from the cortex

Penetrating the darkness amidst a spiritually desperate mainstream music industry are a hidden few bright patches of light that offer more than an expansive view of things to come. It is a universe unseen by most, but brewing with all the fervor of a coming storm. And it won't be long before the tachyon-infused barrage of sound and light envelops us all.

Hailing from the very nearby Los Angeles, warriors like Taylor Shechet have taken the battle to the streets in bursts of fantastical-classical, post-otaku wonderful the likes none have ever seen or heard. Aside from his astonishing work for local projects such as RoMak & The Space Pirates, his latest incarnation is the ambitious multi-media creature known only as NVR-NDR.

So grab your guns, slap on your best pizza skirt, and prepare for revelation, boys & girls!

W: Alright then, let's just start by thanking you so much for offering me a chance to sift through the wonder so-to-speak in what'll hopefully give many a chance to share in the possibilities laid forth in this wild dimension you've been tinkering with. I've played with the possibilities inherent in electronics for years, but this truly ups the ante for originality.


[tlr]: Thank you so much for your time, interest and compliments. ^_^  Finding people with similar interests is what keeps me going!


W:So let's bring it on! Now I've been following up with your updates, and witnessing a great deal of these amazing concepts forming in near-real-time on your blog. About how much of NVR-NDR is fully formed as a concept, versus what is evolving?


[tlr]: Well... I've been working on this project since 2005!  I actually have a post on my old myspace blog describing the beginnings of the project.

(Ed.from his MySpace post..)
Saturday, October 15, 2005
   
Whooo HOOO!
The song titled intro is for a new project I'm doing... which is basically a imaginary musical!  Intro is the main character, Pyroid walking around his lab, activating a inter-dimensional rift, and then meeting a great warrior.  Obviously, its a work in progress but when its finished it shall be awesome.

As you can see, the project has evolved a lot since then.  I have made about 3 half finished albums while figuring out what I "really want to do".  I still plan on finishing them someday.  I think that my concept of what NVR-NDR should be is pretty crystallized now, but I am still coming up with new twists in the process of actualizing it.


W: I know that your influences come from a wild array of sources. Some of them familiar to many of us in various geek pools. Any specific mental seeds you can share with me? Very curious as to these.


[tlr]: When I was a kid, I lived kind of out in the middle of nowhere, and I was homeschooled...  I've been into anime as long as I can remember, my first anime was Robotech: Macross and it will always hold a special place in my heart.  My piano teacher when I was 8 years old got me into drawing giant robots and I started getting into Mechwarrior, Heavy Gear, and other mecha related stuff.  I wanted to make video games like my piano teacher (he worked for a few small video game companies and now works as a art director at Rockstar Games), and I started a "videogame company" with my friends. At the time, I wasn't much into rock music, I mostly listened to movie soundtracks, midis of video game music, and Broadway stuff.  As I got more and more into anime, I started to love anime theme songs, especially the Japanese Dragon Ball Z and Gundam opening songs.  I burned them to a CD that I took with me to karate every night.  When I got access to the internet at around age 12, I started to get into mainstream American music like Blink 182 and Korn because of amateur "anime music videos".  I soon discovered the band "MUSE" which was, ironically, my inspiration to start writing music.

Major inspirations for the aesthetic of NVR-NDR include Megaman X, Xenogears, and Final Fantasy VII.  The storyline is inspired by my own imagination and observations of reality, as well as a lot of science fiction, theoretical physics and psycho-analysis of what makes videogames and fantasy so satisfying.  Musically, I draw a lot of influence from:

Progressive Fantasy Metal: Ayreon, Luca Turilli and Chronicles of Israfel

Eurobeat and J-pop: Think the Initial D soundtrack, DDR, TM Revolution, Ayumi Hamasaki

Happy Hardcore: S3RL, Orbit1, Dune

New Age/Spazzcore/Uber-producer genre (it doesn't really have a name): Captain Ahab, The Tleilaxu Music Machine, Baseck, Johan Ess

[ed. No real reason to condense such a wildly diverse list!]


W: The drugs...they own..For me, I blame Yamato & Johnny Soko for those free tastes, and then Robotech was the black tar heroin to finally do me in. But a large shift between our approaches seems to be that a lot of your work stems from more heroic legend type of material. A sort of exaggerated journey through realms of alpha & omega. Am I far off in this?


[tlr]: You have hit the nail dead on the head, that is exactly what it is.  Every life seems like a sort of weirdly disguised heroic adventure does it not?


W: It's almost as if Joseph Campbell's thoughts on the "Hero's Journey" echoes deeply within many successful video games, tales & franchises. It's almost as if NVR-NDR can be seen as a new means of exploring these ideas starting with the "call to action" to "attainment of the feminine" Do you see NVR-NDR as a extension of your likes? Or is there something more?


[tlr]: NVR-NDR definitely reflects a lot of stuff that I like, and its also definitely more than that.  I saw similarities in a several unrelated genre's of music and subcultures and seek to combine them, to show people that metalheads and ravers are the same, that its okay to like eurobeat and anime, that happy hardcore IS HARDCORE and to encourage people to just BE THEMSELVES to the maximum extent possible.  At the same time I am seeking to create my own reality in as solid a way as I possibly can.  Reject mediocre realities and make your own!


W: One would think that with cultural barriers breaking down all over thanks to years of internet proliferation, more would be willing to touch beyond the safe and familiar. Mutation is inevitable!


[tlr]: Indeed.  The last few years have seen the birth of a zillion meta-genres.  Its almost impossible to accurately classify new music these days because every (good) artist is their own genre.  I hope to see more crossover between music and other forms of entertainment, like videogames and social networking...  Bands are becoming entertainment brands, instead of just a group of performers.


W: It slips beyond the grasp of merely five sections at a local record store. One could easily cry foul and cower in fear, or grasp the infinite possibilities. I'd so love to see a mythology where the viewer/listener becomes an active participant. In some ways that reminds me of the whole Vocaloid movement where the tools are given to the people, and shared in a continuous cycle. Entire albums created by empowered fans. Would you consider this to be in a similar realm?


[tlr]: Sure.


W: That said, how much do you see the old influencing the new? About how far back does NVR-NDR go to gather its foundation?


[tlr]: I'd say about the dawn of western music.  Especially since fantasy metal is often "neo-classical".  We stand on the shoulders of giants, especially in music!  Because without context, you have nothing but noise.


W: Okay, that said...What is your oldest weapon of choice in terms of gear? Or perhaps something from another generation you'd like to tackle in the future?


[tlr]: Well.  The only gear I use is Reason 3.  Which is a bit of a antique of itself these days!  I write all my songs entirely in Reason 3, then send them to the Illuminist who records guitar on a digital recording box he has.  He then sends guitar tracks back to me, and I slice up the guitar and incorporate it as samples into Reason.  Then when I am finished with the songs I record vocals in Logic.  I have to get help mixing stuff because my computer isn't fast enough to handle mixing multiple audio tracks well.  My songs usually have a lot of tracks, and I have a Mac Powerbook G4.  Its still a lot better than what I was using before, which was a Compaq Armada running Windows 95!

As for stuff from another generation... I am working a cover of a song from Robotech.  I plan on doing a lot of covers of anime and videogame tunes, and since most of my tastes in that realm are more old school, I suspect I'll be referencing a lot of late 70's to early 90's sounds/pop culture.  I particularly love the sound of the fake guitar in Super Nintendo games, its a sound I hope to master.


W: Oh that whole patchwork process sounds so familiar! ::laughs:: There is such cool to be found in the sounds of vintage j-pop/pre-digital culture. Game sound motifs & accents that definitely have potential in a modern rock context. I keep thinking the Konami sound!


[tlr]: I am also a big fan of the early 2000's J-pop sound, like TM Revolution and Nami Tamaki.  I work to incorporate some of that fearlessly over the top heart-felt feeling.


W: So how are things progressing with DJ Ono Sendai, and this Second Life set you've mentioned recently? Anything special planned for this?


[tlr]: Yeah its looking fantastic!  Ono-Sendai is a magic cyber witch.  She is 3d modeling my [tlr] character as my avatar (complete with pizza skirt) and I will fly about and shoot lazarz!  I love flying, and I love shooting lazarz so I really can't wait.  Another nifty "easter egg" we are working on: Floating virtual TV screens with footage from the live show last March.  People from all over the world can attend, which is another reason why a Second Life show is perfect for this project.  We will be filming a "how to get to the show" tutorial video soon and putting it on Youtube with a Japanese translation.  I hope lots of non-US citizens check it out! >.<


W: I can see a full-on narrative bursting from all of this. Aside from the pizza armor & lazerz, I'm really curious about the opposition.


[tlr]: Indeed, a full-on narrative exists, albeit only in my head and in concept sketches/notes. Opposition is fallen angels/souls, mutated versions of a similar "species" to the [tlr] character that became trapped in the never ender at some stage of development, bunny-ear winged robot guardians and a giant hand evil god thing, voice played by JOHAN ESS

W:3D! In yer faaaace!  I'm also aware of the possibility of an Anime Expo visit. Without spoiling too much, are we going strictly retro with vintage covers?

[tlr]: I'm open to all possibilities!  I am thinking about having a poll/contest or something to determine another anime song to cover.  We are almost definitely also covering a Ayumi Hamasaki track, since I have the NVR-NDR version about halfway done.

W: Dude. Seriously. Keep us in the know! Goodness knows I'll be watching/listening as the madness unfolds, collecting armor, weapons & snacks along the way.

[tlr]: Thanks!!!  I shall indeed continue posting regular updates of news, concept art, and music on my website,


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