NUR EIN
Stacking Theory
Summer RobotNur Ein XVII
almost 4 years agowon
3:29
Summer Robot
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Stacking Theory

Entry from Summer Robot in Nur Ein XVII.

Sonic palette comprised of instruments/sounds/timbres not used in previous rounds

LyricsShow lyrics

Summer Robot - by Stacking Theory
Liner notes
I’ve been listening to a lot of The Fauves lately, who do a great job of telling nostalgic stories form the summer of our youth. They hit the mark for me, because they’re based in a similar time and location to my childhood.

I wanted to create a similar feeling so I invented a new story from my childhood which included a Summer Robot - a robot-shaped lawn sprinkler that we would run around under on those long hot summer days. By the end of this process, I was starting to believe that this thing had actually existed.

In terms of ‘don't sound like you’
Drums: I chose an electronic kit, instead of an acoustic one. By a happy accident, it included some gorgeous little guitar and key flourishes that you’ll hear here and there.
Bass: I haven’t picked up my bass guitar for this whole competition, so I used it here - two tracks of very simple bass an octave apart.
Keys: I would usually go for a “rock’n’roll organ” to fill out the soundscapes, so instead this time I ended up with Logic’s bog-standard Rhodes rip-off, a clav, a couple of iterations of Logic’s Retro Synth, something called ‘PIF synth_bip’, and one that goes “wrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooo”
Lyrics: Just look at all these words! So many of them!
Structure: A pre-chorus! I've never done that before, I don't think ever. You're welcome.
Tempo: I know I’ve been running well below 100bpm this competition, and I swear I tried to speed this one up. I’ve got it set to 131bpm, I promise!

I sent this track off the Crumpet and Toshiro, and they added most of those awesome synth sounds and embiggened the whole thing, and tightened up the whole mix. I love them both tremendously.

we were young
we were playing in the sun
didn’t know about the ozone
living in our care free zone

and the days
went into nights
‘cos the sun don’t set till nine
we’ve gotta stay outside

and behave
and give our mum and dad some space
and if we stay out of their face
then maybe they will pay

for a new toy
we’ve seen it on TV
it’s a sprinkler made for me
and Jon and it’ll help to keep the grass green

it’s the best
it’ll fail the Turing test
but it’s gonna get us wet

and that’s all we care about
that’s all we care about

Summer Robot!
shooting automatic jets
fresh water right until the sun sets.
Summer Robot!
calling out to all your friends
come round and play until the sun sets
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!

all those days
playing on the lawn
the neighbour's giving scorn
because we left the water on

and it flows
underneath the fence
and it flooded out his shed
where he kept his camping tents

so he said
that we’d have to pay him back
for the water damage that
he said was all because of us and our crap

but we won’t have none of that
because the robot’s here to stay
and mum and dad have got our back

and that’s all we care about
that’s all we care about

Summer Robot!
shooting automatic jets
fresh water right until the sun sets.
Summer Robot!
calling out to all your friends
come round and play until the sun sets
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!
Summer Robot!

Reviews

4 posted notes

Evermind

Forum post

Sometimes, when a beat is stilted like this one, especially with the "machine gun" effect, it lacks groove. This has plenty of groove, and it's fitting to have a robotic sounding beat in a song titled Summer Robot. I really love the way the instruments come in and out of the song, especially during the lines starting with "and give our mum and dad some space". I really didn't expect the sudden upbeat dance-fest chorus after the slow groove of the verses and the even slower, more mellow pre-chorus. I think the transition would have worked better if you'd used the prechorus to start building up from mellow groove to the high energy of the chorus, increasing the intensity of the music over the prechorus so that the transition isn't so jarring. I also think the ending chorus could have used something more, it didn't feel like it was much bigger than the previous chorus. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this song a lot.

furrypedro

Forum post

This is the first song I heard that I thought might have broken the rules with your use of drums. I haven't compared the sound set to your previous tracks, but you've definitely used drums before (I just read your notes, electronic drums. Okay, you get an eyebrow raise instead of a fail). That being said, I do like the beat so I could overlook it if I'm feeling lenient. The rest of the arrangement sounds totally fresh so as far as the melodic instruments go you're safe. I like the vocal layered with the synths to provide main chord/riff base, and the overall atmosphere is suitably summery; I can imagine your lounging on your front lawn with this playing. I like the vocals in the verse, particularly the meter of the lines, although there are some bits when it feels like your stretching your voice beyond what it's comfortable with. I also appreciate the double-time switch in the chorus, but there it feels like the hook lacks the punch I want it to have. (Also, re: your liner notes, I like your cromulent use of wordage.)

vowlvom

Forum post

this is so much fun, and such a fascinating, detailed sonic palette that sounds distinctly like you while pushing in a bunch of interesting new directions. Love the slow pre-chorus that really lets the chorus pack a punch when it kicks in, and the layered vocoder harmonies. My favourite bits are the little da-da-doo-doo keyboard / sample bits in the verse though. Fun lyric too, I have MAJOR nostalgia for running around under a sprinkler in the hot summer, now I'm going to retcon those memories to feature considerably more robot.

sailingmagpie

Forum post

On my first listen, I made a note saying, "Is this about some kind of robot hose?" I wasn't too far away! I love the almost hip hop feel to the groove and the flow in the verses. This is a real head nodder that shifts gear to a banger for the chorus and the lyrics feel really personal (even if they aren't!). "Fail the Turing test..." is one example of the good wordplay throughout the lyric and that noise going back from the chorus into the verse is like a sorbet to cleanse the palette. This track really climbed my rankings the more I listened to it.

Stacking Theory - Summer Robot | Nur Ein