Transfer Point - Right On Time

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Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by milo »

Hello friends! I have been toiling away in my studio working on a new song with my cousin Tom, and we decided to collect it with a handful of our other songs into an EP. I spent the last two weeks remastering the older songs. The new song is the first track on the EP, called "Chemistry Class (Look My Way!)." It is about the time I met my wife while studying at the university, and it has some really nerdy transition state chemistry analogies, if anyone is into that.

We also decided to make a BandCamp page, and while we were at it we considered options for a group name. We settled on "Transfer Point." We had been making music as parallel hobbyists for decades before we decided to team up a couple of years ago, so it seemed like a name that fit us pretty well.

Here is the EP on BandCamp: https://sanderson.bandcamp.com/album/right-on-time
And on our website: https://sanderson.band/albums/right-on-time/
And here is the new single: https://sanderson.band/2022/01/11/chemi ... ok-my-way/

As always, these are produced on Ardour on Linux. I have switched back to Linux Mint because I bought a new laptop that I use for general purpose stuff in addition to music.

Enjoy!
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by folderol »

Refreshingly original, but somehow seems to have a 1960s flavour - I like the chorus harmonies to.
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by Rainmak3r »

Congrats on the new EP and Bandcamp page!
Just started listening to it, and since "Chemistry Class" is the only new track I definitely never listened to before, I thought I'd start sharing my feedback: whan an amazing song! Very 70s, funky, those big brasses in the background sounding great, and cute lyrics too :D Of course great work on the vocals as usual, but nothing new in that area, I consider them your trademark by now. Time for the rest of the EP now, to see if I remember them all!
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by Rainmak3r »

Just finished listening to the whole EP, very enjoyable and balanced! I confirm it feels more 70s oriented than 60s, and I certainly can't complain, as there's much I love of that era music-wise. I definitely can hear some Supertramp influence in there, for instance.

My favourite track remains "Mind Cavern", which I really loved also when you first shared it. It may be because it reminds me a lot of the kind of music Brad Love (leader and singer of Aviary, one of my favourite bands of all times) used to write and still does: I can hear something of Colours (his first solo album) in it, for instance, especially "To be in love" and "Turning of the earth". If you're not familiar with his music, my guess is that it would be something you'd enjoy!
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by GMaq »

Hi milo! Congratulations!

Just listening as I work this morning and making notes as they occur to me..

Love the little 'jokes' on the album art, the 'jacket wear, price in UK funds, checking your watch..etc.

Chemistry Class: Nice groove! Wonderful harmonies, great guitar solo and tone and clever wordplay in the lyrics, can't help but smile when listening

Queen: Enjoyed this one before, great driving groove and terrific definition of the instruments in the mix. Nice organ and guitar work. Enjoyed the call and response harmonies too.

Mind Cavern: Great sounds, the Chorus is so immersive and great lyrics. Some of the falsettos are a bit dodgy but brave. You guys are really defined by the vocal work it's something not heard elsewhere here and it's very unique!

Thorn: Hmmm, well the key sounds and guitar work are top notch. Having grown up in a fundamentalist Christian home I get the sentiments probably better than most but to be honest (and I hope you're looking for honest criticism here) this kind of 'public penitence' lyrical stuff is really not my thing and puts me off of a lot of 'Christian' music. Christian musicians and songwriters (myself included) need to remember even Christ got his message across best in parables... sometimes the clearest indicator of the need for redemption is the absence of reference to it and having it revealed as what is missing instead of what is obvious... if that makes any sense..?

Love and Kindness: Great soul groove! The bass work is terrific! Again a beautiful place for everything in the mix!

Spark: I want to take my lady's hand and skip through a meadow of daisies to the groove, and another smile inducer! Great electric piano work and the horn stabs are great! Great unexpected bass solo!

Getting Better: I'm mixed on this one... happy groove mixed with the self-deprecating public penitence thing again.. I don't know whether to dance or sit down for a good self-loathing session... :lol:

You guys are super talented and the evolution of your songcraft is truly exponential, Your arranging skills especially of Vocals are really some of the best I've heard anywhere and you have a real knack for mixing complex arrangements. You have an enviable facility with soloing on a variety of instruments and you should really take a minute to pat yourselves on the back for both the progress and the process! But we get your beliefs, they come through loud and clear as much in the joy of creating the arrangement and the subject matter of the song titles. As the funny saying goes at the Catholic school dance to keep the boys and girls from dancing too closely "leave room for Jesus"... The lyrics are too often clobbering me with the message and not allowing me to draw my own conclusions so "leave room for Jesus" and leave room for the listener to meet you wherever they are. I say this out of kindness and as someone who wrote an inordinately large number of horrible horrible horrible preachy songs early on in my songwriting days.. I'm speaking to you and reminding myself.. :wink:

Nothing puts across what I'm trying to say better than this scene from "Walk the Line" it was literally a musical life-changing moment for me when I watched this:

https://youtu.be/s_NQ9yUQ6cY
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by milo »

@Rainmak3r: Thank you for the nice comments. I am not familiar with Brad Love, but even from the opening bars of that album I can hear what you're talking about. Been listening to it this morning, and he's a talented guy for sure. Tom wrote the music for Mind Cavern, and he said that he had Stevie Wonder's 1970's albums in mind when he did. I'll ask Tom if he's familiar with Brad Love.

@GMaq: Thanks for your detailed review and thoughtful comments. I had a nice response all typed up yesterday afternoon but accidentally hit the back button and lost the whole thing, so I've had even more time to ponder my answer. And this time I'm writing on a desktop instead of my phone. :)

A bit of personal context: I come from a religious tradition that has very conservative worship music (ex: The Tabernacle Choir at Temple square). The only musical instruments you will find at a typical Sunday service are an organ and a piano, and occasionally someone will play a violin for a special musical number. So writing and performing a song like "Thorn in my Side" is a bit of a novelty for me -- outside of my comfort zone. It felt like I was taking a risk with that song, and I suspect that Tom may have had similar feelings.

I think part of what you were getting at -- and what Johnny Cash's producer was stabbing at so devastatingly -- is really the old theological question of motives and sincerity. Jesus gave the most famous discourse on the subject as part of the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 6). Are you doing these religious works to be seen of men? Then the praises of men are your reward. Or are you doing these works to glorify God? Then your reward is in heaven, where the real and incorruptible treasures are. These questions can only really be answered within the soul of the artist, and ultimately God will be the judge. But the audience usually has a good idea of the answer.

Johnny Cash was playing some particularly soulless low-energy gospel in that scene. It had to be obviously bad in the film, for the sake of effective storytelling, but was it really that bad in real life? Can you imagine Johnny Cash doing anything without soul?

This morning I was thinking about M.C. Hammer. (How many of you can honestly say that?) He put a worship song on every album, the most famous one being "Pray" from his blockbuster breakthrough album. But my favorite one was "Do Not Pass Me By" from his otherwise mostly forgettable follow-up album. (https://youtu.be/s0vaHPhyZ5Q) My kids couldn't make it through the first 60 seconds of that song without revolting, but I still love it, maybe because it's a part of my fairly happy childhood. It is not exactly reverent, and you will never hear it at my Sunday worship service, but I get the feeling that this man really loves the Lord and wants to share that message because he believes it. Again, God will judge. But I think the song is awesome.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean about "I'm Getting Better," because I don't consider that song to be particularly religious. It may be preachy, in a rousing pep talk kind of way, but it is not really a worship song. It is autobiographical, telling the story of one of the hardest times in my life (medical residency) and how my internal dialog helped me through it by keeping me focused on a growth mindset. Nothing really about penitence, or even faith. The chorus of the song was what I would sing to myself as a mindfulness exercise, to calm myself down when the anxiety would threaten to bubble over. It was not a happy song at the time, and nobody would ever dance to it. Turning it into a disco song was my way of putting that darkness behind me for good, and dancing on its grave.

Again, thanks for the listen and for your thoughts. I appreciate the opportunity to think through these things. Every artist should consider their motivations from time to time. And thanks for all of your brutally honest feedback over the years -- you are a big part of how our sound has improved so much over time.
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by milo »

... one other thought. Just rereading your post, it may be that you just don't really like religious music. If that's the case, then I totally sympathize.

A desire for forgiveness and needing some way to get rid of guilty feelings is an important part of the human experience. Different faith traditions deal with that problem in different ways. Art is all about processing the human experience: trying to understand it, making peace with it, sometimes just having a tantrum about it.

But there are plenty of things in the human experience that I have no interest in seeing or hearing when I consume art. So if that's the case for you, then I totally get it.

To each his own. :)
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by oscillator »

Even though you are not directing this comment to me, I appreciate your music, @milo, also the religious tracks. I am not religious myself, but I appreciate this as a way of learning about human existence and what other people feel, think and experience.

I don't want to excuse myself for what my music conveys (is that the right word?), and I don't think anyone should. I have never found any hate music here, because, yes, there is a line somewhere. (Although I noticed that my animal rights stuff didn't get a single comment, but I am used to that.)

Anyway, just wanted to write this because I do appreciate every story you write about how you make music, in part because it is not like my experiences. That enriches me, and the world.

MusE DAW running on Debian 11 Testing/XFCE4.
https://oscillator.se/musik

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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by GMaq »

milo wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 10:02 pm ... one other thought. Just rereading your post, it may be that you just don't really like religious music. If that's the case, then I totally sympathize.

A desire for forgiveness and needing some way to get rid of guilty feelings is an important part of the human experience. Different faith traditions deal with that problem in different ways. Art is all about processing the human experience: trying to understand it, making peace with it, sometimes just having a tantrum about it.

But there are plenty of things in the human experience that I have no interest in seeing or hearing when I consume art. So if that's the case for you, then I totally get it.

To each his own. :)
Hi milo!

I don't have any problem with worship music in it's context, few things are as stirring to listen to as a huge classically trained choir or the bloodstained heartfelt hymns of the Civil Rights era.. Worship music regardless of faith reaches beyond our grasp and really is a separate entity from any literary or pop culture devices to define it.

I think music that gets released into popular culture is a whole different ballgame and it is subject to some evaluation, criticism and definition by established criteria. It is my feeling as someone who has occupied both the religious world and the secular world of music that often religiously motivated (but not worship) artists have a foot in both worlds and it doesn't always succeed because it satisfies the requirements of neither. I am NOT saying AT ALL that is how I feel about your music in particular, I'm saying that the songs of yours I mentioned bring to mind the same difficulties I've had in accepting some well-intentioned religiously motivated artists who are bringing the essence of the eternal into the world of the temporal.. They are completely separate 'levels' of existence and like oil and water making them mix doesn't work in a lasting way.

In the example of Johnny Cash even if he sang the Gospel songs with fanatical zeal they were still not authentically him, he was abused, broken, unloved, misunderstood and bore the guilt for his brothers death and Folsom Prison Blues was a much more authentic cry out to God than any "I believe in Jesus and now everything is a-OK" song would ever be. The need for God is was much more vividly defined and like his Folsom song character the reality that his forgiveness was in truth not yet taken to heart and his 'redemption' had not been manifested to him in a real way. This was his messy ugly authentic reality at the time. Regrettably in this world people respond much more readily to the "hey this guy is messed up even worse than me, looks like we have the same problems, now what?" than "hey this guy appears so content and has it all figured out, I want to be just like him!". Again I'm not talking in specifics about your songs I'm talking about the precarious nature of mixing religion and art in general.

My general point is you guys are extremely talented and getting better all the time. You have the production and arranging well in hand, you are truly uniquely distinguished by the stellar vocal work and you write catchy and interesting songs and melodies. I simply have some red lights that go on in the songs that mix worship and popular culture for the reasons I've tried to expand on above and more importantly based on my own experience and critiques I received when I was trying to write songs in a similar vein..

Please understand what I'm saying is coming from a place of honesty and as somebody who really admires your talents. I'm not an atheist or a God-hater, (quite the opposite) so it isn't the subject matter at all... beyond that we get into a discussion of Theology and Philosophy and.... yawn... who cares or wants to read that!? When the world opens up and I take a drive through beautiful Enoch someday we can discuss over a couple of beverages at your favourite cafe!
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by Gps »

I listened to the single, and to me it sounds damn good. :)
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by milo »

@GMaq: I wish everyone on the internet and in real life would communicate as well and as clearly and as respectfully as you do. Man, this world would be a paradise! I really appreciate your point of view, and I think I pretty much agree with your point. I don't see the separation between temporal and spiritual as being quite so stark. What brings real power to a secular or temporal work is the expression of truth within it.

I would love to philosophize with you in real time some day. If I'm up your way I will definitely try to arrange a rendezvous.

@oscillator: Thanks for chiming in with your very different perspective. Again, I wish everyone on the planet would open their eyes and hearts to consider other people's viewpoints, like you do. Everyone has value, and everyone's experience can be enriching. I also enjoy learning about your world through your music.

@Gps: Thanks, man.
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Re: Transfer Point - Right On Time

Post by Gps »

milo wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:55 am
@oscillator: Thanks for chiming in with your very different perspective. Again, I wish everyone on the planet would open their eyes and hearts to consider other people's viewpoints, like you do. Everyone has value, and everyone's experience can be enriching. I also enjoy learning about your world through your music.
Although not directed at me, these words really touch me.

I also feel very old sometimes. What happened to the 70 ties and 80? Were as far I remember them, people did disagree on most things just like today,

BUT

Nobody was offended or got angry.

Yes we had some small uproars, I remember one about the name of a " group" called Sheila E and the black devotion.

White woman with two black dancers. oh boy :lol:

I just liked the track, and the rest did not interest me.
Another Nile Rodgers Classic.
I have to thank you tube for proving my point, although I am willing to admit it can be coincidence.

Sheila & The B. Devotion - Spacer - 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yANF0GbIFQE

Back to the fun part, Nile Rogers wrote this for CHIC, who did not wanna play it, so a french female singer was hired, to do spacer.

Then we had Divine, a guy dressed in a dress. Nobody really cared.
DIVINE Live at 1470 WEST in 1985 Complete show
Yes Live, not sure if that was a bright idea though :lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxMsdFrWmr8
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