Star Time, by sugar sk*-*lls

Star Time

by sugar sk-lls

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Cassette + Digital Album
Two cassettes containing the entire Star Time album and a companion mix of all of the remixes and covers. Only 100 copies available.

Includes unlimited streaming of Star Time via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 7 days

edition of 100

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$20 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$8 USD or more

1.	Becomes Me 03:26	lyrics	buy track
I want in on this I cannot resist I can still feel it How soon is soon How true are you I am so confused With so much to lose How can I ever choose Everything becomes you How soon is soon How true are you
2.	Honeycomb 03:30	lyrics	buy track
Your honeycomb is broken But the rush is golden And this feeling it never goes Maybe you give up too soon All these things arrive in threes Indulgence gleams Like you wrote the plot Of every algorithm’s chance refrain Copied copy copies copy errors Emergent feathers signals and code All these things arrive in threes It’s you, the want, the truth
3.	Intention 04:10	lyrics	buy track
I saw an insect on my arm I could have, but I did it no harm The light that filtered through the jar Was formless, indifferent An image of stars Some things, they are so delicate Some things, they are deliberate I’m just a spark inside your mind A constellation that you’ll never find The longing for you feel that grows What will you do when it starts to go Sometimes we are just currency Most times it’s not secretly What is the beat behind The beat behind your heart Could be maybe, could be maybe not Did you mean You meant to mention that What is the beat behind The beat behind your heart
4.	Crystal Orchids (feat. Cortney Tidwell) 02:56	lyrics	buy track
My eyes are mirrors To hold your gaze Lost in the fragments This moment makes Your lips a river That frees the spring Like crystal orchids A secret meant for me And on the train My shoulder on yours Maybe I noticed me slipping Three hours till sunrise We’re not sleeping Three hours till sunrise We keep talking Three hours till sunrise Then you’re leaving
5.	Swimming 03:22	lyrics	buy track
I am swimming in the ocean I am thinking of you How stupidly cliché Underneath the waves I am thinking of you What are the lights you know Just like a fever that never dies I feel it climb behind my eyes How stupidly cliché Underneath the waves What are the lights you know
6.	Nothing 04:04	lyrics	buy track
I don’t know what I want I don’t know what I need I don’t know what I think I don’t know what I keep Time and circumstance Drawing a line in the sand Infatuation and magic thinking Dreams and cloud castles sinking Just like it is nothing I will give you nothing Nothing anymore Nothing more I know how to freeze I know how to burn I know how to drown I know how to breathe Time and circumstance Drawing a line in the sand Infatuation and magic thinking Dreams and cloud castles sinking Just like it is nothing I will give you nothing Nothing anymore Nothing more
7.	Undone 03:40	lyrics	buy track
Cold, hard and wounded The secret of your beauty Charm, fear and charm Draped around your heart An armor, a promise so worn Illusions inscribed inside your smile This path of your design Obscures its snares as time Fear, charm and fear Underneath the true masquerade So cold, hard and wounded Cynical, logical Weak-willed and brooding This feeling lingers A kiss like fingers Slipping in between An endless daydream
8.	Two-Chambered 04:14	lyrics	buy track
It’s hard to think of you As nothing more than light Just waves in space A distant conversation Drifting through the night Just waves in space This simple circular Liquid curvature Carving out Draining out somehow I know where to look But not where to find you Within memory All I know is this Don’t be careless With what it is That thing you love Won’t always be
9.	Crystal Orchids (Eve Maret Remix) [Bonus] 03:30		buy track
10.	Becomes Me (Negro Justice x Cal Cuttah Remix) [Bonus] 03:48		buy track
11.	Two-Chambered (Makeup and Vanity Set Remix) [Bonus] 04:18		buy track
12.	Crystal Orchids (TAN 'Hi-NRG' Mix) [Bonus] 06:19		buy track
13.	Becomes Me (Robbie Lynn Hunsinger Remix) [Bonus] 03:37		buy track
14.	Nothing (RIFFT) [Bonus] 04:08		buy track
15.	Honeycomb (Meadownoise) [Bonus] 04:36		buy track
16.	Crystal Orchids (Both Eyes 'Me, Slipping' Remix) [Bonus] 05:02		buy track
17.	Two-Chambered (Coupler's 'Just Waves in Space' Remix) [Bonus] 04:01		buy track
18.	Undone (Kyle Hamlett Duo) [Bonus] 04:32		buy track

about

“I had an idea to take a set of material, then develop and elevate it the way a script becomes a film.” says Ben Marcantel when asked about the impetus behind the latest sugar sk*-*lls album, Star Time. Working from that headspace Marcantel joined forces with new members Tye Bellar (Financier) and G. Seth West (Gray Worry) to craft a body of work that impressively contemplates both the largess of time itself and the minutiae of personal insecurities; all manifested through a thick wall of electronic pop sounds.

Historically, sugar sk*-*lls has served as a solo pseudonym for explorations in chiptune, ambient and AI generative sounds (well before AI was the buzzword of the day) but after a 7” split release in 2016 with West and Bellar’s project Financier, Marcantel inquired if the two would work with him. “Tye and I initially thought we were just going to print a few of his MIDI tracks through some vintage synths we had and that would be it. But each time we worked together, we pushed further into the songs, and before long it was anything goes. Ben gave us complete freedom to contribute as equals,” remarks G. Seth West on the collaborative development.

Those collaborative efforts took years to develop, with weekends dedicated to meticulously refining and debating the songs that would make up Star Time. One notable example was when they brought in Cortney Tidwell to provide vocals for a track, only to realize that the original music fell short. Marcantel recalls, “We quickly realized we had a pile of diamonds on a paper plate and needed to build a track suitable for her vocals. That session was the one where we discussed how we would have to really challenge ourselves to execute the material to the level it deserved.”

Practically speaking, the trio found their groove early on and flourished with different instrument experimentation, reworking song structures and pushing each other to find the utmost satisfaction. They embraced the vocoder for Marcantel’s lead, teaching themselves to balance the emotionally distant mechanical delivery and rich themes of the very human lyrical content. West humorously says of Star Time, “I jokingly refer to this genre as ‘A.I. Sad Guy.’ It’s electronic emo to me. Ben’s use and control of the vocoder is the heart of it all.”

This emotional core was partly inspired by Inger Chiristen's essays on 'The Condition of Secrecy,' which delve into the concept of relative time. Star Time ponders the idea of humans being subjected to the timeline of a star, adding a profound sense of longing to tracks like 'Swimming,' exploring the pains of love, or ‘Nothing' with its plea for contribution. Themes of time, distance, love, and the search for clarity permeate throughout the album.

Marcantel’s original notion to develop and elevate a body of work as if it were a film script could not have been more prescient. A film can not exist entirely on the page, it requires input, ideas and work from a host of others. The development of Star Time required adding new minds to the songs, rewriting constantly, honing with the materials they had present and never losing sight that no matter how compelling it sounds, an emotional core is tantamount to success.

The future of sugar sk*-*lls will continue to evolve, embracing additional collaborators, exploring new soundscapes, and delving into different themes. In the meantime, 'Star Time' immerses listeners in captivating electronic soundscapes, unveiling a gradual progression of emotions. It's time well spent, especially when considering the lifespan of a star.

credits

released October 6, 2023

Also Streaming
orcd.co/n09zjgp

Music by sugar sk*-*lls [Ben Marcantel, Tye Bellar and G. Seth West]
Lyrics by Ben Marcantel
Produced and mixed by Tye Bellar and G. Seth West
Mastered by Tye Bellar
Recorded, mixed and mastered at DaCodeine Fanning’s School of Programming, Nashville TN

Album design by G. Seth West
grayworry.com

Released by yk Records [yk-102]
ykrecords.com

Ben Marcantel: Vocoder, Keys, Synthesizers, Drum Programming
Tye Bellar: Synthesizers, Cello, Keys, Drum Programming
G. Seth West: Synthesizers, Drum Programming, Guitar, Additional Vocals, Percussion

Additional vocals on “Intention” by Lindsay Johns Bennett
Vocals on “Crystal Orchids” by Cortney Tidwell
Additional vocals on “Swimming” by Cortney Tidwell

All songs ©2023 sugar sk*-*lls. Published by False Hand Music, MIDI and Sorcery Music, and Make Time From Sound [BMI]. All rights reserved.

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sugar sk*-*lls Nashville, Tennessee

ecstatic explorations in dream time

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