017.5 - The Deep Dive - BROKEN_CANYON - Paradise 1116 Notes and Interview

 

The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review.

Notes

[MISSING] - A slow two chord progression lulls the listener in.  This tone set is really warm, almost inviting, but slightly off.  There is something under the surface that just doesn't feel quite right.  I’m not entirely sure what it is but it's looming there.  
The chords act as the backbone for everything that is going to come in this song.  It's very simple yet very enticing how the song builds its various layers.  I think part of what is going on here is in the production.  The production has a slightly murky quality to it where things that should be clear are not quite there yet.  Notes are not entirely distinguishable from each other and kind of blend into this mass of warmth.  
By the 1:15 mark most of the melodies have bloomed and separated themselves somewhat from the two chord backbone.  Each tone has a different effect.  There is a simple melody in the background that gives some musical context to everything.  There is a deep tone that resonates throughout and almost dominates the song, this only adds to the feeling of unease that was discussed before.  There are also some notes that sound like rhythmic noise on top of it all.  It all blends together to have this kind of “frantic in slow motion” effect.  
The song is very busy but entirely chill at the same time.  I get this sense that something is being searched for methodically.  The title of the track lends to this being the case. Everything just builds and builds until right around 2:15 when most of the elements just suddenly stop.  I’m sensing that there is some sort of narrative here.  Maybe something was found or they just gave up the search.  Either way it stands out. The song slowly fades out and blends directly into Quarter Past Midnight.  Lots of interesting elements at play here.  Lots of questions, not many answers yet.

Quarter Past Midnight - A pair of sombre piano chords are slowly bled in from the ambience between the two tracks.  The warmth of the first track is there still, but this time it is steeped in sorrow.  There is a huge sense of melancholy and loss in everything this song offers.  Again that production makes things just a bit ‘hazy’ where we can hear most of what's going on just not all of the details.  
What really pushes this track over the edge is the mournful lead that plays over the pianos.  The rhythm section of the song is very slow and repeats almost ad nauseum, but it is elevated by the lead melodies.  It sounds like a lost soul floating through a forest or a city street searching for something, anything that it can gravitate towards.  But in the end the only thing it keeps finding is the same answer, over and over.
As the song progresses there are some very subtle elements that are added in towards the second minute.  The sombre lead is accompanied by some low rumbles and other ambient sounds that only add texture to what is going on.  
Again this song transitions directly into the next, leading more to the sense that there is an overarching narrative, at least for the first four tracks.  Musically everything still has a warm feel to it, but just as before things don’t seem quite right.  Though in this song things are more overt.  There is less ambiguity, something or someone is lost or has lost something.  

Happy - I’m not sure what I was expecting of this track the first time I heard it, but I don’t think it was what I got.  The tones from the previous two tracks absolutely carry over into the soundscapes present here.  Unlike the other two tracks however this one is purely ambient, consisting largely of just a single tone played over the course of two minutes.
I think that the title suggests that happiness is fleeting or that it is something that has been lost.  Maybe they are longing to be happy, but they cannot find this happiness in the state that they are in. The way that the song remains singular in its focus for the 2 minutes really suggests to me that this is something that the character is fixated on.  Why can’t they be happy? Why is it eluding them?
The curious part of the track comes toward the end.  There are some sounds of people talking in a way that is not entirely clear.  I can hear that words are being spoken but not what is being said.  I need to ask Broken Canyon what is going on at this point in the album.  

Regression - Again the song transitions directly from the one before it.  The first half of this album could largely just be four movements of the same song.  I really love that effect, both how the songs work together and how it makes the album flow.  
Once the song settles in around 15 seconds the listener is transitioned to another event in this timeline.  Again there is a low tone that acts as the backbone but unlike the previous track there is some melody above it.  Right around 47 seconds when a four tone melody comes in the entire song takes a turn for the mysterious.  Like something is happening and we can’t quite identify everything that is going on.
There were a few things that I missed the first time listening to this that I did catch while listening on headphones.  There are samples buried deep in the background of people talking and children laughing.  This paired with the song's title maybe makes me wonder a few things.  Are we regressing to childhood? Is the character longing for a time where things were happier (harkening back to track 3) and we are reminiscing about a better time in our lives? There are a lot of implications here and I really like the sense of the unknown that comes with the album.
Everything to this point we’re given just short little snippets of what may have been going through Broken Canyons mind during the recording.  Everything is presented in a translucent fashion where we get glimpses but never the whole picture.  The production really drives this home too, the sense that things are intentionally obscured comes through very strongly in the way that the songs sound and feel.  

あなたは戻ってきますか (will you come back) - I thought at first that there was a break between this song and the songs that came before it.  It was only while listening intently with headphones that I heard a small click track (or maybe footsteps) and some samples bridging the two tracks together.  
This song brings with it a tonal shift compared to the other songs.  Again there are two chords or notes that act as the background for the song to be built upon. But the way that these sounds have an almost Sangam type feel to them rather than the mystery that we had in the earlier tracks.  There is a clarity here that wasn't there before.  The samples of the rain also drive home the stark difference and shift that the musical tone has taken.  
I’m really curious what this means.  Also this paired with the first use of katakana characters for the song title indicate something has shifted.  I wonder if there is a sense of acceptance or denial from the first tracks.  The character seems to be shifting focus from the narrative that was laid out in the first few tracks.  
The title translates to will you come back, and it makes me wonder if they are asking that to the time in their childhood that was lost, or if it is something entirely different.  Either way this seems like a pivotal moment in the narrative of the album.  

Start Again - Again the transition between the tracks is very very subtle.  There seems to be some sort of music played on a violin or stringed instrument buried very deep in the mix.  Would not ever hear this without headphones.
The title of the song is very telling.  The sense that has been given to this point is that something was lost, and there is a longing for better times, to be happy once again.  The character moved on in the previous song, or accepted the loss and now they are starting to move forward with their life.  
All of this is spoken directly through the music.  This is by far the longest song on the album, and it uses the entire runtime to communicate just how the character is moving forward with their life.  The music here is much less melancholy than anything else in the album.  There is still a sense of sadness that permeates the entire album, however there is a sense of drive here that really has been lacking to this point.  Really what this has is a sense of direction, when so many of the other songs really seem almost aimless (not in a bad way, just a sense that the character is lost).  
I’m not sure what the voice is saying at the start of the song, but it is another sign of the shift in the album.  It's the first time that vocals have been clearly used throughout the entire album.  A declaration of sorts.  After the voice fades out the music again wraps us in a blanket of warm chords and they weave back and forth, similar to an ocean wave.  There is a sway here that wasn’t really present in the earlier tracks now that I think about it.  
The way that this song handles melody is also a huge shift compared to the previous tracks.  There is hope here, or at least acceptance, a sense of purpose that was not there before.  That really is the essence of the track.  There is something found here, whereas the previous tracks felt like they were predominantly about loss.  Love the shift in tone and I wonder where it takes us.

パルス (pulse) - Again there is a smooth transition, not one that you would need headphones for.  And again the tonal shift from the previous song carries over.  We seem to have truly turned a page with the narrative at this point.  
Also true to the title of the song, there is this pulse that resonates in the background of the song.  I enjoy this effect a lot as it lets the song stand on its own two legs and differentiate itself from all the other ones on the album.  
The song also is the first overt use of a major key in the album.  For the very first time the character may be letting themselves actually be happy.  I love this tonal change, there is actually hope and a sense of purpose.  The dark night of the soul and being lost seem to be something that has been left in the past and the character now has a way to go about their life.  
The other major component of the song is the running stream in the background.  The water is probably the first use of true natural sounds that would be associated with only nature (rain can be part of the city still).  I wonder if the character found peace through communion with nature because of this.  This song is a strong statement as to the state of mind for the character.  

無名 (anonymous) -There is another tonal shift in this song.  A sense of finality, almost like an ending credits type feel.  This is the end of this tale.  Unfortunately it does not have the major key tone that the previous track had, leading me to believe that there may not be a totally happy ending to this story.  
The piano is back from the second track and it acts as the main driver for the song. Everything has a ton of reverb on it, again going back to the opening few tracks style where things are obscured.  The title of the song translates to anonymous, and I’m wondering if the character in their newfound hope also finds themselves alone, or with nothing else… being in a state of anonymity.  
The main melody starts about 1:45 into the song and almost has a dirge type feel to it.  I wonder what happened between the hope that we felt on pulse compared to the near hopelessness or fatalism that we hear in this song.  Really stark difference and it feels like we’ve come full circle from the beginning of the album to here, like nothing mattered in the long run… again fatalism.  

Overall - This album is short but very powerful.  The overall sound of the album reminds me quite a bit of the production values had on Silent Hill 2 and 3’s soundtracks.  That sense that we are not seeing things clearly, like through a foggy window.  We are witnessing events but not as clearly as we possibly could or maybe even should.  The character is undergoing a major life event but we don't quite get to see the details of it, just the raw emotional toll it has on the character.
There is hope in there in a small amount, but again it seems dashed by the final song once again.  I really love this album as it feels almost like a short story, a small look into someone's life during a time of great turmoil.  Did they lose someone? Did they find themselves despite everything? What was the point of it all ultimately?  Great musical storytelling on here, with just enough ambiguity that it can be up to individual interpretation.  

Interview

At the end of Happy there are some samples of people talking.  What were you trying to get across at this point in the song?  

Almost all of the samples, background sounds and transitions (as well as the cover art) were actually done by my friend, so I really have no idea what it means if it means anything at all. At that point in time BROKEN_CANYON was more of a collaborative project where my friend handled the art direction, transitions, and sequencing while I made all the music.

Some of the songs use katakana rather and others use the english alphabet, why did you decide to title some of the songs in Japanese?

At the time I made this album (2016) many dreampunk albums incorporated Japanese text. I think I liked it because it added mystique. I don’t know really, it was just the thing to do at the time. I guess I was really into a lot of Japanese stuff at the time too, I was watching a lot of anime and playing the Shin Megami Tensei and Yakuza games too so maybe that was part of it.

You mentioned in our conversations that Silent Hill plays a large influence to your music. There is a similar production value here to the sound heard on Silent Hill 2 and 3.  Can you describe how Akira Yamaoka’s music came to influence you and how it has shaped your music over the years?

I love Silent Hill’s music, particularly the more chill ambient stuff (although I am also quite fond of the rock instrumentals and the noisy tracks) and was inspired by something I read in an interview with Yamaoka where I think he said he prioritized vibe and atmosphere over melody. I really love how he uses such simple chord progressions (something like iv-i) and still am inspired by that kind of minimalism when it comes to the composition side of things. At the time I wasn’t a very skilled producer, I was mucking around with FL Studio and just trying to make things that were cool. The lo-fi sound is pretty authentic, it wasn’t a conscious decision.

Your work prior to Paradise 1116 was largely more less ambient based, what caused the shift in style for this album?

I consider Paradise 1116 to be the first true BROKEN_CANYON album and I’m honestly quite embarrassed by BROKEN_CANYON 1 and some of BROKEN_CANYON 2. I think I wanted to make something like 2814 from the beginning but I did not at all have the technical chops to pull that off, so I just combined a bunch of things I learned in YouTube videos (how to make IDM drums, how to make trap beats) and shat out BROKEN_CANYON 1. All of those songs sound the same and I think there are two tracks that are in the same key and use the same chord progression and structure, haha. BROKEN_CANYON 2 I started to move more into the ambient direction, there’s a couple of ambient tracks there and some tracks that I still think are pretty good.

Your music is often tagged as dreampunk.  Do you consider yourself a dreampunk artist? Why or why not?

At the time of making Paradise 1116, I would’ve considered myself a “vapor” artist (which was the term people were using for dreampunk at the time.) Personally, I don’t see myself as entirely a “pure” dreampunk artist, as I don’t make music that’s yearning for some lost cyberpunk future anymore, rather I try to reflect on our current reality. I see my music as a soundtrack to the age of societies of control, to the QAnon era - that’s what I’m trying to do with this whole “mektrix” vibe I’ve been on. I wouldn’t reject being labelled a dreampunk artist, but I’d prefer not to be boxed into any particular scene or genre. I will not deny that I am very inspired by dreampunk, I am indebted to 2814, HKE, Sangam, and telepath.

There seems to be a strong narrative going on in this album.  In as much detail as you want, can you describe the story that is being told here?  If you would like it to remain vague you do not have to answer this question.

Well, I guess I have to start by describing the mental state I was in at the time. I am on the autism spectrum and have some kind of personality disorder as well. Up until high school I was extremely sheltered, had very few friends and spent most of my time gaming. High school was difficult for me because I couldn’t figure out how to navigate social situations at the time, I was nowhere near as outgoing and socially adept as I am now (in fact, most people are shocked when I tell them I am on the spectrum). I got really depressed because I was always alone and couldn’t figure out how to make friends or how to talk to people. This also coincided with a lot of confusion about my sexuality and gender identity. I’d say this was about the second or third lowest point of my life. I poured everything into this album, it was the first time I think I channeled my emotions and truly made “genuine” music. Many of the tracks touch on dark themes: there’s あなたは戻ってきますか  (Will You Come Back) which reflects on my fear of abandonment, Regression features a sample of Ian Curtis who I was infatuated with at the time (partially because of his suicide, which was something I was constantly thinking about), Start Again reflects on my relationship issues, and Pulses is a brief glimmer of hope. When it came to sequencing, that was all my friend who I mentioned earlier, and I commend him for creating this narrative (likely unknowingly.) All I knew is that Missing would be the intro, and 無名 to be the outro. I love your interpretation of the story of this album and feel that you perhaps picked up a lot of things that I didn’t consciously do. It’s really given me a new appreciation of this album and brought tears to my eyes when I relistened to it today.

What equipment was used during the recording of this album?

I used a 2011 MacBook Pro with a pirated copy of FL Studio 11, and a pirated copy of the Predator VST. I think there might also be some Valhalla Shimmer reverb in there but I’m not sure. Many of the tracks were made during lunch at high school. I had literally no friends at the time so I would just sit down in the hallway with headphones and work on music.

At the beginning of Start Again there is a voice that states something.  The voice is echoed and I can’t really make out what its saying. Its also the only time on the album where ‘vocals’ are used clearly.   What was the reason for having this phrase here? Is what the voice saying important?

It’s a sample from Wong Kar Wai’s film Happy Together. It’s about two gay men who are in a toxic relationship, and one of the recurring lines in the film is “let’s start again” which is what I sampled in the beginning of this track. It’s in reference to a relationship that I was having at the time that was not going so well, we would keep getting into arguments and then “starting again.” We’re cool now though.

Is there anything further you would like to say about this album or your music in general?

 
This album put me on the map as an artist, and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to share my music with people all over the world. This album will always hold a special place in my heart as “where it all started.” I am so grateful for Unchill Records / Sea of Clouds for launching my music “career.” Also shoutouts to Yoshimi, Sangam, AUT2M, and LeonLS for helping me launch said “career.”