Sunday Post

As August comes to a close so must my half-hearted summer hiatus. Which, as mentioned in my last post, has been less about relaxing and more about devoting a little more time to some long-standing projects. 

One of these projects was my reimagining of Anne_Lee's, 'Un Viaje'. A beautifully intimate and tender rendition of a Spanish poem written by Anne's friend, Nono. Anne came to me with a new recording. A striped down duet in a similar vein to her original. Not wanting to repeat herself, she requested that I use my usual sounds, instruments and effects to create something new. 

Not speaking a word of Spanish meant I was solely working from the mood and tones in Anne's performance. So, I did my best to compliment (and in some cases contrast) the material in hand. When I finally got 'round to reading the translated lyrics, I was surprised to find that "un viaje" means "a journey". A title fitting of a piece that musically meanders in and out of styles and temperament.

'Un Viaje', will be released tomorrow via SoundCloud.

With this being my first proper post in a while, I thought now would be a best time to play catch-up and share the three tracks that came out during the summer.

Firstly, a song from Froxie's collaborative roof dub EP, 'DEM NO GOOD', which I was lucky enough to appear on. Not only is Froxie's sense of groove and impeccable mixing skills apparent here, but it also includes my 'Wou-Wou' vocal debut.

The EP (which I thoroughly recommend) is available here, and features the talents of MOAG, Sofia DeVille, Senfsuck, An Di Yi, Cranky Fox and The Couch King. 

Speaking of The Couch King, our track, 'Dedication To The Hypocrites' came out last weekend. Not only it is a dream come true to be on the same track as Couch, pretzels malone and Jam York, but it's also pretty nice to have been able to put an old bassline to good use. It's a warm and positive song that feels perfectly apt to end the summer on. 

The last track in this trio is also warm and positive, but musically couldn't be further from either of the above. Janine and the Problem's, 'Baby, I'm In Love With You', is a rock 'n' pop song that I helped finish off. It was a real treat to play along to. A real feast for the ears, with so many great sounds and polyphonic melodies. Sure, my part in this is minimal, but I'm proud to be in here. 

Before I go, I'd like to mention that new artwork is on the way, along with new prints and old originals being available from Society6 and Big Cartel. More info next Sunday.

Happy thoughts, 

- The Wormling

Sunday Post

Even though I'm only halfway through my so-called "summer hiatus", I thought I'd quickly share the vast array of things that I have in store for my return. 

WIP Artwork

MUSIC BY CHANCE

This is something that I have been working on since I first started 'Wou' two and a bit years ago. A collection of tracks that use a number of homemade chance methods during the writing process. These include tried and test methods like 'The Furry Gamble' (Make It Pretty) and 'Buskers' Bamboozle' (MUSIC BY CHANCE: EP 01 & 02), among new ones, using playing cards and the general public to make music... confused? All will be explained in good time. 

One of the most exciting parts of this project for me is the various artists now involved in it. Finished tracks feature the sounds and talents of Horse Enthusiast, Jonathan Beckenstein, {AN} Eel, Weighty Tree, Spicy Invalid, Ronny The Rocket, Falloon and Janine Levinson (of Janine and the Problem), to name but a handful. 

'MUSIC BY CHANCE: Vol.1' will be released in the new year.

THE AUDIO BIN

I'm pleased to say that a new 'Audio Bin' LP is in the works, and, I'm calling out for new donations. So if you fancy being on the next LP and you've got a few unused recordings kicking around, please send them my way: wouwouandthewormling@gmail.com... anything you've got will be greatly appreciated. 

Here's a playlist of everyone involved with the project so far:

WOU-WOU OPEN COLLAB

The 'Wou-Wou Open Collab' project will be a year old in September, and to celebrate I will be compiling a playlist (surprise, surprise) for every track under this umbrella. The next new 'collab' track will be out in October. 

DEDICATION TO THE HYPOCRITES

I started working on this song with Couch King last September, but I'm happy to say it's sounding pretty finished now! Official release dates are not my forte, but it'll probably be the next thing released with my name attached to it, and I can't wait! It puts the "fun" in "funky" (apologies)... it also features pretzels malone and Jam York. 

ARTWORK FOR SALE

I've reached a point where I am running out of room for all my drawings. So, I've decided everything must go! The usual things apply... first come first served, and so-on. It all begins tomorrow on instagram, twitter and facebook, where I'll be sharing a doodle daily along with a pricetag and the full T&C's... heck, I'll even be throwing out a few freebies too. 

Lastly, prints of my favourite 21 will be made available some time next month. Dates and details to come. 

But for now, happy thoughts, 

- The Wormling

Sunday Post

Thursday saw the release of 'Rehashed', a mock DJ set centred around my own back-catalog. But why do it, and why now?

Well, it's something that I've been dabbling with since last year, but never got around to finishing anything substantial. And, as you've probably noticed, the idea of taking parts of songs and forcing them together is something that I find pretty striking. 'The Audio Bin' for example, 'Rehashed' is basically that side-project but with my own music and not donated outtakes.

It was also 'Wou's' second birthday on Thursday, so completing and releasing this remix seemed to be a nice way to look back on the years and 40 something tracks that I have managed to release during this time. 

'Rehashed' is free to stream and enjoy over on SoundCloud now: 

As mentioned in a previous post, I will be taking a break from releasing music and blogging throughout the summer so that I can concentrate on outstanding art projects and new music. Most notably my graphic novel, 'Major Gubbins', and the, 'MUSIC BY CHANCE' double LP.

Of course, I won't be disappearing completely. The 'Wou-Wou Repost' playlists will be back in June and social media updates will continue as long as I have something to share. There's also a number of collab tracks that are on the verge of release, including my vocal debut on Froxie's new EP, and a new song with Couch King (to name but two).

So until September, keep safe and happy thoughts, 

- The Wormling

Sunday Post

Inspired in part by Manitoba's, 'Start Breaking My Heart', tomorrow's 'Wou-Wou Open Collab' track, 'The Phoney Lab', is a short slice of MIDI heavy electronica. Orderly, sterile, but hopefully not without heart. And with it being an open collaboration project the master will be available alongside isolated stems for remixing and reshaping.

'The Phoney Lab', is out tomorrow via SoundCloud. Visit previous OC tracks here.

In other news, this May marks the second year of 'Wou-Wou & The Wormling', and, in the same vein as last year I'll be assembling a 52 track playlist of my favourite reposts during 2015/2016. It's just one of a number of things that I have in mind to reflect on my short time under this alias. Including special remixes and artwork... more details to come next week. 

Lastly, towards the end of May I'll be taking a bit of time off. This three month (or so) hiatus is so I can focus on my graphic novel as well as the 'MUSIC BY CHANCE' album, both due towards the end of the year. 

However, I won't be disappearing entirely, as there's a number of collaborative projects that'll be surfacing throughout the summer, with repost playlists and other social media updates to follow suit. 

Happy thoughts, 

- The Wormling

Sunday Post

I'm a big fan of cover tracks that deviate from the original source material. Things like Devo's take on, 'Satisfaction', and more recently on SoundCloud, Trixie Delight's version of, 'My Heart Will Go On', are perfect examples of how to do it right. And so, I hope to follow on the tradition of kooky rip-offs with tomorrow's release, an unintentional cover of Bill Withers, 'Lean On Me'. 

Unintentional? Well, it started life as a simple collaboration with Little Lone Waltz. Someone whom I've wanted to work with ever since I first came across her on Soundcloud. I provided a beat, she provided the keys. The pieces all fit beautifully together, but it still felt like it was missing something. 

So, I called on someone else who has been dying to collaborate with, Sarah Shamash. In just a few hours of sending her the rough instrumental demo, she had sent me her ideas. It was an unusual, but never-the-less stunning vocal, with the lyrics to 'Lean On Me' anchoring each note. I don't know whether she was planning to rewrite the lyrics or not, I never asked, I loved what she did and so we all decided to run with it. 

Anyway, 'Lean (feat. Sarah Shamash & Little Lone Waltz)', will be available to stream from SoundCloud, tomorrow. 

It's become apparent to me that I have featured on many tracks that I have failed to post on social media. These are either things that I have worked on with other artists, or 'Wou-Wou Open Collab' tracks. Now, I know it's not a big deal, but people go to a lot of time and effort to make this music, it's only right that I do my best to promote their hard work, right. So starting Thursday I'm going to post one of these tracks every week. I'll pick them out at random, and if I run out, I guess I'll just start from the beginning again.

Also, I know I'm jumping the gun a little, but come October they'll be a special 'Wou-Wou Open Collab' playlist to mark the first year of the project. Course, if you're interested to hear some of this stuff now, click (here).

Lastly, work on my long term 'MUSIC BY CHANCE' project has finally started up again. Due to the massive quantity of music to produce for it (over 40 tracks), I've shifted once again to a collaborative approach. It's unlikely that much of anything will surface until the backend of the year, but there are a few things already in the bag from Ronny The Rocket, Sensfuck and Jonathan Beckenstein... in fact, Jonathan has shared his contribution to the project on SoundCloud for all to hear. It's certainly an exquisite piece, and serves as an excellent teaser of things to come.

Happy thoughts, 

- The Wormling

Sunday Post

Space, subtly and softness seem to be common themes in my music uploads lately, and tomorrow's 'Wou-Wou Open Collab' track follows a similar route. 

Recorded around the same time as 'Sassafras', 'Open Plan Love Story' is one of my first loop pedal doodles. It's a demo that I've being adding to since that first session, but like most of these open collab tracks, it's something that I never planned to be released from my hard-drive until now.

Anyway, 'Open Plan Love Story', will be uploaded complete with grouped beat, guitar and keyboard stems, all of which will be available to download for free from SoundCloud tomorrow.

On a separate note, I'll hopefully get round to a spot of doodling and/or painting this week. It's been a while, so I'm hungry for it.

Work and pleasure don't always see eye-to-eye, but now the clocks have changed, the sun is out and I've shook off the illnesses that plagued March, I'm feeling positive that another creative spurt is just around the corner. 

Step lively,

- The Wormling

Sunday Post

Tomorrow's release, 'The Road', is a bit of a relic for me. The guitar part to which the rest of the track is built could easily be 10 years old. And although it has been recorded and rerecorded more than I can recall, it took a minimal approach and the soothing vocal talents of Cam-O the Chameleon and Blue Room Green to make it feel like a finished and enjoyable song. I seriously cannot thank them enough for pumping life back into it, and for helping me create something a little different from my usual beat-driven stuff. 

And so, 'The Road (feat. Cam-O the Chameleon & Blue Room Green)' will be available to stream in all of its mellow glory from SoundCloud, tomorrow evening (GMT). 

And before I go, I'd like to share the latest in a short stream of music that I've worked on with Wizardshoes. It's was a longtime in the works, so I'm pleased that it's finally out there. Enjoy! 

Happy thoughts, 

- The Wormling