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Therian Cymbal

from Divergent Paths [Volume Four] by Milieu

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about

Therian Cymbal was a single session from October 27th, 2021, recorded as a soundcheck for an upcoming live broadcast from the studio. It is a simple piece, built using only a sample of my late dog Charly whining in our van during the long drive up from South Carolina to Ohio in 2016 as its sole source.

Hilariously, we knew beforehand that he did not travel well in a vehicle, so our vet gave us some sedatives for him to ease his stress on the long trip...and they did absolutely nothing. It was no big surprise that a stoic goodboy such as Charly would power through sedatives in order to continue his sad singing, so I recorded it at the time, half as a joke, and half as a document of just what the chaotic and terrible move was really like, lest I ever forget and somehow decide moving 600 miles is a good idea again. In hindsight, I'm grateful to my past self for recording Charly in that moment, as it is now a way for me to integrate him into my work in the same way I integrate any other things that I love and respect, and I have long felt that as long as someone remembers and thinks about you, you're never really gone.

This exact sample has already appeared in numerous Milieu tracks as the voice of melodic developments, with "Six or Eight" and "Planet Everfree" coming to mind at the moment, and remains one of those special aural artifacts in my sample library that never leave any of my sampler devices. Having lost Charly to cancer just over a year ago, he's been on my mind a bit more than usual, but he's never very far from my thoughts, and having just recently lost our cat, Boris, as well, it occurred to me that this recording existed in my archive, and would be aptly released as, hopefully, a source of comfort for anyone who has lost an animal member of their family.

However, I do not wish for this release to be listened to from a hushed and maudlin perspective - quite the opposite. I would like for the sound generated to become something entirely other, proof positive that a significant amount of art and creative work are simply the results of catharsis, the transfiguration of suffering into sweetness.

credits

from Divergent Paths [Volume Four], released March 3, 2023

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Milieu Dayton, Ohio

Psychedelic electronic music, sun-warmed analog ambient and sci-fi braindance, for cats, aliens and epicureans alike.

I also release music as Coppice Halifax: coppicehalifax.bandcamp.com

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