Photo by Michael Robert De Jesus

Happy Lunar New Year, Dragons!

I have just returned home after an incredible journey in the Middle East. I saw some cool sites, met some great people, and ate a lot of chickpea-based dishes. Looking back, 2011 was one heck of a year.

Emergency Songs and its aftermath(pun sorta intended) dominated most of the year for me. The album was met with more international critical acclaim than I could keep up with. It was quite overwhelming really. Then over the summer, what was intended to be a couple of small performances of the album turned into a series of concerts all over the city.

Somewhere in there, I took a little time to reflect and celebrate 10 years of creating concept albums. With the help of the FMA and Robert Nagle, there was a brilliant retrospective and in-depth interview published online.

Looking forward, I plan to start working on a new concept album in the coming months. I’m in the very early planning stages right now but check this blog for more details and updates soon!

Filmed and edited by Jenny San Angel

Photos by Starskee Suavé, Scott Lowe, Kenji Jiim, and Ryan Snyder

All photos by Starskee Suavé

All photos by Starskee Suavé

It has been a great summer in the great city of Los Angeles.

I’ve been trying to get to the beach to hit the waves as much as possible this summer. I think Swami’s in Encinitas is my new favorite spot. Really good surf and a beautiful view.

When not getting beat up by the ocean, I’ve been working with The Harmony Project educating future musical geniuses. I’m currently teaching a really fun musicianship class that is part of a research study being conducted by Northwestern University on how music instruction can help youth focus in school. Really fascinating stuff that could have a big impact on the future of music eduation.

And I’m playing in a band! Alanna has done a wonderful job of putting together a group of incredibly talented musicians to perform Emergency Songs live. So far the performances have been private, but we’re gearing up to do some public performances around Los Angeles. Watch this space for details.

The soundtrack to my summer has been provided by a band from Seal Beach called RX Bandits. I had seen the band live back in 2001 and wasn’t terribly impressed. They sounded like all the other 3rd wave ska bands that were popular back then. They have since grown out their hair, ditched the skanking, and added progressive rock  to the mix creating one of the most original sounds I’ve heard in a long time. They played their last show here in LA about a month ago and I was blown away by their energy. I’ve been listening to their last three albums on repeat. You can stream their albums for free on Bandcamp.

I love summer.

Photo by Brant Brogan (www.broganphoto.com)

I’m doing a pretty bad job of making a big deal out of the whole 10 year anniversary thing. Thankfully, there have been three articles that have recently come out that do a great job of chronicling the last ten years. I couldn’t have done better myself.

The first and most comprehensive review of the last ten years can be found on Robert Nagle’s site.

The really long accompanying interview has been featured on the Free Music Archive.

And last but not least, Sour Grapes Winery has posted an interesting look at the evolution of the production side of things.

All photos by Dustin Hamano taken June 6th, 2011

Delicate Country Ballads (2001)

The year was 2001. My band Los Reyes Atomicos had broken up and I shifted my musical focus to a improvisational hardcore group called 19 Inches from the Curb. It was one big inside joke. I was also working at Willie Nelson’s studio and spending a lot of time around country musicians. I had a 4 track that I had bought in high school for the purposes of recording demos and had never thought to explore its multitracking function until that year. I recorded a county album with a mix of covers and originals. It was also one big inside joke.

SP303 (2001)

I was working at a live music venue and needed something that I could put on the sound system to annoy people so much they would leave the club at closing time. In high school, I had really gotten into hip hop and even started rapping under the name MC Gre-Z Italian. I rented a SP303 sampler and went to town creating what I thought was really annoying sample based music in my friend’s living room. When I put it on at the end of the night, people actually really enjoyed it. Maybe I was on to something.

The Singing Solar System  (2002)

I had moved back in with my parents who let me stay in a room with a bathroom attached to it. In honor of the bathroom(which I did a lot of recording in) I called the studio Commode Abode. My first album in this studio would involve a keyboard called the Casio SK1 that would appear on every subsequent album. I made about 5 copies of the album of it and gave to friends.

Instrumental Friends Part One (2002)

I thought it was so cool that my friends were listening to my music so I decided to pay tribute by writing instrumental songs for them. I had also bought my first drum machine, the SR16.

Poetic Injustice  (2002)

This was around the time I had gotten into going to the library. I always had a hard time writing lyrics so I decided to jack the words of the greats such as Maya Angelou, Steven Crane, and Edgar Allen Poe. I didn’t make a whole lot of copies of this one and loaned to it out too many times. Sadly it is forever lost and no copies exist.

Instrumental Friends Part Two: Acquaintances  (2002)

I had so much fun recording Instrumental Friends that I decided to do it again and this time focus my attention on writing songs about acquaintances. I wrote songs about people such as: a girl I had the hots for in middle school, a friend of mine’s dad, a guy who my friend was dating for a short time, and I even wrote a song and forgot who I wrote it for. I don’t think any of these people have any idea they have songs written for them.

Double Feature (2002)

Two concept albums in one.  The first was songs written for girls. The second didn’t really have much of a strong theme except for the fact that I had recorded all of them with my buddy Alex Farrell on his computer. I started to explore the use of vocal harmony and this was the first time I had recorded music on a computer.

Strange Things  (2002)

The concept was simple: record six new original compositions and then cover them as hardcore punk songs. This album I started to get more into experimenting with recording techniques. There were quite a few tracks recorded in unusual locations. I also did some backwards tracking. The hardcore tracks were all recorded through my first guitar practice amp that had seen better days. It gave it the perfect effect.

Mastereverbation  (2003)

This album marked a turning point. It not only was a real full length album containing about 18 songs, I put a lot of work into each song. People outside of my immediate circle of friends started to make copies of it and pass it around. Alex had let me borrow his keyboard and I rented a really nice condenser microphone. It was experimental in that each song had it’s own character and instrumentation. The only common thread that each song had more reverb than necessary.

3060  (2003)

I had begun to write music for advertisements. Not all of the music I recorded was used but I still thought some of it would stand well on it’s own. So I decided to fill an album full of 30 songs that were either 30 seconds or 60 seconds long.

4 1/2 Days  (2003)

Alex had been kind enough to lend me his computer since he was leaving to live in Japan so that I could continue to bounce down my music to CDs from the 4 Track. Quite a nice favor. He eventually decided that he would need the computer to be shipped to Japan and gave me a week’s notice. I decided to use that as inspiration and spent the next 4 1/2 days writing and recording an album. It was the first album to feature a bunch of guests. Without the computer, I thought this might be the end of my concept albums.

Wardrobe  (2004)

I had figured out a new way to bounce tracks from my four track onto a different computer. This was also around the time I began to post my tracks to archive.org with Creative Commons licenses. However, I was about to move across the country and sell everything that wouldn’t fit in my car to embark on a career in advertising. I thought for sure that this would be my last album so I invited everyone I knew to come play and sing on it. It was the first album where I took on the role of a producer and wrote songs that featured other vocalists.

In a Barn  (2005)

I had sold all of my music gear. I thought for sure I wouldn’t be doing music anymore. Then I met Chad Bloom who would remain a huge influence and key collaborator to this day. He encouraged me to get involved in music again so I went and bought a new 4 Track since I had sold my other one. It was also nice that he had a computer I could use to bounce down songs from my 4 Track. The album had mostly acoustic guitar as I had sold my electric guitars. I was housesitting for a family that had a garage full of instruments and gave me permission to use them. I don’t think they expected me to write and record a whole album in their garage but that is what I did. A collection of country songs about animals.

Victory Dance  (2005)

I decided for my next album, I wanted to make dance music. My next investment was a Korg ESX-1.  This was the first album to feature multilayered rhythm tracks. I also started working with a whole new group of musicians who would appear in every subsequent album. A song on the album that had taken about 15 minutes to write and record called “Take your Vitamin” became a minor internet hit.

Past Concept Albums 2002-2006  (2006)

While there was no new material on this album, it did mark a major turning point. Myspace had taken the internet by storm and archive.org now allowed album art. I realized that I had to create an online identity. I decided I would be known as the ‘Galactic Defender of the Concept Album.’ This was also the point that the music started to be noticed by organizations such as Creative Commons who featured ‘Take your Vitamin’ on their website.

New American Songbook  (2006)

Once again, I was housesitting at the place with the instruments in the garage. I doubt the people that live there know there were two albums recorded there. This was the first album to have both a strong concept and strong songwriting. This is partly due to the fact that I recorded demos for many of the songs before recording what you hear on the album. Another unique aspect is that it had been recorded all over the world thanks to the internet and had featured a collaboration on almost every song. It currently sits at over 20,000 downloads on archive.org and was for a long time the most successful album I had recorded.

Live on KXLU  (2006)

‘Take your Vitamin’ had been getting played on KXLU and they invited me on the air to do a live set. With my buddies Nick and Casey in tow, we performed one song off almost every concept album up until New American Songbook. Most of the songs featured new arrangements. I bought a Epiphone Casino hollow body guitar for the performance which I still use to record with to this day.

Taking Requests  (2007)

With this album, I entered the 21st century kicking and screaming; I bought a computer and Pro Tools. This dramatically improved the production quality of the albums and for the first time I could go back and make things sound perfect. While the concept of the album was strong, a lot of the song requests were so irreverent that it didn’t resonate with those listeners expecting to hear more of the ‘serious’ music heard on New American Songbook.

Calendar  (2008)

I had been working in South Central at a community center for a year when I decided to make this album. Not only did working with members of the community have a major impact on my life, the music I was hearing and the musicians around me also deeply influenced the music I would write. I had found a new appreciation for Soul and R&B music that I had never had before. This was also the first album I recorded using Reason. It was around this time I started to dive deeper into understanding music theory. This was also the first album I would use a system of demo critiques as preproduction planning.

Love Story  (2008)

The album cover says a lot about the direction I’ve been heading in. The records would no longer focused on me, but instead would focus on the concept and the collective of musicans. I had hoped that this would be a full experience involving visual art and music but I had a falling out with the artist.  It still turned out to be a strong album with what would become my most successful songs to date; Seeking has received about 500,000 plays on Pandora alone. I had learned a lot of music production techniques from Chris Warrior. He also mastered the album which had not been done for previous albums.

Coordinates  (2010)

This album intentionally uses the red and back design from the Love Story cover. It is meant to serve as a companion to Love Story which concludes the ‘love story’ itself. It is the first album that my voice isn’t heard on any of the tracks. I had formed a new circle of musician friends through Shin Kawasaki and his jam session. Many appear on the album. There is also a strong influence of classical music from my music theory studies. The album received very positive reviews but I knew I wanted the next album to have more cohesion.

Emergency Songs  (2011)

I knew this album was different from all the rest, but I never would have thought it would be so incredibly successful. If you want to know what people have said, check out my last blog post. This was the first album I wrote with one collaborator throughout. Not only did Alanna’s voice capture people’s hearts, but her words created a whole new depth to the music. This album featured almost exclusively live instrumentation and very little use of Reason. While there is some Soul and R&B influence, the record is much more stylistically ambiguous with a leaning towards country, jazz, and folk. In the recent months, we’ve put together a band to perform the songs and continue to see a lot of interest in how the album can go beyond the musical realm.

Photo by Brant Brogan (www.broganphoto.com)

“EMERGENCY SONGS is a beautifully arranged, new concept album from Monk Turner and singer/songwriter Fascinoma(Alanna Lin) from Los Angeles, California. Together they bring us 12 wonderful songs filled with a variety of musical flavors and lovely vocals that, even if the music itself gets a little rough, maintains its composure; a very character attribute that could turn to be a critical factor in surviving a major disaster(the theme of the album). The album itself is conceived to awake the imagination of its listeners through both song and story as a massive earthquake is heading straight for LA! And so the lyrics take us on a 35 minute journey through all the phases of the crisis, “from pre-quake boredom, to post-quake freeway BBQ.”

-Frostclick

“I am greatly impressed with Emergency Songs—and I am even more impressed that Monk Turner is providing it as a free download on his website. It is one thing to provide one’s music for free when no one would pay for it—it is quite another when an album is of a musical and thematic caliber to be worth paying for. Emergency Songs is now a permanent part of my musical collection, and I will be following Turner and Fascinoma’s future releases very closely. I will also be downloading and listening to Monk Turner’s other albums, which he has also provided for free. I cannot recommend this album highly enough for fans of jazz, folk, and just a touch of rock-and-roll.”

-Sour Grapes Winery

“Despite the dark and depressing subject matter, it’s a beautiful, optimistic, vibrant record. And quite eclectic too, from the gallopping country-tinged “Where’s My Horse” to ”Whatcha Doin”‘s acapella gospel, most of the production is sparse with a spotlight on the haunting vocals of Fascinoma (aka Alanna Lin). But amidst the post-disaster airiness, there are some really refined arrangements on Emergency Songs courtesy of The Emergency Choir and a whole slew of guests on guitar, piano, violin, sax, and trombone. The whole communal recording process is documented on Monk Turner’s wordpress.

The album is such a pleasant listen that it weren’t for lyrics about disaster and “blood on the freeway,” it might not seem so apocalyptic at all. In fact, the theme seems to be more about transcendence than doom; about appreciating life because it won’t last forever.”

-Free Music Archive

“Monk Turner is an expert at concept albums and this is no exception. The album is divided into “before”, “during”, and “after”, depicting emotions attached to each experience. There is a hip jazz feel throughout tempered by Fascinoma’s sweet down-tempo voice. The songs are almost a little too pretty for the topic but it is hard not to like tracks like “Everything Already” and “After Disaster”. This is a well paced effort with good songs and better execution.”

-Free Albums Galore

“Listen to the new album by Monk Turner. Isn’t it that the good music you like to listen to your adult-orientated radio? Isn’t that the kind of music you can play to your friends, who only listen to the same old dozen of CDs they bought 15 years ago? Isn’t that the kind of music many major artists would love to make (and sell!) if they only had Turner’s talent to write charming pop-songs? Isn’t that the kind of music you like to sing along (and not being ashamed because it’s really cool stuff) and tap your feet?”

-2/3am

“Emergency Songs is a lovely record. If you want to convince someone how good a CC album can be, this is it. If you were looking for an album to carry around with you on your iPod for the rest of this year, Emergency Songs would be it.”

-Uncommonly Creative

“…a new concept album by Monk Turner with singer/lyricist Fascinoma that’s got a variety of flavors. Even when the music gets “rough,” her voice remains rather soothing.”

-LA Record

“Singer-songwriter Alanna Lin, aka Fascinoma, recently finished a new album with her friend, Monk Turner. It’s actually a really cool concept album covering the theme of “The Big One” and the songs address normal life, disaster, and onward to new beginnings.”

-Taiwanese Amercian.org

“Unha semana antes do terremoto de Xapón, Monk Turner (preservamos o segredo do seu nome real) lanzaba xunto coa espectacular cantante Alanna Lin o seu disco “Emergency Songs”, un feixe de cancións para o antes (before), durante (during) e after (despois) do Big One, o terremoto que algún día vai facer escachar California.”

-Commons Baby

“Monk Turner és Fascinoma egy Los Angelest megrázó földrengésről készített egy jó kis konceptalbumot Emergency Songs címmel, letölthető innen vagy innen. A zene egyáltalán nem olyan, mint amire számítanánk: folkos, country-s, énekes-dalszerzős, jazzes vagy éppenséggel gospeles dalok hallhatók itt három részre osztva (előtte, közben, utána), visszafogottak és szépek, ráadásul Alanna Lin (vagyis Fascinoma) énekesnő hangja különösen kedves. Az általános visszafogottság csak annál hatásosabbá teszi azokat a ritka pillanatokat, amikor egy kicsit rockolnak a gitárok vagy felbugyog az elektronika. A Los Angelest sújtó földrengés állítólag a geológusok szerint biztosan bekövetkezik valamikor a következő 30 évben – arra viszont nem számítottak az alkotók, hogy nem sokkal azután, hogy felteszik az albumot a netre, valódi természeti katasztrófa rázza meg Japánt.”

-Quart

“Tehát itt ez a szabad zenész, Monk Turner és alkotótársa, a Fascinoma művésznéven szereplő Alanna Lin énekesnő, akik Emergency Songs címmel felpakoltak a netre egy lemezt, méghozzá március legelején, alig pár nappal a Japánt sújtó természeti katasztrófa előtt. A márciust és az áprilist az ingyenes lemez promotálására szánták volna, ám az élet keményen beleszólt az alkotók terveibe, akik mostanában nem győzik magyarázni különböző internetes fórumokon, hogy nem érzéketlen opportunisták ők, csak egyszerűen rosszul időzítették a megjelenést.”

-Uj Szo

“先日、東北地方をとてつもなく大きな悲劇が襲った。そのニュースは海外にもすでに伝わっていて、今日「we love japan」というビデオが韓国の大学から届きました。本日はこのビデオ「we love japan」をごらんください。ビデオに使われている曲はロサンジェルスのフォーク系ミュージシャン、Monk TurnerのStart Again。歌はFascinomaという名義で活動している、Alanna Linさん。昨年、地震が起こったときのことを考えよう！という啓発を目的に発表したアルバム「Emergency Songs」の最後に入ってる曲。下のページから無料放出中。「Monk Turner – Emergency Songs」フリーダウンロードのページ”

-Music Islands

If you haven’t downloaded Emergency Songs yet, what are you waiting for?