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ARTIST BLOG (45)

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Zebra Mann
Eulogy of the Dead Arnab Mukherjee version 07:15/128k
A Facebook friend read my Eulogy of the Dead poetry in his native Bangla language. I added it to a couple of chunks of previous mixes. I chopped a bit of sound out of my two mixes, Darkest of Dreams and Percussion Concussion to make it. This is the last of my Eulogy mixes. Credits: . Genre: Alien Audio. Created: 28 Dec 2012 10:56 PM. Plays: 43 -->please comment (2).

Zebra Mann
Mechanical Spider 05:55/128k
A little soundscape I created, inspired by Mechanical Mind, an artist who creates arachnids (among other things) in metal. Image used with permission. The definition of life is variable at best. Surely even mechanical creatures can feel joy when they come into being, can't they? Credits: one loop from Blind Mime, and several found sounds from my library, including notes from my Yamaha organ. Genre: So Far Off The Wall It's Down The Street. Created: 15 Nov 2012 11:39 AM. Plays: 47 -->please comment (3).

Zebra Mann
The Bottomless Trench of Tangor 04:47/128k
Another song from my upcoming Unknown Ocean album that takes its inspiration from Buzzsaw & The Shavings Hadalpelagic Symphony. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Credits: loops by Blind Mime, Dave Fuglewicz, Omnitechnomatrix, and several . Genre: Alien Audio. Created: 21 Oct 2012 09:39 PM. Plays: 51 -->please comment (2).

Zebra Mann
The Undersea Caverns of Glemfarng 04:45/128k
One of the songs from my upcoming album Depths of an Unknown Ocean. Credits: Some loops by Dave Fuglewicz, some loops by Omnitechnomatrix, some loops by Blind Mime, and several found sounds from my private collection. . Genre: Alien Audio. Created: 18 Oct 2012 11:44 PM. Plays: 45 -->please comment (2).

Zebra Mann
In The Depths of an Unknown Ocean (Revisited) 10:20/128k
I was listening to the original ITDOAUO and found a few places that were less than oceanic, sound wise. So I re-worked and remixed it to make it more so. A typical case of can't leave well enough alone. Credits: a myriad of loops from Dave Fuglewicz and some found sounds by yours truly. . Genre: Alien Audio. Created: 24 Sep 2012 03:02 PM. Plays: 56 -->please comment (2).

Zebra Mann
Huntsman With No Eyes 07:07/128k
Someone recently sent me a link about a species of Huntsman spider found in a cave that had evolved to the point of having no eyes. I found the subject fascinating and decided a song would be the appropriate response. This is one you should listen to with headphones and your eyes closed. No fair peeking. Credits: 1 loop from Arthur Loves Plastic, 3 loops from Blind Mime and 2 found sounds of machinery noise, combined to make this interesting sound scape.. Genre: Alien Audio. Created: 25 Aug 2012 07:28 AM. Plays: 55 -->please comment (1).

Zebra Mann
Freedom From The Truth Mix 06:22/128k
Jeremy sent me a recent reading of his, and it just seemed to mesh with a couple of loops I have been fooling around with, but hadn't found a vehicle for. This song is one of those completely up to the listener's interpretation. Thanks Jeremy for giving me something awesome to work with, I've missed melding your words with my sound scapes. . Credits: spoken word by Jeremy Gluck, one loop each from Blind Mime, Omnitechnomatrix, and myself.. Genre: Experimental. Created: 03 Aug 2012 11:30 PM. Plays: 65 -->please comment (1).

Zebra Mann Blog

Wondering and wandering

Those of you who have been wondering where I have been, I've been quite busy. Things are only going to get busier. I have returned to full time employment, I will be moving to a new house in about five weeks, and will be dealing with all the stuff that comes with that. I have lived in my present house for 21 years, so I have a lot of stuff to move. I have been diddling with sounds and such a bit, but nothing worthy to be posted here.

So I am informing you all that I am going to take a hiatus from TG for awhile. Probably most of the summer. I will be on seasonal unemployment in the Fall, and things should have quieted down in real life by then.

I plan on posting some new Halloween themed songs and even have some ideas for that particular holiday. so if you don't see me around, you know why.

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New keyboard loops, with style

I've recently uploaded 20 new keyboard loops, and they come pre-mangled to help cut down the amount of work you have to do to them. Feel free to peruse them at your leisure, and enjoy yourself. They will be labeled as excerpts from 160, 161, etc. If all else fails, check the date. That usually helps.

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More Bass Loops

Someone requested that I add more bass guitar loops to my open loops folder. Your wish has been granted. They should be all uploaded by first thing Tuesday morning. Glad that you find them so mix-worthy. :>) You can find the new ones labeled as series 155, 156, and 157.

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Hidden Voices

I am looking for some interesting loops/recordings of everyday sounds that can be manipulated by slowing them down. I have found that some musical notes as well as other found sounds reveal hidden voices/sounds/noises when slowed down to the extreme. I would be interested in doing this effect on sounds anyone could send to me for a compilation project. Email me a small sound file that you would like to submit to this project. Not all sounds will be able to be manipulated in this way, but I will let you know which ones work before creating the finished collaboration. Let's find the hidden in the ordinary and mundane.

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It snowed today

I have finally made it back to TG and am going through listening to all the recent mixery added for the past few months. I may not comment on them all, but be assured that I am listening to them and enjoying them all. What a fine bunch of folks I have fallen in with here.

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I've got new loops uploaded

After finding a used Yamaha portable keyboard for a great price recently, I sat down to play with it and had more fun than should be possible for humans. I've recorded over an hour's worth of me messing around on it, and the first batch of many more keyboard loops from yours truly will soon be on their way. They will be labeled as KBL and a number. KBL = Key Board Loops. I may have finally found the instrument I was genetically engineered to play!

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More Bass Madness

I've been playing around on the Ibanez bass guitar again, and this time, I did it in the house. So the loops are much lower in volume because the dog hates the way I play. You will find them in my Open Loops Folder shortly. They are labeled A30 thru E30, but the letters don't mean anything, they are simply a way for me to keep them in some semblance of order. Because without order, you know what we have, yes, we have ice cream!

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I haz two bass guitars.

I recently picked up a SECOND bass guitar, as the price was right. It is an Ibanez GSR 200, just a couple of years old. The music store put brand new strings on it for FREE. The other day, my wife and I hooked it up to the amp and put it through its paces. She has actually had some guitar lessons in the past, so she is more familiar with the instrument than I am.

I have uploaded a few loops from our strumming session to the Open Loops folder. Her loops are marked TJ and a number, mine are marked ZM and a number. Enjoy them, as there are many more to come in this dual-user sequence.

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I haz a bass guitar

I have been playing around with my new toy, and I've put together some pretty nice loops for my fellow Germanians to enjoy. They are located in both the Open Loops folder as well as the ftp folder. They are listed in a fairly simple manner. String name, recording session, dash loop name. For those of you with access to the ftp folder, the loops from the first session are in the July 2011 folder, and those from the second session are in the folder marked August 2011 in the Bass Guitar 2011 folder. The same numbering/identification system is used for those in the Open Loops folder as well.

Some of the loops are long, and some are very short, but feel free to do with them what you will. Play around with them as much or as little as you want, I know that I plan on doing the same.

I've had so much fun with other people's loops in the past, this is my way of giving a little back to my fellow Germers.

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coming soon

I recently purchased a used Charvel/Jackson bass guitar. To put it short and sweet, there will soon be new loops available in the Zebra Mann Open Loops folder. I hope you enjoy them.

The bass guitar seems to be a neglected instrument in Germania. Not any more. I am determined to make it as popular as its' electric cousin.

I may even go so far as to learning how to play the damn thing for real, how scary is that?

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New Stuff To Come

I recently purchased a bass guitar from a fellow noisician. As soon as it arrives, I will plug it into the amp I purchased last year, and begin experimenting with noise. I plan on creating many new loops to post to my open loops folder. I also plan on creating the sorts of sounds I always hear in my head, but cannot find anywhere else.

I have been away, but I shall return. My intention is twofold. (1.) to make loops that I can manipulate/mangle to my heart's content, and more importantly, (2.) to get Herr Buzzsaw to return to the tapegerm fold. It is time for our wayward, smartly dressed Germanian to come home and indulge us with his audio fantasies. I mean to steal him away from the camera's muse and bring him back to where he belongs, here at TG.

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new found sounds

I recently uploaded some new found sound loops to the open Zebra Mann folder. Enjoy!

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My Recent Gluck Mix

I probably should clarify something. I posted with my new mix Unterzone Finality that it took me a week to finish this mix. That is a bit of a mistake. In the course of a week, I made several different mixes with those voice loops. Using the VST plug-ins with my Wave Pad program caused several crashes, and I hadn't saved any of those previous mixes. This is the only one that survived, mostly because I only used VST Plug-ins that I knew were safe, and I stayed in the safe zone of DirectX effects in WP. I also practiced saving after each use of an effect. The loops that I mixed from Alex Mundi Guest Artist were created many months ago. I had created them for another mixing project, found them unsuitable at the time, and just recently rediscovered them while searching for something else. Most of my mixes come together from start to finish in just a few hours. Very few of them take more than one day to finish. If something takes a week, or more, it is because I am puzzled as to how to complete it. I just thought I should clear that up.

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Great Big World

I've been scouring the net, looking for free VST plugins that will work with my music program, and I've found a handful that I'm trying to master. Bev of ALP suggested Reaper, which I will look into, as soon as I can scrape up enough $$$ to buy it. Right now though, I have to pay out close to $500 on truck repairs, so it might take some time to dig up expendable $$$ for my music hobby.

I should have a new mix to upload by this weekend, and I'm hoping it turns out as well as I could hope. Maybe I'll dedicate it to my new brood of baby Wolf Spiders.

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Nuther Funky Direction

In my search for new mixing techniques to discover, and moving in a new direction to expand my sonic boundaries, I have found another way to express myself. Taking a cue from my latest mix involving a Buzzsaw and CYSTEM mix, with a bit of Dave Fuglewicz loopage, I am going to stir portions of Buzzsaw mixes with other artists in this same vein, add a pinch of a single random loop, and see where the recipe takes me. Since Buzzsaw has flown off to parts unknown to focus on his photographic talents, I have taken it upon myself to keep his indisputably unique artistic talents in the forefront of the Germanian audience. Time will tell whether Herr Buzz will thank me or curse me for my efforts.

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Whacked and Stacked

I've removed 26 mixes from my page, and will be uploading new loops to my Open Loops folder sometime tomorrow. Having a sound recording app on my mobile phone is really starting to pay off. As for the mixes, I might bring some of them back, mostly it depends upon how much of a fuss is raised about their removal.

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All That Clicking of The Mouse Is Just Getting To Be a Bit Too Much for Me.

In a couple of days, I will be going through my page and removing a few albums of my eclectic mixery experiments. Which ones I am not sure at the moment, but if I don't do something this drastic soon, I will have to buy a taller monitor if I want to upload any new mixes.

Maybe the albums I remove I will make available on CD, on a very limited basis. Of course, it seems absurd to think anyone would want to listen to a CD of this craziness, I mean, unless they are alone on a desert isle and the sheep dog is being a bit too protective. Wait, what? Oh never mind.

So download 'em now before they are gone forever.

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new album, new direction

The first installment of my Mountains of Madness series of mixes (or remixes) has been uploaded. I have tried to follow the storyline with a bit more descriptionary terms, paraphrased from the original story. Some of Lovecraft's words are just too creepy to not borrow for my own use. As always, the use of ear goggles is strongly recommended.

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Mix, remix, rinse, repeat, ad nauseum

I went through my old Mountains of Madness mix, ear goggles affixed and slightly askew, deciding after listening to the whole thing from beginning to end, that rather than remix the whole mess, I need to start fresh. And the best way to start fresh is to get out the old Mountains of Madness book and re-read the masters' words again.

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Mix remix, rinse, repeat.

I was listening to my Mountains of madness mixery recently, and I decided that I am not happy with it. So I am going to remix it. It needs some 'tweaks' and a few of the newest loops I've uploaded recently would go nicely into it.

I think my success with remixing another of my tunes earlier in the week might have something to do with it. That, or I am just one of those people that can't leave well enough alone.

The truth be told, I am never 100% completely happy with any of my mixes. Of the 100+ mixes I have made, I would guess that there are less than 5 that I think are perfect. Perfection is of course subjective.

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new open loops

I recently uploaded some new loops into my Open Loops folder. I found a local bassist willing to indulge me, and the only drawback was that it was during a gig at the local VFW. So there are some background voices in some of them. There are also a few loops from that recording session I had some fun with, and uploaded as well.

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Open Loops Folder

I've uploaded some new loops to my open loops folder for everyone to play with; most of them are found sounds, edited to smaller sizes. I hope you will find them useful.

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More Themed Mixery

It seems I do my best work (and I use best in a very figurative sense here) if I have a pattern to follow. So my next mixes will be based on the twelve signs of the zodiac. I don't take any of that New Age nonsense with more than a grain of salt, but then, salt makes everything just a bit more palatable.

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Upload Surprises

After my recent foray to the Deep Southwest portion of CA, I have returned with a myriad of noises to share. There are some in my open loops folder, as well as many more in the ftp folders. Many of them have not been 'cleaned up' or altered, that is for you, my dear Germanians, to do for yourself.

Enjoy them all, there will be more in the future.

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Home Again

Well, our little excursion to the far (and far out) reaches of southern California are over, and we have returned home again. Back to the land of impossible green and those dastardly mosquitoes. A week long visit with Herr Buzz is an experience none should soon forget, and well worth the time and trouble of making a journey well over 2,200 miles away. I already miss the mountains and the beautiful blue Pacific ocean.

I recorded many found sound wavs while out there in SoCal, including two very revealing conversations between myself and the gloriously articulate Mr. Saw. I also have sounds of the ocean, and some snatches of random conversation from the AmTrak car. Once I get them cleaned up a bit, I'll be posting them to the ftp site. Some may even end up in the Open Loops folder. Now if I can just remember how to do that...

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Gone Fishing

I will be spending the next ten days away from my computer, so you won't be hearing any new mixes by me during that time. But after my short sabbatical, I will be back with plenty of new sound loops and hopefully, a new mix or two to add to my page. While ten days doesn't seem that long, for me to be away from my computer that long seems an eternity. See you when I get back.

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Investigating One Loop Artist at a Time

Although I had tons of fun working with everyone on the Ten Year Infection project, it is time to continue my quest of making mixes from the loops of one artist at a time. I see to have a knack for that, or at least better luck; so I am going to resume my work with the many fantastic loop artists here at tapegerm.

My newest is a little ditty called Alien Orchestra, using only the loops of International Garbageman.

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Over Exposure

I've added 15 songs/mixes to the 10 Year Infection Project since it began. I think I am going to stop now, and focus on other things. I have been busy at the ftp server, going through old loops from past years and I have found plenty to keep me busy.

I'll give some other folks a chance to play with the Infection Project; I'm going to go back and make mixes from the treasure trove to be found on the ftp server.

Well, unless some new loops are added that I simply cannot live without, then I'll have to come back. But I'm going to try very hard to focus on new hortizons from old landscapes.

Thanks to everyone who uploaded Infection loops for the opportunity to make some noise.

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Can Lightning Strike Twice?

Making my latest mix, "4 Billion Years..." was so much fun; and that is how it should be listened to, with your humor set on HIGH, that I think I am going to try it again. I am going to take 1 new loop from the fourteen different artists in the 10 Year Project and give it another go.

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A Sad Day for Heavy metal Fans

I just read that Ronnie James Dio passed away today. I am sad. While he and I shared the same initials, the other thing I shared with the man was a love for describing the battle between good and evil with music. Ronnie James Dio still has the best voice in the world of music.

I know that the greatest guitar player/song writer of all time is still alive, Pete Townshend; and the world's best drummer, Kenny Aronof, are still going strong. May they be around for a long time.

In more local news, a very good man with a great sense of humor and plenty of friends passed away Friday. His name was Dirk Newhoff. You probably have never hear do fhim, but he was one of my favorite people, and I will miss seeing him and his lovely wife come through my gate at work. In honor of Dirk, all day yesterday, I wore the hat he gave me last summer. I've uploaded a picture of me wearing that hat for you to enjoy, as well.

RIP Dirk, you were my favorite Alpha Express driver, ever. I'll miss you.

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10 Year Infection Party

I just wanted to remark that there are an incredible amount of loops for this project, and I am trying to make use of them all. If you don't see your name in the list of credits for the mixes I am posting, do not despair, you soon will. You might learn to regret it, as well.

If only I could find some nice southern drawl loops to add to my mixes, then I think, my work here, would be perfect. There must be a way to acquire some personable non-Yankee crooning.(yes, if threats don't work, I can always resort to begging).

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Back to my Roots

I've decided to try my hand at something I love dearly, which is making mixes based on horror subjects. One of my favorite authors is H.P. Lovecraft, and of all his works that I have read, I still find the story "At The Mountains of Madness" to be the creepiest ever. So my next series of mixes are going to involve my favorite parts of that timeless tale. In the first part that I've mixed, the narrator and Danforth enter the ancient city of the Old Ones, and discover a history of an alien species that is as fantastic and terrifying as anything ever recorded by mankind. As usual, it will be ear goggle friendly.

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New Loops

In honor of my loop artist status, I have uploaded some vocal/spoken word loops to the ftp server. There will be more ZM loops available later, and sometime in the near future there will be ZM Open loops available for everyone to experiment with and use.

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Celebrate!

Today is a special day. It marks my one year anniversary at TapeGerm. This has been a great year; I've learned a lot, found the people who have been inducted into the Herd of Renown, oftentimes against their will and most importantly, I have found a place where my particular brand of madness has been widely accepted. My evolution of mixing has been reminiscent of the ancient lung-fish that first crawled out from the ocean and took up a land-dwelling livestyle.

Hopefully, by my two year anniversary at TapeGerm my particular style of mixing will have evolved to the level of apes dropping out of the trees to discover opposable thumbs have more use than just squishing fruit against your palms.

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New Direction for the Z Mann

Thanks to everyone who supplied the loops and inspiration for my last three series of mixes. A few weeks ago I mentioned something that I was going to do, but that I was leaving it as a surprise. Now is the time to say that that secret thing is my next enterprise on TG.

Here is what the Germanians can do to help. I want to chop up various finished mixes by nearly everybody on here that I admire (which is about 99% of the Germanians) and use them in my own mixes. Rather than going through the whole long drawn out process of asking each one of you individually, I am asking you as a group. Drop me a note if you agree that it's cool for me to mangle your finished works, or if it's not cool. Either way, I want to know where I stand (figuratively speaking) BEFORE I use anyone's finished mixes on TG.

If you don't want me to mangle your works, I understand. I can take NO just as easily as I can take YES as an answer. I am not ready to step on anyone's toes, if you know what I mean.

Any mixes that I used will be credited fully by title and artist, including loops used in the originals.

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Too Much Creativity

I've got at least three things in mind for my next projects, and the Germanians will be able to hear them here first. First, I have found some written works of mine that should lend themselves nicely to a mixery project, much in the same vein as Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Center of the Earth. Second, I have decided to include Blind Mime as the next Germanian to add to my single artist experimentations, and third, well, let's leave the third one as a surprise.

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Breaking the Mold a Bit

I have a new baby in the house. One week ago, I picked up a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula. She's a pretty little thing, and so in her honor, I am going to put together a mix that will hopefully describe how I feel about my newest pet, and to express with sound the lifestyle of eight-legged creatures. Could be a whole new genre, music for invertebrates!

I will be using various loops from several different artists, and will of course give credit where credit is due. As for the Brave New World series, I have one more chapter to put up, and then I will be looking for a new artist to dissect.

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Remix of a remix of a mix, etc.

I was listening to my remix of Null MCs' Empty at work tonight (I have to play music my co-worker doesn't know, or she sings along, and that's just annoying) and decided that I may have to remix it again. So back to the drawing board. I'll keep the original up, just because some people liked it. I am one of those types that is never quite satisfied. In a few days or weeks, I am going to probably delete my monster and zombie tracks, (the ones at the bottom of my page) but they will still be available for people to download until then. I need to make more room for the plethora of new mixes I will be posting soon.

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A Step Up

I have recently begun to use the open loops of Herr Dave Fugelwicz, in which I create mixes using ONLY his loops, and some bits taken from his previous mixes. This will be a long process, because as I listen to his mixes, the idea of chopping out small pieces to use to make my own odd mixes feels almost like using a can of spray paint to 'tag' the works of art in the Louvre.

It feels almost sacrilegious.

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C. Goff III, the Z Man will see you now.

Thanks to Herr Buzzsaw and his incredibly diverse mixes and loops, I had fun creating those ten musical pieces from his spectacular work.

While you may wish to think that my mixes were the product of my own skill, I would have to disagree with you. Those mixes turned out so well only because of the material I was given to work with. Without the utter genius of Buzzsaw's incredible mixes and loops, none of this would have been possible. Everyone reading this, please do me a favor, go to Buzzsaw's page and give his mixes a listen, especially the one entitled 'Pour Maman, Pomme du Monde" about halfway down his page. There, in that song, is the true genius of my mixes. Thank you Buzz for the honor of using your loops and songs to have a bit of fun.

And welcome back from that crazy alien planet, I knew they'd never keep you there.

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Scattered to the Winds

The new single person loop project will star Mr. Buzzsaw, and his innumerable Shavings. Gather up your favorite ear goggles, I am ready to give Herr Buzzsaw the Royal ZM Treatment.

May God have mercy on his immortal soul, because I am going to be ruthless with his loops.

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Single Player Group Fun

I have embarked on a new quest, and with it, comes the thrill of making surreal mixes from the loops of single artists. While I am busy with the loops of Master Gluck, I have plans for other artists in the future. Master Buzzsaw and his Shavings are in the future queue, and should anyone else like to join this odd quest for the Holy Grail of Germania, feel free to let me know.

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One Trick Pony, er I mean Zebra

Thanks to the kind words on my recent mix using the loops of a single artist, I have decided to try and do a new song using only the loops of one artist at a time. Yeah, that should make it pretty interesting, especially since there are so many great loop artists at Germania.

My most recent mix was made using a few select loops from the artist whose name is often censored. =)

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More Horror to Come

The piece entitled Attack of the Shadows has ground to a halt. So I am going in a different direction. One I have yet to try in audio. I am working on a piece called Ghostly Landscape. Whether it is a haunted abode or simply a haunted area, I haven't figured out yet. The trick is making the music sound like ghosts and wind and creaking doors without actually using those particular sound waves.

I have the first two minutes done, and as soon as I get enough of the piece to my liking, I will post it. Thanks to Dataho' for the new loops, they are working quite well on this piece.

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More Monsters to Come

While the LOTZ series of mixes has come to an end, there are still more stories of musical horror to follow. Thanks to a recent conversation with Herr Buzz, a new concept is germinating in my disturbed and febrile mind. Just an idea, but what if that loyal companion one finds on a sunny day; your shadow, isn't so loyal after all? What if that dark figure cast by your place in the sun secretly seeks to harm you?

The next horror mix series to appear on my page will be entitled Attack of the Shadows. You have been warned.

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