[december 1997 studio renditions of songs from the live set list]

Back in 1997, I had an idea to record the live band in the studio. Not sure what my plan was honestly; maybe I was thinking of releasing a CD-EP to sell at shows? This was back when the band was myself (synths & backing vocals), Dominique (vocals), Mera Roberts (cellos) & Lisa Feuer (flute & backing vocals). I scrapped the project, because soon after Julianna Towns was enlisted to record vocals for the AS ONE AFLAME LAID BARE BY DESIRE album. Five of these live-in-the-studio tracks were on a 1/2-inch 8-track multi-track master tape I recently digitized (at the same time as the AFLAME tapes.)

TRACK ONE is the second half of “seireenien lumoama” in a sparser mix than the way we performed it live. We did a nine-minute vocal version based on the Bleeding Like Mine / Sam Rosenthal variation I mixed for 1994’s OF THESE REMINDERS collection:
blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com/track/bleeding-like-mine-sam-rosenthal-seireenien-lumoama

Today's mix of “seireenien” is just me & Mera. I pulled my backing track out at around a minute, centering on two tracks of Mera’s cellos, my live synth horn part, and a start-stop arpeggio accompanied by a very light presence of the piano-backing track.

It’s kinda fun to go into old tapes with no loyalty to the way it was, or the way I wanted it to be. Focus on the things I find interesting today!

I’m not sure where this version would be released, maybe one day it can be part of an “outtakes” digital release.

TRACK TWO • One track from the scrapped live-in-the-studio recordings (“on broken shells of crystal dreams”) appeared on the 1998 PRO84 EP — www.projekt.com/store/product/pro00084/ — and as a bonus track on the digital version of AFLAME: blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com/album/as-one-aflame-laid-bare-by-desire-deluxe This is that version (no remixed or remastered.)