Pierre Ordinaire – The Continual Return of Dr. Ordinaire

A Midwinter Offering

December 21, 2023January 4, 2024
by Pierre Ordinaire

Solstice 2023

We wrap up 2023 with the drop of the first single for The Continual Return of Dr. Ordinaire: the “A-Side” is A Victorian Passage, with a special Solstice version of Treasure (a mainstay of live sets back in the Hollywood days) as the “B-Side.”

The single — titled Solstice Offering 2023 — is available on all major streaming platforms (including Spotify, under the artist’s name Pierre Ordinaire) and can be also previewed on SoundCloud:

In keeping with the theme of a time of transition, or endings and beginning, the Saturn archetype is particularly present in this offering. Lord Saturnus himself brings a guitar part to A Victorian Passage! And in this alternate Solstice mix of Treasure we hear the voice of Saturn Minor, “The Timekeeper”:

Behind the Curtain

These mix and master sessions (with a few new tracking sessions for Treasure) were produced at Coredark One (a.k.a. “The Battlestation”) here in DTLA between the Winter Solstice and New Year’s 2023.

This Midwinter chapter in the ongoing Continual Return story was powered by fuel from our beloved local — thanks so much to my favorite bartenders (kitchen crew, too, without whom I would likely not have eaten for several days) … the spirit of Goth Wednesday lives on! The seasonal hot spiced cider with whiskey was particularly helpful (and, yes, Ross, I did return the glass).

The studio is set up such that I can reference vinyl and CD sources directly against a working mix. Here are a few that helped me stay tuned-in and inspired, steering a course in the present sonic maelstrom …

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The Jupiter Cabaret

April 1, 2023January 5, 2024
by Pierre Ordinaire

This is a song I wrote with Tequila Mockingbird. It all started when I was hanging out with her and her cabaret band at a little bar called the Oracle in Chinatown. After discussions of time travel and mythology over several drinks it became clear that she was the perfect person to manifest the archetypal character of Jupiter Major in this story.

Of course Jupiter must have a solo performance at the apex of her power in the story cycle, so we created a little cabaret number for her. On the record she is backed up by her wonderful band, The Blonde Moondust.

The live band and a string section with two horn parts manifest this song on the record; here’s a working mix with a more robust orchestra and a few more dramatic elements:

The Jupiter Cabaret was originally intended to just be a working title (Tequila sometimes refers to this song as “I Fell”) — but it has somehow stuck (for now).

The Hollywood Era

February 9, 2023July 10, 2023
by Pierre Ordinaire

It was a full cycle of Jupiter ago, in the gothic/industrial scene of Los Angeles, where the seeds of what would become The Continual Return were conceived. On the stages of clubs such as Bar Sinister, Batcave, Malediction Society and Ruin, songs and stories took shape — ideas that would eventually crystallize into a narrative involving the karmic adventures of Doctor Ordinaire. One such example (first heard live at Bar Sinister) is the following:

Remember the Truth

This video introduces some themes that flow through The Continual Return — with an automaton alchemist surrounded by orreries and clockworks, high in an art-deco tower in a future-noir downtown Los Angeles.

This is an excerpt of an article from the days when Lip Service was a thriving downtown Los Angeles gothic/industrial/(cyber)punk institution, and when M. Ordinaire was seen regularly on the stages of Hollywood goth clubs. It makes for a good segue and introduction to The Continual Return.

This month’s featured Denizen of the Dark is none other than Pierre Ordinaire, founder and mastermind of [this] Goth/Industrial live multimedia project … Pierre exemplifies the transcendent Piscean spirit in his metaphysical and philosophical perspective … if you’ve seen the show, you know it is a total immersion experience in which timeless archetypes are brought vividly into the present tense in living, breathing energy … Arthur C. Clarke once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The inventive spirit that infuses all aspects of this audio/visual artistry is the work of a modern-day alchemist of the highest order … minds that are hungry for sophisticated and inspiring music are in for the ride of their lives.
Lip Service Webzine | March 2011

The Hollywood Archives

Some of the music of this era is collected in a compilation titled The Hollywood Archives:

The Solstice Sequence

January 9, 2023July 10, 2023
by Pierre Ordinaire

One step closer to the release of The Continual Return.

On the Solstice — December 21, 2022 — I finished a mix and (preliminary) master of the full record. This is the last version before the final production mixes and master.

For review purposes, we pressed a run of CDs so we can give the album a listen in a variety of contexts.

After some careful listening, I’ll be tweaking the final mixes and preparing the sequence for the last pass of mastering.

One step closer …