ARCANE DESIGNS

Arcane Designs is the sister album to In a Valley of Gilded Shame. So it similarly explores ambient and drone almost exclusively, with the exception of opener "Mono Lake" which features a simple bongo rhythm. It's perhaps slightly denser than Valley with longer tracks and a cleaner, more austere approach. A very small, limited CD-R run of the LP has been made available if anyone is interested.

DOWNLOAD:
ARCANE DESIGNS (LP)

IN A VALLEY OF GILDED SHAME

In a Valley of Gilded Shame is an LP I just completed that I basically made in preparation for the impending release of Arcane Designs, a rather ambitious LP that I finished about a month ago. They are essentially sister albums, this one being shorter, with a major focus on ambient and drone, styles that I've never been a stranger to but while my previous work tends to flip-flop between atmosphere and structure, these albums are almost pure ambient. In a Valley of Gilded Shame opens with a drone song trilogy of sorts that was recorded onto tape, while the rest of the tracks were recorded digitally. I sample and loop a great deal of myself playing and my own instruments for many of the tracks here, including the occasional drum or beat for the last few songs, sort of breaking the "pure" ambient nature of the rest of the LP. Stay tuned for the release of Arcane Designs as well. I also plan on making physical copies of both these albums available (with color artwork!).

DOWNLOAD:
IN A VALLEY OF GILDED SHAME

In a Valley of Gilded Shame track list:

01. I Wish I Were Going Home/Orchids/Ceremonial Headdress
02. Soft Death
03. Impossibly Devoted
04. Midnight Paranoia 2
05. Evening Redness
06. Rolling Valleys
07. The Silver Palace of Invisible Girls
08. Shadow & Shade
09. Fading Day

CRIMSON AND CRYSTAL

"Crimson and Crystal" is a single track release that I recorded the other day that indulges in an extended intro and outro but the meat of the song revolves around a repetitive throbbing bass line, sprinkled with atmospheric guitar bits. I've really wanted to post something on the site since it's been a few months but my computer breaking down a couple months ago has really put a damper on recording and releasing material. I still haven't fixed my computer (I'm broke) but luckily with other computers in the house I've recently finished an LP and nearly another one as well. Hope to post those soon.

DOWNLOAD:
CRIMSON AND CRYSTAL (SINGLE)

JESUS FREAKS

Jesus Freaks is an LP completed a few months ago that further explores the religious and sacrilegious preoccupations that the "icon" portion of my Neon Icon moniker was more-or-less intended to evoke. Raised in the Catholic Church, I am naturally quite fascinated by the mythology and meanings of Catholic and Christian culture. As for the sound of the album, the tracks don't stray too far from the ambient/psych-rock/pseudo-industrial texture and mood that I have been exploring for quite some time now, as usually samples or loops will swirl and explode with tribal beats and eventually sputter out into blissed-out drones.

Jesus Freaks track list:

01. Thee Sacrilege ov Thine Wicked Heart
02. Ignorant Sun
03. Night of the Long Knives
04. A Spectre of Destiny in the Eye of Ra
05. The Martyrium of Hippolytus
06. Ancient Offering
07. The Angelic Conversation
08. To Dismember an Evil Child
09. Blood of a Heathen

DOWNLOAD:
JESUS FREAKS (LP)

WHERE THE BLACKBIRDS GATHER

Where the Blackbirds Gather is a two track LP, recorded around May 2010, in which I attempt to explore minimalist drones and loops in the most elongated form I have tried thus far. Inspired by Nurse With Wound and, of course, Current 93, I used treated keyboard loops and other samples (including a recording from a Hawaiian Catholic mass that I recorded) to create these two extensive and minimalist pieces.

Where the Blackbirds Gather track list:

01. Where the Blackbirds Gather
02. Where the Blackbirds Roam

DOWNLOAD:
WHERE THE BLACKBIRDS GATHER (LP)

GEMINI MOON

Gemini Moon is an LP of recently recorded material, most of which was recorded in late March to early April. Overall, the tone of the album is fairly consistent with a lot of my other recent albums such as Satanic Dreams of the Pale Star and Jesus Freaks, two albums I have yet to post on this site. So basically, it has a lot of dense drone, atmosphere, and the occasional dance or tribal beat. Enjoy!

Gemini Moon track list:

01. Casting of a Wicked Shadow
02. Chicken Hawk
03. Flame Mountain Purification
04. A Most Excellent Charm Against the Hordes of Devils that Assail in the Night
05. Dingir Xul
06. Sick
07. June 1984
08. The Green Morning
09. Gemini Moon

DOWNLOAD:
GEMINI MOON (LP)

NEON ICON?

With the current influx of "Neon"-related monikers among today's musicians (Neon Blonde, Neon Trees, etc.), I've become slightly tiresome with the pseudonym that I created, especially now that Neon Indian has blown up as a pioneer of low-fi chill wave. But I have no real intentions on changing my project's name... I just wanted to express mild frustration.