Solo Works
BRYCE CHURCHILL
My primary solo music project is a step back towards the art of songwriting’s core elements—intimate poetry, unabashed storytelling, and an existential yearning for meaning in life. Tales of love, sorrow, self-doubt, and vulnerability are brought out into the spotlight, in an effort to make amends with one’s personal demons. Haunting and emotive lyrics bear all for the sake of redemption. Stay tuned for original works and performances, but in the meantime here are a few covers of some of my favorite songs.
FAMA FRATERNITATIS
The Fama Fraternitatis was an anonymously published manifesto attributed to an esoteric secret society called the Fraternity of the Rosy Cross in 1614 Germany. The subject was a traveler who was initiated into an ancient Sufi mystery school and taught the “universal harmonic science,” which he brought back to Europe. The impact this movement caused propelled esoteric, academic, and political forces through the Reformation, and later, the Occult Revival. A full length album is scheduled for release in 2017.
SEXKULT
SEXKULT is a solo project by Bryce Churchill, inspired by the eclectic sounds of the electronic music underground. The Utmost In (2004) was conceived as a concept album during the turbulent period immediately after 9/11, telling a story of disillusionment and self-doubt in a world overwhelmed by conflicting visions of the future. The character in this story is lost, wandering in a cloud of confusion and chaos. He finds a glimmer of hope, a vision of his highest ideal, that seems to be an answer to every question. But alas, it ends up being just another illusion… Through a series of trials and ordeals, he eventually breaks through to a state of higher illumination.
PANIC OVER LONDON
Step inside the concrete jungle… Produced between 1999–2002 in the San Francisco Bay Area, these were done during my first foray into DJing in the burgeoning Drum’n’Bass scene. I have yet to find a genre that is more technically demanding for the studio mixer and engineer than this. The forerunners of the scene were droppin’ science, indeed. My approach was to bring more musicality and elements of my own musical background into the mix. The track “Operator” has been a top download, and “Highway 2 Hell” was played out by NYC DJs Dara and DB of Breakbeat Science.
THE LOVING BREED
A Silent Place was my first polished demo cassette, recorded between 1994-1996 on 4-track cassette. I began writing the material in Las Vegas and completed it Los Angeles. Most of the tracks were recorded with very minimal equipment: ART SGX T2 guitar effects rack (also used for sampling), ADA MP-1 preamp, modded Kramer Focus 3000 guitar, cheap Radio Shack 1/4″ unbalanced mic, borrowed Roland D-20 keyboard, a borrowed high-end Roland studio reverb unit, and a Fostex X-30 4-track cassette recorder, alongside another borrowed 4-track that allowed me to bounce tracks back and forth. It was during this time that I believe to have found my voice as a songwriter, leveraging my technical limitations as a creative method. Some outtakes and clips of the short-lived live band, featuring members of Christian Death, Diva Destruction, and Scarlet’s Remains, are available here.
LUCIUS VON WAHNFRIED
(Stay tuned for a forthcoming release…)