I recently learned about this genre of music called "vaporwave". I'm really digging it.
I've also recently learned how to put .gif[s] on my blog, which makes for a more interactive experience in sharing. Check out these visuals from last weekend with my bros...
A couple of my best buds...
Saturday
Sunday
It's like the most adult thing I've ever done.
Summer Nights in small towns is one of the best ways to spend a life. The fireworks were amazing, and it's so awesome to be in some of the best company with funnel cakes and snow balls.
I just got back from Church Camp at Trinity Pines with the youth group at Impact Church. I've been with these guys for almost three years, and I have to say that my relationship with the church (and this church in particular) has become one of my most valuable assets in life.
Last night I dreamed of Sam.
We were at my mom's house. It was night time. We started having small talk with each other as we were walking out side to go smoke a cigarette.
In the moment I realized that he had been dead, and I hadn't seen in a long time. We hugged each other abruptly and tightly.
We released each other from our embrace. I asked him if he was sleeping over at Mom's. He said he was sleeping at Vicky's.
It was today or yesterday.
the summer usually has me more inclined for writing. In 2010, I first wrote of Summer's Lust. Sensuality is increased; and the foliage is thriving. It can be a dangerous season.
At the beginning of the year, I got to meet an amazing artist: The Painter. We totally hit it off in this interview from Local Houston Music. The most exciting part about this is that The ETX Rocks Show syndicated it to all of their listeners. I hope you enjoy the interview and The Painter's Music.
Check out Local Houston Music for more information on other artists in the Houston area.
This is a place where I feel home.
For the past few Fridays, I've been meeting with Elna Myburg for piano lessons. I often find myself impressed with her as a person just as much as I am with her musicality.
Today when I arrived, she had a glass of water with a sprig of herbal infusion in it. She is respectfully one of the classiest people I know.
I didn't get enough sleep last night.
I can have a million reasons why I am the way I am, but it doesn't change the way I am.
Change is more valuable than reason.
"Just stop your crying it's a sign of the times; you look pretty good down here, but you ain't really good."
As an artist, there are time of collection & inventory. Some of that time is seeing the display of imagery around you and interpreting the meaning around it.
As a Christian artist, that interpretation is to only be filtered through the Holy Spirit and Scripture.
Some friends are just like...
My new single "Calling Out Your Name" is now available.
#availableeverywhere
I hope y'all like it ;)
Music so profound that you have to turn it off because of all the feels.
Last night I saw my brother.
I'm not sure who's house we were at, but it was styled like a middle aged person would keep their home in the 90's. It wasn't the 90's.
He came downstairs and was standing in the kitchen in front of a window. The sun was bright behind him; it was what seemed to be 11:30 or Noon. His wife had just bought him a black leather jacket. She was to my right. She gave it to him. He started to put it on, and the jacket looked like it might be too small for him. As he stretched it across his shoulders it seemed to fit him perfect.
"It would look really good with a red t-shirt," I told him. Then I realized that he was wearing a red t-shirt. He stood there in front of me as the red of his shirt became clear. There was a white print on it. He had blue jeans on as well.
I started to explain to him how red looks good to all of us because of how apples are red, and he started to finish my sentence and continued in the conversation and the idea of how humans are predisposed to like red. Our eye contact was long and intentional.
I told him that I wanted to take a picture of him, so I pulled out my Fujifilm Wide Instax camera. Something was wrong with the camera and I had to pull the film cartridge out. There was a picture jammed in the cartridge that seemed like it was taken with a cracked/kaleidoscopic lens. The image had an offset center and red and slotted patterns. It was somewhat like a fractile.
Once the camera was ready, I found I only had one shot left in it. He moved over to the left of where he was standing against a yellow wall in soft white light. He looked really good. My sister came into the shot as if she was going to sneak into the image holding up a peace sign. I immediately got angry with her and anxious because I would only have one opportunity to take the picture, and because I knew I was about to wake up, and that he would be gone.
I just left the studio in Huntsville. I hired Billy Hillman & Hilltrax Studio to do the engineering again. It is always a pleasure to work with him.
This time around I took the liberty of a new strategy in recording. In my previous session, my approach would be to record a bulk of 5 to 13 songs in one live track. Today, using the same amount of time, I recorded one song: "Calling Out Your Name".
I layered the piano first and corrected each imperfection as I encountered them. Then came the voice in its own layer atop the keys. Each foul note was rerecorded as I saw fit. It was so great.
Often times, after recording a session, I would have to correct each cringing moment in my head until I was just used to hearing it. Not this time. I feel like for the first time, I was able to walk aways from a recording project and have complete confidence in the product that was created.
Last night I went to an Audrey Assad performance, and I purchased her two records Inheritance & Fortunate Fall. They were my soundtrack to my travels today. Her artistry last night was an inspiration to my work, and I’m thankful for the way the timeline worked out. I almost rescheduled the recording session.
The new never before track, “Calling Out Your Name”, will be available before the end of March ;)
The latest release from This Intangible Existence, Words & Music, is a compilation album of the artist's previously released remastered original compositions. Terrell Brinlee, the man behind the act, sat down and answered a few questions.
Why did you want to do a compilation album?
“I’ve always been in a state of reimagining these works. Whenever I started recording with Billy Hillman back in 2013, I was doing this: making better recordings of previously recorded material. Recording at Hilltrax Studio, I was able to exhaust my repertoire in a way that I’d never done before. That happened over the course of about three years. Whenever I finished That You Are Mindful of Him, I knew that I wanted to give these songs another shot, and a new sequence to exist in--a final form.”
In previous interviews and essays, you’ve spoken on these songs. Has the narrative has changed at all with the new sequence?
“The concentration for this set-list was to show chronology and progress over a length of time. I wanted to hear 2006 through 2016. These songs have helped to tell my story for so long, and they have defined my artistry. They needed to be cradled together as one story the same way that I was introduced to them. There are four smaller sets within the entire playlist. The first set is a ‘coming of age’ tale, and also renders spiritual exploration in astrotheology. In the second set, Christianity becomes more prominent in the work, though that theme is throughout. The spiritual scope becomes narrow with more Biblical perspective. Thirdly, I talk a lot about accepting who you are as an individual; and lastly, depravity is recognized, and Jesus becomes the only means of salvation.”
Though professing to be a Christian, you talk about dealing with homosexuality. Wouldn’t those seem like two conflicting positions?
“They are. W&M is a great place to tackle this idea, however. The songs articulate this better than my spoken word can. My opinions about it have varied over the past ten years, but ultimately I believe the truth stands for itself. The Bible is clear about homosexuality, so I don’t think I have to quote the book to define that position. Part of my goal is to share my experiences with homosexuality and Jesus, so that if there is anyone else in my situation they might be helped or comforted. No one has a good answer right now for people who want to follow the Lord but have this disposition. Most of the solutions come from outside the LGBT community, and I don’t think people respond to that well. I by no means claim to have the answer, but I think I have something to offer.”
How that’s been received?
“I’ve definitely gotten hate mail. It’s a bit of a hot topic these days, and the LGBT community is gaining a lot of ground politically. It’s difficult to state your case whenever it goes against an entire people group who are seeking social reform in the exact opposite direction you’re going in. You’re basically a defector or a traitor.”
You mention That You Are Mindful of Him, which was released earlier this year. What kind of response did you get from your listeners?
“The record has been an absolute blessing to my musical career. I feel like I gained a lot of listenership because of it. I’ve said it many times before, music about the Gospel is ultimately why I do what I do; I really wanted to do a worship set, and concentrate on more obscure songs; many seem to have taken a liking to it. TYAMOH allowed for me to go back into the studio for W&M, and do all the remastering. With new listenership, I thought the timing was right to reintroduce these songs. I feel like Gospel artists are often looked at as if they are morally perfect; W&M really levels the playing field, and promotes transparency to those listening to my story.”
What happens next for This Intangible Existence?
“I’ve been training with different piano techniques, and playing songs that are out of the norm for my musical vocabulary. I’m really looking to expand my abilities as a musician, and hopefully, my writing will reflect that, as well as my recordings. I’m sure I’m going back into the studio in the earlier part of 2017, but I’m not sure what the result will be. Traditionally I’ve done live set recording, but I would like to branch into more layered productions and create a higher quality product that focuses on one song at a time, rather than a whole set of them. This would leave the door open for later collaboration with other artists.
Words & Music, the new compilation record by This Intangible Existence is now available on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify, as well as a complete catalog of covers, worship music, and other original works.
Sifting through some images that were shown to me on Timehop, I came across the accompanying pictures. They are from 2011 whenever I first started working on the board, and long before the greater idea was known.
It was a time whenever the board was separate from the idea of circles. It was also a time when I didn't know what circles were all about. The images show a certain naivety about the form. As I recall this was from he last set of Polaroids that I took from The Impossible Project. It was an end of a season in my life.
The images have been added to their chronological spce in the board section of this website.
