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Second Lives

by Soft Riot

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  • Streaming + Download

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

      £6 GBP  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD version of album in full-colour Digipak sleeve with glued in, fold out insert. Comes with a digital download of the album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Second Lives via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      £10 GBP or more 

     

  • Cassette + Digital Album

    Cassette version of album in a plastic case with full colour fold-out JCard insert. Comes with digital download of album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Second Lives via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days

      £8 GBP or more 

     

1.
2.
Fade into… fade into a pin of light Red lips shine… red lips shine in a high def style Turn onto… angled models posed on white tiles Cut to news… top story was the love of her life Tears like dew… tears like dew from those cinema eyes She acts her reaction to… Those scenes you see are cut to carry you away Those scenes you see have cracks that stop and make you wonder about them What’s behind the mirror? What’s on at 2:00?… Five on an island compete for a prize Pin focus… not seeing the whole picture in time A man-made moon never crossed her mind Like arcane notes in a Vonnegut style Still longs with… still longs with those cinema eyes She acts her reaction to… Those scenes you see are cut to carry you away Those scenes you see have cracks that stop and make you wonder about them What’s behind the mirror?
3.
Another drone in your head Trying to keep one step in front of the dead Streets will grind outside your window Your thoughts are fixed on how the sound you make goes Over talk on phones to make the bread Empty tones with souls made of lead Your mind is like a gentle flower That screen will fry your brain within an hour When you go out to the shows there is always an unpleasant sight to greet you Another Drone Assisted by automatic limbs The vain the possessed down at the gym They go from one void to another Weekends with their digital lovers You see her pass you down the street with one g loved hand, she says she wants to meet you Another drone / Another drone Another drone in your head Trying to keep one step in front of the dead Let’s remain here for one more hour Play back some tracks and restore our power Looking out over the parked cards you tell the city “Yes, I’m going to beat you.”
4.
5.
Write yourself again — one word, two, five… ten You’re a man of unknown fate Who reaches out with a lot to say At the terminal you stay late As light shine over the artificial bay Don’t stop, your imagination is so on fire They are collecting you through wire And you give yourself away in many words a day Write yourself into the void again Connect another dot to dot Waste your time on it As you reach out nothing feels air tight You then shut down and you’re out of it You’re a woman of unknown fate Pass by boys swinging through the electric gates And you think “Yes, the situation has gone sour” As they memorise your face in this place Where rules forget to play So you throw everything right into the bay Write yourself into the void again Connect another dot to dot Waste your time on it Coast to coast your secrets are locked up air tight You then shut down and you’re out of it Write yourself again — one word, two, five… ten Give yourself away — one, two, six, eight… ten
6.
7.
Chances are for the taking When you’re solid and headstrong Narrowing on an image Throwing the rest in the scrap Fortified, fixated Yet you might have the facts wrong Certain that something is missing Without checking your pockets first Rising up on an ill-thought tide Can make for a very bumpy ride Rising up on an ill-thought tide Without thinking you’d fall down Thinking slowly Talking boldly At best you may not melt in the lights You might be the fool for a day You’re standing on one side But there’s twenty-five others With views that don’t shine in silver and gold But they happen to be strong You won’t stop for a minute Too many questions, avoiding the question Starting to look like a cracking crook When you’re sweating bullets It’s getting bigger and it may not stop Until they stick your flag at the top It’s getting bigger and it may not stop Without thinking you’d fall down Thinking slowly Talking boldly At best you may not melt in the lights You might be the fool for a day Then forgetting it all as you may…
8.
Exploded, flying out Over many years of change Exploded into dust The entire picture Scattered in rust Mysterious signs Flashing over and over Long and tagged thoughts Cycling slower and slower Cynical yet fighting To keep the path straight ahead Broken yet hopeful To keep the balance on its head Mysterious signs Flashing over and over Long and tagged thoughts Cycling slower and slower Hang your dreams on the outside Keep your thoughts on the outside Long and tangled thoughts are part of who you are to be

about

Marking just over ten years since the original No Longer Stranger EP back in early 2011, it's now been a decade since Soft Riot has been in existence. And on that touchstone comes the newest release called Second Lives, a compilation album featuring a collection of eight tracks of previously released tracks from obscure singles on various compilations, re-worked versions of previously released older tracks as well as some unreleased material.

Originally the concept for such a release was to be a more comprehensive archive of unreleased material that has been collecting over the past decade, including demos, odd bits and other ephemera, but with this final version as Second Lives, sees the release fine-tuned into an album of its own right, focusing on key tracks and bringing out their strengths, updating old tracks — often ones that are still played out live — to give them new life and perspective.

credits

released June 28, 2021

1. Lovers In A Dangerous Time
Originally released on a sampler for Young & Cold Records back in 2016, this track — a cover of a song from the album Stealing Fire by Canadian songwriter Bruce Cockburn — has been a well-received staple in live sets since then as well as popular track on various online streaming platforms. For this release new vocals were recorded, along with some revised instrumentation and an overall new mix in April 2021.

2. Cinema Eyes (Version IV)
This track has continued to be played out live often and has numerous versions of it across multiple releases and compilations. This most recent version has appeared on the Forbidden Figures I compilation, released as a benefit for raising legal fees for fellow synth artist Nao Katafuchi back in November 2020.

3. Another Drone In Your Head (Second Version)
Originally released on both the 2012 EP of the same name as well as the 2013 album Fiction Prediction, the song has still been played often in live sets and has changed with the times. This new version is closer to how it sounds live currently, complete with some new instrumentation and re-recorded vocals done in April 2021.

4. Your Back To The Stone (March Version)
This is an instrumental, somewhat different version to the original track, which was released on the 2015 album You Never Know What Might Come Next. It was was written and produced back in 2015 on a commission for a French synth/post-punk label that was compiling tracks for a compilation, with all tracks to have a "martial" style. However, this compilation never came to fruition and is only included on this release.

5. Write Yourself Into The Void (Second Version)
Released as a track on the 2013 album Fiction Prediction album, this track laid dormant for around five years after which point a complete re-work of this track started in 2018 and then on and off again over more recent times. Having a personal attachment this track, there was a feeling that it could come out as something new and stronger with an updated stylistic direction. It's been drastically reworked with some new instrumentation, re-recorded vocals and a completely new mix finished in April 2021.

6. We Are The Chopped (Second Version)
A cover of a Nomeansno track from their debut 1982 album Mama, the original version of this cover was buried in the limited CD edition version of the 2015 album You Never Know What Might Come Next and only available on that CD version and until now was never available in a digital form. This new version is an updated rework, with re-recorded vocals, some new instrumentation and arrangement changes, along with an updated mix completed in April 2021.

7. Fool For A Day
An unused track from the writing sessions of the 2019 album When Push Comes To Shove. This track was mixed and mastered simulatenously with the final group of tracks that made it on that album. It however has never been released until now.

8. Long And Tangled Thoughts
A track written during the writing sessions for the 2020 album Chin Up that never made it to the final track listing. This version has a new mix done in April 2021.

- - -
All tracks written, produced and mixed — along with artwork and assembly — by JJD. Mastered by John Stevenson at Otic Mastering.
- - -

A note about the artwork: Featured on the cover of Second Lives are images of two female pioneers:
• Helen Richey: a pioneering, female American aviator and the first woman to be hired as a pilot by a commercial airline in the United States.
• Ruth St. Denis: an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art.
Often working with a library of archived images re-worked into Soft Riot’s distinctive visual, it seemed these images — found in archived Creative Commons library — have therefore been re-discovered by the artist along with their somewhat forgotten achievements, giving them a “second life” in their own right through the album’s artwork.

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Soft Riot Glasgow, UK

Soft Riot is JJD, a Canadian-British synth artist based in Glasgow UK. Latest stuff happening through linktr.ee/softriot/

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