New Era by Nickels Hawkeye

Before Your Throne is an introduction that was created without a click track or any sequencing. The time signature is 3/4 as opposed to the usual 4/4. The chord progression captures the feeling I was going for quite nicely in my opinion. The vocals were added after the fact because I knew that there was something missing that I wasn't certain how to play and I can only figure out by ear. So, I messed around and figured out what I was hearing in my head by laying down the vocals. The culmination of the synthesizer at the end and the drop back down to the quiet is reminiscent of grunge music in my opinion.

Auto Pilot was created during a time of my life that I felt like I was going through the motions of daily activities without much meaning. I was debating whether to call it “daily grind”, “something ELSE to sleep on” or something of the like but ended up not doing that this time. Maybe in the future. This one is the most upbeat instrumental on the album and features a lot of turntable work. I'm particularly proud of it and really enjoy the filtering of the synthesizers in the verse sequences. The drums are rather unique as well because I used a break beat that I had found along with the drum kit that I was able to manipulate on my production software.

Like It Or Not starts out with the guitar loop that I found online and progresses into a darker chord progression during the verse along with a little switch up halfway through the sequence. The drums are a little bit drier than usual but has a lot of punch to it. I really enjoy the harmonies on the chorus for this instrumental. I really hope you can feel what I was feeling when I was creating it. Notice the triangle in there?

I Am Loves Me is kind of a second introduction to this album. Starting with reverse vocals, it has a little bit of an unusual introduction, but I enjoy that. I also enjoy the harmonies. When the synth comes in it's a little bit brighter, but it makes the harmony sound even better. This was never meant to have a full-on drum pattern. I drew inspiration from a group called Plum that had a break beat similar to this and one of their songs called “send angels.” I wanted to capture the calmness of the piano that's in there and bring that piano to the forefront rather than relying on the instrumental or a baseline to carry it through.


Reap the Whirlwind is a phrase I remember from the movie Young Guns. It was something that Billy the Kid always said before he shot someone. This beat has a multiple pitched snare on it and some reverse hi-hats as well as a lot of different panning that is going on with the drum kit. It also has the standard 80s baseline that I've grown to love so much. The court progression is a busier one but I feel like that adds to the maturity of the track. The vocals are intended to be more in the background on this one but the melody that I was able to find I think is essential. The hit that I scratched with the turntables was kind of a chance find because it just came out of the blue and was in the right pitch. I thought it brought it all together nicely.

Every Need Met has kind of a spooky beginning to it but I think the chord progression wraps around it nicely to bring it to more of a melodic finish. The higher melody during the chorus brings it all together and then drops off during the verse to create room for vocals if any were to ever be written. This drum pattern also has a lot of pitched snare drums in it with some distorted bass drums, but interestingly enough, doesn’t overload on the bass frequencies. Nicely balanced.

I Hope It’s Not True captures the feeling I had whilst wondering if some bad new about a relative possibly passing away was true or not. No one could get ahold of him for about 2 days. Eventually, someone was able to hear from him and confirm he was okay, but during that time of sadness and anxiety about the possibility of him being dead, I made this beat. I hope he know that I love him and I’m glad he’s okay and I really hope he can take care of himself and be here for as long as possible.

He Neither Sleeps Nor Slumbers was made right before my mom got back from a weekend trip. I played it for her upon her return and she fell asleep to it. She was tired. It has a very relaxing feel to it though and would lull me to sleep too and has several times. Very peaceful sounding. What's the multiple keyboard sounds and echo and reverb affects added it has almost a trance like feel to it. The singing is also not meant to be a foreground feature but more in the background as usual. I used both a Wurlitzer electric piano and a Rhodes electric piano.

If Only has a lot of turntable work on it. It also has a lot of Organ work in it. I had just finished watching the series Wednesday on Netflix. It also has a synth bass on it that I think adds a lot to it. It almost didn't clear because the scratch that I used both in the chorus and the verses was from a queen song and I almost didn't get it cleared but it's technically in public domain. There's a little bit of unusual panning in the vocals during the chorus and during the verse there is some vocal synths that are used which as well provide kind of a unique vocal sound on both sides, synth and organic.

Cognitive Dissonance has no samples in it but it has a lot of dissonant chords in it which at first I wasn't very confident in but as I listened to it I liked more and more. None of my other stuff really has any samples in it either. I've played most of it except for a break beat from an earlier instrumental. The set during the chorus is a very well balanced one a lot of highs and a lot of lows so it really balances out nicely. Also, I use some more organ, still in the vein of Wednesday on Netflix. This has a lot of cymbal work in the drum beat which makes it sound almost like a sampled breakbeat, but it's not. I programmed that inside of my DAW and it came out fairly realistic sounding.

Contaminated was the last instrumental I included on the album. It started out at about 80 BPM and ended up at 181 BPM. So, the drums sound fairly organic in this one as well but they are also a kit. I think the scratchy record sound that's in it helps make it sound a little bit more realistic. There are two different synths in the verse that complement each other and come in and out of the verse. The main scratch that I used is actually in the baseline and if you were to listen to the sound by itself, it would be a patch cord buzz sound. I just pitched them to the right pitch to match the chord progression in the instrumental. Overall, this has a fairly dreamy sound and I really like it.

DRIFT was added at the last minute. The project needed to have a good exit and this instrumental fit perfectly. I couldn't not include it, so I guess I lied. Contaminated was NOT the last instrumental I included on the album; THIS one was. I tend to listen to meditation music while I try to go to sleep, so that is what inspired me to create this one. It's nice and peaceful and I wanted to leave my listeners in a peaceful mood. I hope this takes you into a wonderful time of rest and rejuvenation. Hopefully, not when you're driving or operating heavy equipment... Disclaimer... God bless you all and thank you for caring enough to read this and listen to the music Jesus has given me to release into the universe.


Copyright Soundmind Artists / Nickels Hawkeye 2022

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Nickels Hawkeye has been a musical staple in the Pacific Northwest for decades. He is a founding member of Oldominion through his group Comunalien. He was part of Lojique and has released several solo projects.

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