Associated Sine Tone Services

Associated Sine Tone Services (ASTS) is a new conceptual collaboration between analog oscillator wielders. This record was entirely generated using sine wave oscillators and an array of electronic filters, stacks, and processing. Although this project initially started with a bouquet of material put forth by Young to start, each track would eventually coalesce around the vision and momentum of one of the members individually, creating pocket productions that make the album in full, a diverse compendium of creative approaches to analog sound design. 

Eschewing the codes and lexicons of “library music” here—despite the tongue-in-cheek reference to a canonical analog tape audio box in the artwork and graphic design, and the cheeky name of the project itself—the trio opted rather for a pop-melodic approach, which elevates each artist’s creative voice and personality. This is music, over sound design, contrary to what listeners might expect from an album entirely built from sine waves and the analog fidelity of vintage studio tools.

Like navigating a strange dreamstate, the score feels moody and cinematic at times, flowing melodically and rhythmically in moments accompanied by velvety textures and dense timbres with tertiary twinkles and artifacts occasionally vying for the listener’s attention. Hilariously, this entire endeavor was actually drafted in a dream by one of the ensemble memebers in 2023, in which this exact trio was on stage in a dark underground club, all dressed in lab coats, adorned with their signal generators creating music together. The following morning, he got to work on an initial bank of oscillator loops and sent both the audio and the proposal to the others. 

The dream came true.