#paws menu

inspired by the work of Yiannis Moralis and Moon Mysticism. A collaboration between Michael Berto and Joost Eggermont.

If a video game is a novel, then MOONCHARMER is a poem.

MOONCHARMER is an interactive, visual moment. It is also a collection of songs, writings and sketches, all under the wing of MOONCHARMER.

There is no wrong way to interact with MOONCHARMER and if you so choose, once you begin, MOONCHARMER will play itself. MOONCHARMER is the story of Moralia Mooncharmer. MOONCHARMER can be experienced over about five minutes. MOONCHARMER is released on the final full moon of the decade.

Joost Eggermont has supplied the art,  the code, the design and the inspiration. Michael Berto has supplied the design, writing and inspiration and their archetype Paws Menu has supplied the music.  Mooncharmer EP art is courtesey of a collaboration with Bruno Penabranca.

All proceeds from purchases of MOONCHARMER will go directly to supporting the developers. However, for every copy of MOONCHARMER sold until the first full moon of the coming decade, we will plant a tree on the Earth.

How would you describe Old Nepal, and what does this project mean to you?

I would describe Old Nepal as a flower that grows in the high peaks of Everest, or perhaps the little songs that little insects that live inside lava tunnels at the bottom of the ocean listen to. Basically, it’s just some very nice music I made during the time that Spring turned into Summer.

It means a great deal to me, it is perhaps the most succinct musical mood I have strung together into a record to date. Perhaps being the imperative, but it feels like it.

What was different about making Old Nepal, compared to making your past projects?

There is certainly much more piano in it. More of a focus to let the electronic instruments create a landscape, and let the piano do more of the dancing. Actually, it's probably the art that’s most different. I think it’s the first Paws Menu record that wasn't made for someone else’s project to not have it's art done by me. Yes - let’s talk about the art. I usually like to do it myself. Grimes once said something about the importance of her work all being done by herself. And those words meant a lot to me, it's how I operate personally.

There was an image, a very specific image that I had in my head that I wanted for the record. I had also been perusing the work of PeachyRoyalty - a digital artist who I thought had such a soft way of working with colour. Eventually, the idea and the image I had in my head and PeachyRoyalty's artstyle just kind of blobbed together like custard and cake, and I couldn't separate it from the music. So, I didn't do that art and it was a real deep and happy collaboration.

Is there anything on Old Nepal that stands out to you as a particularly proud moment/accomplishment?

Yes. That is exists at all. It didn't exist in February, or in August, but it does today, in it's little package all tied up with a bow.

What do you think is the biggest element of Old Nepal that can be found in your older works, and why has it made its way there?

Silent Narrative, most prominently. Everything released as Paws Menu has its own internal story, sometimes it's more apparent than other times, like with Stonesinger. It has its own little short story attached to the album when you download it. A short fantasy quest inspired by watching long live streams of Dungeons and Dragons, as well as fantasy in general. But Old Nepal's story is more personal, and more poetic. But it's there, just like in every other Paws Menu record, it's just using the language of sound and not the little pictures we call letters.

Musically, I'm not sure. Every project is always something new, y’know? Old Nepal is made-up of new elements to me, compositionally, but I guess 'Me' is the answer? It was made by me, I am the brush that made all the other ones too.

Old Nepal features a short poem of it’s own attached to the project. His projects have often included poems, stories and quotes in the past, each with varying length.

“the biggest liar in old nepal

making wattleflower tea

children bring their toys to the temple

and throw them from the wall”

In the past, poetry and writing have been an accompaniment to your works. How did this come about, and what does it mean to you?

How did it come about? It's that thing about silent narrative. I try not to say "secret" narrative because it’s not a secret, it’s all there, it's just silent. Just because someone is speaking a different language, doesn't mean they aren't conveying meaning to whoever they're talking to... But it came about because, I guess because I identify as a writer, first and foremost. Which sounds odd, because I've only ever self-published little things out there on the internet, and the volume of my front facing artistic output is music. I write a lot, poems mostly recently, but long-form prose fiction is my jam.

There came a point where the music was taking up more and more time, tinkering, playing and all that, and I found that ideas that would flow like rivers from the other stuff I do, watch, read, listen to, eat, cook, all that stuff was beginning to inform the music more. Like the way it might inform a subject for a poem, of something my characters might muse about in a story. So, I decided to feed the gentle beast of the music more and more, dedicating records to a story idea, letting the music tell it instead of writing it.

Mostly, I think it just means that a record doesn't just have to be a shiny CD, like I think most people think an album is. Especially everything of mine being 99% digital, it’s a download, and if it's a download, it doesn't just have to be the music. It can be art, and it can be stories and poems too. It just makes the whole thing feel fuller and more of a gift to those who seek it out. Bandcamp are pretty good with this, in fact it’s almost like they encourage "extras" which I like.

Old Nepal, the name itself, came from a poem I wrote around the time I wrote the piano for "Galahad", so that poem will be included on the page when you download it. And some extra artwork in big sexy resolutions will be available with the download, makes a pretty cool wallpaper honestly. I wanted the artist to do prints, but they're from Slovenia and it would be super expensive. I still want one, though.

Paws Menu has been involved with a variety of Game Jam soundtracks, including projects such as Friary Road with Humble Grove and Wellma by Plastic Tree.

You’ve done a lot of work with independent/Game Jam soundtracks, how have those experiences shaped your other productions? Has anything else greatly influenced your work?

I wouldn't say that I've done "a lot" of game work, but what I have done has been incredibly fulfilling. I just had to, you know? I love video games, and naturally I've dabbled in little experiments of interactive software myself over the years, but I felt I really wanted to get in on the audio side. Let people who really had a grasp on Coding and Visual Art to do their thing, and let me write some dialogue or do the music.

I think this desire began shaping my music before working on games or game jams, like if you’ve seen that show The Knick? About the hospital and Clive Owen’s character who really likes Liquid Cocaine. It’s really a great show, I truly besmirch its greatness by referring to it so off-handedly, it's just masterful storytelling. Each character is their own world, it's like the story of medicine before the internet, and even though it takes place at the turn of the century it really made me feel the importance of the study of medicine, with the internet being so very young. I can't imagine the sharing of information was any more revolutionised than what is shown, and the experiments being done, it's really a great show.

Also, need to remind myself it isn't a documentary. But it is certainly dripping with truth. i really love that show. And when I was watching that show something that would just hit me like a brick was the soundtrack, it's incredible.! A show where, in the fiction and at the time, electricity was a skeptical luxury, there is this ominous minimalistic electronic score that underpins all the dramatic scenes and atmospheres.

It was an almost religious experience watching that show. The dissonance and the juxtaposition of concept, visual, sound, character, old and new. It was just immensely inspiring, and it was because of this inspiration I thought "Gosh dang, I really wish I could have made that soundtrack." So I kind of did that? I did a whole record as minimal as minimal could be, low droned tones and single sequencers just looping washing back and forth.

I did a record called "Cielarko" for season one and then when season two was airing I was again, swept up in the whole magnificence of the show as a package, and I did another one the following year called "Vizago". This is another example of hidden narrative. I never explicitly state these records are for a television show about turn of the century medicine, but they are. I have my own Season 1 and Season 2 OST's, in case inter-dimensional travel gets figured out, I'll have them sorted on the other side. In a very specific, musical and narrative way, at least.

But ultimately, I don't personally approach making music for a game any different that I would making a personal record. It all comes out in the process. That being said, you kind of have to approach it differently. There are certain logistical technicalities that I need to take into consideration when composing for someone or some other medium. And that’s really fun, I like to make everyone happy. I would ideally like to nail it first time I send through my initial work, but i'm just as happy when I have to shorten something or play to a moving image, it's all quite enjoyable.

For the most part though, I've worked with people who know what they're doing most of the time, so it makes my job a little easier. I recently did the music for a really wonderful game called Friary Road by Humble Grove out of England/Japan. That was really a treat, I basically had their game without sound and was so inspired by it I composed music for where I thought there should me music, and they put it in there without me having to do anything.

But yes, emotionally and inspiration wise, each time I'm making music is always changing and always it's own unique process of creativity and inspiration, and back and forth.

All but one of Paws Menu’s projects have been released independently. He released ‘patch’ with Pink Dolphin Music earlier this year, his first release with a label.

Almost all of your work has been released independently, has your time in the music industry treated you well?

If you're talking about the EP release being my experience with the music industry? Then its been okay. I don't like not having control over my work, though, you know? I like doing it myself too much. But it hasn't been negative at all! Rich at Pink Dolphin is a real communicative guy, a nice guy. He really champions the artists he works with, so I like that part of it. But still, it feels better when I can do it myself, releasing and all that. Which I'm okay with for now. You should do what's best for you.

In all other cases, I do not see myself in the music industry. I see myself as someone who released their art over the internet.

Who/what are some of the biggest influences on this project?

This is my favourite question. Imagine my influences are fruits, and I'm the blender, and you throw them all in, and blend em up, and pour the good stuff into a glass and that’s Old Nepal. A Delicious Smoothie!

So, what were the ingredients to Old Nepal? Radiohead, just as a concept. I love them. And more directly, I watched an interview with Thom Yorke on Neil Young while I was making the record, and he talked about how Neil Young favours this wonky piano in his house. It’s kind of lopsided, and he writes all his stuff on it apparently. Well, I had found my own wonky piano, quite literally a wonky piano (albeit mine was a virtual instrument) and it's all i've been playing in my setup as a piano. No other piano sounds better than my wonky piano. It's warped, its washed out and not crisp at all, unless you get up in the high to the right. So, I think I get it, in my own little naive way, what the right sound can do for composition. What else?

Well, it's getting very hot indeed in Australia, so, the ice cubes in the smoothie would be me watching youtube videos and documentaries and TV about nordic countries and european winters, my dream climate. Even though the art for Old Nepal is snowy peaks, the interest in the north is pure coincidence. My mum just bought me a wok and it’s very big, cooking with it is like trying to wrestle a squirrel into a box, but that’s pretty rewarding when you have lots of bok choy and sesame oil to eat at the end of the ordeal. I would say bok choy has been a pretty crucial influence the last few months.

Also, I am listening to a lot of early Brian Eno. I think his gentleness in his Ambient works really help calm down my soul, and allowed me to make something softer and tidal. A friend of mine recently has been really diving into ambient music actually, the same person who provides the vocal slices for 'Slow Life' and 'Mobile Disco' from the record.

Recently have discovered the works of Werner Herzog, after only being aware of him as a director, but I watched something and was completely captivated by his means of storytelling, mainly his documentaries. His honest curiosity and curious honesty has been pretty influential on me.

I keep putting off talking about video games, but that would be silly of me to omit them. Overwatch is really great, isn't it? Really enjoyed Dishonored 2 recently, from the tail end of production on Old Nepal it's been an absolute joy to play. I feel like I'm going to make a mid-1800's Witch-Life inspired record in my immediate future. I see it in my future.

Kentucky Route Zero Ep IV came out earlier but I love KRZ as a piece of art, so I think I should mention it as it basically a part of my life now, like an absent lover. I mean, I could go on about videogames being influential all day, Hitman was really great, Inside was phenomenal, Dark Souls, re-played Bioshock this year (which actually inspired the ideas that went into the "Radio Silence" game I was a part of this year). Everything I seem to play is a vast realm of ideas and concepts to play with.

In the same vein, the work of Katie Rose Pipkin and Loren Schmidt has been like a bolt of creative light in my life. I discovered them through twitter, they're very open with sharing little tidbits of their projects, it’s alway really great to check out. Their work was kind of the catalyst to a bunch of small little p5.js sketches I made for my website (they're still there, they're the "Nebulas" at the bottom of the page.) that made their way into full pieces for Old Nepal. But even outside the project, I think their work is just really important, for artists.

To be completely honest, working out every morning, drinking lots of water, talking to Canadians, these things are wellsprings of positive energy and every day I do these three things consistently, and then I write some music and then when the songs were all strung up next to each other, they became Old Nepal.

Is there anything else you want listeners to know when they hear this project?

Yes, if anyone knows anyone who works at and/or with Bronze Format, please give me someone in charge to talk to because I really want to make a record with that technology. They're frustratingly mysterious. Also, I hope you like the record! or if you don't, that you really hate it, like with a fiery passion. And that it makes you feel something.

Also, that if they read any of the above, that the silent narrative to Old Nepal is the kind you would find in a long letter to someone sent through the post 200 years ago, across oceans and through time.

Paws Menu can be found on Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Twitter.

The new collection of songs is complete with wonky piano, vocal loops, ambient soundscapes, electronic ball gowns, digital snowfall, electric beaches, clockwork silences, basketballs in the mountains, aural love letters and variable genre.

I hope very much that you enjoy your time in Old Nepal. Available to stream and download @ bandcamp and spotify and itunes 

I had a dream last night  that I lived an entire life in a crystal terrarium that was endlessly floating through space with purple ground, and a little white house and everything was filed with water I was a mermaid, or a merman, or whatever, and I had little pet dogs who were also plants but also fish everything was weightless I wasn’t listening to any music, I hadn’t fallen asleep to a bad sci fi movie but there was an unmistakable music sound that just kept looping the little sphere that kept me passed by some gorgeous exploding stars nebula seas the overwhelming sense of weightlessness was very heavy

I had a record player and everything that played from it just made this noise, like when you held a sea shell up to your ear as a kid specifically the sound you hear when you are a child and every time a record would start spinning, the musical sound would stop, I looked at my pet dogfish as if to say “Oh no, someone closed the blinds” or “Oh, we must be passing through the shade of another moon” I had only four records, but the covers were warped, it looked like Sgt Peppers and Meddle by Pink Floyd in one cover if you could imagine such a thing

The grass and the one little tree in my terrarium was a soft purple almost grey or a light orange

I just kept… floating around. I was watching the terrarium and myself float around in the little crystal sphere like I was directing and shooting an oscar winning film. Beautiful explosive colourful spacescapes of stars and rivers of light danced around me, it was truly beautiful.