RPGDX > Forums > Music and sound effects > Swimfail: Vermin

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

So...
As some of you know, I like to think of myself as a musician-- and hopefully I'm not that delusional about it-- I play most normal 'rock instruments' and sing, and I am a trained recording engineer: Swimfail has been my personal industrial rock/metal/grunge/etc. project for the past four or five years now. "Vermin" is the fourth and final studio album I've created and released independently, and I've finally decided to let the project go and move on.

The album blends heavy industrial rock and metal with catchy melodic hooks, dense layers of samples, live instrumentation and whatever else crawled its way into the mix. I've spent about three months working on it quite steadily and I am utterly drained from the process.

You can grab the album from the music section of Swimfail.com:

Get it here

Hard copies should be available in the future as well. :)

Cover:

Back:

Insert:

~Josiah

Malignus · Scholar Joined: 12 May 2009 Posts: 198

Some good stuff on here! My favorite tracks here are Sap, Rodent Wings and Dawn. All of them are pretty melodic compared to the rest of the album. I like Pet too.

The harder tracks, for some reason, don't appeal to me as much as the harder tracks on Extreme Disappointment. Not sure why. They're certainly well-made, though.

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Hmm, interesting... I think the harder tracks on here (the majority of the album) represent some of my best metal/rock-styled stuff. :) That said, though, the mellow tracks are my favorites as well, but that's just the kind of music I'm really feeling at the moment. now that Swimfai's done I'll probably be doing a lot more of that style... Might even re-record Sap and Rodent Wings for a future project, I think.

~Josiah

DeveloperX · Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 9:59 pm Post subject:

I'm downloading vermin now, though I won't be able to listen to it today unfortunately.
I'll let you know my thoughts of it next chance I get.
I'd donate $ if I had it, but as it stands, I have $3 to my name and over $1000 in bills, and no job. :\

(I hate not having my own net connection anymore)

Very sad to hear that Swimfail is coming to a close.
Well, your decisions are your own to make.
I wish you the best in whatever you choose to do with your time now.
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Rambling Indie Games, LLC

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js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Hehe, well Swimfail was hardly all I did in my spare time. It was just too negative; after I listened to this new album in its entirety for the first time it just hit me so suddenly that I couldn't make another Swimfail album.

Hope you enjoy it though, and don't worry about donating, it's an option but don't feel pressured to if you can't. Listening is enough :)

Working on editing together a short 'making of' segment that I filmed during the creation of this album.

~Josiah

DeveloperX · Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 12:24 am Post subject:

Okay, I got to hear it for the first time.
And when the second track started I dropped my box of chinese food...I hate the audio up loud and the first track is rather quiet...then WHAM massive loud music scared the shit out of me. :D

All in all, I enjoyed it, and have added it to the constantly playing random playlist of mine. :)

I'll pass the word to people I know to get it.
Great stuff man.
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Rambling Indie Games, LLC

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js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Haha, thanks. I'd hoped the combo of the first couple tracks would have that effect. :)

~Josiah

BadMrBox · Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 2:53 am Post subject:

I have missed too download this. Getting right too it now.
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js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Nodtveidt · Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 12:59 pm Post subject:

Josiah, Elsie says you should do a project called "SwimSuccess". :)
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js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

You can now watch a ten minute behind-the-scenes "making of" segment detailing the techniques and equipment used to create Vermin:

Part one

Part two

~Josiah

Nodtveidt · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 1:36 pm Post subject:

I'm finally getting the chance to listen to this now. Just started. Swimfail always makes for great work music. :)
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If you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear demonic voices. The scary part is that if you play it forwards it installs Windows. - wallace

Nodtveidt · Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2009 6:19 pm Post subject:

OK, I've listened to the whole thing, and I've gotta say it's pretty good. The prior album was better though, sans the distracting voice-overs. "Vermin A" is probably my favorite track here, though "Adorable" is pretty good too once it gets going. But this album just seems to lack the "killer track" that ED had. "Protector" was pure brilliance that wasn't matched anywhere on this offering, and none of these tracks have the emotional weight of "Hollow Pages" or the brooding, mystic-like properties of "Another Angel". "Sap" is cool with its videogame-like melody...sounds like it could have been made on a Commodore 64 or an NES. "Damager" is pretty decent too but IMO takes too long to get "in your face"...of course, once it does, it does a good job. I find "Phonetic" to be the best track on the album from a technical perspective. Good outtro with "Dawn"...that was a nice touch.

All in all, it's a solid offering, but compared with the previous album, it seems to be lacking *something*. I completely understand what you mean when you talk about the negativity...and I think that that had an effect on the overall impression of this album. It's always good when an artist recognizes that their current path is not the one they want to be on and then have the strength to change their course.
_________________
If you play a Microsoft CD backwards you can hear demonic voices. The scary part is that if you play it forwards it installs Windows. - wallace

js71 · Wandering DJ Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 815

Hey, thanks for posting your thoughts! Yes, this album is definitely more straightforward and 'heavy' than the last, and so it does lose some of the more atmospheric material because of that (although Sap and Rodent Wings come pretty close in my opinion, and are probably the main two tracks that I feel stand above the raging negativity of the rest, in my own mind). That said, though, I've received comments from both sides; some seem to feel that the more straightforward direction was big step up in quality. I'm not sure I agree with either 'side,' but I'm content knowing it's impossible to please everyone :) One thing I can say though is that musically, Vermin is exactly what I wanted to make, and I think that's the most important thing. (I also consider it my best work production-wise)

Good news for you, though-- now that I've got Swimfail out of my system I'll be making music under my own name, and the stuff that I really want to do is much more atmospheric and melodic, along the lines of the last chunk of Extreme Disappointment (Hollow Pages, Another Angel etc). I'm actually really excited to get started on it, but I don't want to rush into it like I did with most Swimfail projects. :)

~Josiah