LET'S BUILD MECHA!

1. The Theory Of Mechalution 2. Let's Build Mecha 3. Robots On Romney Marsh 4. Clockwork Robots Aren't Impossible 5. Autonomic 6. Production Line 7. Rust And Bones

Music from and inspired by "Doctor Who: Mechalution" by Brokensea Audio Productions.
Completed: July 2010, released: September 2010.

Let's Build Mecha! is also available at higher bitrates via iTunes and Amazon MP3:

iTunes: Available in all countries where iTunes is currently available. Here's the link to preview the album via the U.S. store. For other regions I suggest running a search for 'Let's Build Mecha' in your iTunes client, or in the iTunes LinkMaker.

Amazon MP3: Available in the following amazon stores: USA, UK, France, Germany, & Japan.

If you've purchased the e.p. (or wish to support my work by doing so!), you can download the digital booklet separately here.

BONUS TRACK:
Mark Kalita (The Doctor) kindly lent me some of his dialogue from the episode for a spoken-word vocal remix of The Theory Of Mechalution. You can grab that here:

The Theory Of Mechalution (Vocal Mix)
Vocals: Mark Kalita, words: Paul Mannering.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Liner Notes

When my good friend Stevie, a producer of Audio Dramas for Brokensea, asked me to contribute sound effects and music to one of his productions I jumped at the chance. I've been a life-long fam of Doctor Who and the script in question was 'right up my street.' The brief was to use my circuit-bent gear as much as possible, as he was looking for a specific sound. I also used my go-to synth, the K-Station, to come up with original sounds for each piece, and the Crumar Performer to create moody strings.

Tracks that were used as transitions in the show (at 30 seconds each) have been expanded for the e.p. The two cues that play under dialogue are presented here unaltered. The songs "Clockwork Robots Aren't Impossible" and "Production Line" were inspired by the script and written specifically for this e.p.

The Theory Of Mechalution - The second of two cues I wrote to enhance dialogue in the show, the other being "Rust And Bones". Unlike the latter, I went the conventional route and based it on a piano riff. You'll also hear the unearthly strains of the Morphotron, and Crumar strings run through a phaser, among other things.

Let's Build Mecha - The title track was actually written last year for my as-yet unfinished album "Blips And Bleeps." It's an homage to Japanese fighting robots or 'Mecha' from the Anime I grew up watching. It grew out of a rhythm experiment using tabla percussion and circuit-bendery.

Robots On Romney Marsh - The first track I wrote for the show, before I'd read the script, inspired by the core idea and the sounds I was compiling. Romney Marsh is a region in the south-east of England, comprising parts of Kent and extending to Dungeness on the coast. I visited Dungeness in 2006, and it's a truly odd and slightly eerie place. One of my favourite Doctor Who stories, "The Claws Of Axos," was filmed there in the early 70's.

Clockwork Robots Aren't Impossible - The title is taken directly from a quote in the script. I've long had a fascination with clockwork things, specifically the sounds they make. As there's a lot of clockwork imagery in Mechalution, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write something about it.

Autonomic - This transition was written after my first read-through of the script. The extended version is somewhat experimental, but true to my original idea of being on the run in a complex populated by homicidal robot creatures.

Production Line - The idea that a factory can go on producing something long after the people that built it have gone struck a chord with me. It owes a lot to some of the Japanese techno I've been listening to lately.

Rust And Bones - I struggled for weeks to come up with exactly the right mood for a particular scene in the script. In the end I abandoned previous attempts and wrote this from scratch in an afternoon. It turned out far better than I hoped, and I have the late Delia Derbyshire to thank for inspiration on how I approached this piece.

All art, text, & music is copyright (c) 2010 Joshua M. Blanc.