March, 2024 - Bärkər

Before its sudden shuttering of doors, the Linda Sharpe Trio were set to release an EP consisting of older material. As means of promoting it – and as a surprise offering to my former collaborator, I commissioned a video from Mamma’s Maiden Studio.

My concept for the piece was that of a motorcyclist navigating highway obstacles, a cheesy analogy for Life’s Dance. Kimberly Lloyd, the videographer, positively nailed it out of the park. I mean… she created something beautiful.

Sadly, the joy of the video’s sheer brilliance was castrated by narcissism and pettiness. The ‘melody’ was claimed by this former. He threw a tantrum online (always online); His song, His band, His idea… not even pausing to realize he was getting his prized credit all along. Mismanagement on my part aside, it was a shared credit.

As I do not envision the track ever being released, here are its proper credits:

Written: Eric Baker / Toxic Nemier (the melody, the MELODY)
Synthesizers: Toxic Nemier, Eric Baker

Conceptualized, Sculpted, Engineered, Produced: Eric Baker

Recorded at Cyclops' Lair - Middleburg Heights, Ohio

This is the video:

But it’s ALL Toxic. Accept no Substitutes, nor False claims. Just the Hubris.

… A burial chamber dedicated to one’s Past.

I come here not to praise my former efforts, but to bury them; to dedicate to the past a most damnable end, and to the future, a most cordial of welcomes.

It is not now I first remark, but oft ere this, how unruly a pest is a harsh temper. For instance, thou… hadst thou but patiently endured the will of thy superiors, mightest have remained here in this land and house, but now for thy idle words wilt thou be banished. Thy words are naught to me.

– Euripides’ Medea, Jason speaks

– bärkər, ‘the past chambered’, digital collage of various ai manipulations of stock photo, ’24

The Sun’s Ra

What’s it about? A former collaborator once called and relayed to me an experience where two radio frequencies merged on a highway drive. The result was, as suggested ‘like Sun Ra mixed with a radio preacher’. I knew then that was the experimental path that I wanted to travel. I said as much. And I followed through.

Years later, I slaved over this piece as gift and homage for the inspiration provided me. And, considering we would eventually partner up in a project called ‘Linda Sharpe Trio’ – the inspiration provided Us. It was a rough cut, but it was a token that I wanted to share with my desperately wanted friend. The former immediately sneered the effort away. Oof. His idea, you see, didn’t include the Little Rascals.

His idea…

… I should’ve known that trouble was on the horizon. Always trust your instincts, friends. Always.

Within this left unfinished rough cut you will find an Our Gang short, Sun Ra’s brilliance, radio waves from Venus, a short-waved evangelical, underlying sound effects, and grave conviction.

Sculpted, Engineered, and Produced by: Bärkər

Conceptualized: Toxic Nemier

Recorded at Cyclops’ Lair, Middleburg Heights, OH.

The Past Chambered – Mayfly Records

Month: March 2024

An end to an end

The Past Chambered