Alone for 10 Minutes

Influences

Phil Collins’s drumming circa 1976 (especially Brand X’s debut track “Nuclear Burn”)

Story

After the ending request of the previous song to be left alone for 10 minutes, this instrumental is the sound of being left alone, repackaging all the instrument parts (adding two midway) into something more hypnagogic.  To get there, I play loose with a lot of panning – several parts drift for awhile before landing somewhere – and keep it moving as a suite.  Genesis’s “Me and Sarah Jane” does this kind of suite composition for the same reason.

The opening repeats the top notes as the bass moves intervals around to give an odd sense – the first two bass notes of a phrase have the same interval as the next two notes.  I wanted to make sure it still could sound like it was produced in the ‘70s while sounding like a different song.  There are a couple musical quotes of the first part scattered throughout – in particular, parts 1, 2, and 3 of “Alone for 10 Minutes” stick to the 10/4, 15/4, and (7+5)/4 of “Multicam Behavioral Health” and some of the rhythms resurface – but it’s largely doing its own recontextualizing thing.

The organ solo at the end is one of my favorite moments on the album. The organ solo at the end of “Tiles on the Tiles” is one of my favorite moments on There’s Much Left to Explore. I might have a type.

Some press about it

“#Alonefor10Minutes opens with reverbed bangs to imitate some type of enclosure. I envisioned a dark staircase enclosed in metal. I don’t know why but that was what came to mind. This soon stops to allow for a complete change in the composition. We then hear what sounds like church organs full of reverb – possibly to imitate confession? time alone with your thoughts? This is a track that really got me contemplating the story behind it.” – Tamara Jenna, TJPL News

“The aptly titled “Alone for Ten Minutes” (the track is exactly ten minutes long) could be the respite Dear Kristin was asking for. Woozy pads and wandering organs gently ruminate before racing percussion takes the track through unexpected avenues. This is undoubtedly abstract music; there are little to no structures to hold onto while listening, and its textures are vague and exotic, unfamiliar in their eagerness to cover unusual ground in the sprawling electronic music landscape.” – Jay Honeycomb, notransmission.com

Next song: V of Mood