECHNOLOGY


Using a Pentium II running Windows 98SE and recording in a Creative AWE64 soundboard, which started malfunctioning in the middle of the album, Black Moon Club was made. Despite that, the AWE64 was the only platform used to record, edit and master the audio.
One of the things I had to get through, is that this soundboard cannot play and record at the same time, therefor finding a way to do it was not always easy.

BLACK MOON CLUB

Paradoxically, the first track, was the last to be finished.
Black Moon Club was a title that needed music.
I had two tentative tracks to use, but none of them finished to fit with what I was looking for the opening of the disc.
I decided that the first track would be a sound design work and I used an old recording of "My Funny Valentine" to achieve the sound and atmosphere I wanted.


THOSE WHO GATHER AT NIGHT

In fact this was the first track to be recorded. It was made in only one take and it was mostly improvisation.
Despite certain mistakes, I had achieved in that take, things I knew I would not be able to reproduce again with the same naturallity as in the first time.
Afterwards I added echoes and reverbs that went through the stereo, giving a surreal feeling of space and depth.

MOTHER OF TIME

This was also one of the first tracks to be recorded.
For me this is one of the most important, because when I finished it I knew where I wanted to aim with the album.
Mother of Time, represents the first time I composed a track using different instruments in a successful way.
Despite being three or four rehearsals before recording the single take, there was a lot of work in the sound details of this track.

YBOM

Ybom was thought as an electronic track, given it's base and repetitive melodies. Despite this, the final arrangements give it a very different taste.
With the exception of the rhythmic bases, there wasn't any use of loops for the track.

COLD EVOLUTION

Is the experimental piece of the album, using notes, samples and recordings, taking individual tracks and applying them layer by layer of processing to achieve this "interlude of musical noises" in the album.
Cold Evolution is also a gate, towards the other part of the album in which there are new notes and sounds.

IT IS ALWAYS NICE TO SEE YOU

This track was mostly composing music around a vocal sample. It was also one of the few times in which I had to record various takes.
The biggest troubles this track went through, where technical.

A LITTLE BIT OF BACH

Again this piece is mainly sound design, with the addition of a string arrangement over Bach's violoncello solo.

RAINING MEMORIES

It was made when the soundboard started failing, even so I believe that I successfully managed to hide the imperfections of the recording. It was also one of the tracks most quickly composed.




BEYOND THE SKY

Is the only track that was already composed before I started recording the album.
In the course of the album, I made new string arrangements and I finished the final details to a track that was around for a very long time.
Is also the track with the most takes recorded in the whole album.

CRY FOR THE MOON

Was made totally by mistake and for fun and ended up being one of my favorites.
Is the only one I composed, in which I don't play any instrument (in the traditional way). The main instrument was the edition.

MR.MEEKS & THE INVISIBLE BAND

This is one of the tracks I fastest finished and the one I had the most fun doing.
Made in a single take (all instruments), it was recorded without any complications, that allowed me to focus on the musical details.

ENJOY THE HARMOTAR

Introduces the use of a new instrument, the "harmotar, a fusion between a harmonica and a electric guitar.
It's the only instrument recorded with a microphone in the whole disc.

WHERE IS WOLFIE?

Some sort of musical composition, using little fragments of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's violin concerts.