A Record of My Own Undoing
Get Me Out of Here
Mark Rushton’s Abundant Spare Time is a weekly email on Substack where I talk about my ongoing work as a recording artist and visual artist. This is my 160th weekly email.
This week’s topics:
A Record of My Own Undoing
Energetics
Scritti Politti - ”Throw”
A Record of My Own Undoing
My new album, Omniessence, was released on October 1st to Bandcamp and the streamers.
Omniessence was made entirely on my new Suzuki Omnichord OM-108 and effects boxes.
I think it’s a beautiful record of synth pulses and washes. 10 tracks and 36 minutes. There will be more!
I’ll push single tracks to around 400 radio stations, starting this weekend.
In the photo above, you can see a “back cover”. I haven’t made one of those since the CD era.
I will probably make a CD version of this album, cassette too, but this cover art is for the VINYL RECORD edition.
Even crazier, the first vinyl record will be a PICTURE DISC.
I used Kunaki for CD short runs in the past decade, although not since 2018. I went back to create some promo CDs for the Pianos in the Fields of Color album and discovered that Kunaki has expanded their offerings to include cassettes, DVDs, Blu-Rays, and vinyl.
The Kunaki vinyl is quite affordable, considering. Obviously, the traditional method of making a lacquer master and electroplating it is being skipped, and this greatly reduces the cost of one-off pressings. I don’t know what process Kunaki uses. I’m just happy to be getting a vinyl record of my music. It’ll arrive in the next week or so, and I’ll let you know how that goes.
Energetics
Also out on October 1st is the new “bell chimes + electronics” single by my band Meditative Drift. It’s called “Energetics”. It’s on Bandcamp and the streamers.
Earlier this year, I bought a couple sets of bell chimes and have started making recordings of me “playing” them - and then running the recording through my effects boxes. I think it’s a pretty, calming, and somewhat hypnotic effect with the natural and processed frequencies.
Scritti Politti - ”Throw”
It’s hard to believe that Green Gartside, the guy behind the band Scritti Politti, is now 70 years old. When I was in high school, I played some of the early, post-punk styled Scritti songs on my show. Then I was a huge fan of the mid 80s singles produced by Arif Mardin, “Wood Beez”, “Absolute”, and the hit “Perfect Way” - a song Miles Davis loved so much that he covered. What a sweet voice.
After that glorious era, he made a thin-sounding follow-up (“Provision”), retreated to Wales for a decade, and emerged in his mid 40s with a decent but oddball album (“Anomie and Bonhomie”) that had rap and hard rock influences. Me’Shell Ndegeocello was on that album - she won a Grammy a couple of years ago for a jazz album she made using an older Suzuki Omnichord (“The Omnichord Real Book”).
In 2006, the last album, White Bread Black Beer, showed up, and it features “Throw”. A lot of it sounds recorded at home. It’s a bit too-long, but there are excellent tracks throughout. Since then, Green has guested here and there, including a fantastic single with the Manic Street Preachers (“Between the Clock and the Bed”), and others.
I decided to ask the word robot about some of the lyrics in “Throw”. I have edited the responses so it’s kinda like an interview:
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What is meant by the term “dull sublime”?
… Modern or Postmodern irony: it could be used ironically to critique traditional notions of beauty and grandeur - suggesting that even the mundane or boring can be elevated of the status of sublime.
….Cultural commentary - Describing aspects of modern life, office corridors, suburban sprawl, or bureaucratic systems - that are emotionally numbing yet strangely profound in their scale or implications
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What are “golden rules”?
Fundamental principles or guidelines that are widely accepted as essential for ethical behavior, good practice, or effective decision making: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
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What are “indices and empty schools”?
This typically arises in discussions about education policy, especially in context of declining school enrollment and how systems measure and respond to that trend. Indices are quantitative indicators or metrics used to assess various aspects of school performance, resource allocation, or demographic trends.
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What is meant by the phrase “But you know I’m lying, I’m just sick and tired of trying.”?
”But you know I’m lying” - this suggests the speak is pretending, perhaps saying they’re OK, or that they’re still trying, but they know the other person sees through it. It implies a lack of authenticity, possibly out of habit, fear, or emotional fatigue.
:I’m just sick and tired of trying” - this part conveys emotional burnout. They’ve been putting in effort but it no longer feels worth it or sustainable.
The phrase reflects a moment of vulnerability and resignation. They’re exhausted from trying to maintain appearances or keep pushing through a difficult situation.
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What are “seven locks and three cliff bays”?
Three Cliff Bays is a real location in the Gower Peninsula in Wales. Known for its dramatic limestone cliffs and scenic beauty. Cliffs and bays represent boundaries, solitude, or natural majesty. Bays symbolize shelter, reflection, or emotional depth.
Used metaphorically or poetically, “seven locks and three cliff bays” could evoke a journey through man made barriers (locks) and natural beauty (cliff bays). It might describe a physical or emotional passage.
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What are “comfort crumbs”?
Small, often barely sufficient bits of solace or reassurance in difficult or disappointing situations. Writers often use the phrase to highlight the contrast between hope and despair. The human tendency to cling to even the smallest positive signs in adversity.
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What is meant by “You could throw a party and maybe I’ll be there”?
It suggests a tone of emotional distance, ambivalence, or guardedness. It might be a subtle way of saying “don’t count on me” or “I’m not sure I belong”.
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