May 20, 2025 • 27 mins
Ever wondered how music that feels so effortless and dreamy actually comes together? Bill from Darksoft pulls back the curtain on his creative process, revealing the fascinating intersection of mathematical precision and emotional resonance that defines his signature sound.
Growing up surrounded by music—with a cellist mother and pianist father who pioneered home recording—Bill's path to becoming a musician feels almost predetermined. Yet his approach to creating atmospheric indie rock is distinctly his own. "Maybe I never grew up fully," he reflects, describing how childhood musical experiences laid the groundwork for his DIY ethos. Rather than seeing this hands-on approach as limiting, Bill embraces it as both practical and ethical in an industry where margins are thin.
What truly distinguishes Darksoft's music is Bill's conceptual framework. Each album begins with an overarching philosophical idea—his latest release "Rationalism" explores how we understand the world through thought rather than direct experience. This thoughtful foundation supports songs built through meticulous layering: starting with chord progressions (often in drop D tuning), adding sub bass, plucky bass guitar, rhythm guitar, and finally jangly leads. "I've kind of built my own formula or algorithm," he explains, embracing rather than resisting the mathematical patterns inherent in music creation.
The result is music that creates a "swell," gently cradling listeners in waves of sound that feel simultaneously comforting and subtly complex. It's an approach that's connecting with a growing audience, with tours planned across the US and new music on the horizon. Whether you're drawn to the philosophical underpinnings or simply love getting lost in dreamy soundscapes, Darksoft offers a musical experience that rewards repeated listening—each layer revealing itself with time, just as Bill intended.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
colleyc (00:43):
All right, all, Welcome back.
We're here.
Season five is just growinginto this really lovely journey.
So far it started super coldand now we're getting into the
spring and starting to feel alittle bit more tingly in our
hearts for summer.
Summer's almost here people,the festivals and the outdoor
(01:03):
concerts it's all coming back,Don't worry.
We I live, bill um in in theeastern shore, so snow is, uh
yeah, my love hate thing that Igo through.
We just had snow like two daysago and I know spring.
All of a sudden I'm, I'm in,I'm in maine out here.
So eastern seaboard as well oh,it's nature's a little trick on
(01:25):
us sometimes.
Eh, you think I'm gone right,you think you got over me.
Darksoft (01:29):
No, no, no, no, no here's one little last reminder
I used to live in Seattle and wewould get this fake summer
every year around April or Mayand people would take off their
shirts, go sunbathing and thenit's like three more months of
rain right after that so we'rejoined here today with bill from
(01:50):
dark soft, and dark soft's agreat band.
I really have been loving themoff of uh spirit goth.
Uh, it came out not too longago.
We're looking at february 21st2025, great new record he just
put out, entitled Rationalism.
So, bill, thanks so much forhopping on here and sharing some
(02:11):
of your insights into yourmusic.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm always happy to talk shopand really enjoy this.
So thank you for inviting me tothe podcast.
colleyc (02:20):
It was a pleasure Pleasure.
So, bill, just to get usstarted here a little bit, when
did music really start speakingto you?
When did it start humminginside?
Can you remember occasions inyour early years where you
identified so closely with whatmusic was that you knew that it
(02:41):
would somehow be in your life,as you, you know, turned into an
adult and grew up and startthinking about?
Yeah what you were gonna do asyou got older, like how did
music start?
How did it start?
Darksoft (02:53):
um crystallizing in your mind maybe to put it more
clearly, is the fact that I justnever grew up fully maybe
that's more accurate, uh it's.
It's just always been around me,and I come from a musical
family.
My my parents were classicallytrained, my mom's a cellist, my
dad's a pianist and my sisterplays guitar too, so I was
(03:16):
surrounded by that, and what wascool was that I was exposed to
recording at a very early agetoo.
My dad was a kind of a pioneerin home recording, and so he had
tapes of his material and wewould pop it into the tape
player and I would like dancearound with my friends and you
don't know like what fame iswhen you're so young.
(03:37):
You just think like, oh, thisis fun, this is cool, let's uh,
let's listen to this and hoparound off the tables and things
.
Yeah, that's one of my firstmemories of identifying to music
and through my family, it madeit more accessible.
colleyc (03:53):
Did you say, Bill, that that was your dad's music that
you had put on?
Darksoft (03:57):
Yeah yeah.
He made like kind of pop rapstuff in the 80s and early 90s
and so we had these old tapes Ithink they're sitting around
somewhere and I keep.
I keep telling him like we, wegot to re-release this one day
yeah uh.
So yeah, it's always been a partof me.
I, I like, did trumpet inmiddle school and then found
(04:19):
about rock music and listeningto alternative uh music back in
the day, got into, you know,producing and recording in my
bedroom on guitar, self-taughtwith that, and uh picked up
drums, did some vocal lessons,and so I kind of tried to be
like a jack-of-all-trades whereI could just produce my own
(04:39):
stuff right and I've just beendoing that, uh, for a couple
decades, I guess well, well.
colleyc (04:46):
So you're a true diy artist like you.
You dabble in all the aspectsof bringing a record out or
releasing music, or touring orlike you're it it's pretty diy.
Darksoft (05:01):
I mean, I don, I don't know how to do it Otherwise.
Uh, the margins are so thin and, yeah, you could throw a lot of
money at it and hire a lot ofpeople, but it would not be
sustainable and it would justmake the bar higher for everyone
else, which I think ethicallyis weird.
So, yeah, at least right nowI'm just doing a lot myself.
(05:21):
Um, I do like work with otherpeople.
Uh, don't get me wrong, I'vebeen collaborating with this
great mixing engineer, brianfisher, for some of the dark,
soft, uh material that's beenreleased, and so I'll my process
lately is that I will record itat home and then bounce out dry
stems, which are basically justlike the direct input sound
(05:45):
without any effects on them, andthen send that over the wire to
the mixer, which has been brianlately, and he'll, you know,
add his flavor at his own touchand then we'll.
It's kind of like acollaboration like that.
So it's nice getting some helpwith like the mixing and
mastering side of things.
And then, um, yeah, youmentioned spirit goth.
They've been, uh, you candistribute my music I'm online
(06:07):
and they've even made tapes,because I guess tape cassettes
are back these days old is newagain.
It always comes back around,yeah, nothing new under the sun
that's it, yeah that's prettycool and when did you?
When did you start playing?
Like what was you?
You said that you playedtrumpet, or was it trumpet?
You said you're like one ofyour own.
(06:28):
Yeah, talking john philip souzadays.
Okay, mr miller, shout outthere you go, mr miller.
Look at your student now youknow, still in the music, still
doing it.
When did you like start umwriting your own songs?
Like when did that process?
When did that come out?
start coming out of you likewhere you started to become a
(06:49):
singer, songwriter I think I wasabout 15 or 16 and, uh, I was
such a bad songwriter back then.
Maybe I mean I, maybe I'm alittle bit better now, but just
like going at it with uh it canbe daunting, you know, because
you don't really know how tofinish something, you don't know
when it's complete, and likewriting lyrics was challenging.
I'm like, what do I sing abouthere?
(07:10):
I know I want to createsomething.
I have all these melodies andchord progressions in my mind
and I have, like these effectsthat I want to add and I made
some really weird stuff.
Um, looking back, I I'm proudof all that and maybe I'll
dabble in it or like re-releasesome of those old demos that are
just garage band files you knowhundreds of them just sitting
around, but it's cool.
(07:31):
It just helped me like get it,get a process of doing it and
become more, more confident andjust work it into like what I do
every day.
Essentially, I'll just chip outa song.
colleyc (07:41):
Right and Bill, what is your process like?
How do you approach a song andI'll tag a little ending on
there.
Can you, can you get a sense ofonce?
You've kind of found something,if it will fit with with the
dark, soft, you know, aestheticum yeah, like do you have that
feeling of, or do you like writefor like with that, and I guess
(08:05):
you must write with that inmind all the time, like that is
yeah.
Darksoft (08:09):
I sort of do.
I'm like a very conceptualartist compared to other people
who might just like write on thefly or whatever's on their mind
at the moment, which is anawesome style, and respect that
too.
But I'll go into an album withwith an overriding idea.
Like uh for beige vacation, ofwhich I put out in 2023.
(08:32):
I was just thinking like I'mgonna make a lot of um.
I kind of start with lyrics andsong titles, like I'm gonna
create a lot of uh, beigey kindof cliches and phrases and
colloquialisms that say a lotwithout saying much at all, like
you got to do what you got todo or it is what it is.
Uh, like all these phrases thatyou just throw around sometimes
(08:55):
but have a lot of weight tothem.
So I've been yeah, I've beenlike lyrics were hard for me in
the past, and so I kind of likestarted going more into lyrics
later on in life.
I'm like I'm gonna start withthis first um.
So, yeah, that's kind of myoverriding process.
Like, uh, I'll start with a,with an album concept, and then
(09:19):
I'll pick up like little phrasesthat I want to throw into the
mix and do some research about,like, oh, what you know I'm
working on a song right nowcalled rinse and repeat.
So what are other ideas thatlike fit into that?
That notion?
Uh, so yeah, I'll like, andthen I'll get a chord
progression in mind on theguitar and I just like the same
(09:40):
progression over and over.
I'm like very repetitive withmy music and I'll just add or
remove layers.
Essentially that's kind of howI create lately.
So like chord progression downand then put some melody layers
and maybe some counter melody orharmonies in the mix and I I'm
very robotic, I like follow apop structure.
(10:01):
Um, I just I'm like on this, uh, on this kind of cycle and it's
, it's like a comfortingrepetitive process to me well, I
mean it sounds.
colleyc (10:12):
I'm amazed that other people like it well, I mean, I
was gonna say that it is thatkind of, but I I think it's just
so comforting and it puts youinto this swell, you know, like
it kind of just you you're, Ifeel like you're cradling me and
just kind of like swooshing meback and forth in this swell.
Darksoft (10:32):
Yeah I want the listeners to feel good.
Yeah, absolutely, it's totallyfeel good.
Music too.
Like I I really have been likeit makes me like proactive.
You know, like I like I'm calm,I'm mellow, so it has a
shoegazy indie poppy but kind ofa little bit of a darker
(10:52):
undertone as well.
But you got to dig for that.
I find a little bit more.
The happy stuff percolates firstin my mind when I listen to it,
yeah, and then it just getsworse and worse listen well,
colleyc (11:09):
I was going to mention, too, that I really like the
sequencing, how you put therecord together, and you were
mentioning that you, you, youhave a focus on a, on a record
idea with a title that you put.
Do you know when a song thatyou're writing like, do you go
through your process of puttingthe song and then saying, yeah,
(11:31):
this fits or it doesn't fit, ordo you make it fit?
Darksoft (11:35):
That's a great question.
I make that judgment call afterI've completed it and I used to
just go at these ideas andnever really see the finish line
.
And then you just have like allthese you know 30 second ideas
out there, hopefully, and so Iforce myself to finish it and
(12:01):
then I make that judgment call.
I'm like, okay, this, this fitsthe vibe.
If it's the sound, if it's thetheme, great.
Uh, maybe sometimes I'll tossit aside and use it for a
different release.
Or sometimes it'll just sit andnever see the light of day for
whatever reason.
So yeah, or like in 20 yearsfrom now, you might pull out all
these and make it Maybe.
colleyc (12:20):
Yeah, the forgotten tracks or the B-sides or
whatever it might be, and Ithink I'm doing all that just to
make sure I'm like putting outthe best stuff you know.
Darksoft (12:31):
Right, right For sure.
And if you were to look at thelatest release that you have
Rationalism.
colleyc (12:43):
What's the concept of the record if?
If, like, can you describe thatto us?
Yeah, so, I mean rationalism ina philosophical sense.
It's basically the idea counterto empiricism, which states
that you can only know, knowthings by like physically
interacting with them, bythrough sight or touch, like
rationalism is more like, um, Ithink, therefore, I am, you know
, I, I can rationalize aboutthings, even though I might not
(13:08):
have that lived experiencemyself, which I think is good to
be able to relate to otherpeople.
And you know, you have to havelike some logic and rational
sense about the world, aboutlike things that aren't, you
know, directly happening infront of you.
So, um, but there's like adownside of that, you know, you
can get lost in your head.
You know that was in thedetails, that was one of the
tracks, or you can get, you know, lost about thinking about what
(13:31):
does this person think of me?
You know, just probably tryingto read details that might not
be there.
So there's, there's a lot ofthat in the record, um, and not
all, not all the stuff isdirectly applicable to that
overarching theme, but, um, Ithink some of the sound echoes
that like it's a little moremechanical and like mathematical
than the, the album I put outpreviously.
(13:54):
So that was kind of and it's alittle bit darker, um.
Darksoft (13:59):
So yeah, that was all kind of intentional yeah, I love
too that you're like I've beentalking about this with artists
too and it's coming up more andmore of this formula for
songwriting.
You know like and I said I tendto always say I don't like the
word formula because it's itjust seems like it's easy and
it's not easy.
It's like you don't just likeokay, throw a word hidden here,
throw a chord progression, notdone.
(14:19):
Like it's easy and it's noteasy.
It's like you don't just likeokay, throw a word hidden here,
throw a chord progression, notdone.
Like it's not easy to do.
But you zoned in on thisstructure or this song structure
that you like to follow.
Can you expand on that a littlebit?
I find it so fascinating thatmusic has this like
computational thinking,mathematical theory behind it.
(14:40):
I'd love to hear your thoughtson that.
colleyc (14:44):
Especially coming from a drums background, like that
was my first introduction intorock music and you see it all
laid out, you know, you see four, four time signature and you
see where the beats are and itdoes look like math, it looks
like an algorithm in front ofyou.
So, yeah, maybe it's because Ikind of think in those terms.
You know, put the, put thesnare on two and four, keep it
(15:07):
simple, stupid.
Uh, I try to use like verysimple beats, um, that is
listenable and sounds good andkind of, like you know, settles
into a palette that people arealready comfortable with and
then maybe adds like its ownflavor on top of that.
Um, outside of the structure oflike the timing of the song.
(15:30):
You know I I also have a formulain mind when I'm adding the
layers to my music.
Um, I have like different partsthat I typically add in every
song, like a sub bass for thisreally low end deep frequency
and this kind of plucky bassguitar sound, and then I'll put
rhythm guitar over that and Iusually am in drop d and, yeah,
(15:56):
my indie friends make fun ofthat and then I'll like put some
jangly guitars and leads overthat.
So I kind of have an idea goinginto the project.
You know what I want and what Ithink sounds like a dark, soft
song.
So yeah, I've kind of, maybeI've built my own formula or
algorithm.
I should probably codify it oneday for sure, send it to some
(16:18):
mathematicians to analyzedeconstruct and and bill.
Darksoft (16:23):
What um, if you look at the two records, that just
can't like.
They're pretty close together,right um rationalism, and you
get the other one here isrelativism.
Yes, what?
What I mean?
The cover art's very similar,they they have similar feels.
Can you explain maybe thedifferences between, like as the
(16:48):
person that created them?
How do you see that one evolvedinto the other or one
influenced the other?
Do you see those connectionsthere between the two records?
colleyc (16:55):
Yeah, I kind of design them as sister albums.
They're very relatable in mymind and I think the cover art,
like you mentioned, speaks tothat.
I had this, this great tattooartist from portland oregon.
She designed the covers forboth albums and she does really
cool work and it's all this kindof squiggly abstract concept
(17:17):
which I was like, oh, that'sgreat, I'm going for these
strange, you know, philosophicaltitles.
Work with me yeah, you did agreat job.
I think the first album it'smore like.
It's more jaunty and more oflike a tweaked sound and I think
(17:39):
it's a slightly morelight-hearted and the themes are
, like you know, live and letlive.
Um, it's kind of like there'smore I.
It's hard to self self-diagnosebut yeah, maybe like a light
and dark combination for bothalbums, right.
Darksoft (17:56):
Right is, uh, the easiest way to put it, were you
thinking of the two records whenyou started the first?
colleyc (18:02):
like you knew you were going to do a follow-up to it,
like there would be a sister toit yeah, yeah, I kind of did the
same thing with my beige and mygray album, right, okay, the
beige vacation was kind of ajoke.
I was like what color can I dothat weezer or the beatles
didn't do?
Darksoft (18:22):
oh, beige, was it beigeification?
Yeah, yeah yeah, and thengrayscale.
colleyc (18:29):
Yeah, exactly, I feel like those kind of talk to one
another.
Right, that's been fun becauseyou know you always have
something that's coming up and Ijust like to have something to
look forward to.
And amazing I remember when youknow, system of a down released
its duo album back like when Iwas in middle school or high
(18:49):
school, I was like that's socool, hypnotize, mesmerize right
and uh yeah, I've wanted to dostuff like that yeah, I think
it's fun for listeners too, too,or followers, you know, who are
actively engaging with theproject.
They can chart out the journey alittle bit more.
It's fun to be more than just aperson.
Darksoft (19:10):
Yeah, yeah, we kind of talked a little bit about
collaborations.
Yeah, did you have goodcollaborations with the record
that you just put out, or wasthat truly something that you
had done, um, just on your own?
colleyc (19:27):
well, um, I've kind of done self-directed
collaborations.
If we're talking about darksoft itself, um, I'll, like I'll
get in a singer and ask them tojoin.
Uh, you know, I kind of of havethis low male baritone range,
so it's been nice to get somefemale singers doing the alto
soprano kind of range on top ofwhat I'm doing for meeting the
(19:48):
melody or doing harmonies on top.
So, yeah, I got Hannah fromDutch Experts as this cool dark
wave kind of synth pop group.
She's featured on one of thesongs.
And then Emily Irving fromPortland Maine is featured on
one of the songs as well.
(20:08):
So, yeah, try to add some peopleto the recordings.
I'd love to do more of that.
And then, yeah, I kind oftalked about the mixing process
and working with another mixingengineer.
It's been an awesomecollaboration and then just the
like distribution of the thingand getting it out there into
the world.
It's been nice working with thespirit goth and I love their
(20:28):
curation and I know they have alot of people that are like into
this dream pop shoegazeadjacent sound.
So it fits really well withwhat I was going for did spirit,
got Goth find you, or did youfind them?
I believe I found them justthrough the grapevine and
watching some artists I liked orknew personally putting music
(20:50):
out through them.
Darksoft (20:51):
Cool.
Yeah, that's a great, greatlabel, great label, love it.
So, bill, to kind of bringthings to a close again, thanks
so much for taking some time andsharing.
It's been really nice to chatwith you and and kind of get an
idea of how you create.
Um, I've been really lovingthis record I I recommend people
go out there and pick it up.
It's on bandcamp and cassette.
(21:13):
I think you said cassette,didn't you?
colleyc (21:15):
yeah, it's on cassette people on cassette players yeah,
yeah, 10 bucks on cassette.
Come On cassette players.
Yeah, yeah, and bucks oncassette.
Darksoft (21:20):
Come on now, come on.
We got to afford 10 bucks toget around.
Yeah, and are you download?
Yeah?
colleyc (21:30):
Absolutely.
You got some shirts for saletoo Cool.
Darksoft (21:34):
Anyway, support dark soft get out there.
I mean it's a great record too.
You want to listen to somethinggreat this weekend?
Throw it on um what, what'scoming down for 2025, for for
Darksoft Bill, what we're what'scoming up that you could tell
us about shows, recordings.
So what?
What can we look forward to?
colleyc (21:54):
yeah, absolutely.
So I'm putting together acouple weekender tours.
If you're in the United Statesyou can catch Darksoft.
We'll be going down toBaltimore and back for like a
four or five show circuit andthen in the summer we're going
back to Chicago for another kindof similar weekender circuit,
hopefully getting through Ohioand then Chicago and Buffalo as
(22:16):
well, and then, yeah, I thinkI'll be going out to the West
coast in the fall for a couplemini festivals.
So, keeping, yeah, keep ittuned for that kind of stuff and
working on new music and maybetoward the end of the year or
next year we'll we'll putsomething out.
Darksoft (22:34):
Awesome.
Well, we're looking forward toit.
Um great record.
Uh thanks for joining me.
I wish you all the best.
I hope you have a great summer,too, of fun and music and sun.
Thanks you too, and we'll be intouch, and if ever you get a
new record out you want to cometalk about it, drop a line, I'll
(22:56):
be here for you Sounds great.
colleyc (22:58):
Thanks for doing what you do, chris, really appreciate
it.
Darksoft (23:01):
Thanks a lot, bye, thank you Sunday.
(23:41):
Sunday, you just know you feelit in your bones, clear as day.
It goes without saying.
(24:04):
Some things you just know.
Some things you just know.
Deep down, you know the truth.
(24:28):
You can't fool yourself Beyonda shadow of a doubt.
You've been there beforeSomehow you just know.
Some things you just know.
(24:55):
Sometimes you just know, justnow, in the end, who can tell
(26:00):
you got a good feeling In thecold light of day Staring you in
the face?
Some things you just know.
Somehow you just know.
(26:22):
Sometimes you just know.
(27:03):
Thank you,
All right, all, Welcome back.
We're here.
Season five is just growinginto this really lovely journey.
So far it started super coldand now we're getting into the
spring and starting to feel alittle bit more tingly in our
hearts for summer.
Summer's almost here people,the festivals and the outdoor
(01:03):
concerts it's all coming back,Don't worry.
We I live, bill um in in theeastern shore, so snow is, uh
yeah, my love hate thing that Igo through.
We just had snow like two daysago and I know spring.
All of a sudden I'm, I'm in,I'm in maine out here.
So eastern seaboard as well oh,it's nature's a little trick on
(01:25):
us sometimes.
Eh, you think I'm gone right,you think you got over me.
Darksoft (01:29):
No, no, no, no, no here's one little last reminder
I used to live in Seattle and wewould get this fake summer
every year around April or Mayand people would take off their
shirts, go sunbathing and thenit's like three more months of
rain right after that so we'rejoined here today with bill from
(01:50):
dark soft, and dark soft's agreat band.
I really have been loving themoff of uh spirit goth.
Uh, it came out not too longago.
We're looking at february 21st2025, great new record he just
put out, entitled Rationalism.
So, bill, thanks so much forhopping on here and sharing some
(02:11):
of your insights into yourmusic.
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm always happy to talk shopand really enjoy this.
So thank you for inviting me tothe podcast.
colleyc (02:20):
It was a pleasure Pleasure.
So, bill, just to get usstarted here a little bit, when
did music really start speakingto you?
When did it start humminginside?
Can you remember occasions inyour early years where you
identified so closely with whatmusic was that you knew that it
(02:41):
would somehow be in your life,as you, you know, turned into an
adult and grew up and startthinking about?
Yeah what you were gonna do asyou got older, like how did
music start?
How did it start?
Darksoft (02:53):
um crystallizing in your mind maybe to put it more
clearly, is the fact that I justnever grew up fully maybe
that's more accurate, uh it's.
It's just always been around me,and I come from a musical
family.
My my parents were classicallytrained, my mom's a cellist, my
dad's a pianist and my sisterplays guitar too, so I was
(03:16):
surrounded by that, and what wascool was that I was exposed to
recording at a very early agetoo.
My dad was a kind of a pioneerin home recording, and so he had
tapes of his material and wewould pop it into the tape
player and I would like dancearound with my friends and you
don't know like what fame iswhen you're so young.
(03:37):
You just think like, oh, thisis fun, this is cool, let's uh,
let's listen to this and hoparound off the tables and things
.
Yeah, that's one of my firstmemories of identifying to music
and through my family, it madeit more accessible.
colleyc (03:53):
Did you say, Bill, that that was your dad's music that
you had put on?
Darksoft (03:57):
Yeah yeah.
He made like kind of pop rapstuff in the 80s and early 90s
and so we had these old tapes Ithink they're sitting around
somewhere and I keep.
I keep telling him like we, wegot to re-release this one day
yeah uh.
So yeah, it's always been a partof me.
I, I like, did trumpet inmiddle school and then found
(04:19):
about rock music and listeningto alternative uh music back in
the day, got into, you know,producing and recording in my
bedroom on guitar, self-taughtwith that, and uh picked up
drums, did some vocal lessons,and so I kind of tried to be
like a jack-of-all-trades whereI could just produce my own
(04:39):
stuff right and I've just beendoing that, uh, for a couple
decades, I guess well, well.
colleyc (04:46):
So you're a true diy artist like you.
You dabble in all the aspectsof bringing a record out or
releasing music, or touring orlike you're it it's pretty diy.
Darksoft (05:01):
I mean, I don, I don't know how to do it Otherwise.
Uh, the margins are so thin and, yeah, you could throw a lot of
money at it and hire a lot ofpeople, but it would not be
sustainable and it would justmake the bar higher for everyone
else, which I think ethicallyis weird.
So, yeah, at least right nowI'm just doing a lot myself.
(05:21):
Um, I do like work with otherpeople.
Uh, don't get me wrong, I'vebeen collaborating with this
great mixing engineer, brianfisher, for some of the dark,
soft, uh material that's beenreleased, and so I'll my process
lately is that I will record itat home and then bounce out dry
stems, which are basically justlike the direct input sound
(05:45):
without any effects on them, andthen send that over the wire to
the mixer, which has been brianlately, and he'll, you know,
add his flavor at his own touchand then we'll.
It's kind of like acollaboration like that.
So it's nice getting some helpwith like the mixing and
mastering side of things.
And then, um, yeah, youmentioned spirit goth.
They've been, uh, you candistribute my music I'm online
(06:07):
and they've even made tapes,because I guess tape cassettes
are back these days old is newagain.
It always comes back around,yeah, nothing new under the sun
that's it, yeah that's prettycool and when did you?
When did you start playing?
Like what was you?
You said that you playedtrumpet, or was it trumpet?
You said you're like one ofyour own.
(06:28):
Yeah, talking john philip souzadays.
Okay, mr miller, shout outthere you go, mr miller.
Look at your student now youknow, still in the music, still
doing it.
When did you like start umwriting your own songs?
Like when did that process?
When did that come out?
start coming out of you likewhere you started to become a
(06:49):
singer, songwriter I think I wasabout 15 or 16 and, uh, I was
such a bad songwriter back then.
Maybe I mean I, maybe I'm alittle bit better now, but just
like going at it with uh it canbe daunting, you know, because
you don't really know how tofinish something, you don't know
when it's complete, and likewriting lyrics was challenging.
I'm like, what do I sing abouthere?
(07:10):
I know I want to createsomething.
I have all these melodies andchord progressions in my mind
and I have, like these effectsthat I want to add and I made
some really weird stuff.
Um, looking back, I I'm proudof all that and maybe I'll
dabble in it or like re-releasesome of those old demos that are
just garage band files you knowhundreds of them just sitting
around, but it's cool.
(07:31):
It just helped me like get it,get a process of doing it and
become more, more confident andjust work it into like what I do
every day.
Essentially, I'll just chip outa song.
colleyc (07:41):
Right and Bill, what is your process like?
How do you approach a song andI'll tag a little ending on
there.
Can you, can you get a sense ofonce?
You've kind of found something,if it will fit with with the
dark, soft, you know, aestheticum yeah, like do you have that
feeling of, or do you like writefor like with that, and I guess
(08:05):
you must write with that inmind all the time, like that is
yeah.
Darksoft (08:09):
I sort of do.
I'm like a very conceptualartist compared to other people
who might just like write on thefly or whatever's on their mind
at the moment, which is anawesome style, and respect that
too.
But I'll go into an album withwith an overriding idea.
Like uh for beige vacation, ofwhich I put out in 2023.
(08:32):
I was just thinking like I'mgonna make a lot of um.
I kind of start with lyrics andsong titles, like I'm gonna
create a lot of uh, beigey kindof cliches and phrases and
colloquialisms that say a lotwithout saying much at all, like
you got to do what you got todo or it is what it is.
Uh, like all these phrases thatyou just throw around sometimes
(08:55):
but have a lot of weight tothem.
So I've been yeah, I've beenlike lyrics were hard for me in
the past, and so I kind of likestarted going more into lyrics
later on in life.
I'm like I'm gonna start withthis first um.
So, yeah, that's kind of myoverriding process.
Like, uh, I'll start with a,with an album concept, and then
(09:19):
I'll pick up like little phrasesthat I want to throw into the
mix and do some research about,like, oh, what you know I'm
working on a song right nowcalled rinse and repeat.
So what are other ideas thatlike fit into that?
That notion?
Uh, so yeah, I'll like, andthen I'll get a chord
progression in mind on theguitar and I just like the same
(09:40):
progression over and over.
I'm like very repetitive withmy music and I'll just add or
remove layers.
Essentially that's kind of howI create lately.
So like chord progression downand then put some melody layers
and maybe some counter melody orharmonies in the mix and I I'm
very robotic, I like follow apop structure.
(10:01):
Um, I just I'm like on this, uh, on this kind of cycle and it's
, it's like a comfortingrepetitive process to me well, I
mean it sounds.
colleyc (10:12):
I'm amazed that other people like it well, I mean, I
was gonna say that it is thatkind of, but I I think it's just
so comforting and it puts youinto this swell, you know, like
it kind of just you you're, Ifeel like you're cradling me and
just kind of like swooshing meback and forth in this swell.
Darksoft (10:32):
Yeah I want the listeners to feel good.
Yeah, absolutely, it's totallyfeel good.
Music too.
Like I I really have been likeit makes me like proactive.
You know, like I like I'm calm,I'm mellow, so it has a
shoegazy indie poppy but kind ofa little bit of a darker
(10:52):
undertone as well.
But you got to dig for that.
I find a little bit more.
The happy stuff percolates firstin my mind when I listen to it,
yeah, and then it just getsworse and worse listen well,
colleyc (11:09):
I was going to mention, too, that I really like the
sequencing, how you put therecord together, and you were
mentioning that you, you, youhave a focus on a, on a record
idea with a title that you put.
Do you know when a song thatyou're writing like, do you go
through your process of puttingthe song and then saying, yeah,
(11:31):
this fits or it doesn't fit, ordo you make it fit?
Darksoft (11:35):
That's a great question.
I make that judgment call afterI've completed it and I used to
just go at these ideas andnever really see the finish line
.
And then you just have like allthese you know 30 second ideas
out there, hopefully, and so Iforce myself to finish it and
(12:01):
then I make that judgment call.
I'm like, okay, this, this fitsthe vibe.
If it's the sound, if it's thetheme, great.
Uh, maybe sometimes I'll tossit aside and use it for a
different release.
Or sometimes it'll just sit andnever see the light of day for
whatever reason.
So yeah, or like in 20 yearsfrom now, you might pull out all
these and make it Maybe.
colleyc (12:20):
Yeah, the forgotten tracks or the B-sides or
whatever it might be, and Ithink I'm doing all that just to
make sure I'm like putting outthe best stuff you know.
Darksoft (12:31):
Right, right For sure.
And if you were to look at thelatest release that you have
Rationalism.
colleyc (12:43):
What's the concept of the record if?
If, like, can you describe thatto us?
Yeah, so, I mean rationalism ina philosophical sense.
It's basically the idea counterto empiricism, which states
that you can only know, knowthings by like physically
interacting with them, bythrough sight or touch, like
rationalism is more like, um, Ithink, therefore, I am, you know
, I, I can rationalize aboutthings, even though I might not
(13:08):
have that lived experiencemyself, which I think is good to
be able to relate to otherpeople.
And you know, you have to havelike some logic and rational
sense about the world, aboutlike things that aren't, you
know, directly happening infront of you.
So, um, but there's like adownside of that, you know, you
can get lost in your head.
You know that was in thedetails, that was one of the
tracks, or you can get, you know, lost about thinking about what
(13:31):
does this person think of me?
You know, just probably tryingto read details that might not
be there.
So there's, there's a lot ofthat in the record, um, and not
all, not all the stuff isdirectly applicable to that
overarching theme, but, um, Ithink some of the sound echoes
that like it's a little moremechanical and like mathematical
than the, the album I put outpreviously.
(13:54):
So that was kind of and it's alittle bit darker, um.
Darksoft (13:59):
So yeah, that was all kind of intentional yeah, I love
too that you're like I've beentalking about this with artists
too and it's coming up more andmore of this formula for
songwriting.
You know like and I said I tendto always say I don't like the
word formula because it's itjust seems like it's easy and
it's not easy.
It's like you don't just likeokay, throw a word hidden here,
throw a chord progression, notdone.
(14:19):
Like it's easy and it's noteasy.
It's like you don't just likeokay, throw a word hidden here,
throw a chord progression, notdone.
Like it's not easy to do.
But you zoned in on thisstructure or this song structure
that you like to follow.
Can you expand on that a littlebit?
I find it so fascinating thatmusic has this like
computational thinking,mathematical theory behind it.
(14:40):
I'd love to hear your thoughtson that.
colleyc (14:44):
Especially coming from a drums background, like that
was my first introduction intorock music and you see it all
laid out, you know, you see four, four time signature and you
see where the beats are and itdoes look like math, it looks
like an algorithm in front ofyou.
So, yeah, maybe it's because Ikind of think in those terms.
You know, put the, put thesnare on two and four, keep it
(15:07):
simple, stupid.
Uh, I try to use like verysimple beats, um, that is
listenable and sounds good andkind of, like you know, settles
into a palette that people arealready comfortable with and
then maybe adds like its ownflavor on top of that.
Um, outside of the structure oflike the timing of the song.
(15:30):
You know I I also have a formulain mind when I'm adding the
layers to my music.
Um, I have like different partsthat I typically add in every
song, like a sub bass for thisreally low end deep frequency
and this kind of plucky bassguitar sound, and then I'll put
rhythm guitar over that and Iusually am in drop d and, yeah,
(15:56):
my indie friends make fun ofthat and then I'll like put some
jangly guitars and leads overthat.
So I kind of have an idea goinginto the project.
You know what I want and what Ithink sounds like a dark, soft
song.
So yeah, I've kind of, maybeI've built my own formula or
algorithm.
I should probably codify it oneday for sure, send it to some
(16:18):
mathematicians to analyzedeconstruct and and bill.
Darksoft (16:23):
What um, if you look at the two records, that just
can't like.
They're pretty close together,right um rationalism, and you
get the other one here isrelativism.
Yes, what?
What I mean?
The cover art's very similar,they they have similar feels.
Can you explain maybe thedifferences between, like as the
(16:48):
person that created them?
How do you see that one evolvedinto the other or one
influenced the other?
Do you see those connectionsthere between the two records?
colleyc (16:55):
Yeah, I kind of design them as sister albums.
They're very relatable in mymind and I think the cover art,
like you mentioned, speaks tothat.
I had this, this great tattooartist from portland oregon.
She designed the covers forboth albums and she does really
cool work and it's all this kindof squiggly abstract concept
(17:17):
which I was like, oh, that'sgreat, I'm going for these
strange, you know, philosophicaltitles.
Work with me yeah, you did agreat job.
I think the first album it'smore like.
It's more jaunty and more oflike a tweaked sound and I think
(17:39):
it's a slightly morelight-hearted and the themes are
, like you know, live and letlive.
Um, it's kind of like there'smore I.
It's hard to self self-diagnosebut yeah, maybe like a light
and dark combination for bothalbums, right.
Darksoft (17:56):
Right is, uh, the easiest way to put it, were you
thinking of the two records whenyou started the first?
colleyc (18:02):
like you knew you were going to do a follow-up to it,
like there would be a sister toit yeah, yeah, I kind of did the
same thing with my beige and mygray album, right, okay, the
beige vacation was kind of ajoke.
I was like what color can I dothat weezer or the beatles
didn't do?
Darksoft (18:22):
oh, beige, was it beigeification?
Yeah, yeah yeah, and thengrayscale.
colleyc (18:29):
Yeah, exactly, I feel like those kind of talk to one
another.
Right, that's been fun becauseyou know you always have
something that's coming up and Ijust like to have something to
look forward to.
And amazing I remember when youknow, system of a down released
its duo album back like when Iwas in middle school or high
(18:49):
school, I was like that's socool, hypnotize, mesmerize right
and uh yeah, I've wanted to dostuff like that yeah, I think
it's fun for listeners too, too,or followers, you know, who are
actively engaging with theproject.
They can chart out the journey alittle bit more.
It's fun to be more than just aperson.
Darksoft (19:10):
Yeah, yeah, we kind of talked a little bit about
collaborations.
Yeah, did you have goodcollaborations with the record
that you just put out, or wasthat truly something that you
had done, um, just on your own?
colleyc (19:27):
well, um, I've kind of done self-directed
collaborations.
If we're talking about darksoft itself, um, I'll, like I'll
get in a singer and ask them tojoin.
Uh, you know, I kind of of havethis low male baritone range,
so it's been nice to get somefemale singers doing the alto
soprano kind of range on top ofwhat I'm doing for meeting the
(19:48):
melody or doing harmonies on top.
So, yeah, I got Hannah fromDutch Experts as this cool dark
wave kind of synth pop group.
She's featured on one of thesongs.
And then Emily Irving fromPortland Maine is featured on
one of the songs as well.
(20:08):
So, yeah, try to add some peopleto the recordings.
I'd love to do more of that.
And then, yeah, I kind oftalked about the mixing process
and working with another mixingengineer.
It's been an awesomecollaboration and then just the
like distribution of the thingand getting it out there into
the world.
It's been nice working with thespirit goth and I love their
(20:28):
curation and I know they have alot of people that are like into
this dream pop shoegazeadjacent sound.
So it fits really well withwhat I was going for did spirit,
got Goth find you, or did youfind them?
I believe I found them justthrough the grapevine and
watching some artists I liked orknew personally putting music
(20:50):
out through them.
Darksoft (20:51):
Cool.
Yeah, that's a great, greatlabel, great label, love it.
So, bill, to kind of bringthings to a close again, thanks
so much for taking some time andsharing.
It's been really nice to chatwith you and and kind of get an
idea of how you create.
Um, I've been really lovingthis record I I recommend people
go out there and pick it up.
It's on bandcamp and cassette.
(21:13):
I think you said cassette,didn't you?
colleyc (21:15):
yeah, it's on cassette people on cassette players yeah,
yeah, 10 bucks on cassette.
Come On cassette players.
Yeah, yeah, and bucks oncassette.
Darksoft (21:20):
Come on now, come on.
We got to afford 10 bucks toget around.
Yeah, and are you download?
Yeah?
colleyc (21:30):
Absolutely.
You got some shirts for saletoo Cool.
Darksoft (21:34):
Anyway, support dark soft get out there.
I mean it's a great record too.
You want to listen to somethinggreat this weekend?
Throw it on um what, what'scoming down for 2025, for for
Darksoft Bill, what we're what'scoming up that you could tell
us about shows, recordings.
So what?
What can we look forward to?
colleyc (21:54):
yeah, absolutely.
So I'm putting together acouple weekender tours.
If you're in the United Statesyou can catch Darksoft.
We'll be going down toBaltimore and back for like a
four or five show circuit andthen in the summer we're going
back to Chicago for another kindof similar weekender circuit,
hopefully getting through Ohioand then Chicago and Buffalo as
(22:16):
well, and then, yeah, I thinkI'll be going out to the West
coast in the fall for a couplemini festivals.
So, keeping, yeah, keep ittuned for that kind of stuff and
working on new music and maybetoward the end of the year or
next year we'll we'll putsomething out.
Darksoft (22:34):
Awesome.
Well, we're looking forward toit.
Um great record.
Uh thanks for joining me.
I wish you all the best.
I hope you have a great summer,too, of fun and music and sun.
Thanks you too, and we'll be intouch, and if ever you get a
new record out you want to cometalk about it, drop a line, I'll
(22:56):
be here for you Sounds great.
colleyc (22:58):
Thanks for doing what you do, chris, really appreciate
it.
Darksoft (23:01):
Thanks a lot, bye, thank you Sunday.
(23:41):
Sunday, you just know you feelit in your bones, clear as day.
It goes without saying.
(24:04):
Some things you just know.
Some things you just know.
Deep down, you know the truth.
(24:28):
You can't fool yourself Beyonda shadow of a doubt.
You've been there beforeSomehow you just know.
Some things you just know.
(24:55):
Sometimes you just know, justnow, in the end, who can tell
(26:00):
you got a good feeling In thecold light of day Staring you in
the face?
Some things you just know.
Somehow you just know.
(26:22):
Sometimes you just know.
(27:03):
Thank you,
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.