1. |
Fragments
04:07
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Homeless: 2019
This song was recorded early on during the 'Ruminations' period but it later became apparent that it didn't fit the atmosphere of the album at all. As a result, it was shelved. I personally think this is a pretty good track with a nice progression, and I'm glad it can finally see the light of day.
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2. |
Thalassophobia/Evpatoria
05:02
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Homeless/Broken: 2018/2017
A few last-minute changes were made to the 'Claustrophobia' concept album released in 2018. Originally, I envisioned the album getting darker and darker the further into it you went, but I was finding it hard to really capture the right atmosphere. Therefore, some new, more dynamic songs were written and replaced some of the tracks in the album's second half. "Thalassophobia" was one of these casualties.
"Evpatoria" was written for a doomed 'EP 3' concept (totally different to the one which was released in 2020), which was to feature songs on acoustic guitar. This is a 'broken' track, a snippet of an idea that was never fully transformed into a final product. Here, alongside "Thalassophobia", it finally finds a home.
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3. |
The Music Box
04:08
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Homeless: 2019
Another 'homeless' track from the 'Ruminations' period. Again, it found no place among the meditative tracks featured on that album, and was left for a future project.
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4. |
A Golden Sun
01:18
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Broken: 2017
Another 'broken' idea for the initial 'EP 3' that wasn't to be. Here, it serves as a meaningful interlude track. The title (alongside "A Silver Moon") is a reference to a puzzle in the original 'Silent Hill' game.
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5. |
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Abandoned: 2017
An abandoned idea to re-record "River's Edge" in a different key and with slightly different instruments. I'm glad I stuck to the original because it's one of my personal favourites on 'Beyond the Light'.
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6. |
Whisper
00:50
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Broken: 2016
A neat little instrumental that I sadly never found any use for. This was recorded pretty early on during the 'Beyond the Light' era.
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7. |
Somniphobia
03:16
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Homeless: 2018
Another track removed from the 'Claustrophobia' album. Somniphobia is the abnormal and irrational fear of sleep, and the 'sleep paralysis' vibe of this track was meant to reflect that.
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8. |
Monophobia
02:14
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Abandoned: 2018
"Monophobia" was an abandoned track for the self-titled album. In 2019, during a trip to Japan, I adapted the song into what you hear here, with a creepy sample of one of the first ever recorded sounds - an 1860 recording of the French folk song "Au clair de la lune". Monophobia is the fear of being alone, so it seemed like a fitting description for what I would proudly say is one of my creepiest songs.
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9. |
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Abandoned: 2018
Listeriosis is a Durban-based one-man black metal project who released one EP and album in March 2018. I wanted to try my hand at remixing something in my own style, and the end result is somewhat successful I'd say. I considered releasing it as a single at one point in time, but eventually gave up on it and left it to sit on my laptop. Please do listen to the original project, and thanks to Listeriosis for permission to use this version here.
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10. |
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Broken: 2017
Another broken snippet of a song, but one I'm glad to finally put out into the world, as I first started working on it back in 2010/2011. This is a looped acoustic version of the track, with electric guitar accompaniment from my brother, Tyler Hale.
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11. |
Lost
03:34
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Abandoned: 2016
This was one of the very first pieces of music I recorded after EP 1. However, I wanted to try and craft something with a little more purpose, so this particular piece was abandoned.
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12. |
Black Swans
03:47
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Abandoned: 2016
Another early piece, probably one of the first for the 'Through the Veil' album. One of the biggest inspirations for my music is the dark ambient/drone artist Black Swan, particularly his album 'The Quiet Divide'. On that release, he makes extensive use of tape hiss and white noise, with dark yet beautiful orchestral arrangements piercing through it. I wanted to try my hand at something similar, and you may notice that all the tracks on 'Through the Veil' are indeed linked by white noise. However, this particular effort was abandoned due to being a little too improvised for what I was going for at the time.
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13. |
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Abandoned: 2017
A reinterpretation of the song "Disintegration (Slow Decay)" from the Beyond the Light album, "Reintegration" basically features the same formula in reverse, with the loop starting out stretched and formless and gradually coming back to resemble its original self. Ultimately I preferred the original version of the track and decided that this was a slightly lazy and unnecessary take on it, which led to it being abandoned until now.
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14. |
A Silver Moon
01:15
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Broken: 2017
The second version of this piece, this time with electric guitar swells and accompaniment, once again, by my brother.
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15. |
Watchtower
04:25
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Homeless: 2018
"Watchtower" has remained disappointingly homeless, despite being (in my opinion) one of the better songs I've recorded. I did consider doing an EP with "Fragments", "The Music Box", and this, as a sort of 'Ruminations' B-sides collection, but in the end this song was probably the catalyst for trying to do a full album of unreleased tracks and utilise them in an interesting way. I do hope that I've succeeded.
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16. |
Thanatophobia
07:39
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Homeless: 2018/2019
"Thanatophobia" - the fear of death - was originally the closing track on the 2018 'Claustrophobia' album. In the end, it made way for "Apeirophobia", which is a decision I'm comfortable with. The monologue in this song seemed all too fitting for the subject matter.
There is also a hidden track at the end which was added in 2019 on the same Japan trip that spawned "Monophobia" (guess Japan just inspires the creepiness in me). I wanted this hidden track to sound a bit like Tool's "Faaip de Oiad". Despite being a bit cheesy, I'd say this is probably my scariest track to date.
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Claustrophobia Durban, South Africa
Ambient artist from South Africa, currently residing in Kobe, Japan.
An ever-expanding
discography that encompasses numerous releases covering everything from drone and dark ambient, to harsh noise, sound collage, modern classical, and new age.
... more
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