VOX REDUX

Vox, aka Michael Harlow, grew up in Santa Barbara, CA listening to tapes he made of the weekly midnight Space Pirate Radio shows. Every Sunday night in the late 70s, he'd prepare his tape deck so the first hour of Space Pirate Radio would fill his C120 cassette with the latest imported albums. He'd rarely stay up for the 4AM part of the show when the really spacey stuff aired, but everyone knew what Guy planned to unleash on their sleeping beachside town. His bizarre record collection wasn't appreciated by his college roommates, but he still has it 40 years later — because some of it can't be heard anywhere else.

He sent Guy a tape of his original recordings back in 1991. The goal was to get on SPR, but he was sad to learn in Guy's reply that the show was off the air. Thirty years later, Guy resurrected SPR to keep his 50-year streak alive — and played one of Michael's songs on the air. The excitement this sparked inspired him to write more songs that would fit the show's theme. He let the music grow around clips from the show, which made his instrumental pieces more compelling. His two-dimensional stereo tracks gain a dimension with voices from the show, and a further dimension by carefully weaving those voices into each song's melody. That wasn't enough — so he added a fifth dimension by remixing the songs in Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 surround, available on Amazon, Tidal, and Apple Music. Or hear the inspiration for this album by tuning into SPR on Twitch at noon PT on Saturdays or midnight on Sundays, and explore new musical realms.

The Studio

Loose Wire was written and recorded entirely in this room. The core rig is Ableton Live driving a 7.1.2 system of self-powered speakers — the same setup used to build and audition the Dolby Atmos mixes, so every spatial decision was made in the actual listening environment, not approximated on headphones.

Melodic and harmonic textures came from a Sequential Circuits REV-2 and a Roland A-88, with rhythm tracks performed on a Roland V-Drums kit. The analog warmth of the REV-2 sits at the heart of most of the arrangements, while the A-88 handled piano parts and an Ableton Push 3 provided real-time control.

Album art inspired by Randy Beckelheimer.