The Secret Life of Ones and Zeroes was more than 20 years in the making. It is comprised of performances from various sessions, some of which were recorded as early as 1999.

The keyboard parts were recorded to 2 track cassette in an apartment in San Diego in 1999 and have been heavily processed subsequently.

The vocal parts were recorded in a different apartment in San Diego in 2001.

All of the computer processing and editing was done in Tunis in 2019 and 2020.

Other sections of the piece, including the opening movement, came from multi-track digital home recordings made between 1999 and 2001 on a Boss BR-8 (the zip-disk version). These tracks, comprised of voice, percussion, and electronic effects, were recorded during the sessions for my second album Other Elements on the same recording unit used to make that album and the live EP I recorded with Eric Hensel in 1999.

Finally toward the end of the piece there is a double tracked backwards guitar section recorded during the sessions for two of my more recent releases, Between the Droughts and the Floods and The Future's as Bright as a Dying Star EP, both of which were recorded in Tunisia in 2019.

Several sections of the keyboard solo were further treated and manipulated, while others were left as originally recorded, including my favorite passage, the high pitched Theremin-like section just before the guitar section.

I recommend listening to this piece very loud, in the dark, with really good headphones.

Composed, improvised, produced and performed by Abel Ashes

Abel Ashes: guitar, percussion, keyboards, vocals, electronics.