All music played and vocalized by Ž
Recorded and produced from start of January to the end of March 2019 by Ž
Cover idea by Ž
Cover design by Cene

Album Oldies but Noises is returning to my musical roots. It is a tribute, but at the same time also a re-think about the messages that the oldies goldies can give us today. What they can tell us if we dust them and put them in perspective of noise music, which itself offers a challenge to our comfortable everyday routine western civilization life.

More than 20 years ago
It all started in the nineties, when I was in my first band called Rhythm Thieves. Fascinated with pure, garage and punk rock and roll we did couple of covers like Road runner, Strychnine … I had this idea that I would love to do a solo cover album of the songs that were oldies goldies. At that time those were the songs till 1969. I didn’t have the equipment to do it and studios were something I couldn’t afford. Anyway, I made my first step and bought my first sampler Yamaha SU 10. I did some fooling around with it, but soon it landed in the drawer.

Time flies
As the years flew by, my musical horizon got wider. So, I landed in the vast musical landscapes of free improvisation and noise music, but my musical foundation stayed with me. Even more, now to me there are only two kinds of music, good and bad. Still I am aware that this is only my personal opinion and that some music needs to be heard at the right time and place to touch you. Also, with hours of listening to all sorts of music your ears grow and develop. It is a never-ending process. Along this process of expanding my musical taste, I have managed to gather enough equipment to start this project at home. I’m glad I had to wait for so long to do it.

Selection of the songs
I kept it clean with old fashioned manner songs made till the end of 60’s. I’ve excluded all new (rock, alternative, garage, punk …) music from the late 60’s which had also a big influence on me. The selected songs had to be music of my "early age sound memory", the music that I’ve heard my dad playing form the tapes in our car. So, to me oldies goldies are great music I listened in the same room with my father.

Why the need?
In this experiment I wanted to work with the material that I love since I remember and that has built my basic musical taste. During the process, new perspectives and messages from the songs have appeared. It was like talking to the elders, who are full of experience and can tell you so much about life in a simple and easy to understand way. Today we are often forgetting about the history and we think everything is new. We consider history to be obsolete and irrelevant. I think we need to understand it and show respect to it while developing further by making our own experiences. In the age where old is something bad, this by the way is a construct of consumerism, we need history to learn from to become more humans and less consumers. Else …

Songs
• Blue moon
Published 1935
Composer Richard Rodgers
Lyricist Lorenz Hart

It's the one and only king of r'n'r Elvis. I have always pictured a lonesome cowboy with a broken heart riding slowly in to the sunset singing this song. Yes, this is an ultimate song about loneliness and alienation that our civilization is facing more and more, even though we have more possibilities to connect than ever. I went into this song as it came to me. Soft and gently, lonesome talking to the blue moon, with a gentle touch of digital noise sounds in the back.

• I put a spell on you
Released November 1956
Songwriters Jay Hawkins, Herb Slotkin

Screaming Jay Hawkings represents to me freedom in voice. His “madness” expressed in voice is just something that I never stopped looking up to. It is a reminder how much freedom we can choose to have in our everyday life. The song came out to me in a new dimension with the use of more vocals, underlaying reverse lead vocal and all the noise. I understand it as a story about addiction and not so much as a love story.

• Sun ain't gonna shine
Released August 1965
Songwriters Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio

Even before I knew who Scott Walker was, I was in love with this song as a very young boy. It sounds so majestic and positive, giving you the feeling that it is great to be alone and unhappy in love. I wanted to explore the dark side of the song with a piezzo microphone sound recording of the manipulating of a tin sheet.

• Money
Released August 1959
Songwriters Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy

This is actually a song about capitalism's biggest value. Persuading money and profits is one of the biggest problems of human society leading to deadly environmental consequences. More than ever, we do not appreciate what has true value to our lives and this song is telling it straight. Catching the biggest profit will take as all down the drain. Maybe UBI could change our every day fight to pay our monthly bills and we could find more energy to do something what matters.

• Over the Rainbow
Published 1939
Composer Harold Arlen
Lyricist E.Y. Harburg

I was so afraid of the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz, but the song Over the rainbow with all its innocence of dreams just bring warm and longing feelings out of me. Every time I hear this song, I start to hum it. While I was working on this song, I started to see the lyrics from the perspective of a refuge. So, I dedicate this interpretation to all refuges out there with a warm wish to find peace and their piece of a land over the rainbow. I believe in human right to live a decent and dignifying life for each of us, regardless of any reason you may find.

• Blue suede shoes
Released February 1956
Songwriter Carl Perkins
I used to wear suede shoes a lot and this was sort of an anthem to me. To me it represented freedom and openness with clear borders and it stayed that way after the adaptation of the song. With a bit more warning in the message as today men and women are getting more individualized and separated to each gender side than to live together in peace. We all would need more unconditional love to overcome our differences and allow each other even to step on blue suede shoes.

• What a Wonderful World
Released 1967
Songwriters Bob Thiele (as George Douglas), George David Weiss

Louis Armstrong was probably the first singer that opened fun world of vocals to me. I was not aware of that at that time, but I remember good feelings listening to his playful voice. So, this one is made only of pure voice without any additional machines. I wanted to create a world and the song spoke to me back with its ecological point. Do we still perceive the lyrics as we did in 1967? Can we still be just a passive observer?

• Summertime
Released 1935
Composer George Gershwin
Lyricists DuBose Heyward, Ira Gershwin

Summertime follows more strongly me since middle school although father has played Ella and Louis version in the car. The version from Janis Joplin, who is one of my beloved musical voices has such a strong interpretation. I didn’t know that this song was originally made for opera. The lyrics hold such a strong and sad story about the beginning of the life and human nativity of a woman who had a child with the rich man.

• Where did you sleep last night?
Songwriters Traditional

The movie about Leadbelly was one of the first movies about musicians I saw in my life. I watched it on television. I couldn’t understand Leadbelly, but have enjoyed the music and the way he sang his way out of the prison. In the 90’s Nirvana did a cover of this song and I still love it. Where did you sleep last night is (also known as In the pines) an American folk song and tells a terrifying story about racism. Sadly, we are living in times when racism is getting stronger again. We can not forget about human history, only this way we can become better and more human.

• My Way
Released 1969
Songwriters Claude François and Jacques Revaux;
English lyrics Paul Anka

I still remember excitement when I first heard the Sex pistols version of My way. It opened a vast musical landscape of possibilities to me. Everything can be done and it is possible to make old sound fresh. Well I also love Frank Sinatra and his velvet voice. Since we live in an era of individualization and ego, I made this version of My way with emphasis on I and MY words. We all want to do it my way, but this is exactly why and how we are destroying this world. A true peace and prosperity for each of us is far, far away and in my opinion hides in OUR WAY.

Noise Music
To me noise music should involve a provocation and needs to push listener to rethink the world around. Noise music is the test of your tolerance.

Copyrights and permissions
In the past I have tried to reach out to the authors or companies that manage the rights and I never got any feedback. So, I don’t have them but this is anyway not meant to be a commercial project, and is considered fair use. If any of the authors feel offended or anyhow deprived, I will humbly remove the song from the album.