Any Questions? - Escape NY 2

Imagine Snake Plissken walking through an apocalyptic NYC street scene while listening to this.

This Any Questions? archival song idea titled Escape NY 2 is from the year 1996.  This is the second of 2 song ideas created while Escape from New York was playing in the background on the studio TV monitor.

The rhythmic pulse of this idea comes from a sequenced synth bass line on a Yamaha TG33.  It's accompanied by a sample played backwards on an Ensoniq EPS and a synth FX sound from the Yamaha TG33.

Ttam Troll · Any Questions? - Escape NY 2

Any Questions? - Escape NY

This Any Questions? archival song idea titled Escape NY is from the year 1996.  Like our other song idea titles, it is named after what was playing on the studio TV monitor while it was being created.  

Escape from New York is a 1981 science fiction action film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau, and Harry Dean Stanton.  I (Ttam Troll) have loved this film since I first saw it back in the early '80s.  I first saw it when my Dad, brother, and I rented it from a not so local video store.  Back then, our hometown didn't have a video rental store so we had to drive to distant towns to rent videos.  I have since seen it many times and own it on VHS, LaserDisc, DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD 4K formats.  For the few that may not know about this film, I highly recommend it.  Check it out!

We used an E-MU Pro/Cussion drum module to create a basic drum beat and then added a synth bass line with a Korg Wavestation.  Synth pads and soft bells sounds were also added from the Korg Wavestation.  Most of our arpeggios from this time period were played on a Yamaha DX21 but the arpeggio in this song idea sounds too nuanced for the Yamaha DX21 so it was probably played on the Korg Wavestation.

This track was used as incidental music in the 2006 horror film, Frightworld.

Ttam Troll · Any Questions? - Escape NY

Any Questions? - Demon Knight

This Any Questions? archival song idea titled Demon Knight is from the year 1996.  Like our other song idea titles, it is named after what was playing on the studio TV monitor while it was being created.  

Demon Knight is a 1995 horror comedy starring Billy Zane, William Sadler, and Jada Pinkett.  mC2p4 and I (Ttam Troll) saw the movie in the theater and then later when it was released for the home market, we picked up the LaserDisc to sample from.  However, no samples from the movie made it into this song idea.

As with a lot of our song ideas from this period, we used an E-MU Pro/Cussion drum module to create a basic drum beat and then added a synth bass line with a Korg Wavestation.  mC2p4 added a few live cymbal hits and if you listen closely enough, you can also hear a faint buzzing sound like that which a fly would make.  I don't remember exactly how that was created but I assume it was also the Korg Wavestation.

This track never evolved past this early stage.  There's probably a reason for that...

Ttam Troll · Any Questions? - Demon Knight

Any Questions? - Copycat

This Any Questions? archival song idea titled Copycat is from the year 1996.  Like our other song idea titles, it is named after what was playing on the studio TV monitor while it was being created.  Copycat is a 1995 psychological thriller starring Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter, and Dermot Mulroney.  Coincidentally, this song idea made its way into a movie of its own in 2007 when it was featured in the horror film FrightWorld.  Be sure to check that out!

On this track, our trusty E-MU Pro/Cussion drum module was used to lay down the drum beat and the Korg Wavestation was used for the rest of the parts including the slinky synth bass line that slithers throughout the groove. 

Ttam Troll · Any Questions? - Copycat

Any Questions? - Almost Dead

Song idea naming protocol at Floating Fish Studios has always been to use whatever is playing on the TV monitor in the studio at the time of creation.  This process leads to some interesting idea titles and provides insight into the video stimuli that influenced us during the creative process.

This track from 1996 is titled Almost Dead.  Almost Dead is a 1994 horror movie starring Shannen Doherty (Beverly Hills. 90210 fame).  She plays a psychologist that is haunted by her dead mother's ghost.  Instrumentally, we used some of our favorite instruments of the day.  The E-MU Pro/Cussion drum module for the drum beat and a lot of Korg Wavestation for the rest of the synth sounds.  The soloing guitar sound is even pulled out of the Korg Wavestation.

Ttam Troll · Any Questions? - Almost Dead

Any Questions? - 1996

While waiting to officially release our Any Questions? - Death CD in early 1996, MC2P4 and I began working on new ideas in the studio. Some of these ideas would eventually be developed into full songs for our Any Questions? - Mutation CD in 2000.  Our sonic arsenal had grown quite extensively leading up to this period and we were anxious to make new music with it. The Korg Wavestation, a vector synthesis synthesizer, was used extensively during this period. In hindsight, maybe too extensively.  Our ideas ranged from very structured pounding rhythm Industrial to very non-structured and improvised ambient music.

1996 is a Ttam Troll exclusive track.  I started working on this New Year's Eve 1995 and finished it early the following day, New Year's Day 1996.  Using sounds from the E-MU Pro/Cussion drum module, I created a simple yet powerful sounding drum groove. The synth sounds (synth bass, synth pads, bells, and airy organ) all came from the Korg Wavestation.  Lastly, it features a vocal sample of myself saying "Control" which was sampled on our Ensoniq EPS, a Performance Sampler.

I hope you enjoy this piece of New Year's past!

Ttam Troll · Any Questions? - 1996

Technical

While waiting to officially release our Any Questions? - Death CD in early 1996, MC2P4 and I began working on new ideas in the studio. Our sonic arsenal had grown quite extensively leading up to this period and we were anxious to make new music with it. These ideas ranged from very structured pounding rhythm Industrial to very non-structured and improvised ambient music.

Technical falls a little bit in between both of these concepts. Recorded on 02/04/96 (the DAT says so!), this 15+ minute improvisation features a very structured/repetitive rhythm track and chord structure. On top of which we incessantly solo over intertwining synthetic tapestries and sampling overload. We had fun on this day and now you'll get to hear it too!

P.S. This photo of LTJTHC (L) and Ttam Troll (R) was taken in the early 2000s at Floating Fish Studios.