The Year of the Rat (album)

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The Year of the Rat
Studio album by J.M. Steiner
Released	11 September 2007
Recorded	2005-2007 @ 25 Chestnut Street, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
Genre	Easy Listening
Length	31:48
Producer	j.m. Steiner

The Year of the Rat (2007) is an album by composer, producer, performer, and artist J.M. Steiner. Written, mixed, and recorded over a span of two years, it was j.m.'s first release in over three years. The album represented another example of Steiner's complete control over a project, his ability to do it all: write, record, mix, perform, and design and create all the artwork and packaging for a release.

Contents 1 Track Listing 2 History 3 Technical Data 4 Track by Track Information

[edit] Track Listing

All songs written by j.m.

1. "the Fader"
2. "Crush"
3. "Humidity"
4. "No Song"
5. "Slippers"
6. "Interlude I"
7. "Monkey IV (Captain Erection!)"
8. "Tonite I"
9. "Oh the Humanity"
10. "Turn It"
11. "The Walk (Monkey III)"
12. "B's"

[edit] History

"It started out as a gift for friends, especially people who hadn't heard my stuff yet." Steiner states. It was recorded at his studio (read: home dwelling) 25 Chestnut Street. "I recorded in every room of the house, save for the kitchen and bathroom." Steiner adds, "I don't usually perform/record where I eat and defecate...". The album was recorded over a span of two years (2005-2007). Apparently, The Year of the Rat was never intended as an album. Steiner elaborates, "It's really just bunch of my favorite tunes and/or recordings, that I remastered and sequenced as an album." Steiner explains the title by relaying a story of his personal battle with "Ratty", an uninvited guest in his home for over three months. Steiner says "Ratty and I...I guess, I learned to respect that guy." He further adds "I realized he/she's resourcefulness and ability to survive...it gained my respect through that." He mentions his "oneness" with "Ratty", "I think of myself as a survivor, and therefore in 'kin' with Ratty." He closes in saying "I felt that as a mascot for this record, Ratty fit the bill, I have had to use all my resources...mental, physical, artistic, and emotional, to survive these past two years of my life and record these songs."

[edit] Technical Data

The Year of the Rat was recorded utilizing digital recording technology.

[edit] Track by Track Information

1. the Fader --- This song was written in 2006, after an emotionally taxing end of an intimate relationship. Recorded totally within Apple's GarageBand 3, it was a return to the soft/loud dynamic of earlier releases. Steiner had been cultivating a mostly acoustically instrumented songwritting period previous to this recording. It features a drum loop, one selected from GarageBand's pool of audio loops, and raging electric guitars.

"This was a return to actually performing the songs during the recording process." He further adds, "Up until the Fader, I was recording a part, say a guitar chord progression, and when I was happy with the take, I would trim it up and make a loop out of it." Steiner would then continue to layer instruments until he was satisfied with the results. This method of recording is further explained within the listed information of No Song.