Yellow Bug/Postage Stamps

Yes, it’s a double mtlx header today, because in my head, these two needed to segue into each other. On the EP, they’ll be separate tracks. (“Postage Stamps” starts at 2:40 into this render.)

“Yellow Bug/Postage Stamps” by mtlx

“Yellow Bug” was kind of a bitch to do, but a curious bitch. I’d initially started with some weird fast bass runs like in Working For a Nuclear-Free City’s “Dead Fingers Talking”, but it wound up not fitting “Postage Stamps” correctly (I’ll come back to that). I had this initial buildup that took up a third of the track, I knew I wanted it to kick with absolutely no idea what to transition it to, the sounds weren’t working…it was kind of a mess.

But I wasn’t dejected. I started to switch parts around and repurposing bits to get a change of perspective, and my lads with DAWs? That’s an excellent way to dig yourself out of the “I don’t know what to do with this bit” hole that comes from writing on a DAW. Repurpose it. Delete stuff that doesn’t fit (those bass runs are long gone now). Redo the drum machine lines if you need to, as I did.

I went back and started with chords again, because I mostly get stuck when I have all leads and no chord progressions to glue it together, and as I started using what was originally the intro buildup for the second chorus and letting the arpeggiators sing, it appeared out of nowhere. Not kidding, I was listening through it and I went “wait, this sounds totally different now”. And it worked. Was initially unsure of that pulsating arp throughout the track, sounded a little off-key to me, but I’m happier with it this morning.

“Postage Stamps”, on the other hand, was super simple. In fact, it ended up defining “Yellow Bug”, since I knew I wanted it to be an interlude off that track. dcb already had something he was goofing around with in FL Studio called “stamps”, and I wound up catching a few chords off it and using them for not only that wide, warped sound underneath the Wurlitzer, but for the entirety of “Yellow Bug” too. Did some minor patch switching to fit the first track a little better, but overall, came super simple and I got to play more keys.

Four tracks down! “Siestas” and “Last Summer” to go.

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