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If ‘In A Box’ was an early indication of a more refined, melodic version of Shock Octopus, well the lead single for the ‘A Crisis’ long player took the bull by the proverbial horns.

‘Siren’ began life as the introduction to a song called ‘Endlessly’ in a band that Dave and I were in before Shock Octopus. There was a very prog-rock second part of the song written by another band member which I couldn’t remember how to play – my attempts to recreate the sound resulted in the bridge parts for ‘Siren.’

The aim of ‘Endlessly’ (the bit that I wrote anyway) was supposed to sound like a Space-Rock version of the Munich disco sound via Giorgio Moroder – did you know there was a European phenomenon known as Space Disco in the late 70s? Check out Amanda Lear’s ‘Black Holes’ on YouTube sometime. I know that for one of my friends ‘Endlessly’ was his favourite song that I had co-written and was appalled when I said that I was turning it into a new song. On first hearing of the piano demo of ‘Siren’ however, all was forgiven!

This was the first song that I worked on with Bill Presser in his Melbourne home studio, and the first time that I pushed my keyboard to the limit with all the wooshes, shimmers and sound effects. It was great to have the time to experiment and layer the song with all these bells and whistles. It was also an unnerving experience as I had never done this before and there were fears that my inclination would be to overproduce. It worked incredibly well in my opinion, so well that I believe the fuzzy synth haze is what makes this song fire. The song works okay live with a full band but tends to fall apart when we try doing it acoustic. It needs a soundscape to hold together.

While I went to town with the sounds, the song structure itself was more conventional as I was trying to reign in my typical song writing eccentricities. So I created a solid verse-chorus-bridge structure to ground the song down while the synth pads were shooting straight for heaven. It only gets weird in the bridge with the key change and the chromatic chords – the second bridge more so as the duel pianos become progressively out of time with each other. This was a recording accident that Bill and I thought was cool so we decided to keep them. I was a lot more restrained with the lyrics too, aiming for old school poeticism. In terms of efficiency and the words sounding ‘nice’ together, Siren is one of my prouder lyrical moments.

Two other things! My friend Tamara Caitlin oohed and ahhed the opening riff. I remember trying to imagine, what would an actual song from a siren actually sound like? I worked on some ascending progression in C# major which always sounded like a regal chord to me. Dave was unable to contribute to the ‘Crisis’ recording sessions (he may have been having his own crisis) but he made a video to ‘Siren’ which I think is just stunning. Available on YouTube.

Did I say that was everything? Almost…isn’t Scott’s drumming on this just heavenly?

- Michael Bayliss
Shock Octopus

lyrics

Siren calls to me through the ocean spray
Siren sings to me though the wind holds sway
Sail on a wiser man, he knows the silence is a friend
To you I turn port stead, a lesser man sail to his end

And she sings:
Come to me
Stay with me
Endlessly

How could I ever tell her no
How could I ever let her go

Siren lures me in, to her rocky shores
Siren reels me in, to her funeral port
Sound a shattering a mast so high could crash so low
Now to drown in love, to sleep her meadows far below

And she sings:
Drown for me
Down with me
Endlessly
And I knew from start her song
It always it always it always ends in…

credits

from A Decade Into Darkness, released May 29, 2021
Music and Lyrics: Michael Bayliss

Scott Andrews: Drums
Michael Bayliss: Vocals, Keyboards, Sound Effects
Tamara Caitlin: Backing Vocals
Bill Presser: Bass, Guitar

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Shock Octopus Perth, Australia

Contemplative, Existential, Art Rock.

A collective stream of consciousness and social commentary by Michael Bayliss, David Blair and Scott Andrews.

Ride the waves!

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