hyperboreal (the hamlet machines cover) by rsorensen
Genre: Alternative Rock
Fan List
Description:
This was a lot of fun. I love covering other artists' stuff - especially if it inspires me, which the original 'hyperboreal' by the hamlet machines http://www.macjams.com/song/40530 definitely does.
When I first heard hyperboreal it blew me away - literally. I believe I left a comment deeming it 'absolute sonic rape', because that's what it sounded like to me. When the challenge idea was proposed I knew pretty much right away that was the song I wanted to cover. It came together pretty quick, but mixing was a little difficult because of the contrast from the more ambient first half to the heavy wall-of-sound second half. After around 10 mixes I think I pulled it off (with mix help from 12p - thanks!), though I'm sure there's room for improvement production wise.
I went in a slightly different direction for my version, but tried to retain the attitude and brashness of the original. I also reversed the original hyperboreal in audacity and used it at the beginning and ending of mine.
Please give cjdaly and the hamlet machines some love. They've been around for a while now and imo are one of the most underrated, unappreciated bands here.
http://www.macjams.com/artist/cjdaley
Strap in, strap on and get ready to be sonically assaulted once again... here is hyperboreal by the hamlet machines by Satellite Tragedy.
When I first heard hyperboreal it blew me away - literally. I believe I left a comment deeming it 'absolute sonic rape', because that's what it sounded like to me. When the challenge idea was proposed I knew pretty much right away that was the song I wanted to cover. It came together pretty quick, but mixing was a little difficult because of the contrast from the more ambient first half to the heavy wall-of-sound second half. After around 10 mixes I think I pulled it off (with mix help from 12p - thanks!), though I'm sure there's room for improvement production wise.
I went in a slightly different direction for my version, but tried to retain the attitude and brashness of the original. I also reversed the original hyperboreal in audacity and used it at the beginning and ending of mine.
Please give cjdaly and the hamlet machines some love. They've been around for a while now and imo are one of the most underrated, unappreciated bands here.
http://www.macjams.com/artist/cjdaley
Strap in, strap on and get ready to be sonically assaulted once again... here is hyperboreal by the hamlet machines by Satellite Tragedy.
Lyrics:
She blinks and she thinks she knows what’s in my mindThere she goes up my nose and she is gonna find
A lonely frozen sea that’s gonna make her blind
But if by chance she can dance this is a paradise
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Cockagne land blubberland made of ice fields and floe
Ruined cities, memories moving like drifting snow
I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d died from the cold
But your body, baby, it will never grow old
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
For the kind of the stuff
that my dreams are made of
It’s never dark enough
let’s turn the heavens off
Northern lights
polar star
However bright
they are
they are light
pollution
imperfection
of night
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hyperboreal
Hardware:
Taylor Big Baby Acoustic, M-Audio KeyStudio 49i, Squier Vintage Jazz Bass, Gibson Firebird VII, Blue SnowballSoftware:
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Feter
Man ..this is deep ..your singing so has alot of depth
here ..the spheric sound your created behind all was
a real groove to give the song a cool dimension...
the vocal work seems to be one of your best ...the
burst yu made with the guitar just perfect to the
song ..YOU ROCK ...thnx alot for sharin !!!!
rsorensen
thank-you feter. this sure was a great idea for a challenge. what better way to pay tribute to other macjammers we respect? I have a feeling this will be the first of many cover challenges. Thanks for the kind words. Good to have you back.
guygrooves
This is totally freakin Awesome!! I have to check The Hamlet Machines out now. Thanks for sharing this Ridd, you did a stellar job on it. Scott has a decent set of ears on him doesn't he? ;o) Great choice man.
Peace
Guy
rsorensen
thanks guy. yah def check out the original. and yes, scott does! thanks for the comments :)
egobandit
I agree Cjdaly is one of the less appreciated artists here. YOu have done some outstanding justice to this song. What a punch in the face this is love the fuzz Excellent!
rsorensen
thanks, ego. when i first heard the original hyperboreal it was like a punch in the face, so I'm glad this was able to do the same to you. thanks!
Relic67
the loud guitar break was killer.
the menacing vibe was sustained throughout very effectively.
also seemed exactly the right length, which I think can be difficult for a tune like this one.
another nice one.
rsorensen
thanks relic. yeah the guitar wanker in me wanted to stretch the 'freak out' end section a few more minutes, but I didn't think I could hold the listeners attention that long. thanks for checking this out
five_extra_arms
Ridd,
As the Fan Club President of the Hamlet Machines, I have to take my cap off to you and this dynamic version of one of their finest songs. You've captured the intensity of the original and drove it through a Marshall stack into our unsuspecting faces. It's like a swarm of hornets swirling around my head. It's loud and frightening. I was waiting for your French accent to poke through, but I guess you live in the other part of Canada where they don't speak French. ;)
You've done an amazing job mastering all that fuzz and noisy distortion with your soft vocals, strumming guitars and synths. I love the high pitched backup vox that work so well with your voice. You managed to keep such a tight grip on my throat without asphyxiating me, but leaving me breathless, just like I was when I heard the original Hamlet Machines song for the very first time.
You've paid a great tribute to a great artist.
I'm sending you a Hamlet Machines t-shirt!
Bob
rsorensen
thanks bob - means a lot coming from a hamlet machines superfan like yourself ;) This was a ton of fun. You mention the accent.. one of the things that makes hm songs so appealing to me is cj's vocal delivery, but man is it ever hard to phrase the lyrics the way he does without sounding like I'm from another planet. He pulls it off effortlessly but it was tricky for me to say words differently than I normally would to fit the music (i.e. lonLEY frozen sea), but it made me think outside the box and I got something valuable out of it I can try in my own songs.
Anyway I'm stoked you like this and I'm looking forward to proudly wearing my tee. THanks!
Vic Holman
uh, umm, jeezuz. this just goes way beyond description.
totally intense throughout and when it builds into a crescendo... well I think you ripped the sky wide open.
okay, I'm gaining my senses. this is excellent beyond us mere mortals.
you really went for the jugular and outdid yourself on this Ridd.
rsorensen
wow thanks vic. ripping the sky open sounds good to me. really glad you like this. your cover is stellar.
12parsecs
and sonic gladness. you already know i love this. nice work, mon frere!
rsorensen
thanks for the mix tips. i went with the unfiltered drums as you can hear. i think peoples eardrums might have fell out of their head if I posted the other one ;)
Nick_Flash
This sounds huge Ridd. I love songs like this that just build up into such an explosion of sound. You got some great sounds out of the Firebird for this one. Cool as hell.
rsorensen
man i love that guitar. it never lets me down. thanks for listening nick. i'm loving your racerat cover.
cjdaley
beautiful satellite view of hyperboreal lands. The new contrast and dynamics made me shiver, though not from cold. (Strange, by the way, how the reversed song is reminiscent of Bauhaus's Hollow Hills).I'm proud and glad you planted your flag on this and thanks a million for the kind words.
rsorensen
big thanks to you for making that amazing song and giving me the ok to cover it. it was a pleasure to do it and i'm stoked you like it. I got the idea to reverse your original when I couldn't properly pull off emulating that sound you made in the intro of ice cold waves crashing against an iceberg. So, I cheated and reused what you did, but cleverly reversed it so it wasn't so obvious haha. Anyway, thanks again. It was a lot of fun.
dajama
First off, a great song, and as soon as I'm done here I'll be checking out the original, which I don't believe I've heard. Then there's your approach to the song - also great. I'm particularly impressed with the feedback and ambient sounds behind your guitar and vocal in the first half, and how well that's managed. The mix is perfect. Then the explosion of sound and screaming guitars kicks a hole in the speakers - sweet. The beauty is that there is no disjoint between the different parts of the song; it's seamless, despite the dynamic difference. A very, very cool performance, arrangement and production. Kudos to the hamlet machines on the song, and kudos to you for this take on it. Outstanding. Peace.
rsorensen
I'm glad you think it's seamless. It was a little tough to make the contrast blend naturally, so I'm glad you think I pulled it off. Definitely check out the original if you like holes kicked in your speakers ;) Thanks!
spitlogic
The mood you set here is very intense. Your music here draws us in and your vocal performance (along with the exceptional lyrics) is outstanding. Great job all around.
rsorensen
thanks man. Those lyrics are some of the best I've ever read, No lie. Especially when I started singing them I started to interpret them and they're pretty brilliant. Glad you like this. Thanks for listening.
michael2
this is ridiculously good. CJDaley must be super stoked. what a mix too, you've really done some damage on this one. Excellent choice for a cover BTW.
rsorensen
Yeah I'm glad he likes it. It was between this and one of yours to cover and I went with the one I thought I could successfully take in a different direction, as I was hesitant to mess with anything you've done.
It's always a challenge to mix songs like this, so I'm happy you think it sounds decent. Thanks michael
HenriROGERsoloandbands
Intense from the start , very good construction .
Love the vocals .
rsorensen
thanks henri. the original is even more intense. check it out if you haven't already. appreciate the listen and comment thanks :)
SystematicFailure
this is dark & beautiful!! I' alomost spit out my coffee when the BIG guitars took off. awesome cover of a cool song.
rsorensen
thanks SF. I think dark and beautiful is a accurate. Maybe this is the Darth Vader of alternative rock songs... or something.
rsorensen
thanks SF. I think dark and beautiful is a accurate. Maybe this is the Darth Vader of alternative rock songs... or something.
stevel
Powerful sound to this...will have to check the original out too now. Well done!
Steve
rsorensen
yep check it out! especially if you like powerful. Thanks dude.
Lennon714
A lot of raw power. A very crisp sounding recording. You and 12p nailed that mix. What's great about this cover is how you can tell in your approach that you really really really dig this song. You weren't simply re-doing the song, you were pouring your passion in to that song. Incredibly well done. If that's sonic rape, then... well... you know...
rsorensen
THanks eric. I really do dig it. I couldn't/wouldn't cover a song I didn't love, but on the other hand it's risky because you don't want to tarnish it in any way, you know? When I hear covers of Pinkerton songs I cringe. Doesn't matter who's doing it - it just doesn't sit right. Anyway glad you like. Your cover's one of the best of the challenge.
The Infinites
Great choice, well worked and a different feel from the original but with all the same energy coming from a different direction.
Difficult song to take on (I mean that with all respect to CJ) so I am well impressed at the outcome. You obviously have a good ear to cut through the original mesh of sound to come up with your own cool version.
Nice work!
Jim
rsorensen
Thanks Jim. It is a difficult song to cover, no doubt. I took what I thought were the most powerful parts of the song and tried to build this around them. THe vocals were the most difficult though, as cj has a really unique way of delivering.
Thanks for listening. Really liking your cover too.
Skean
Now we talking this sure ROCKS in my book.. Cheers
rsorensen
thanks kenta!
jiguma
This is quite amazing - I don't remember the original, but it is obviously, first and foremost, a very good piece of writing.
Your interpretation just left me dumbstruck! I love the way you use feedback and the synths to build the power - the guitars are just screaming, and it sounds like someone doing everything they can (and maybe not quite enough) to keep the song from escaping and reproducing in the wild.
This is one of the exceptional MJ posts of 2008.
Neil
rsorensen
wow neil, that's huge to me coming from you - thanks. the original is where it all started so yeah big credit to the writers. I'm really stoked you like this and thanks for the very kind words. I really like your 'reproducing in the wild' analogy haha
No_Secret_Revealed
I've said it before (under a different handle of course)... huge talent.
Early part of the song brings to mind Elliot Smith in terms of your whisper-thin delivery. Then the transition to the vocal delivery later in the song shows off your versatility (maybe a touch of Radiohead influence there?)
You have a real talent for building up a sonic landscape.
I should probably go back and listen to the original.
rsorensen
the elliot smith comparison is OK with me. He was brilliant. Radiohead's definitely a huge influence on a lot of my vocal style too - especially for this type of music. Thanks for checking this out and your kind comments. Def go check out the original :)
bud
you took it way past eleven man. I really like the rising sustain on the guitar as it bleeds into the riot. Cool.
rsorensen
hah your comment reminds me of that classic scene in spinal tap. i tried to make this pretty intense to match the original's energy. glad you like this man. thanks
SmokeyVW
great cover!
lots of great vocal things going on here
i really like what you did on the vocals starting around 2:03 - wow. reminds me of Filter somehow.
and those background voices at the end
thanks
rsorensen
thanks smokey - i've gotten the filter comparison before, and i don't mind at all. thanks for listening :)
racerat
HUGE.
I sit in awe of your guitar godliness.
Nice Job Ridd.
Philip
rsorensen
hah thanks philip. it was a treat to cover such a cool song. i dont know about godliness, but i appreciate it hehe. thanks for listening. really enjoyed your cover too
Alannah
.. what else can I say ..... rawks
rsorensen
that's enough for me :) thanks alannah