Sean Ongley

Tag: SYMMTR

  • Peridot EP

    Peridot EP

    Presenting my newest single “Peridot,” released to all streaming services under the pseudonym SYMMTR. Actually it’s an EP. And really it’s a double EP. Here’s what happened.

    These songs were basically finished by winter 2022. I did further mixing and stuff, but it was complete enough that I made remix packs and distributed them to several producer-friends. The plan was to release a two-song EP with a remix for each.

    I received more affirmative responses than expected, so I was hedging my bets that multiple remixes would be turned in on time and from that I could release two EP’s spaced out by one month.

    I released “Topaz” with remixes by All The Stores Are Closed and Matchewey, because they turned theirs in promptly.

    Alex Hansen sent a compelling short remix for “Peridot,” but the others did not come through, so I decided to go ahead with just the one. All is well.

    “Peridot” was produced in Logic Pro, using a lot of vintage emulation instruments like the Mellotron and Roland 808, as well as real analog sounds from my ARP Odyssey. Alex tells me his remix was made with micro-samples entirely on his iPhone.

    SYMMTR is a thin mask. I don’t really hide behind a pseudonym to be anonymous, but invited the universe to give me a name for electronic, beat-driven music, and that’s what I got.

    I want this project to continue to be collaborative, even though it’s essentially a solo project. Working with these guys for remixes was cool. We didn’t go back and forth at all, I just accepted their outputs, which I think is how remixes usually work.

    I enjoyed all their tracks and truly appreciate their participation.

    One takeaway from this is that (like a band) giving your song over for others to interpret means they have the opportunity to see it totally differently, and that can be better, worse, or just different. I want to embark on direct collaboration, so that artists actually contribute to SYMMTR tracks, not just remix them.

    I don’t know if SYMMTR will ever form as a band, but I’m open to that too.

  • Meet SYMMTR

    Meet SYMMTR

    SYMMTR came to me by intention. I didn’t want to think of a name to publish electronic music under, I wanted to arrive at one. The name had to stick under heavy rains of doubt. There’s no perfect name, but it’s not just arbitrary.

    Sym is a Greek prefix meaning together, or in union. A great example is symphony, meaning sound in unity.

    “Symmtr” is always auto-corrected by the computer to symmetry. Dropping the e and the y emphasizes the word meter, so it means literally meter in unity. Being a lot of MIDI driven music, it’s like a symphony of meter that becomes sound in the computer.

    The phrase “precarious symmetry” was floating around my head when I decided to take on a name for music.

    Throughout my life, I’ve floated the balance of precariousness with shit working out as if by some divine symmetry. That is also a lot of the music I make. Projects like Death Worth Living were unstructured improvisation, much like my life, the music somehow comes together. Sometimes it’s messy and displeasing, but it’s life.

    Although SYMMTR is much more structured and is built in controlled computer software, there is still a huge improvisational element to my process. That’s when it feels the best.

    I previously posted Sonny’s Plan on Bandcamp, where I discuss how I produced each track, but the purpose of this post is to discuss the introduction of a new artistic identity.

    Aside from my 2009 release with Kelly Slusher as Imra, I’ve never published to streaming services until now.

    The story of SYMMTR really begins after Imra. I also produced an EP of Kelly’s music while we were taking a break from Imra. That break became permanent, but so did my interest in computer driven music. I learned a lot from the catalyst of Kelly, so I wasn’t about to let go of my experience gained using Ableton, Reason, Cubase, and Logic. Most tracks include some performance from the Arp Odyssey, but mostly, it all is generated from stock software.

    The first SYMMTR LP Sonny’s Plan represents this slowly formed identity between 2010 until 2020. Most of the music that I have made in life is without clear meter, performed and composed in the same instant, it is “experimental” and “avant-garde.” This content is a departure from that, and in a sense, more experimental to me personally.

    Every song on this LP was put out originally in a half-hearted way, as a SoundCloud drop, or Bandcamp, without much regard for cover art. There wasn’t a serious intention, I was just anxious to get songs on my profiles. I grouped these together, in every case possible going back into the sessions to revise the mix, before remastering every song together.

    The second release as SYMMTR was produced in 2022, a single/EP called Topaz. This includes two remixes, one from All The Stores Are Closed, the other from Matchewey. They could not have taken more opposing directions, the prior going full force Jazz House style, and the latter going Down Tempo.

    The next slated release is a sister single/EP set to have two remixes as well. I am still waiting on the second remix for that track.

    Building a remix pack and making it accessible to fellow producers was a valuable experience, something traditional to the electronic music scene, and I look forward to doing more of that.

    STREAMING AND DOWNLOAD LINKS:

    Apple Music

    Spotify

    YouTube Music

    Bandcamp