This compilation pretty closely mirrors a "lost" ET album recorded between 2084 and Tomb World Ascenders, called "The Children's Crusade" or "The Age of Ectoplasm". Some of this went on to TWA, but most has remained unreleased.

These are all recordings from a time (late 2018 to mid 2020) when composing meant programming two Beatstep Pros and a bank of analogue synths, drum machines and leaned heavily on a modified (HKA Design) TR-626, plus a ton of effects pedals, recorded live to 4-track tape.

Some info on the the individual tracks below;

Sunspot Boulevard
This might even be my favourite recording from the 12-bit ET era, has somehow remained homeless until now. This was recorded early on and didn’t end up fitting sonically with the TWA material, but since then has got a ton of extra attention, editing and overdubs.

The Children’s Crusade
Title track from an early draft of ET V that ended up superseded. “The Children’s Crusade” is the subtitle of Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 and felt incredibly relevant to me in an age where teenagers have more wisdom and empathy than adults. This set out a lot of the sonic template of the project, based around ritual toms, robotic hihats and eerie electronics.

Apollo’s Ichor
A sound exploration piece recorded after TWA for a project long since abandoned, trying to get away from the regular structures I had started to feel imprisoned by.

Quest for the Cup
An early digital drum heavy track that was intended for “The Children’s Crusade”. The composition oscillates between 3/4 and 4/4 and plays with perception and opinions of reality over a quaking underlying pulse.

Super Saturated Black Light (Original Version)
This is how I originally intended it when it was the centrepiece of “The Children’s Crusade”. Ended up being edited down to fit onto TWA. The title refers to using UV light to detect stolen or counterfeit goods. If there was a black light strong enough to illuminate everything how much would be revealed to have been stolen from its rightful owners, how much would be revealed as a crappy facsimile of something real?

Electric Ark
Has its roots back in the 2084 sessions, originally planned for a very early draft of ET V ("The Age of Ectoplasm"). This piece ended up going through numerous iterations and arrangements, eventually becoming another early experiment with the 12-bit drums that bridges a few gaps and ideas, linking the police-state paranoia of ET IV with the Black Lives Matter movement and the realisation that IT IS HAPPENING NOW.

Extra Sensory Projection
Intended for TWA but ended up not being included there, a short and sweet exploration of some pretty awesome digital hand drums and audio rate modulation.

Plastic Castle
This track straddles projects a bit in that it was intended to close “The Children’s Crusade” (it is sort of a spiritual part 2 to the title track) but was recorded after TWA. This is the first song of mine to make use of a pair of organ rhythm machines that I hacked to allow analogue triggers so is an ending to a project that had already become obsolete while also being a precursor to later stuff that has yet to be released.