1. After Burner


    This song was always sort of the odd man out. I wrote it along with the other songs from the “Late Night Drive” EP but Binary and I felt that it didn’t quite fit on the album. With its intro, it needed to be at the beginning or end of the album but both those spots were already taken. I decided to hold it till the next album, but after writing more songs, it became apparent that this song didn’t fit in with the new stuff.  Not wanting this song to be locked away in the vault forever, I came up with the idea of releasing the song for free as an epilogue to the EP. I feel like it’s a great way to finish off the release and promotion cycle for the Late Night Drive EP.

     Writing this song started out when long time Binary friend TNUC posted Mark Isham’s “Love on the Beach” which was part of the soundtrack for Point Break. I remember hearing the string arrangement and immediately wanting to sample it or remix it in some way. So I ripped the track and loaded it up and started slicing it. The initial part I wrote was pretty cool, but I hit a bit of a road block. A few days later, I was working on some tracks with my pal Zach AKA Small Pyramids and pulled up this track. We messed around with it a bit and Zach came up with a cool distorted synth base line that I really dug and started to expand on it. Once again we hit a road block and moved on to another song.

     A few days later, I came across the abandoned session and still really dug the bass lines Zach and I wrote. So, I decided to ditch all the sampled violins and write all new original synth parts over it. I came up with the 8 bit lead parts and with that alongside the distorted bass, I was immediately reminded of the old arcade game “After Burner” that I was obsessed with playing as a kid. I remember dumping many allowance dollars in that machine so I could feel like a real fighter pilot thanks to the motion enabled seat and realistic joystick. While I was writing this track, I could totally see it fitting as a perfect background for the game. So, before I even had any lyrics, I decided to name the song after the game that ended up inspiring it in a way.

     When it came time to pen the lyrics, I didn’t use any of the inspiration from the videogame, instead I drew upon a personal experience I was going through at the time. The lyrics are pretty much about being caught on the rebound by someone and not being able to really give them what they deserve. A bit of a cheesy premise and lyrics to match the 8-bit videogame feel of the song. I didn’t feel like I could have taken it too seriously given the nature of the instrumental.

     Once the song was done, it sat on my hard drive waiting for the rest of the EP to be done. Then one night out of boredom, I was going through a bunch of throwaway sessions and found the original beginning of this song with the sample from the Point Break soundtrack. I forgot how much I liked the sound of the violins mixed with the bass line and decided to start messing around with it. I liked what I was coming up with but wasn’t sure what I could do with it since the synth lines and sounds were already being used for After Burner. I then got the idea to make it an intro for the song and once I had that in mind, the rest came quite easily.

    So here it is, the epilogue and final entry in the “Late Night Drive” series. I hope you enjoy this and stay tuned for lots more music in the near future!

     

    Don’t know what to do, just spending time with you

    It helps to ease my mind, it helps to pass the time

    Don’t know where we’ll be when it’s all said and done

    Are you here for me, or just having fun?

    If it’s not worth the pain, then it’s not worth the pleasure

    One woman’s past, is another’s treasure

    Don’t look in my eyes when we say goodbye

    ‘Cause I don’t know if it’s gonna be the last time. 

     

    Just ‘cause I let you in it doesn’t mean you have my heart

    Just ‘cause I’m broken down it doesn’t mean you’ve got the part

    I know it’s just a lot of trouble to be part of me

    And if I’m not the one then go ahead and set me free


    After Burner (Single) by shortcircuitLA

    2. 1 year ago  Notes (41)