demo/tapes-01 /  by Kareem A-Allen

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Earlier this year my hard drive unfortunately got corrupted; to fix it I needed to format the entire thing.

As a result I lost every project I was working on, every instrumental that was unfinished and every idea I hadn’t fully thought through.

The first demo/tapes is a small collection of some of the tracks that I won’t be able to go back and complete. They’re somewhat remastered, but they’re still rough and raw and unfinished.

I’ll probably start releasing more tracks like this in the future.

Share if you care and stay safe.

@whosrxxmz

My Forever... /  by Ahmed Maclin

You’d catch me staring into nothingness 

You’d watch me for a while

You wouldn’t disturb me

You'd allow me to be with myself -

And my thoughts -

And my nothingness

You’d watch me

You’d think to yourself “is he thinking of me?”

You’d think to yourself “is he thinking of us?”

You’d hope that I was thinking of forever;

Our forever  

You’d watch me

You’d wish you could join me -

In my nothingness

You’d hold out your hand to touch mines

You’d want us to stand in silence

And to gaze out upon the forever we created

You’d watch me be happy

Even if it meant that you weren’t.

The Ascent : Horizon Journey /  by Ananya Dixit

Ascent : Horizon EP
- long overdue, but the culmination of a lot of hard work

“Have you made anything new recently? When are you post on your website again?”

Innocent questions that seemed to affect me more than they should.

Working 9-6 for 5 days a week doesn’t allow for much flexibility, or time for creativity. I had to evolve. Change. Wants turned to needs. Words became to actions.

New music fuelled the end of the creative block I’ve had for the last year. I found inspiration from movies, holidays and meeting new people. My ethic changed; I was happier, more motivated and hungrier than ever...

The Ascent had begun.

Influenced by deadmau5, SG Lewis, Nero, Flume and Hans Zimmer, i wanted a style of my own. Something fresh. Something feel good. Some, what Flume has said to be, ‘headphone music’.

Club music, as much as I enjoy it, was never my forte. Whenever I began the composing process, I found myself beginning with deep mellow chords, followed by melodic synths and plucks instead of the drums, which many musicians perceive as the norm. I already had the build up planned in my head but noticed that my build ups were 3-5 minutes long without featuring a single percussive sound...odd right? And it certainly wasn’t film music either. It was almost a tribute to Nero’s “2808 Symphony” just missing the drums. Layers and layers of analogue and FM synths all tied together by rising pads and arpeggiated plucks.

So I left it as it was: a 4 minute build up. But that bugged me, the fact that it just didn’t end. I needed closure.

Horizon: the limit or range of perception, knowledge, or the like.

Using the same base and chord structure as Ascent, Horizon quickly became Ascent II, resulting in a lot of questions asked about whether I could make ‘headphone’ music with a beat or if it was just some cheap knockoff film music. Bare in mind, I was asking these questions to myself and slowly found myself falling into the creative block hole I started in. SG Lewis - Warm was the inspiration for laying down the drums and bass. A four-on-the-floor kick pattern and a bouncy bass line followed by some shuffling hats and shakers and everything sort of came together.

And for the first time, the arrangement was easy. No 3:30 time constraints. No 16 bar build ups. Just a free flow of ups and downs that just sounded right.

And with these two songs, a different mindset and new ambitions, Ascent : Horizon EP was born.

This has been, and will continue to be our journey into EX/TC. I sincerely hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as I have done creating it.

There will be more. The journey will continue in 2018.

- A.D.XXVI

#Forever

New music to come soon...here's a little preview...

You & You... /  by Kareem A-Allen

The belief that I was over all of these feelings, all these emotions, turned out to be wrong. In a flash, just seeing your face brought everything back. I remember the complements, the ones you paid me. I remember the phone calls and times spent together. I remember the rage, and your confusion, your emotional immaturity. You never knew what you wanted. I hope you never find out. You deserve a life alone. It's just like you to be quick with your words, saying what you feel, never thinking of the consequences. Every signal you sent said ‘take me now’, but when I tried to pursue, you assured me I had gotten the wrong message... or maybe it was just a message that you didn't quite get across right. It wasn't even about f***ing, it could've been more. I wanted more. Those are the kinds of signals you sent. I could call you any time, we could go for something to eat whenever, you wanted to spend time with me, you missed me.

After seeing you again, I wonder if you remember anything you've said to me. I wonder if you still miss me. I wanna know if you know how angry you make me, how our whole ‘situation’ stays with me, and how I wish I done things when I could've.

I regret nothing... just you, and you. 

Photo 06-11-2017, 14 17 56.jpg

Twenty-16 /  by Ahmed Maclin

it's been a long since I've written anything of purpose and meaning. Without making excuses for absence, it's been months of madness and emotional instability. Priorities shifted, as did focus and attention.

Let's talk.

I'm organising my thoughts as though I'm explaining this to you... but I'm really talking to myself. So bare with me.

Months ago we outlined a plan, and it was solid. But things get in the way. It's life. New opportunity, procrastination and loss.

A key notion we all want to live by is to live a life not motivated by money. Laziness and self doubt are corrupting. Constantly questioning if I'm good enough... if we're good enough. It adds to the stress of things. Right now I want to be able to create freely, without restraint and responsibility. I want to feel the art and express it without inhibition.

Another year is set to pass us by, and honestly, I'm glad for it. Above all this year has taught me many things and has put me through even more. I don't feel sorry for myself, instead I wish to draw inspiration from it, and motivate myself because of it.

One thing is for certain. And now I am talking to you, as well as myself. You need to believe that you are good enough. There is no doubt where there is love and desire. Embrace what is true to you. Hold it close. Let its fire burn deep in your soul and drive you towards your goals. 

Make your own fortune. Be the best version of yourself. Always.

See you in 2017.

The Balance of Life /  by Ahmed Maclin

This week has been crazy. There's been so much to enjoy, but by equal measure, there has been more than enough to loath. This is the balance of life though, I suppose. People wouldn't care to believe that we could be so young but go through so much. Life dares to throw some of the most astonishing situations at us, and simply just says to us ‘cope’, so we do.

But it's not easy. It never is...

We're f*cking back... /  by Ahmed Maclin

These past few years have been quite a ride. We've done so much growing, and all that learning has lead us back to this...

EX/TC, a dream mostly... an idea that we could ascend to something more, doing what we love. 

We've lost all sense of reality, but we don't fear... We live in a state of euphoric confusion. We've created our own reality, our own world, where we can 'rage', not in anger or hate, but in expression. We do it for the sake of art. We aim to hypnotise and disorient... We are EX/TC.

To everyone that's passed in and out of our lives, we thank you. The experiences you've given us have helped to reaffirm our need for creativity and self-expression. Where we take it still yet to be written, but what's changed is the determination... the need. 

So let's discuss what's going to happen in the short term and semi-long term.

We'll continue to post new photo-galleries as and when we get the opportunity. They wont be regular but expect to see odd photos here and there, in this blog and also on the instagram, so be sure to follow us there. 

Next; we're working on weekly/fortnightly/monthly mixes. The thought is to have each of the EX/TC creatives select the tracklist for that week/fortnight/month and then to produce a mix (about 20-25mins long). That's still in the pipeline but look out for the first one dropping in the near future.

Continuing on with music, a bunch of new tunes are currently being worked on. We won't rush these out. Unlike previous projects we've worked on, we want a commitment to quality. So you won't hear anything from them, apart from the odd instrumental or demo track over the next couple of months. We should have two new projects out during the winter period. Again, we'll keep you posted.

FASHION! Everyone and their gerbil make clothes these days - that being said, we have a few ideas for some exclusive lines. Again don't expect to see anything fashion related just yet. We're definitely targeting the new year with this one, but we might share some designs for feedback in the next couple of months. If you know any designers or creatives that would be keen to collaborate or just share some tips, make sure to hit us up.

We're back, for real, but it feels like we're just getting started. Honestly, it's exciting. We really do look forward to seeing you take this journey with us. This truly is a revival.

We are EX/TC. Forever and always.

Today, Tomorrow, Forever /  by Ahmed Maclin

The situations I often find myself in do not come about by rounds of conscious decision making. They are random, and like my moods, often inexplicable.

So is this me denouncing responsibility for my own acting? Quite possibility, yes. I believe that I am a product of the today; a result of all the world's injustices. I will be no different tomorrow, for tomorrow will be different from today. This is our reality, this is our forever, and it will always be this way...

It will always be EX/TC

Losing For Fun /  by Ahmed Maclin

And in that one moment you see everything you've worked towards implode. Your world becomes a sappy mess, spawned from the unwanted residue, scrapped off the back of your worst nightmare. Everything that meant so much to you suddenly means very little. And you see that now. You see that it was all superficial. And fake. Always fake. Always a glossed over, primed up lie. Just the way you originally intended. You were happy. It made sense until you lost control. Things were said that couldn't be taken back. The masks came off and the truths came out. Before you lose it all, you have to have it all.

I just starting losing.