#track32

Track 32 - Diversion (2001)

While collecting and curating the tracks for this series I have learned, and continue to learn a lot about what these tracks actually mean in terms of my personal life journey. Sure, I create them, but for the most part once they are created I movedon to other things and don't look back. While always a bit of a special track (to me) I understand now why it has a the deep meaning that it does.

This track, entitled 'Diversion' was completed on September 18th 2001. A mere 7 days after the tragedy that was September 11th. Understanding that it was at this time that the track was completed lends to understanding it's wanting, it's yearning, it's contemplative stillness.

I was in NY at the time, not the city, but up in Westchester in Pelham. I had just been let go (along with 2/3 of the staff) from Organic Inc, and had just spent 2 years working about a block from the World Trade Center. The office I worked in was in the Woolworth building, and I could clearly see the Twin Towers from my desk. Everyday I would look at them while coding the first Bloomingdales e-com site. The towers held a very special place in my heart. They were the first buildings I ever set foot in the first time I visited NYC. Which was in 1977, when I was 6. I had been in love with those buildings ever since that day.

September 11th was a beautiful day -- blue skies, and crisp air. A perfect fall day in NYC. From my bedroom window in Pelham I could see the smoke plumes rising above NYC after the attack. I knew what had happened -- the towers had been hit. They hadn't fallen when I got up, but they did shortly after. It was all over the TV. My family was calling to see if I was ok. My father had spent 20 years working in the Trade Center. I was, as were many many many NYers, devastated. Indeed, I needed a diversion. I needed something to help me get past the pain, and the thing that helped was making this track.

I did not include this track on the 2003 Type Records 'September' release. At the time I thought it was too saccharine, too melodic, too emotional. Now I understand why it was all of those things.

All done completely in-the-box, with either Cubase -- or more likely, Digital Performer. I am sure that I was using Steinberg's Halion as the sampler. I had purchased it to replace the ailing (and 512k of memory) s-550 I had been using for like 10 years. It was a huge deal (buying a software sampler to replace a hardware one), and I was finally able to use the large 5-10 meg samples I had been creating for a long time.

A lot of the tunes done back then were a hodge-podge of midi programming, sound file playback, off-line destructive editing in Peak, Hyperprism, Sound Hack, Marcohack, MacPOD, and a variety of other stand-alone sound design softwares. This one is no exception.