Flags, dreams and cold sweat. Thoughts from the plastic edge.

Friday night. I still feel like I'm coming down from a very crazy few months. I'm standing on the edge of a very large chasm, looking into the depths of many possible futures. To jump or not to jump? I have so many big decisions to make, yet I've put them pretty much all on hold. The time just isn't right.

You ever get that feeling? The time just isn't right?

So I just came back from Poland. It was incredible seeing how large the family is. Here in Canada I've only really known my immediate family. Over there, the family is large and has an extensive history. It made me feel like I have really big shoes to fill. Most of the family is made of doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, etc.

And here I am.

The black sheep.

The "artist".

I picked a career in music at a time that is, in the history of histories, a difficult one for this profession.

I think great-grandpa is rolling over in his grave.

Did someone say loser?


Look at me sitting here on this digital couch trying hard to express myself [which as you probably know from my few posting I find difficult at best].

Connecting the dots between the many feelings that come and go through-out a single day is a tall order for one such as myself who's natural tendencies are closer to a hermit than a gregarious rock musician.

Speaking of which.

All right I'll say it. Fuck it. I am seriously contemplating becoming a hermit on a nearby island and making music + art and releasing it from home. I'd feel quite comfortable choosing such a destiny. The land near here is wild. Really wild. Some of the trees are over a thousand years old. There is a peace, a stillness in those dark, empty woods that I crave. A peace I believe would help not hinder the art.

So let's note it. Decision 214: Move to a large city like Berlin or on an island and live as a hermit. Possibilities? Plenty. Time? Unknown. Pressure? Fuck it.

There we have it. Another one for the mental notebook.

I can glance over to my instruments right now and see the pileup of dust. It's happened before, many times, usually after an album release too. This time, come December, it'll be almost a whole year off from recording. Inevitably, the itch comes back, dragging its sorry ass to the forefront of my brittle mind.

Next up? After more promo work for T.O.N., I'll be extending and remastering the first album, which sold out years ago and which many of you have been asking me about (I feel so guilty for not doing it earlier!!)

*Sigh*

I'm a sonic pilot with instruments made of plastic. It's dark outside, the plane has no lights, and I'm flying through clouds. When I peer back into the cabin I see you there ordering a cocktail, no fear registering in your eyes. What belief you have in your pilot!
And I'm such a flimsy human!

You ever get this feeling like you're re-energizing for something? I've had this feeling over the last week. It's very strong. Although I have some big decisions to make, I know I'll be making music for a very long time still. And I know I'm in a good place in my life. Mentally that is. There is a wonderful distant strength there that I can rely on and use when I see fit.

I've chosen not to use this strength for about two months now.

Burn out? Perhaps. Perhaps likely? Maybe? Just a wee bit?

All right it's burn out. I've been working like a maniac before my 'break' promoting the album. [I need to get back into that soon too, can't let things like that sit *wags finger at self*.]

Did you know in Poland they say "I'm going to step outside to burn" when referring to cigarette smoking?

That's so fucking appropriate.

Are you ever hard on yourself? What is the price you pay for perfectionism? What is the price for leniency? How do you compensate for your procrastinations?

You know, since the release of The Orwellian Night I've found it a far easier thing to feel good about accomplishing something. The damn album is finally out there, and should a lightning bolt strike me down at this very second I would die a happy man knowing I contributed something.

Look at that. I even put it in bold =P

While we're on the topic of accomplishments; Chain D.L.K. has just posted a review of The Orwellian Night, which you can read HERE.

The following from the author struck me:

"Only the music buying public can determine whether this album will be an underground classic or fade into obscurity."

I feel the same way. I'm here alone, and I've always been at your mercy. And I'm OK with that. As the writer and producer, I know how much work I put into the album. I know that it was the very best thing I could have made at the time. I did my job and i could sleep at night knowing I did the very best I could with the tools I had at hand.

So there we have it. Tribal Machine's true future is up to you, dear listener and reader.

Would you have it any other way?

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

P.S. If you love the work, I invite you to support it.
WWW.TRIBALMACHINE.COM

And for the many who have supported it?

From the bottom of my heart, you have my gratitude :)

Thoughts from a bomb crater.

Feeling strange and remote. My thoughts are spilling out like foul milk. Mother always said don't cry over spilled milk.

Inspiration is meted out with swift justice to those ready and receptive. How are you feeling? Are you inspired? Ready? Receptive? Sometimes that's what it takes to live. To really live at your best. Allowing that inspiration to course through your veins like the harshest of liquors. Or, for the glass half full crew, like the purest of country wines.

It comes and goes doesn't it? Almost at will. I've beaten my head against the wall countless thousands of times trying to force it to surface, to get a glimpse of its light through hard, black curtains.

Yet when it comes it's not usually a sordid petite tumble of raindrops. No, it's a torrent of unfulfilled desires ready to be awakened and harnessed as brutal energies, whipped up into a frenzy for the taking. A waterfall of creativity. And so, if you're ready and strong, you can take that energy and create something out of it.

They say that if you only followed through on 0.1 % of the ideas that come into your head on a daily basis you could really change everything.

Operating on 0.03% right now. Right now! At this moment! How many ideas have i dreamed and let go? Too many. It's a total crime. I should be locked up in the prison of the unmotivated - a shallow little shack on the dirt floor of a crater somewhere in Iraq.

All right I'm warmed up. Are you?

Getting into the swing of things.

So I posted a completely new track. "Treason" is about a girl who falls in love with a guy who ends up turning her in because she is out of a job. See, in the story of the album, the song preceding this one is called "The Factory", which is about this very same girl (named Marie) who gets fired by the factory owner because she is too human, and thus inefficient.

We're being compared to robots in our work places. Even expected to behave like robots. God help you if you show feeling or emotion, caring, sensitivity or, that most ghastly of human traits - weakness! We are to be models of efficiency.

Now, it's funny that we are responsible for this system. In a way, we are like foul wandering hungry dogs feeding on each other, desperate for that next piece of meat, that shiny nickel of freedom known as monetary wealth.

You taste like chicken.

Nickel and dimed to death.

The shoe factories. The sweatshops. Your office. Batteries in the matrix.

So. Am I putting food on my table? Fuck it, I made it at home and I am selling it from home. What better way to live. There is no Miller Beer banner atop this stage! I can say and do as I please (for now!).

So back to the song.

What you hear is how it sits, finished and complete, though out of context based on the concept of the album, and missing the end segue. This track serves as the final emotional pinnacle of the record, a climax of tragedy born from a system bent on total control. Sound familiar?

I think you've guessed that "The Orwellian Night" is a parody of today. A simple narration and comment on the drivel of the corporate line, the corporate life. God help us all. Can we control this beast of burden that we created? WHat is the end result of this line of evolution?

With love,

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

So the album has been released. Some thoughts + review

First off I just want to say how deeply grateful I am to the many of you that support this project. It has taken me many years to get to this stage. For the first time, I feel I can let the music do the talking for me. But beyond that, it is you that is doing the talking.

Let me explain.

Years ago I set this project up to have success through a traditional platform - record label support, touring, etc. The music industry has changed though. Some may argue for the better, some for the worse. But one thing has become real to me. This doesn't need any platform other than the one we create together.

I built it to withstand any medium at any level. I am prepared to tour intensely and for long periods and achieve the highest levels of success that the music business has to give. But I am also prepared to quietly work on this at home, play the occasional show, and let it spread organically. Right now, that is the path it is seemingly taking. The path of least resistance. It feels right, and I am shining with joy doing it.

In either case, on a public level, this project will live and die by support from you. You are its backbone. And I am happy about that. Because TM does not have a record label per se (LDP is my own label) I feel I can write freely and take my time on the projects.

With your support, this is all possible. An artist can do this from home, work at the highest caliber level, and release it from home directly back to you. You are the funding behind this work. Thus, you are part of it. You are shaping it as much as I am.

What a time we live in. I feel anything is possible, and I fear nothing.

Who knows though, perhaps one day I'll find a business guy that I can work with and we can together take this project to a whole new level. Or a team of people. A record label? Maybe. Maybe not. I am unconcerned. I am having a blast.

Right now it's day by day, order by order, personal note by personal note..

I am grateful for your support. In a way i feel like we're in this together. My work isn't squandered. It has a purpose and direction. It has listeners who enjoy it. And it has a story to tell. That's one thing about this album. I insured it wasn't about me. it was about the story I was writing, a story begun by my predecessors.

My job is to make the highest possible quality music. To think it through with maximum resolution and vigor. Quality. That is my job. To hit it out of the park. And I will always endeavor to hit it out of the park.

I feel with this record, The Orwellian Night, I have done that. I can sleep at night knowing I did the best damn job I could have done with this album. I can smile. And what gives me pleasure is you listening to it and feeling the same joy of creation I felt making it.

Let me direct your attention now to a review of the album posted this morning. You can find it HERE.

And for those of you that have been asking where you can order the album, it is only available for purchase HERE. You won't find it in a store =)

I'll be posting a new track at some point today. It may be on myspace or it may be on the homepage www.tribalmachine.com

With love and gratitude,

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE


Photo by Darshan Photography.

P.S. Did you want to be part of the street team? Let me know and I'll send you the access link =)

ALBUM RELEASED!

At long last, it is my great pleasure to present you the 71 minute concept album The Orwellian Night.

It's been four years since the last record, Soldiers in a War of the Mind. I am ecstatic today. A huge weight has been lifted off my back.

You can get it, as well as all the new merch from HERE.

To celebrate, I put up a totally new track, one of my favorites from the record (though they do change every few days). It's titled Two Brothers. Stay tuned though as there will be more tracks uploaded today (and over the course of the next few weeks in fact).

It's a wild time here, who knows what might happen =P

For those of you that pre-ordered T.O.N. there is a special bundle called the Icarus Bundle
that will allow you to get all the new merch on special. In fact, I highly recommend that everyone take a close look at the bundles if you're thinking about ordering merch.

I wanted to sincerely thank all of you for your unlimited patience with this album. It's been a very long and very difficult road to get to this point. With this album I am turning professional, and I do not plan on looking back. I am figuring on releasing ten albums over the course of my life. This is number three, and it's my life's work to date. There is not a second of music in the 71 minutes I regret. Every part of this album was painstakingly thought over and edited to my own particular anal brand of perfection.

Because I wrote it as a concept album, the lyrics are extremely important. Though few people buy CD's nowadays, I feel this record will be an exception because of the lyric booklet you get with the CD.

And because of the care taken with the sonics and production, you'll also want to hear this album in maximum fidelity, which can only be heard on a CD. I hope that if you're sitting on the fence, you do not go down the mp3 path but rather choose to get the CD. I feel you'll thank me for it later when you hear the scope and clarity of the album.

The Orwellian Night is designed to have success in the clubs, on the radio, in the car, on your home system, and especially on your headphones, when you sit there alone, vibing to the story and sound of The Orwellian Night.

I am extremely happy to share this album with you. I feel like this is my contribution to the world, and it was worth the time and trouble to complete. I hope you'll agree.

There will be plenty of updates to come over the new few weeks, so stay tuned. Later on today I'll be posting some more new tracks as well =)

With love,

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

New song posted on our myspace page

http://www.myspace.com/tribalmachine

Just posted a new song - The Infiltraitor from the upcoming concept album The Orwellian Night.

This song was particularly difficult to finalize. There were a few versions of it and all sounded quite good, but all in all didn't fit the concept of the record.

It finally struck me that the down-tempo portion was the coolest part, so I lengthened it and made it the dominant vibe. It further dilutes and annihilates itself, sonically recombining at the very end with the rage Against the machine style Bass, thick analog synths and solo electric guitar.

In context with the story, it's a little bit like the Matrix. One guy is immune to scans done by the very powerful entity known as "Mr. Corporation". He becomes an Infiltraitor (purposefully misspelled. For those of you aware of George Orwell's doublespeak, this is a blatant example) and uses that power to find his love. They escape the system but are to be continually hunted...

Now this won't make complete sense lyrically till you hear and read the lyrics from the entire album. Speaking of which, getting some unbelievable feedback from previewers and reviewers. It's looking extremely promising.

There is so much going on right now, I'm crazy busy. Part of my new routine will be to keep you updated on what's going on. In a couple weeks there is going to be a CD release party in Vancouver. It's a rare thing to appear in public for TM of late, so if you're in the area and you're interested I'd advise showing up.

So two more weeks to go. After so many years I am quite anxious but excited. I totally believe in this record. It's my masterpiece to date. If you're one of the very few who listened to it as a whole you can attest to that. But the rest of you will hear it soon enough.

Oh and if you haven't already and you're interested in becoming a street team member
sign up on our myspace page (Reverbnation Mailing list section under video). Supply your email and check the box "Join the Street team".

All the best to you and yours,

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE



Photo by Darshan Photography

Farewell to a brother

I wanted to take some time and say goodbye to a brother. Tribal Machine's long-time bassist and friend, Brad Wutke, is leaving the band to pursue interests in Japan.

We are going to miss his witty humor, his fantastic musical prowess, his jam nights, his drunken hooliganism.

I met him in Nanaimo in 2002. His production skills were far more advanced than mine, and his musical genius inspired and intrigued me. I knew I had to work with him on some level.

Brad joined the band in 2005 and contributed to Soldiers in a War of the Mind and The Orwellian Night. Although we will continue to be good friends, his time with Tribal Machine has, for the near future, come to an end. I consider myself lucky to have worked with him and learned from him all these years. His talents are vast and many.

To honor his departure, I present you the last photo shoot we did together, as well as some memorable pix from years past.

If you'd like to say goodbye personally or thank him for his contributions to TM, I am temporarily putting up his email address here. I think he'd appreciate it. His email is

bradwutke[at]yahoo.ca

Of course he will continue his work on his solo music project Buyproduct

To honor his departure, I present you the last photo shoot we did together.
The photos below (the ones in an antique hue) are by Darshan Photography and shot in Feb 2010.


Brad is on the far right. Trademark grin.












































The following photographs are by Dani Boynton:










Following photos by Daniel Ferguson:


Brad live with TM in 2006




Early 2005 rehearsal, Brad is on far left.




Same rehearsal. Brad strumming away.




Our very first show in late 2004. Brad is closest on right.




Brad on far right. Early 2005 house party show. The three of us were a team for a long time now.




Below photo by Dani Boynton:
Live in Vancouver.


Brad Wutke, bassist for Tribal Machine 2005-2010.
We wish him all the best in all of his future endeavors.



Going to miss you guys much. On behalf of the band, good luck and keep in touch =)

With love,

Sever

Tips for my fellow musicians

I don't know why but in the last couple of months I've been getting a lot of mail from musicians asking for advice. So I thought I'd just throw this out there and see what happens.

A couple all-around pointers I'd give to a musician asking for it:

-Trust your instincts. Go with your gut! This is the most important rule in my humble opinion. If something sucks, learn to "feel" that in your body/soul so you can drop/adapt/change it.

-Have a good speaker system that you can reference to. It can be anything as long as you can put on another band and enjoy the mix. Once you enjoy the mix of another band on there you'll naturally endeavor to get there with your mix. For example, if you like where the bass kick sits in your speaker system then you'll naturally mix that way when constructing kicks. Learn to trust your reference system so you're not second-guessing your self at critical times. I personally have a 3 piece referencing system, and I sit on the subwoofer to really feel that sub range and know where it sits in the mix.

-Listen at low volumes. Find a good relaxed listening volume and stick to it. Learn to love the song at a medium volume. If it rocks at that volume it'll rock even more at a louder volume. A lot of people mix too loud and fool themselves into thinking the song is better than it really is.

- Hone your songwriting. Don't get fooled into becoming a mouse musician. Play play play play! A lot! And write a lot! Effects are ear candy and don't have longevity. Longevity comes from a good, well written song, no matter what genre you're talking about. Always treat effects as the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. Learn to identify the foundation of your song.

- Have something to say. This one is difficult. The best thing to do is be honest with yourself and write how you feel or what you want to talk about. It's a hurdle to get over, to suddenly write what you really want to say. Took me years to get this one down (more than ten - you'll only really hear it in the new album June 29th). And it's much harder than it sounds for us musicians. We're so psychologically stuck on what our heroes say and write about we forget we're as important and as human as they are.

- Each time you write, try to push yourself that 1%. Don't be afraid of evolution, and especially don't be afraid to try something new. Everybody is good, but only pushing yourself very hard will make something great.

- Be your worst critic. Have your standards set very high so you can compete with the best of them. Aim for the bleachers. Go for the gold. Think big and think bold. Don't let friends, family, your genre, your critics or especially yourself stand in the way of a brilliant idea. Go with it, go with the flow and see where it takes you. And especially remember that when someone criticizes your work it is an amazing opportunity for you to expand, learn, evolve. You're not going to believe everyone's opinion, but sometimes they're right and if you swallow that pride you'll evolve and become better.

-Make music you love. Sounds simple doesn't it? You'd be surprised how many musicians make stuff they hate. As soon as they're done the song they don't want to listen to it again, they even hate it sometimes! A test I give my songs is long-term listen-ability. If I like it later, say after twenty listens, I've done something right. If I hate it, I know I have work to do.

-Your enemies are your greatest teachers. And this is true for life in general I think. Years ago, before I released "The Awakening of the Animal" (I'm talking before 2002) I posted some early content online and was totally ripped up, destroyed and publicly humiliated on a popular forum. My ego was mutilated and I thought I'd never survive it, even thought my career as a musician was over. But you know what? It was a huge benefit in the long run. I strove to make my art better. It made me work really fucking hard. It took a long time to build a new foundation, but when I did it was authentic and felt right, and it pushed boundaries. So I highly recommend taking a bruising. Put your stuff up and let people take a piece out of it. That's how you'll learn. open yourself to criticism and enjoy hearing it. It's tough. It's hard, i know, but if you really want to get better you've got to do it.

-Learn from the best. There's a reason why Trent Reznor is one of the best producers that's ever lived, why so many people fell in love with John Lennon's songwriting, why people love the sound of Jim Morrison's vocal style, why Eminem is so highly respected for his lyrics. If you really want to be good, learn from the best we humans have to offer. There are damn good fucking reasons for so many of us paying attention to so few. Learn why and use those golden nuggets as tools to take your craft to the next level. You may have something big and important to say, why not learn how to say it well?

I have to stop because I'm out of time. I have press kits to mail out in the morning (just finished hitting all the major German magazines). Tomorrow I focus on Greece, Italy and Norway. So I bid you goodnight and good luck =)

I'll have updates for Tribal Machine very soon. There's a lot going on as you might guess, but believe me, it's worth waiting for =)

With love,

-Sever
TRIBAL MACHINE

Release date for Tribal Machine's "The Orwellian Night" concept album: June 29th 2010.
You can pre-order at the Tribal Machine store www.tribalmachine.com