The Dartboard
About The Dartboard
The Dartboard is a collection of songs that I created during quarantine that incorporate the sounds and meanings of my most vivid dreams from my childhood until current day. It is not conventional music due to the nature of why the songs were written; I attempted to recreate the sights, sounds, and events within the dreams into their relative songs. Throughout the pieces, a small music box plays slowly and awkwardly to simulate the energy of a cursed child-like scheme.
"Triangular Staring Contest"
"The Triangular Staring Contest" is based the happiest of all of the dreams and centers around my realization that I was in love with one of my friends. The repeating line "I won't let go of it" refers to my inability to move on from her, even though all signs pointed to move on. In the end, the happiness slowly deteriorates into a slightly foreboding sound, which replicates the nature of the relationship that proceeded (see Tar Queen). Also, you can hear me reference this song in "Carnest", the title track off of an EP that I had written a little while after finishing this record. The two songs are connected because they are about the same person.
"Chariot"
"Chariot" focuses on a dream that I had about the impacts of medically transitioning. In the dream, I was relaxing in a meadow at sunset and three hooded figures ran toward me with trash bags filled with white pills (these were my period blockers). I proceeded to run away into the forest. The song itself is more about the overwhelming decisions that lay ahead of me in my real life.
"Silk"
"Silk" is a simple tune about a simple dream; I was organizing my closet after feeling overwhelmed by the mess.
"EBP"
"EBP" stands for "The Essence of Being Poisoned". It centers around two different dreams I had that fidget with the long-term impact of drinking alcohol and my fear of becoming addicted.
"The Dartboard"
"The Dartboard" is the last song of the collection and is the title track. The dream that it focuses on was a reoccurring dream that I was being physically warped and melted away by a cursed golden dartboard on the wall. I used to walk into my parents' bedroom late at night because I would be scared to go back to sleep, and my dad would take me on a walk downstairs and pour me a cup of water and talk about my feelings. I see this dream as a precursor to the realization of my mental illnesses and my more recent dreams that reflect them.
"Chariot" (Revisited)
Watch me revisit this song after some time medically transitioning! I also included clips of me playing it years ago (in 2019) when I first wrote it. Apologies for the watermark! I will not be swayed to get rid of it; it is too expensive to do that.
About the Album Art
The dream box
The dream box was created by the wonderful Kris McCarthy and recreates the notion of my brain storing ideas into boxes. In this case, they have created a "dream box" where all of the dreams from this record are stored (and funny enough, this box is how I store them in my brain). Each panel focuses on one of the songs with the dartboard peering out from the center. This box now sits feet from my bed and I don't know how I feel about it. It's definitely a sight to behold.
Sketch Gallery
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