On Kompoz.com in 2015, where the members of Icarus Machine got together, found common ground, got some crazy ideas, and started working. And here we are. More to come.
Bill Babcock, Jordi Ribas, JennyK. We are Icarus Machine!
Icarus Machine Band Image – Bill Babcock, Jordi Ribas and Jenny K Brennan
A music production snapshot from the making of “This Sundered World” by Icarus Machine. .
So there is this song. And there are these wave files that I created by yelling miserably into the microphone, because that is what the song warranted. So I was a bit intimate with the mic. It happens right? And the take turned out just how I wanted it. I didn’t really check the result in the file.
So that’s all fine and dandy. Files are sent to Bill. He puts them in place, sounds great.
Except for this little click I hear. It annoys me. Now, fast forward a few weeks when we go back and forth working on the mixes for this album – This Sundered World. Many things are redone and fixed, and straightened out. But that click is still there.
Bil: “Where? I can’t hear it.”
Fast forward some more. I’m ready to bite my fingers off.
Bill is ready to send me to the lunatic asylum. I’m hearing things all over the place.
Finally we get some other problems taken care of, everything is fine.
Except for that click. That damn click.
Bill: “Where? I still can’t hear anything.”
Silence
Bill: “Well, there is that tiny little click there. I thought it was part of the flanger.”
Silence.
Bill: “Oh. What are the F-ing odds of that? It’s in the flanger. Shut that off and it’s gone.”
Me: “Ah.”
Bill: “the main shape of the flanger setting is rectangular
with no smoothness, it’s got a vertical transition across the waveform axis. All I did was change the shape of the flange and it’s fixed.”
At that point I glazed over and started thinking about other things. Not that I don’t understand it, but there is a reason I sing. I can be a tiresome pain in the ass and in the end Bill will fix the bad I create, and I don’t need to understand waveform politics.
Me: “So it wasn’t all my fault then?”
Bill: “Well, if you had been singing it differently…”
Me: “Blow me.”
So, In the end I’m not going to the asylum, although I’m certain that Bill will find more reasons to send the dreaded men in white to Ontario. But I can deal with that.
more importantly; I will check my files more often. And Bill will never again trust a flanger.
JennyK – From the dungeons of phase shifting and zero-crossings.
Where do the living go when the guardians take them by the hand? Where do the crow fly?
Were do all the dead ones go? It may well be that the sky can become me. As I become sky.”
Bill Babcock: Guitars, Keyboards, Drum Hackery
Jordi Ribas: Bass
Jenny K Brennan: Vocals, Lyrics, Piano
About the song
“This was a song that sort of just…happened. Jenny had this acoustic part she really liked and so she sent a file of the acoustic by itself to Bill and asked what he thought. Bill started playing around with it and the next thing the song was born. Jenny and Bill had been talking a lot about the row of Bird in the story and also in general about the mythology surrounding crows and how that fit into things and the title struck Bill as he started playing with the part Jenny had written and it drove the rest of the song from there.”
Lyrics
Whatever you do you will fall
Whatever you feel I’m not that far away
(I’m not that far away)
(as the crow flies)
(I’m not that far away)
(as the crow flies)
(I’m not that far away)
(as the crow flies)
As the crow flies is the long way around
(I’ll meet you on the other side where all the dead crows go)
Come make me into sky
Show me all of your scars
Show me where the crow flies
Tell me where the dead ones go
Come make me into sky
Drown me in stars
Show me where the crow flies
Take me where the dead go
When everyone’s a shadow in this land
And every face is carved and stained by pain
(we’re not that far from dead)
(as the crow flies)
(we’re not that far from dead)
(as the crow flies)
(we’re not that far from dead)
(as the crow flies)
As the crow flies is the hard way to die
(Always alone)
(let the crops burn make your body learn)
(as the crow flies)
(we’re not that far from dead
Come make me into sky
Show me all of your scars
Show me where the crow flies
Tell me where the dead ones go
Come make me into sky
Drown me in stars
Show me where the crow flies
Take me where the dead go
Come make me into sky
Drown me in stars
Show me where the crow flies
Take me where the dead go
Where do spirits go when there’s no heaven there’s no place to rest your soul
Where do living go when there’s no wanting there’s no need and there’s no goal
Watch out that steel contains your mind and every thought will burrow down ’til they take you
Come the Guardian
Take you by the hand
Come the Guardian
Take you by the hand
Come the Guardian
Take you by the hand
Come the Guardian
Take you by the hand
Where ever you go your gonna fall your gonna fall
Whomever you love All those that you love will go
(to that place)
(where all the dead ones go)
(go tend your scars go)
(as the crow flies)
Come make me into sky
Show me all of your scars
Show me where the crow flies
Tell me where the dead ones go
Come make me into sky
Drown me in stars
Show me where the crow flies
Take me – Take me home
Icarus Machine’s first music video.
Video production Bill Babcock.
From the album This Sundered World.
Find this track at Icarus Machine on Soundcloud.
About Salt From Tears
(Written by Bill Babcock, Jenny K Brennan, Jordi Ribas)
Don’t forget, don’t forget! The heart, the heart. Ticking clicking whirring. Oh poor me, have to see. See this. Don’t forget, don’t forget.
Bill Babcock: Guitars, Keyboards, Drum Hackery
Jordi Ribas: Bass
Jenny K Brennan: Vocals, Lyrics
“The opening acoustic part is actually part of something Bill wrote years ago and would perform with 2 friends on acoustics for open mic nights in clubs like The Channel in Boston. While trying out different tones from the piezo pickup on his Parker Fly Mojo, he started playing the guitar part and then next thing he knew, he’d decided to record it. The names of songs are always something Bill thinks about early in the writing process since for him, they set the tone. Jenny had just shared an initial draft of the opening pages of the novel with him and ‘Salt From Tears’ struck him after reading.”
Lyrics:
Still her heart.
Goodbye Mother, you taught him everything he needs to know and he’s hiding his fears.
It’s a lonely road but there won’t be salt from tears.
Gabriel, don’t forget, don’t look back
Gabriel, step by step, step by step.
Gabriel, don’t hold on, she is far away.
Let her have her dream, let her sleep.
(Still her heart)
Goodbye Mother, you taught him everything he needs to know about being alone.
He’ll walk a lonely road but there won’t be salt from tears.
Close your eyes, there’s nothing left here for you.
Oh Gabriel Go, turn away, let her stay.
(Turn away).
Close your eyes but open wide.
Are you watching the sky, it’s gonna fall, it’s gonna cry.
It’s coming your way, letting you stray no more.
(Still your heart)
Goodbye mother, you taught him everything he needs to know about being alone.
It’s a lonely road but it won’t be salt from tears.
Goodbye Mother, you taught him everything he knows from pain to fear.
It’s a lonely road but it won’t be salt from tears.
Goodbye Mother, He’ll get right up when he falls.
Goodbye Mother, he won’t cry for you anymore.
Goodbye Mother, He’ll move on if he has to crawl.
Goodbye Mother, he won’t ever cry for you.
(Still your heart)
Goodbye Mother, you taught him everything he needs to know and from here.
It’s a lonely road but there won’t be salt from tears.
Come on bird, let’s follow the road to see where it goes.
(There won’t be salt from tears.)
Come on bird, let’s tell each other stories and I’ll feed you corn.
(There won’t be salt from tears.)
Come on bird, Let’s follow the road to see where it goes.
(There won’t be salt from tears.)
Come on bird, let’s follow the road to see where it goes.
Goodbye Mother, you taught him all he needs to know and from here.
(Still your heart)
Goodbye Mother, you taught him all he knows from pain to fear.
It’s a broken road but there won’t be salt from tears.
Come on Bird, let’s follow the road where it goes.
Come on Bird, to the end of the world.
Come on Bird, let’s follow the road where it goes.
Come on Bird, to the end of the world.
Nine months or more has gone by since I had this hairbrained idea and I spoke it out loud. Well, not actually speaking it but in text I said something that changed my focus, my goals, and in many ways my life.
Sounds dramatic doesn’t it? 🙂
Well, it wasn’t. Not really. I approached a musician that I have admired since his music reached my ears on Kompoz.com where I started collaborating with musicians just over two years ago. I wanted us to work on a song together. Something from scratch. I don’t think I even knew what I was trying to ask. We started talking about more than one song. We talked about a short story I might write that would go with the song. It all goes fuzzy from there.
The thing is that “The biggest dreams come true in the most subtle of ways. One word, one song, one idea at a time.”
It sneaks up on you and before you know it, things fall into place. Suddenly you are in a moment of time you always wanted to be but never knew the way to. It crept up on me.
“Icarus Machine” is such a dream come true for me. And it came with more than just a new band with a cool name. The album “This Sundered world” is a concept album in the realms of Prog metal. We have 12 tracks and one story. We are looking at a mid-August release for both .
So who is this magical person that could settle JennyK to work with others and dedicate all time and energy on one project for an extended period of time and beyond? It had to be someone very special. Because as we all know; JennyK does not know how to spell the word “consistency”.
Well, here are the ingredients for this cake of all cakes
Bill Babcock
a.k.a sriracha Is the driving force that can pressure me into doing better and not make me want to kick him in the teeth for it. A teacher, a mentor, a nice guy, and an extraordinary asshole. Bill is the producer and has written most of the songs on the album. His guitar is never not impressive, his compositions never not right for the vision. He also does keys and effects, all mixing and mastering with deep knowledge, feeling, and precision. That would be enough wouldn’t you think?
Oh, hell no. When we couldn’t find a drummer, he superglued the drum sticks to his keyboard fingers.
You can find Bill and much more music at his Kompoz profile page.
Jordi Ribas
a.k.a Srhangover has composed one song on this album and several for the future and has been an inspiration from the start with his undeniable style and excellence. Jordi plays the bass on all tracks and is nothing if not absolutely amazing. Beyond this band and album he is a serious force in prog rock and metal among other genres. He is a talented musician and songwriter in his own right.
You can find Jordi on his Kompoz page, where he brightens the music collaboration world with his amazing creativity and love of the music. Jordi plays in a Steampunk themed prog metal band in his hometown of Galicia – Spain, with his wife as the lead singer.
Jenny K Brennan
a.k.a JennyK does the word forging and the voice melody making on all tracks. Lyrics are all inspired by characters in the novel. As an author of various styles of fiction from horror through comedy to paranormal erotica, Jenny is now moving on to steam punk for the novel titled the same as the album – “This Sundered World.”
About us
Icarus Machine
The members of Icarus Machine came together late 2015 after collaborating online over several years on various projects with each other. The members, Bill Babcock, Jenny K Brennan and Jordi Ribas, hail from all over the world: Massachusetts, United States; Ontario, Canada; all the way to Galicia, Spain.
Having discovered they were like minded about music and art, they found a common vision and desire to create something different – a project encompassing music and literature where the music was subtext for the story and vice versa.
Their first album is written around the events in a novel written alongside the music. “This Sundered World” is a steampunk inspired story about Gabriel who finds himself alone in a sundered society, a world he knows nothing about. Gabriel and the characters he encounters became the inspiration for the music and lyrics on the album.
