Hive Open Mic ( #openmic ) is a virtual music stage, giving musicians a chance to share their music with an international audience.
This song is essentially a remembrance of the ocean's roaring sound. It's like a colossal hum, rumbling. The ocean's surface is just about the loudest place on earth, I imagine, with waves clashing, crashing, thrashing, splashing, and flashing.
Wail Away
A new song, presented as a multitrack recording
For my fifth entry into the Hive Open Mic, I'm delivering an adventurous new song with an inventive style of presentation. For me, it's an opportunity to try something different, exploring new territory as an audio/video artist and musician. This multi-layered soundscape is inspired by 
The song itself is quite a ride, with an upbeat vibe, inspired by the ocean's roaring sound. It lifts me up and carries me as I play it, like the waves—sometimes soothing, sometimes smothering, always humbling me. The concept originated a few weeks ago, when I first actualized a life-long dream of surfing.
Yes! I had the pleasure of surfing (trying) 6' waves at sunrise. It was electrifying. I didn't capture any photos of the surf session, and it's probably for the best, because it was almost entirely wobbles and wipeouts. Still it was an incredible experience. I was welcomed by dawn's early light on the rolling obsidian waves. I was enjoyed by the laughing seagulls.
Surf's Up Dudes!
Being isolated in Austin, Texas through the pandemic, it was a real treat to escape to the Texas Gulf Coast near Corpus Christi, where I found the waves. My friend had an extra surfboard for me, and he gave me some solid surf guidance. I did my best to balance my body on the board through the wavering surroundings, and then tried rising to my knees and feet. My best success was a 6-second belly ride, plugging into the current.
The same friend who hosted the surf session hosted my family at a condominium on the seaside. There, we shared a deep conversation that helped to bring this song to life. It happened when I opened up about being disinterested in what people share with me, sometimes, because on the surface the subject matter might be dull to me, but what lies beneath the surface-level words is a desire to connect. I can see the brilliance in that—this is where the lyrics were born.
Synchronistically, this same surf guide / beach host / best friend / brother is a fabulous drummer in a band we launched a year ago: Cosmic Butterflies [And A Bear]. I asked him to record some percussion for this song here, and he provided three tracks: cymbals, conga, and bongos. His drumming really brings the song to life, as it does with all of our songs. One day, I feel confident we'll complete a studio record or two, just because the music is such a blast when we're together.
Similarly refreshing, this audio/video project opened me to new possibilities. I started with a scratch track, recording a metronome, guitar, and vocals, in order to later capture the live recording in rhythm and on key. With headphones, I could keep the performance aligned, with a single camera and microphone pointed at the center of the room. I captured it all in a single clip.
For the video post-production, I thought I would overlay all of the footage, giving each musician (various versions of me) a ghostly appearance while giving the composition a cohesive, unified look and feel. That was way too cluttered, through, in the tiny space of my living room, so instead I cropped and masked the parts. I imagined Radiohead, and asked myself: "What Would Thom Yorke Do?" WWTYD!
Regarding the soundtrack, this is a live home recording, very plain, so I did my best to make it interesting. I'm an amateur at audio production, but I have some skills in video production, so I handled it like a multi-layered video project. I broke apart the pieces and stacked them in Adobe Premiere, then enhanced the multitrack in Adobe Audition.
This song fits the Hive Open Mic theme, "Hum," with its improvised vocables after the chorus lines. Maybe it's not a true hum, but it still feels aligned. "Hum" was the prompt that brought me to the place where I arrived with this song, whether or not it entirely relates. Works for me!
Hive Open Mic - Week 5 is underway right now, with the current theme: "Hum."
Lyrics
The serenade of Mother Ocean dominates
Thunderous storms sing in service to her
Above the surface the sky may hurricane
Still her song resounds in the sound waves
Clashing waves of yesterday wail away
Crashing waves of tomorrow wail away
Flashing waves today resonate
Shaking awake howling wailing away
She illuminates stirring the imagination
Her place is a haven for dragons and mermaids
Along the surface clouds may shroud the moon
Still her sea foam plays in the obsidian waves
Clashing waves...
She liberates through everything she breaks
Her reverberation rattling the ribcage
Below the surface the heart may palpitate
Still her rhythm is heard in the maraca waves
Clashing waves...
Acknowledgements
All words and music are original, composed May 1, 2020 and recorded May 13, 2020. Thanks to the spark of inspiration that led me to this moment, with this song for this occasion. I feel grateful for the opportunity to share my heart.
🌞 🌜 🌟 ✨