Aimless Ideas: My new debut album is out

I promised I'd post here again, I still love this blog... It's so peaceful and empty. I'm listening to Animus by Swans and perhaps that's what's causing such a thought. Haha.

So my debut album is out, it's hard to believe I've been making my own music since 2008. Ever since I learned how to record my own stuff I've been writing without care. It was and still is lovely. To have the freedom of making music without a thought or feeling of pressure. It's crazy that it's been three years now since I started.

At times I miss the glory of not knowing how to play too well and just improvising and coming up with, what at the time seemed like, magic. I still have a soft spot for the old songs that no one has heard (except one person) and they are dear to me. It's not that the new songs are any less to me but you never really capture the youth of the first ones.

Anyways without getting too sappy, here is the album. Please enjoy it, if anyone still reads this. And if no one does I hope that someday in the future someone will read this and listen to it. It's a culmination of my work and art.

New Music coming soon

A single or something, from the new WINTER EP should be out by next week.

GET READY.

80th Post: How Scandinavian - Patchwork Two P

Remember when I said I was working on a cover of Modest Mouse's song 'Interstate 8'? Probably not, but here it is. I had the pleasure of working with a good friend of mine, Stephanie, to provide the female backing vocals originally on the song and I think it sounds wonderful. Instrumentation-wise I tried to do something original in the sense that it's not a straight up guitar cover. I also threw in an old b-side song I had lying around for around a year, just a little fun instrumental to back up this cover.

Hope it's enjoyable.



Track list
1. Interstate 8 - 4:38 (Modest Mouse Cover)
2. One Good Friend - 3:30

Total Running time: 8:08

Download link (320kbps MP3) : http://www.mediafire.com/?ri5rfi6nknhrwys

Wind up anger...

Vengeance Is Mine, I Will Repay - Live at Bryan's Garage: 01-05-2010 (2010)

So since I finally finished my latest EP (download link is below somewhere) I've been looking through the archives to upload some fun stuff. So I decided to tackle my side band "Vengeance Is Mine, I Will Repay" with members Mark Gross and Justin Cirar, a post-hardcore tribal music affair. Unfortunately, we don't have any real studio tracks as we record mostly in a live take with one one mic to preserve that whole DIY aesthetic of the band. But early this year we opened for my own band (redundant) 'Cape Crusaders' and had the equipment to recorded at least slightly in a professional manner (Yeah right). So here is the awesome result of the live show, I particularly am in good spirits here for some reason and so is the crowd. While our opening time slot is short and we didn't perform all of our original material (which will come up in a few days here if you are curious) it was a fun gig to play and definitely one of my fondest memories with the group. So here for the first time is the Live at Bryan's Garage: 01-05-2010 mini-LP.

Personnel:
Keyboard, Percussion, Vocals - Justin Cirar
Drums, Percussion, Vocals - Mark Gross
Guitar, Keyboard, Drums, Vocals - Bryan Santizo

Track list:

1. Intro/Jokes Section - 3:00
2. Oh Yo - 1:24
3. It's the E-Flat Thing - 0:45
4. Lighten Up - 4:17
5. Creep - 4:23
6. Be Wary of the Cord - 1:21
7. Kira, Give Us Your Camera - 3:02
8. Oh Yo (Reprise) - 0:55

Running time: 19:09

Download Link MP3 VBR: http://www.mediafire.com/?jl1g16sl9glp211

Notes: The Creep climax is one of the best moments ever.

How Scandinavian - Smiles Without Mirth EP

Finally, here's the music I've worked on for pretty much a good part of 2010 on. It's been a long journey but here it finally is. I think this is my most cohesive work yet and trumps my debut EP (I still like that one though) and gives a bit of a glimpse into what sort of music I'll begin to make later on. (Also who knows, maybe I'll have to remaster this one too next year if I get better with mixing.) So here it is!

Track List
1. Common Convenience - 3:49
2. Jay Fantini - 3:43
3. Left Field Cult Film Theme Song - 3:05
4. Philander - 3:09
5. For a Living - 5:51
6. The Colors Ran - 4:13
7. Elated - 3:29
8. Nancy - 4:09
9. Old News - 3:44

Total Running Time: 35:12

Download link VBR MP3: http://www.mediafire.com/?q0qpoweypkfojvw

Also be on the look out for another single release in a few days or so, cause I've got three more B-sides to throw out before this whole Smiles without Mirth Era ends. Additionally, like the last EP release, if you want this on CD, just ask and bring your own CD and case and I'll give it to you. If you want custom art, bring a few bucks.

How Scandinavian - Philander 7" Single

So here's the first single off of the Smiles Without Mirth EP and I think it's a good one maybe. It's packed with cool b-sides that you won't find on the EP and has some pretty cool album art. So give it a shot if you want a taste of the new EP's sound. Hope you like it!



Tracklist:

1. Philander - 3:09
2. Burnt Out Sight - 3:02
3. My Girlfriend (Doesn't Acknowledge Me) - 3:53
4. Bronchitis - 5:45

Running Time: 15:48

Download Link VBR MP3:
http://www.mediafire.com/?c4lwdz88w08cy54

New very old stuff! Part 2 of 2

The reason behind uploading all these relics is because I'm cleaning up some space on the computer and deleting lots of old master tracks that I have no use for anymore. So in a sense, this is my form of backing up the early years and early experiments.

So this last release for today is something pretty special, it is the archives of my old band 'Cape Crusaders'. I compiled all the old demos and rehearsal songs we played from way back when we formed to the last few practices we had this year until the break up.

I have to admit it's a lot of stuff to go through, and some material is actually missing! But there's some treats here, you get to hear what exactly went through our heads back in the day, the ill-fated songs that were played only once or twice and all the band chatter regarding how the take was too shitty or very good. Lots of alternate takes and mixes and of course the abundance of covers we used to do back in the early days. (Couldn't find our famous Weezer covers though.)

It was kinda sad going through these cause you realize you spent lots of time in the band, having fun rehearsing, making music and eventually playing it live for people to hear. What really grips me is that this is a document that highlights what went on behind the scenes, how the band would prepare become presentable, to be happy and enjoy the times. It's all great and I'm happy that we were able to capture it even if it's not the greatest quality.

You'll be happy to notice that the material spans from my first demos circa 2007 to the failed EP sessions in November 2009 to the last practice this year. For that reason alone the quality goes everywhere. It was great compiling this and it reassured me that I had a good time and won't forget the nostalgic feeling of playing in local venues and messing around.

Farewell Cape Crusaders, it really was the end of us.

Cape Crusaders - Crazy Endings and Songs of P-14 (2007-2010)



1. Ed's Dream - 4:17
2. I Don't Wanna Be Alone Tonight - 4:01
3. The National Anthem (Radiohead Cover) - 4:41
4. Piggy (Cool Version) (Nine Inch Nails Cover) - 3:47
5. I Don't Wanna Be Alone Tonight (Early Take) - 4:31
6. Doesn't This Sound Like Drive or Something? (Demo) - 5:02
7. Head Like A Hole (Nine Inch Nails Cover) - 4:45
8. I Don't Wanna Be Alone Tonight (Video Mix) - 3:39
9. The Who Song - 5:09
10. The National Anthem (Early Take 1) - 3:48
11. Tame (Pixies Cover) - 1:49
12. Piggy (Organ Mix) - 3:52
13. Tiny Cities Made of Ashes (Modest Mouse Cover) - 3:28
14. The National Anthem (Early Take 2) - 4:25
15. Wonderful, 1832 (Failed 2009 Sessions Version) - 3:33
16. Brick (Minors) - 3:28
17. Surfrock (Failed 2009 Sessions Version) 3:34
18. Alone Tonight (Failed 2009 Sessions Version) 4:15
19. Weathers - 4:38
20. B-Side - 1:55
21. Reptillia (The Strokes Cover) - 3:49
22. Weathers (Then Known as Blow Out Ripoff) (Acoustic Demo) - 5:11
23. Low Expectations (New Song from the Last Practice) - 5:45

Total time: 1:33:32

Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?z4dyny2gkyt

New very old stuff! Part 1 of 2

I've been working hard on the new summer EP, it's still underway but I assure you it'll be out this month. It's final name etc is Smiles without Mirth. pretty cool huh?

Anyways we are going on a time machine trip today. Because I'm uploading some REALLY old stuff here today, the first is an old series of experimental ambient drone music that I made back in 2007-2008 under my alias 'Fuckdown'. It's very primitive and was back when I didn't really know what to do in my free time. It's not listed under the name 'Fuckdown' anymore, but alas you can tell the name fits perfectly, since the music is drone extraordinaire.

So here's the mini-LP of drone ambient experimental jazz fusion big band swing collection:

How Scandinavian - Abundance of Ambience (2007-2008)



1. Aluminum Garbage Can - 6:35
2. Your Music Taste (Earnest Musings About People Who Pretend to 'Love' a Song but Eat Shit Instead) - 4:05
3. Overcast - 4:32
4. Jacque-Oh-Lantern - 3:07
5. Scalpel (Pt. 1) - 2:46
6. Scalpel (Pt. 2) - 6:15
7. 7:31am - 2:22

Total Time: 28:52

Download Link : http://www.mediafire.com/?2gdmnjiytlz

How Scadinavian - A Stranger Danger (Remixed and Remastered) (2009)

How Scadinavian - A Stranger Danger (Remixed and Remastered) (2009)



Tracklist:

1. The Point - 4:36
2. At the Time (Like a Gown) - 3:24
3. Point 2 - 2:11
4. Ironic Fate Reversal Twist - 2:57
5. Day of the Year - 3:14
6. A Sort of Mending Sound - 3:33
7. So Sweet - 3:47
8. Just Like Always - 4:55

Total running time: 28:37

Download link (VBR MP3) : http://www.mediafire.com/?mj4zgy32t3y

The Story:

The deal with my first EP was a strange one, I initially had plans to make an EP back in late 2008/early 2009 with the title "Familiar Grounds" but this changed when I received a new mic to record material with as the quality change was drastic. Some songs from the original EP survived while others have been put on the shelf or possibly just deleted cause I thought they were shit.

The songs from the original concept were pretty much all re-recorded sans vocals or some guitar overdubs but aside from that they were all done from the ground up in 2009.

Lots of these songs span from different times in my life, so the quality varies in musicianship but I'd like to think that gives this record a bit of twist, like a bipolar dog that you keep because sometimes its nice to you and sometimes not.

Regardless I first released this on December 28th 2009, and remastered it during the summer of 2010. The tracklist was also changed, I had a song that was a demo of another song tacked on, and I hated it, so I removed it and threw in an older song from the original "Familiar Grounds" sessions, so woo! A rarity!

Why remaster?:

I was inexperienced with recording (still am) and I rushed the EP's release for December since I set myself that deadline in order to actually get my ass in gear and as a result the initial mix of the EP was really rough, filled with noise at times, and had some shitty bass recording (since at the time I didn't have a real bass to record with, I had to pitch shift a guitar) were the initial reason behind the remastering and remixing of this thing. So with my time already set to record a new EP (which comes out in a week holy shit) I decided I might as well clean up some old recordings, which led to just completely fixing this EP.

Why bother?:

With school in session, I really sacrificed my grades, and lots of my time to this first EP and I guess it was a labor of love and sometimes hate, but I am a lover of making music and I'd like to think it was worth it to make a home-made collection of my songs that spanned from 2008-2009, so a year's worth of work condensed into 28 minutes. Holy shit right?

How can I show that I give a shit?:

Well... you could give this thing a listen, give me some feedback and share it amongst other people you think may like it. I really don't plan on making any money on this, but do plan on building some sort of future with it, so if you could just throw this thing around and give a shout out and fuck maybe even tell some people who like to make music that I like to do it, and then maybe we can create some sort of cool collaboration or maybe I could produce or mix their material, etc etc.
Whatever but you get the idea, I hope.

Thanks for reading and hopefully listening.

P.S. - If you want a physical copy of this thing, just bring me a CD (and a jewel case if you have one!) to burn it to and I'll be happy to make you one, and if you give me a dollar or two, I'll even add some unique album art and some other nice things on it. But if you just want the CD, it's free. Plus you can then rip it in cool lossless codecs like FLAC or WAV!