Turtle Down Music

07/04/2025

The recording process for the next Tautologic has taken Ethan Sellers Music to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios in Box, England.

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Now it can be (partially) told: Ethan Sellers Music went to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to track pianos* for the next Tauologic album with the fantastic Katie May (who worked on Peter's _i/o_) in late June.

Ethan Taylor Sellers knocked out piano tracks on Real World's Yamaha C3 grand and U3 upright pianos, plus a funky warbly John Brinsmead upright. Lots and lots of texture and options.

More later - especially if you jump on the e-mail list:
https://tautologic.com/forms/mailinglist.html

07/04/2025

Now it can be (partially) told: Ethan Sellers Music went to Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios to track pianos* for the next Tauologic album with the fantastic Katie May (who worked on Peter's _i/o_) in late June.

Ethan Taylor Sellers knocked out piano tracks on Real World's Yamaha C3 grand and U3 upright pianos, plus a funky warbly John Brinsmead upright. Lots and lots of texture and options.

More later - especially if you jump on the e-mail list:
https://tautologic.com/forms/mailinglist.html

07/03/2025

Thanks to Radio Free Charleston for the spins and NoVo Arts Publicity for the shoutout!

Get ready for three hours of largely brand-new music and a mostly-recovered announcer on a new Radio Free Charleston that you can hear today on The AIR. To listen to The AIR, you simply have to p…

07/03/2025

Ethan Sellers Music shares a little bit of insight into the writing of "Hype Dark," from Tautologic's _West Is North, East Is South_ album.

from the album West Is North, East Is South

07/03/2025

Tautologic’s debut album, _West Is North, East Is South_, turned 25 in June. The band is working on a new album, so we’re a little short on time for retrospective projects - but I (Ethan Sellers Music) did want to share a few thoughts on each track.

This month’s feature is “Hype Dark.”

“Hype Dark” uses a disguised version of the 12-tone-row used in “Illusion of Progress” as the basis for the verses. So… totally a pop banger to redeem the weirdness of the first track.

The song is suffused with mid-period Beatle-isms and is modeled structurally on “I Am The Walrus” with a dash of _Thrak_-era King Crimson inspiration. I sampled answering machine messages, home recordings, and band practice recordings from high school for some of the “psychedelic” touches. The coda transposes the chorus chords to continue a descending bassline that uses all 12 steps of the chromatic scale. The intro/interlude uses an augmented chord.

Did ANYONE notice all of this cleverness? Probably not - or at least they didn’t call it out specifically, if they did. Seriously, what’s a guy gotta do to get some credit for this kind of stuff? Why aren’t rock clubs populated with throngs of fans and groupies just dying to snuggle and talk about tritone substitutions? (It would take me another 3 years to meet my wife, and we most definitely did not discuss these things.)

If I had it to do again, I would’ve paid more attention to the slightly shuffley feel of “I Am the Walrus” and had a bit more swing. Perhaps I’ll do that if/when we play/record it again.

Lyrically… it’s a thinly-veiled diss track about a rival “orch pop” band on the scene. Their leader (who’s an okay guy, actually) was better-connected, so they got more local press and label interest. I was frustrated and jealous - but I’ve learned to get used to that feeling. I console myself with the sad fact that better musicians than myself have gotten passed over by the industry for other, still better-connected bands. Weird, but I guess it’s a relief to know that it’s not just me.

Spite remains a powerful lyrical/artistic inspiration for me, though.

Ethan

from the album West Is North, East Is South

06/10/2025

Since Tautologic's debut album Turtle Down Music's first release, it is also our 25th anniversary.

06/10/2025

Original Tautologic bassist Daniel Veidlinger shares some memories ofthe making of West Is North, East Is South, the band's debut CD, released in June 2000.
https://youtu.be/_jm5hH29ykE

06/01/2025

Hard to believe that it's been 25 years since Turtle Down released its first album, Tautologic's _West Is North, East Is South_.

from the album West Is North, East Is South

05/20/2025

When not shepherding new recordings through creation, release, and promotion, Turtle Down Music head honcho Ethan Sellers Music periodically volunteers with Sharing Notes to play music for patients in Chicago hospitals. They’re a great organization and deserve your support!

🎶 For this week’s we’re excited to share our May volunteer of the month, Ethan Sellers! 🎸

SN: How did you first get involved with Sharing Notes?
ES: I have been volunteering for Sharing Notes since late 2024, performing at Gilda’s Club and La Rabida. Among other styles, I play Irish music.  Through that musical and social scene, I saw social media posts about Sharing Notes - so I inquired within and found several opportunities that dovetailed with my availability and personal interests.  La Rabida is not far from my home, so I thought that was a great opportunity to perform and be of service in my community area.  

I’ve also had a loved one receive (successful!) treatment for cancer downtown at Northwestern, where Gilda’s Club does some programming - so this seemed to bring things full-circle.

SN: Do you have any memorable stories from a Sharing Notes visit?
ES: I’ve had multiple memorable moments when volunteering for Sharing Notes, including lots of kids smiling and bouncing around at La Rabida.  I get a kick out of playing songs I learned for kids I thought I might see again when I made a return visit.

One personal highlight was when I played a set of Christmas music at Gilda’s Club and a woman requested “O Holy Night,” which takes a lot of vocal energy and is an emotional song for me.

The volunteer coordinator [at Gilda’s Club] is an operatic soprano, and she joined me.  I was grateful for the company!  By the end of it, the woman who requested it was weeping, and she told us that she’d been having a bad day, and that this was exactly what she needed.  On my drive home from that performance, I felt both fulfilled and also drained - like I was doing something both difficult and necessary.  

I know that even very accomplished artists can suffer from self-doubt, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to know in those moments that I’m having a real and positive impact on people’s lives.

To learn more about Ethan’s involvement in the community, check out his website at ethansellers.com or find him on Blue Sky at .bsky.social or on Instagram at . 

05/16/2025

Ethan Sellers Music and Jay Montana from Tautologic, performing Sellers' as-yet-unreleased original, "It Still Burns (New Straitsville Mine Fire)." Perhaps it will turn up on a Tautologic release, or maybe a spin-off?

Tautologichttp://tautologic.comhttps://tautologic.bandcamp.com/https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/Tautologichttps://www.facebook.com/tautologic/

04/29/2025

it's Bandcamp Day this Friday, May 2nd! You probably already know what that means - more money for the artists who make the stuff - and the independent labels that release it.
You can choose between 3 Tautologic albums, 2 Logical Fleadh albums, 1 Le Travaillant EP, a single by Ethan Sellers Music, 2 different Tautologic posters, and men's/women's Tautologic t-shirts.

04/28/2025

For the next year, Turtle Down Music will donate half the proceeds of Bandcamp downloads of Ethan Sellers Music's single "She” to the Alliance for the Great Lakes.