In Transit is an electronic album I composed while riding the NYC subway system. As my commute home is a long one, I thought it would be cool to use that time in a productive way so I looked into some mobile apps to compose with. Using apps such as NanoStudio, Alchemy and Sunrizer I was able to compose and record songs on my iphone similar to how I would on my home studio computer set-up. I really appreciate the evolution of technology!
Now lets get to the songs…
Into The Tunnel leads off the album and takes you into the journey with a quipping bass and influences from other cultures, representing the melting pot that is New York City and the diverse commuters of it’s subway system.
Canal Street was inspired by an asian man playing an Erhu in the Canal Street station. The track itself is reminiscent of a stroll in China Town on a bright day, while observing the busy markets and the scent of delicious cuisine.
Lefferts was inspired by Lefferts Blvd and it’s Indian culture. The track contains various plucked strings and Indian influences.
Wining The Empty Seat is the celebration of that joyous moment when you rush into a train with hoards of other people who, like you, are competing to get to the final empty seat. You size up your opponents on the platform and then the train comes into the station. The train stops, the doors open, and you’re off! You use wit, clever body manipulation, and speed to beat everyone else to the seat without looking like you were trying. You won the empty seat! Songs may not be sung about it, the news won’t report it, but deep inside you know you won a great victory! A calm excitement comes over you and you remember to smile on the inside only, as smiling on the outside might get you shot after defeating your fellow commuters.
Running Local is a song composed one of the times my Downtown A express train ran local because of “train traffic” or a “sick passenger” or “police activity”. The conductor will use a different excuse at each stop when in most cases they were not informed as to why the delay or reroute is occuring. Like the extra travel time, the song itself is subdued and drawn out, good for relaxation and keeping yourself from crawling in your skin when you realize you will now be home an hour later than expected.
eYah eYEAH was written for the times the local train goes express. It’s a feel-good kinda song.
Signal Problems at Jay Street is a common occurrence for delays on the A train. The station was originally called Jay Street/Borough Hall but renamed to Jay Street-Metro Tech when they converted it to a much needed transit hub. However when there are delays because of signal issues, they revert back to the name Jay Street/Borough Hall in their announcements and tweets to prevent the Metrotech name from being tarnished. True story.
NYeve, can be pronounced naive. It can mean two things really: New Years Eve which is when this song was written, or New York evening. It’s up to you. Either way, the song represents an exciting night in New York City.
Eyes Shut with Ears Alert – That’s how you “sleep” on the train. Ever see people asleep on the train but as soon as the train gets to their stop they wake up and get off the train? That’s how it’s done. No one should ever fall asleep on the subway train, ever. In fact it’s best to be alert at all times. However if you really need to relax, close your eyes but keep your ears open, don’t actually sleep. Cause someone might try to snatch your stuff. Putting the leg through the strap of your bag wont do much if someone can just open your bag and help themselves to its contents while you’re asleep and drooling on your shirt. This song (inspired by Deep Forest and Delerium) represents those stages of subconsciousness when you are tired, your eyes are closed, your head is down but you know not to sleep.
Overheard on the Downtown A is recorded audio clips of various in-transit-entertainment performers. Sometimes you get a dance crew, or some singers, or a crazy guy rambling for your entire commute. Sometimes its people asking for money, sometimes it’s people selling candy or DVDs. Sometimes you get people saying they work for charity organizations and will even have a fake i.d. from a fake organization and claim they were sent to the trains to collect money for either the homeless or for children and sometimes just for homeless children. However, as panhandling is illegal on New York City subway trains, no real company would send employees out to panhandle. Anyways, this song contains recordings of some of the best I have recorded as they usually come around from time to time as I’m trying to compose music on the train.
Happy Organism has a Homestar Runner feel to it. It’s basically a silly happy song.
Wacky One is the song I was composing as some crazy guy was rambling for my entire trip. He must have affected the song because it sounds a bit eerie and wacky, just ike he did. Thanks crazy rambler!
Glimmer is a song with no particualar meaning, it’s name inspired by the glimmer of little sparks from the train wheels quickly shining against the walls of the tunnel as I was thinking of a name for this song.
The Waters is about the awe-inspiring views from the Downtown A train when leaving Howard Beach Station and heading to Broad Channel and then on to Beach 90th Street. Leaving Howard Beach Station at just the right time of day as the sun begins setting, it looks as if the waters are glowing. Facing the left you can see planes ascending into flight from JFK airport. To the right, you can see a series of bridges such as the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial bridge, the Marine Parkway bridge, and the Verazzano stand tall over the bay. It really is the best part of any subway ride I have ever experienced.(UPDATE: Due to damage suffered by Hurricane Sandy, this stretch of track will be closed to the Summer of 2013. Much of the track bedding was washed away and as this was built on marshlands, it will take months to fix.)
Stuck Between Stations was written as my train was, you guessed it, stuck between train stations surrounded by the dark abyss of the tunnels. In a way it’s a metaphor. How many times do we find ourselves feeling stuck between where we came from and where we want to go in life while surrounded by uncertainty? Deep, right? Well relax, this stuck-in-uncertainty feeling only lasts for 2 minutes and 51 seconds. Too bad they can’t all be that way.
Well, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this album as much as I enjoyed working on it. Feel free to share it with your friends, acquaintances, social media networks, the pool boy, etc 🙂 This album is a free download here.