Turtle Down Music

08/31/2025

Ethan Sellers Music (primary motivator at Turtle Down Music and Tautologic) continues his reflections on Tautologic's _West Is North, East Is South_, released 25 years ago. Catalog number 1 for Turtle Down Music.

from the album West Is North, East Is South

08/31/2025

The House Song:

Tautologic’s debut album, _West Is North, East Is South_, turned 25 in June. I’d say that I’ve been working on a new album, but - after recording piano tracks at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios (Box, England) in late June of this year - I’ve been super-busy with summer gigs for my other bands. I’m hoping to get back to working on the new one by sometime mid-September.

The upshot is that I’m a little short on time for retrospective projects like re-mixes/masters/issues - but I (Ethan) did want to share a few thoughts on each track.

Drummer Pat Buzby wrote “The House Song,” and violist Jennifer Justice sings lead vocals. The track features five of the seven band members at the time, which allows it to breathe a bit more than some of the others. I particularly like the lyrical cello instrumental section (played by Ken Arai) and the chiming of Mick Hirsch’s guitar chord on the intro/interlude/coda hook. I didn’t have a lot of input on this track, which - per my usual - results in greater enjoyment on my part.

Ethan

from the album West Is North, East Is South

08/01/2025

Tautologic's debut, _West Is North, East Is South_, turned 25 in June. Frontman Ethan Sellers Music shares a few thoughts on the album's recording of "Jim's Home Brew," his ode to a particularly magical batch of this then-roommate's home-brewed beer.

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

Jim’s Home Brew:

The band on the WINEIS version of “Jim’s Home Brew” is fine in a gentle folk-rock-y sort of way. Cellist Ken Arai sounds great on the bridge, with electric guitarist Vince Canter weaving some tasty lines in support. Dan Veidlinger does some great walking stuff on Rickenbacker.

With no shade on my bandmates, I prefer a recording that Tautologic did with a more recent line-up of the band at https://www.reverbnation.com/tautologic/song/3820694-jims-home-brew - mostly because I’d figured out a far better vocal approach by the time of that re-recording. We might even have a better version in us than this one, even. I believe that the trend line is still heading upward for Tautologic as a recording/live unit.

Ethan Sellers

08/01/2025

Bandcamp Friday, August 1st! Get some Turtle Down Music merch or music from Tautologic, Logical Fleadh, Le Travaillant, and/or Ethan Sellers Music!

07/16/2025

First Turtle Down artists to appear on WGN TV!

Send a message to learn more

07/11/2025

Update on Tautologic's next album, one of our various projects in progress. Sign up for our newsletter to make sure that you get updates - link in comments...

Ethan Sellers here. I returned a week ago from a wonderful and inspiring 2-week family trip to England and Scotland. I'm still a bit jet-lagged, but I wanted to share a quick photo and update.

07/11/2025

The July 2025 Ethan Sellers Music Newsletter - recording Tautologic music at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios; gigs with Character Fleadh, Bourbon Aristocracy, Le Travaillant (including a WGN TV appearance), and Chez Butter; Sharing Notes; and lessons.

Check it out at the link and sign up, so that you get the latest in your inbox, even if the FB algorithm is rigged.

I returned a week ago from a wonderful and inspiring 2-week family trip to England and Scotland. I'm still a bit jet-lagged, but I need to tell you about gigs and other cool stuff coming up as soon as this weekend, so here we go...

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.

Sign up for the e-mail list for more behind-the-scenes photos and stories:
https://www.turtledown.com/contact.html

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