April 5th, 2024
Also launched on April 5th, 2024, Hey, Barely is a Lo-fi glitch pop side project that lets me explore the more whimsical side of electronic music. It’s a stark contrast to the gloomy discomfort of Akin to Being, and should put any listener at ease.
April 5th, 2024
Today I’m announcing one of two new side projects! Akin to Being is a dark ambient venture that uses sampled sounds and droning synths to create grim sonic landscapes. Some of the ideas originally were used as background material in Eliz of Sword’s Twitch streams, but after layers of new sounds they hardly resemble the originals any more.
“Passage” contains four droning tracks that evoke bleak sci-fi landscapes with small moments of wonder and beauty, chronicling a doomed intergalactic voyage.
December 8th, 2023
Continuing the every-other-year in December pattern, {ELSE} released new music today! We focused on shorter-form format this time, with a package of three songs that combine to tell a story of disillusion, destructive obsession, and ultimately hope and redemption. The album draws on religious and nautical symbolism, reflected in the title and artwork in addition to the lyrics. Seven seas. Seven sins. Seven So Few.
April 16th, 2023
Pay the Devil just released their third full-length album, Turn to Gold. This is the third time I’ve recorded with the band, this time playing drums on all of the tracks. I also recorded and mixed the project in my very own living room! We played a radio spot on WMSE in the weeks leading up to the release, and then played an absolutely raucous show on the release day, April 14th, a.k.a., Milwaukee Day, at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn. The full album is up on all major streaming platforms, so take a listen now!
December 14th, 2021
After releasing “Through What We Knew” almost exactly two years ago, {ELSE} immediately got to work on an acoustic mini-project that turned into a something much bigger. Originally intended to be be a three-song mini-release, the effort grew to nine tracks and a great deal of work. A drastic change in pace from the previous two releases, “Here Waiting” does not use any electric guitars and instead blends acoustic sounds with a complement of creative percussion arrangements, synthesizers, and soundscapes.
Personally, this was a big project for me as it really stretched my creative muscles. I very intentionally avoided using the same instrumentation twice, and the songwriting process went through many more rounds of editing than is typical for me. I hope the results speak for themselves!
January 1st, 2021
Yup, you read that right. I spent a lot of time this year composing background music for my wife’s new Twitch channel. She started streaming a Tarot card experience in the last quarter of the year, and a big part of that is the overall mood and ambience. She set up the visuals with a green screen, cloth and crystal covered table, candles, incense, and multiple cameras, and I purchased and dialed in a new boom mic for the setup. I then got to work writing music she could use in the background, as Twitch Soundtrack wasn’t yet available.
It’s honestly been a really important and rewarding experience, despite the music not being the focus. It has been fantastic to be able to play around with ideas and not worry too much about each one. Instead I’m focusing on creating many possible moods that ElizOfSwords can choose from, sometimes using dark and edgy synthesizers, sometimes focusing on warm and welcoming chords. I even composed several original holiday tracks and made arrangements of “Silent Night” and “We Three Kings”. I’m particularly proud of the “Auld Lang Syne” arrangement, which was (obviously) the last piece I worked on in the year. Take a listen:
I created nearly 30 total tracks with a run time of over 3 hours, and I’m sure I’ll keep working on ideas as they come to me. It’s been an amazing opportunity that still has plenty of potential left to explore.
June 15th, 2020
This will be a year for the history books. After the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, many of us hit a breaking point with the way our country treats Black lives. One of the things I personally struggled with was the “what do I do?” feeling. Thankfully, Ivan of Pay the Devil had a protest song prepared and asked me to help finish it. We worked on this mostly remotely, each recording our parts in our home studios, and then got together (with masks!) to finish the mix. We published the track in dedication to all of those who are marching, and offered the track as a “pay what you can” download, giving whatever money it made to help the bail fund for those arrested for curfew violations. The song is now available on Spotify:
Systemic problems and deeply entrenched personal values are hard to change, but I really do believe that the marches, music, and memories of this summer will make a difference.
December 13th, 2019
NEW. {ELSE}. ALBUM. Again… NEW. {ELSE}. ALBUM. Another several-year project done. An album release show later tonight. Another month or two of rest and recovery planned before starting the next one.
This album, like our previous “Who Will Cry”, ended up taking way longer than anything should, beginning with recording my guitar parts back in November/December of 2017. Bass and the other guitar parts followed in January-March of 2018, followed by vocals in the summer of 2018. At this time, we had to pause in recording to train our new drummer, who did an amazing job learning the songs and recorded his parts at home in March of 2019. I spent several weeks of heavy mixing sessions after the drums were in, and then spent the summer slowly poking at the mixes every few weeks while planning the release show, eventually settling on what you hear now.
Though still very proud of our initial album, Through What We Knew is a colossal improvement in many ways. The newer songs are better written, with a greater variety of sounds, textures, and tempos, and the production value is better. I still am not happy with the guitar sounds on the first album, despite remastering, so this time around we focused on tighter, more-focused, more meaty guitars. It’s a big improvement, but honestly still something to work on for the next album. I learned a bit more about mixing bass, using a touch less volume but a more consistent low end to always fill the space without overpowering the rest of the mix. I focused on more present vocals with a more focused EQ, less reverb, and better compression, and used more suitable reverb and EQ on the drums for a more lively sound.
Anyway, I hope you like it! I’ve listened to the songs hundreds of times now and still like them, so I think that says something. Maybe.
September 20th, 2019
Pay the Devil released a new single, featuring me on cello! The band has started to release singles in-between larger recording efforts, so this one comes relatively hot on the heels of another single and their full album from earlier this year. Take a listen!
September 15th, 2019
It’s been another long writing, recording, mixing, and mastering journey, but the end is nigh! {ELSE} released a two-track preview of our new album, Through What We Knew. Take a listen!
An industrial/hard rock band I founded. I play guitar and serve as the main songwriter.
{ELSE} »
My Lo-fi glitch pop side project.
Hey, Barely »
Dabbling in dark ambient.
Akin to Being »
I sub in for this bluegrass string band on spoons, snare, and suitcase bass drum. Pay the Devil »
I have several string quartet arrangements for sale on MusicNotes.com »
A techno side project since 2005, I write most of the music and perform bass, guitar, and FX. A Life Elided »
I wrote album and concert reviews, thinkpieces, and music news forThose Who Dig »
My wife and I played in Whiskey Doubles, an orchestral-folk outfit. Whiskey Doubles »
I played drums, wrote most of the songs, and acted as a manager for Effigy from 2002-2008. Effigy »