A Midwinter Offering

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 …

The Jupiter Cabaret

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).