So, that’s it: the album is finally coming out after long months of wait… The Sequel is being released on all online music store on the 5th of April, 2019, and is already offered on pre-sale on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and many more (search for “PeerGum, The Sequel”).
The album was composed in Chile and Argentina, at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019, mostly in Santiago, Concepcion, and Buenos Aires where Sapna and I stopped for a little more time than usual.
First track, Otherworld, was in fact done as the soundtrack for our Bolivia video and the original version (longer, 6:59) was included in the album South America and called Around Bolivia. Because it was a very catchy tune, we decided to make a slightly shorter version and I did a couple adjustments too.
Second track, Heading South, was composed for the Chile video. For this album, I decided to not include the pure soundtrack version of the music as I did for South America, with voices and ambient noises, but only the original clean version. Heading South was an attempt at a “louder” sound, with powerful guitars.
Third track, The Devil’s Throat, was composed to accompany the Brazil video that starts at the Iguazu Falls (Foz do Iguaçu), an amazing multiple waterfall separating Argentina from Brazil, whose main fall, the Garganta del Diablo, gave the track its name.
Fourth track, Twisted Tango, accompanies our Uruguay video. The name Twisted Tango came both from the tango atmosphere in part of the music and from the fact we attended an event with tango dancers, as can be seen in the video.
Fifth track, The Dog, was inspired by the future album I’ve been working on (mostly on lyrics so far). Idea was to depict a somehow strange and sad atmosphere. Not sure how efficiently I reached that goal…
Iguazu Falls, the sixth track, is another track written for a video comparing the Iguazu Falls from both Argentinian and Brazilian sides. Its original title was Ballad in Iguaçu but I decided to rename it after realizing it didn’t make so much sense, since the Iguaçu (or Iguazu) is the river, not the location as I initially thought. Still sounds like a ballad…
With Relentless, the seventh track of The Sequel, I wanted to try my chance at some dance style of music. With the help of some loops, some gospell choirs, an organ, a trance synthesizer, and a mix of dance and rock beats, I think I got some something pretty unique. Call it dance, trance, or whatever you want, I like it 🙂
The eighth track, The Ultimate Riddle, is another attempt at producing some film soundtrack, but on an imaginary movie. The idea was to create a suspenseful atmosphere, progressively rising to a part with more “action”. I think I did do a good job here – humbly – and the result sounds quite a lot like I wanted it. I made more use of orchestra instruments here, strings and oboes mostly, obviously along with the usual more electronic sounds and samples. So close your eyes, press PLAY, and watch the movie in your head 😉
The Upside Down from Stranger Things, originally simply “The Upside Down”, is the ninth track of the album, and obviously inspired by the TV series of the same name. After Stranger Things (Central America album) and Strangest Things (South America album), this is the third occurrence of a music inspired by the series and definitely not the worst one, if any could ever be considered bad 🙂
Finally, the tenth track, See You Again Soon, was composed for the Argentina video. It has a bit of tango rhythm and atmosphere in it, without an accordion this time.
I originally planned to compose an additional track that would be a lead to next album, but time didn’t allow for much and neither did I feel inspired enough, so to not delay the release of The Sequel I eventually decided the album would close on See You Again Soon.
While in Buenos Aires, I asked Sapna to create a very simple album cover art, which would remind the work of a novelist or screenwriter. I already had had the title of the album in mind from the very first track, The Sequel. The main reason was that there should have been South America, Part 1 and South America, Part 2 as two distinct albums, but when releasing South America I felt that would have felt like releasing an album in its middle. So the sequel comes from the fact it’s still in South America… Quite simple.
–ooo–
So, what’s next?
Well, next album should be different. I’m trying to write lyrics for a whole imaginary story (a sad one) that will involve a dog called Jack. At this point, two preliminary songs have been drafted, yet no music. I also want to try a different approach to composition. So, be patient, it may take a bit more than the usual couple weeks between tracks.
Later, Gummies!
PeerGum.