Mellotronists

Some of you know that the Official Streetly Cynic Mike Dickson and
I are involved in an internet music project called Systems Theory.
After numerous false starts and almost a year since we thought we
were going to release this album, it's finally a reality. So we will
beat Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel to the punch...LOL! As of Friday,
Dec 17th it's an official CD. woooh hoooh! I'm dropping this post in
here so those of you that are interested can start thinking about
acquiring a copy. Feel free to pick this message up and pass it along
to friends if you like. We've posted it to email lists and ngs that
have *some* musical relationship to the tone of the album -- progrock,
spacerock, psychedelic, ambient, newage, experimental, world. There's
bits of all of those things in our sound.

Paul Whitehead did our graphics, and the image "Mobius Oscillator"
is the December picture for his 2005 calendar. At least I think
it's the December image. I saw it briefly at the recent Whittier
TMB show. Looks pretty damn fab to me! Paul's work was perfect
for us, though not what one might be expecting if you only associate
Whitehead with his three album covers for Genesis. I'm going to put
small size, but still reasonable to look at, jpegs of the artwork
up on the Systems Theory website later this week for interested
folks to see.

Some of you have heard "demo mixes" of the album, starting with
the copies I handed out at Baja Prog last March. We think the final
version smokes all of these (it had better, eh?!?). The final
track-list is a bit different than what was on these "demo mixes",
and different than what was discussed as recently as two weeks ago
on the Progressive Ears web-forum http://www.progressiveears.com/

So what made it to the album? We laid the CD out like it was an old
fashioned vinyl project. A three sided album, where the tracks either
flow into each other, where one ends the next begins, or have
intentional cross-fades. There's a 12 second "count-down" in front of
sides two and three. Alternate and/or early demo versions of some of
these tunes can be found on our soundclick page.

If you want a really good idea of what "Soundtracks For Imaginary
Movies" sounds like, listen to "Concentrate #1" on our soundclick
page. It's a 12 minute crossfaded distillation of the album put
together by Mike Dickson, with a couple of broad hints of what's to
come on the 2nd Systems Theory album. (See my sig for the link to
our soundclick page where it can be streamed in lo-fi mono or hi-fi
stereo, or the mp3 can be downloaded).

side one
1) Green Miata Baja Bound [6:39]
2) The Cool Vibe Of Asia C [5:50]
3) Four Piece Suit [13:20]
(a) A Wolf In Sheep's Breeks
(b) Larks Loons In Linen
(c) Technopants
(d) Solar Flared Trousers

side two
4) Silent Service [11:26]
5) A Lifeboat, Tallulah And Me [4:48]
6) Water Through Fingers [7:21]

side three
7) Zero Sum Equation [7:09]
8) One Step To Freefall [7:02]
9) Last Letters From Stalingrad [9:46]

Personnel:
Greg Amov, Steven Davies-Morris and Mike Dickson (instruments and
programming) [Mike's mellotron is all real, on every track, no
'tron samples or emulations used]

For the Mellotron geeks amongst us [and we know who we are :-)]
here's the short-list of the voices Mike used on tunes that made
it onto "Soundtracks For Imaginary Movies". Some of them are
glaringly obvious, as in "it's mellotron oooh oooh oooh", and
some are not so obvious. Afficionados can play spot the 'tron
frame looking for:

Three Violins
String Section
Cello
Mixed Brass
Eight Voice Choir
Russian Choir
Church Organ
Solo Flute
Ian McDonald Flute
Bass Clarinet
Cor Anglais

Other 'tron frames, like Strangled Cat, will appear on our next album,
Codetalkers sometime in 2005.

Guests musicians:
Diane Amov (flute), Brian Daly & Dun Strummin (guitar), Michael
Futreal (dulcimer), Cyndee Lee Rule (violin)

The album is released under our arrangement with Independent Records,
USA. It's catalog number is IR24612. It's barcode number is
43157 24612.

We'll be shipping promo copies to magazines, prog radio, online review
sites and distributors interested in carrying the CD starting this
week, with most of those going to folks we know between now and the
end of the year. We won't be shipping any "retail" sales until the 2nd
half of January (assuming we get some... ). So if you are a legit
reviewer, radio person or distributor, please request a copy of
"Soundtracks For Imaginary Movies" in this thread or email
systemstheoryATyahooDOTcommiepinkorats with all of your
particulars. We've earmarked 300 copies for promo giveaways so if
you'll review it, showcase it, or might stock it...step right up!
We'll also be providing extras to radio stations that want to run some
sort of promotional giveaway in conjunction with an album showcase.
We will be offering volume discount pricing for distributors.

The retail price including shipping will be $12 domestic (USA), $15
outside the US. However, if you are an "end-user" listener as opposed
to someone "in the biz", and want to order a copy between now and the
end of the year, by which point we'll have the PayPal thing working
from our web-site, you can take $2 off ($10 domestic US, $13
overseas). If you want to buy 2 or more copies, take another $1 off
from there per disc ($9 domestic US, $12 overseas). Send a check or
money order (no cash, please) or an international money order if
ordering from outside the US. Make all checks payable to SANDY GILL
since the account we're using for Systems Theory is in my wife's name.
You might want to note on the check/MO that it is for SYSTEMS THEORY
SFIM CD otherwise it might wind up in the "new double glazed windows
for the house" fund. :-)

Send payment out as follows:
Systems Theory c/o Sandy Gill
1574 Andrea Circle
Simi Valley
California
93065
USA

Make sure that you include an email addy so I can confirm arrival of
your payment and your ship-to address.

The Systems Theory mailing list server is now active. For subscription
requests, send a message to:

stsubATblackcatDOTdemonDOTcoDOTuk

with the words

subscribe <e-mail_address>

in the body of the message. The 'welcome' message is *extremely*
primitive at the moment (ie, 'hello...here is how you unsubscribe'),
but it will be friendlier in the future...sometime in January...once
Mike recovers from all the Cava he drank at Christmas and is planning
on drinking over the New Year.

And now we're done with the mellotron-heavy "Soundtracks For Imaginary
Movies" we'll turn our attention to the next album, to be called
"Codetalkers". Also pretty heavy on the 'tron (obvious 'tron voices
and a lot of not so obvious ones). The album is all but done (pending
a few overdubs, final mixes and artwork). I promise the second album
won't take anywhere near as long to deliver as the first!
-- 
Cheers,
SDM -- a 21st century schizoid man
Systems Theory internet music project links:
soundclick <www.soundclick.com/systemstheory>
garageband <http://www.garageband.com/artist/systemstheory>
NP: candidates for our next album, "Codetalkers"