rchecka and delta5ive - Continuum Guild CD

rchecka and delta5ive - Continuum Guild CD Price: $14.99 US Shipping: (within the continental US) $5 Foreign Shipping: (outside the US) $18 USD PayPalTM Secured Purchase.

Cratedigging Cooperative is proud to present...

rchecka and delta5ive - Continuum Guild CD

Cratedigging Cooperative Records - CDC-CD08 - Limited Edition of 50 CDs worldwide.

CD comes sealed with 8 page booklet. Continuum Guild hologram sticker included with purchase.

The Story of Continuum Guild

Ka is a wheel; its one purpose is to turn... then, now, indefinitely. Yet only 2 years ago, delta5ive and I agreed on the mutual pact to co-create an instrumental electronic music album due to the success, respect and camaraderie built up through recent projects that we collaborated on. We immediately decided this release must differ from the countless other types of production duo album releases.

Initially, we contemplated a traditional remix album, and then later considered a production release where the time was divided equally between both beat makers’ individual productions. We also discussed that it had to represent the spirit of our mutual interest in Stephen King and Peter Straub’s novels, notably the Dark Tower series.

It was at this very moment ka intervened in the form of an epiphany to do an album of individual songs that built off of the mood and tempo of the previous song, and it would be bookended by remixes that brings the album full circle. Creating a continuously flowing album that ended where it began was one thing, but we took it a step farther by making remixes as the first and last song. We then planted the original “unremixed” songs on our EP which also loops continuously. This elegant idea of constructing a separate EP and full length by ping-ponging original songs back and forth which build off the previous track and loop infinitely revealed to us the name of the album, and our new collaborative moniker - the Continuum Guild.

So delta5ive started the ball rolling by producing the first song which would be immediately shelved to the EP and remained in limbo as we continued with the full length.

“Where to begin?” was his first question, “How do we start this? What mood should we go for with this first track?”

My advice was ambiguous, but for us to proceed that is all that is needed, as we have a way of connecting non-verbally with our music.

“Try something very chill, like a dark and moody beach and a delayed beat that comes in to start the tempo.”

He proceeded to do just that, and a month later dropped the first song for the CGEP - Way of the Beam. Now it was my turn to take his original stems from that song and remix them for the first song of the full-length album. Way of the Beam (rchecka’s Breaker Nineteen Remix) was forged soon after - yet another Dark Tower reference. Consciously, I made sure to leave a 4-bar outro for him to begin anew with his next song.

Like the mad professor that he is, delta5ive managed to take that outro and change it ever so slightly in a blend that most DJs can’t even pull off; creating a tempo suited to his tastes for the next song, Death Like Diamonds. He left me a 4-bar outro that I used on the third song, and this process continued back and forth for months until we got to what we deemed is the halfway point of the album. We knew this would be a cassette release, so we were very aware of the spot in which it would be best to flip the tape, or ideally, to have auto-reverse play Side Two of the tape and continue the mix without a significant pause in the music.

This auto-reverse concept led to my first beat of Side Two which used delta5ive’s previous song’s beat, but in reverse!

Now we were on a roll, releasing new songs in less than a month’s time. So we opted for a new challenge by setting a strict parameter of very short songs that are no more than one to two minutes long. This is why you’ll find more tracks on the second half. We were exchanging and building off each other’s previous songs in record time now with short and sweet tracks.

Eventually, as we neared the end of the second side of the album, we had to pay closer attention as things were about to get more complex. As I finished up my last album track, I had to lead us back into the direction that delta5ive began with the first EP song that had been set aside. Finally, I proceeded to mix the end of his original song into the beginning of my new track, and since this would be the last song on the EP, We Were Well Met had to end where his began.

At this point it had been about a year and a half since we began this project. I delivered those stems of We Were Well Met to delta5ive so he could drop that song and his remix could end on the same beat that my remix of his first album cut began on.

WHEW! Somehow we pulled off something truly unique, driven by our desire to create extraordinary electronic music. We successfully built something that no one has ever done, a one-of-a-kind concept album and EP which continuously build from track to track, and if either the full length or the EP is played on repeat they will flow without any gaps in the music for eternity. ∞

This epic, unpredictable journey took about 2 years from concept, to recording, and finally, to producing the physical media. We are both proud and excited to share it with you, the music junkies who make these sonic experiments the most rewarding experience imaginable.

Thank you for supporting our art. We hope you love it as much as we enjoyed making it, and like the spirit of the Continuum Guild itself, this is not the end. It is only the beginning.

With peace and everlasting love,

-rchecka

March 27, 2023

All songs produced and mixed by rchecka and delta 5ive

Executive Producer – rchecka

Mastered by John “Fezzy” Harper and rchecka

Album Concept and Artwork – rchecka

Manufactured and Distributed by Crate Digging Cooperative Records.

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.