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Cameras and Paragons

by Jasper X

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about

After writing songs and recording low-fi records for the better part of 14 years, American singer/songwriter Jasper X finally decided to get his act together.

This sudden outburst of focus was inspired by a three year stint wandering the city streets of various European cities. He spent most of his time in Helsinki, London, and Brussels. The journey wasn’t about seeing old buildings and guided tours as it was about meeting old friends and maintaining a relationship with his former girlfriend. With no job or direction, there was plenty of time to observe people. From cafes to rock clubs to bus/train/tram stops, there were behavioral patterns unique to each city.

While in the midst of such observations, the idea of Cameras and Paragons came to life. It would be a loosely formed concept album, set up in two acts. Act I would document a young couple escaping a near-futurist America dominated by surveillance and “order”. Act II would dive into the intricacies of the couple’s break-up in a foreign land.

Two years of writing yielded a nine track effort that would mostly be laid down at The Fortress Studios in Shoreditch and mixed by Jason Judy in the United States. Throughout its 33 minute run-time, frequent crossovers from rock to electro to acoustic singer/songwriter take place fluidly from track to track and verse to chorus. The musical intent of the record was to channel the sonic energy of a world edging closer and closer to New World Order.

Jasper X currently resides in Jersey City, NJ

credits

released 24 January 2013
Musicians:
Jasper X: vocals, guitars, programming, synths, piano
Beatrice Nodari: vocals, #1, #6
Arianna Miolo: vocals #2, #7
Jason Judy: synths, #2
Steve Bond: string arrangement, #5



Recorded in London, UK

Engineers:
Steve Bond at Ignition Studios
Rob Harrison at THE FORTRESS
Ed at THE FORTRESS

Produced by Jasper X, Rob Harrison, and Jason Judy

Mixed by Jason Judy in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Mastered by The Exchange in London, UK

Special thanks to Shaun at THE FORTRESS and Patrick at Ignition Studios

Copyright 2011 Jasper X

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Track Name: F Train
In Forward Time:

Honey, we gotta get up off the F Train
We gotta get above the surface
Make sure no one heard us
Make sure no one saw us running

Money won’t even get us to the river
They’re blocking every road to cross the country
Will we make our home like a home should be?
With no one tracking us or the dreams we see?

Baby you gotta help me off this F Train
They’re coming down the stairs, I know
I can feel the freeze
Of riot gear and guns for the rebel teens
We need to escape where we can’t be seen


In Reverse Time:

Please, dear make me ill
Make self esteem
She lives here forever
We both fight and hate the others

Leave, but if you pack
You'll never recognize me my friend
This track's in my inner head
Well Hear me

Please, dear leave your home
Softly as no other
We heed to the strong word
Having more clout than we would

We used to love other songs
Turned with all my record players
Have they foresaken me for the key home?

Some wars bore no shame
Some have told other halves, but no new shame
Suffer more or less or
Suffer again like you
Me, I've struck gold
But I like it like you, Dorthea
Track Name: Sun Cycles
Sun Cycles

Baby I got a confession
I gotta see the light
Light on the Earth from an angle
Higher than Euro skies

Fly over mountains East to West
We’ll never see the night
Circle the world all day after day
Never ending goodbye

Pack it up, Pack it in, it’s time to break the cycle
Sunspot skating on your eyes
Heal my mind one last time

Temperature’s falling faster
Sign of a solstice crime
You call the Arctic winter
How do you deal with the night?

And I got another confession
I’m not a Finnish guy
I’m an American warrior
Fighting a ghost that lives inside

We're one in the same
Track Name: Carrie
Carrie

Carrie didn’t want the world to know she was breathing
Carrie didn’t want the world to give her a sigh
There were bombs and guns and people who danced near the streetlight
There were bombs and guns and nobody walked outside
She’s alive

Carrie had the type of chip that melts in your shoulder
She had one last chance to rid herself of the plight
There were men at arms, guarding the pyramid holders
There were men at arms, and she had a way to fight

From the moon to the rise of the sea
There’s a gravity feel, it’s a you into me
I know you’re alright
To stay through the night
From the moon to the rise of the sea

Carrie had a heart of snow on a night in the city
Carrie had to do her best with tools she could find
There were bombs and guns and people who danced near the streetlight
There were bombs and guns and nobody walked outside
Track Name: Invert La Revolution
Back when a cause was a call for revolution
There were no scanners to read our eyes from above
She had a chip and a choice to find the mountain
Baby we'll climb and hide 'till the daylight burns our skull
While quotidiens sing the masses to a lull
Never Question Why ??

This story smells of a story behind the real one
How did they know we were under the pavement swells?
They got a heatseeking way of finding your heartbeat
And a mile away is the calvary call from hell
When we get to the car we can gain some ground as well
Track Name: Cameras and Paragons
We are not insane; Life can be appealing and a bit misleading. I know what it means:

The cameras and paragons -- the paragons, they tell us who to be. Honey, can’t you see?

All this governance benevolent to no one but the big man
Honey, take this chip out from my back and run,
Run away, it’s gonna be a long day.
It’s gonna be a special day

Sitting on a plane
Ducking off the radar
We may never get far
We have to believe

The cameras and paragons
The cameras, they shape the world we breathe
Honey, set me free

From this powerful intelligence—they forced us into foxholes
Honey, take this chip out from my back and run,
Run away, it’s gonna be a long day.
It’s gonna be a special day

Oh those cameras and paragons
That paragon is staring right at me
Honey can’t you see?
If we disobey they’ll take our names
They’ll write us on the big board
Honey, take this chip out from my back and run, away
Track Name: Exit 9 (feat. Beatrice Nodari)
The night highway white lines blur to a signal
Beneath the throttle of trucker zombie groans
The exit ramp is a pinball chute to a vacuum
If this is a game, then God only knows when we get to go back to home?

And when you can’t stay up any longer
Honey, don’t be afraid.
Baby, the weight of the world is behind you
So honey, don’t be afraid.

I turn to see the (heli)copter cops with a searchlight
They’re on the radio plotting to take control
The green sign says the grass is greener ahead, girl
A decade ago it said “Exit 9”: we’re gonna make it back to home
Track Name: Helsinki (feat. Arianna Miolo)
Open the door
Sunlight shines through
Half past midnight
Who needs a night
We hide in newness
I just met you

Hotel room feels
The sobs you sing
Three years later
I can’t recall the
Good or what led to the Bad
It’s a sad welcome back

What is “it”