THE ART
I’ve always been fascinated with special effects in films. One of the greatest techniques that’s ever been used is to simply make a model, and that’s exactly what I decided to do for the cover of this single. I went to my local Home Depot, kinda-sorta pieced something together on the spot, came home, and made it happen. Some pictures of my prop robot coming together follow.

The Start! Coffee included!

Springy feet!

Arms!

Head!

Tanning!

Tanned!

Hanging out!!

BZZT? BZZT?

Photo shoot!

Annnd… the final product!

THE NAME
The name I chose for this one is Alien Robotics… Or Robotic Aliens (abbreviated, ARORA sounds better than RAOAR). I always enjoy naming instrumentals, because the simplicity of a name can say so much, much like a sutra. As for the meaning behind the name, I’d like to leave it pretty open to interpretation. But the one thing I will say is that I’m often interested in concepts that are widely discussed but never defined by consensus. Some examples would be God, love, and consciousness.

THE MUSIC

The music for this one is definitely more experimental. And I can’t say I’m really that surprised given how it was recorded. The summer of 2005 would find me in a hotel room in Lake Oswego, OR, for three days. I was determined to record an entire album’s worth of material in my time there. The drapes were closed, the lights were off, the A/C was blasting, and I was coming down with a serious case of cabin fever from a small room and the claustrophobia of headphones. The results sounded like someone losing their mind. Most of this song was recorded in that 3-day binge, but I did add some guitar, a touch of theremin, and some sound effects afterwards. The end result, in my opinion, is a track that is intense but somehow manages to have a quirky sense of humor. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope it makes you dance like a robot.

My music can be found for free on Spotify and right here. It’s also available on iTunes.