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Semaphore

by whatever penny

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1.
refresh reload repeat refresh reload refocus i’m growing tired of all this convenience and how these roadsign signposts mark the years and miles down why don’t they measure up to much? rings around your eyes come alive for you don’t make me leave ‘cause i love it here glowing glowing everywhere anesthetize me electric light it floats and courses all around i can feel vibrations pulsing i’m so plugged in i don’t need anybody else why would i want to change? hours on end we hide from the life outside recede away inside yourself i can’t just shut it off but i can’t let it go disappear into screens what’s in the reflection? and what is me? i have myself to blame i’m sure for getting stuck here in this feedback life
2.
frame it with 2 hands and 4 fingers imagine what we could be this didn’t turn out quite like i had planned if only you’d just look up this message won’t be received by you you bury yourself down into the depths beyond quite ordinary so this is me signing off and it’s all too familiar that feeling i get i’m grasping for your attention and it just goes unnoticed i’m gonna throw it all away until you notice i’m gonna throw it all away we wanted this we wanted this for ourselves we wanted this we wanted this for ourselves think of it like a math equation we’re working on finding unknowns that look in the eye or missing smile the signs that that don’t always add up the more we learn oh the less we like that’s where the heart of these problems lie please don’t let this one go undone now so this is me signing off and it’s all too familiar that feeling i get i’m grasping for your attention and it just goes unnoticed i’m gonna throw it all away until you notice i’m gonna throw it all away
3.
stuck 04:20
had a dream about leaving town woke up and it was gone some day you never wake up some days you just don't want to these things they take away from you steal the light right from your eye and if the best revenge is living well i'm not sure it's working out i laid down and the days went by no compass for this isolation let's drown out the world in these headphones but not the voice between your ears saying "you are what you repeatedly do" i don't know how to leave those days upon the table these things they take away from you steal the light right from your eye and if the best revenge is living well i'm not sure it's working out i'm not sure it's working out i'm not sure it's working out i'm not sure it's working out
4.
i haven’t seen in you in years all that’s left are images torn out pictures from a magazine ripped away too soon we both know nothing lasts there was much more left to say one score plus four is not enough time to see this through the signal’s still coming through part of me is part of you i don’t want to let you go but i’ll never really have to your signal’s still coming through part of me is part you all of yesterday’s parties will always have you at them we both know it to be true all the past remains the past it’s all that’s left of what you did you’re just someone else’s photos now the signal’s still coming through part of me is part of you i don’t want to let you go but i’ll never really have to your signal’s still coming through part of me is part you all of yesterday’s parties will always have you at them your signal’s still coming through it’s all that remains it’s all that remains your signal’s still coming through it’s all that remains it’s all that remains the signal’s still coming through part of me is part of you i don’t want to let you go but i’ll never really have to your signal’s still coming through part of me is part you all of yesterday’s parties will always have you at them
5.
semaphore 04:22
signal loss and missing information coming through the line even when we’re constantly connected we’re hanging by a thread even when it isn’t all good you’ve always got your best face forward, forward can you even hear me if I don’t say it through a circuit, circuit I need, I need, I need you here with me don’t let me go, go and i’ll see i’ll see i’ll see this through with you down to the tone, tone I can sense your broadcast emanating further every day images appearing on the radar and drifting out away is there anybody out there are we boat anchors out at sea, sea? we’re taking on water — sinking before we even notice, notice I need, I need, I need you here with me don’t let me go, go and i’ll see i’ll see i’ll see this through with you down to the tone, tone no signal found no shore in sight grey on the horizon kilo, kilo fiber optic electric light how can’t you notice i’m on the ship deck positioning flags foxtrot, foxtrot
6.
hiraeth 04:36
it was the cold night air the dew was on the grass the sun it stung the houses on its way down when i knew it was time to say goodbye did you say it was fine? or did you say the sun would never set? it was the cold night air the dew was on the grass the sun it stung the houses on its way down when i knew it was time to say goodbye time stops on the street where you grew up but around it life goes on so one more swing and we’ll call it a night so one more swing and we’ll call it a night
7.
the march 03:34
i awoke and it was grey out the stillness of it made me notice it took a miracle to get here but still i awoke the system was down i was left alone with my thoughts outside when these outside thoughts come in i'll drown them out no longer let's keep our eyes ahead, ok? 21 days to make it nice these cracks on the sidewalk tell me i'm moving north each white stripe falls in line behind me i'm moving north and drying out it's ok that the light's gone out it's ok that the screen's gone black restless limbs we hurl forward on the march let's keep our eyes ahead, ok? stitch by stitch step by step we hurl our restless limbs ahead it gets easier as you go along there was sun when i awoke
8.
trap us on a film and keep us there let us everything else just turn to rust put us in a frame that says to the future we will go there together and how these lights combine to show us all we had and what we could not find and how these stars align the sun goes ‘round and the days go by azul, azul carry me away take me beyond the bright long horizon and though sand gets in our hair salt gets in our eyes we’ll last forever we’ll live on through photographs let the tide just wash us out let everything decay except for us static to buzz tiling to fuzz we will go there together and how these lights combine to show us all we had and what we could not find and how these stars align the sun goes ‘round and the days go by azul, azul carry me away take me beyond the bright long horizon and though sand gets in our hair salt gets in our eyes we’ll last forever we’ll live on through photographs

about

The full album of Semaphore takes a look at technology through the lens of addiction and communication. We’ve never been more advanced as a society, and yet so many problems exist from people still not being able to convey what they want. It’s never been easier to meet someone, but the constant access and second guessing can break a relationship in a way that wasn’t conceivable twenty years ago. Relationships end, people die, and yet these fascinating legacies remain for a while. The irony of this modern convenience and instant access is that we feel trapped and spend hours doing the same repetitive habits. It’s amazing how quickly people feel happier when they liberate themselves from this technology. This album focuses on the allure, addiction, and consequences of these things, culminating in an attempt to break free of the digital feedback loop into the natural, giant world.

Semaphore’s first half leans heavily on synths and mixed meter time signatures— creating an artificial and unnatural feel. “Until You Notice” is the second track off of Semaphore, and focuses on one person’s optimism in a relationship falling apart. “Yesterday’s Parties” touches on the loss of a friend, but how a digital footprint can remain. As the album progresses, the weird time signatures and digital instruments melt away towards a more organic and open-ended sound. “Azul” is the conclusion of escaping the over-reliance on technology and noting how it’s much easier to become a more permanent person without the ephemeral distractions of modern conveniences. An album that begins with the sound of dissonant machines powering on is bookended with an ending that is just piano and tape, evoking an Explosions in the Sky post-rock quality.

credits

released October 20, 2017

music & lyrics by eric sturr and tim segado
artwork by adam recktenwald
photo by priscaël gauvin

recorded at segado audio fall 2016 (stratford, NJ)
mixed & mastered at segado audio (stratford, NJ)

special thanks to our wives rachel and kat for listening to the same 8 songs evolve for the last 3 years

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whatever penny

new ep "totality"
coming 4.3.24

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