by Steve Bujanow

I've often wondered where music will go in this brand new century we are entering. In my mind I imagine there may be the continued use of the 6 string guitar, but might be integrated with more electronic type music in the future.

Chris and I feel we have that new sound which could be considered to be a mix of synth-pop and techno. We aspire to be a "thinking band," hence Neo Cortex, a part of the most evolved brain in humans. When I write I try to compose and make connections to the grand scheme of things in this realm of life we live in, and not just about what I consider the over played and over used theme of love in today's music. I believe there are many other topics to discuss other than this. We would like to open a new perspective of various contents, and this comes from my psyche, and Chris's fingers playing the keyboard.

I am captivated by the possibilities of creating a synthetic but very real form of energetic and creative use of machines to help produce a hybrid of rock and roll.

I respect and admire pioneering techno and older synth-pop bands for charting a region of unexplored territory with the synthesizers of yesterday. Two of my favorite examples are New Order, (an English band,) and Kraftwerk, (a German band.)

At this point in time so much more is possible to create electronic music than it was in the older days of the 1980's. Things are digital now, among other major developments. I feel things that can be done are today are incredible and may be endless with technology in the future.

To me it seems difficult to keep up with the latest gear available for bands like ours. This depicts the explosion of this modern form or type of music and the trend to promote it. When I first began with the band "The Beat Freaks" in 1993 along with my keyboardist Trevor, we only had a 4-track, a SY-35 Yamaha keyboard, 1 synth card, and a simple mike to do vocals. We would record on tape then, but now, with Neo Cortex everything is computerized and there is no such thing as tape. This is quite a difference! Chris and I can create a new song so much faster than this older medium. This shows me how things can change so rapidly for musicians like us and those starting out.

Despite all of this, I believe it's really creativity that helps a band work. Compatibility and chemistry are also key factors and without these, (and I've experienced it,) nothing works.

Jamming Upstairs

10:45 AM. It proved to be the beginning of a magical time on that heated summer morning. I briskly drove the three- mile trip to see my friend Chris to record some music. When I reached his house situated on Kinderhook Lake, I got out of my green Subaru Outback, and my blue and white gummy skateboarder shoe touched the ground. It stuck to the pavement like strawberry jelly and made a sticky sound. I noticed the bright yellow sunflowers near the front door. They were standing nearly at my height. I heard my bandmate’s dog Hitchcock, a border collie, barking loudly welcoming me to his domain.

For some reason I counted the thirteen wooden steps as I climbed up the stairs of his garage. I didn’t realize going up those stairs to his studio would signal a long lasting creative scenario. When I reached the top flight I gently opened the door and Chris smiled intently and energetically shook my hand. I heard the positive "all right!" from him as I walked in. I immediately felt something special was about to happen.

Chris took a small square cloth and carefully dusted off the modern-looking red Korg Karma synthesizer. He walked slowly over to his white air conditioner and turned it on. He commented that it was "proboscis" in the studio, or in common terms, very hot.

I felt excited and sat down on his small but comfortable white chair and pulled up the black footstool to lay my lyric sheets on. From this moment on we would have no rules, boundaries, or limits concerning our music.

There was a metallic tea kettle to my left and it was furiously brewing a pot of water. I settled in and made myself comfortable. I was sitting on a big red and black oriental rug. Chris appeared focused with a small guitar pick in his mouth. This would be our first two -hour session above his garage.

The warm sunlight poured through the skylight on me. I joked to Chris that I had "sunshine on my shoulder." Different cables lie strewn across the floor. I reached into my overstuffed blue music bag and pulled out an orange juice and plastic bottle of water to re-hydrate myself on this hot day.

I continued to survey my newfound surroundings. I peered at a big green healthy jade plant and several guitars of various colors. The walls were covered with forest green and charcoal black acoustic tiles to sound proof the room. I remember there was also a very attractive calendar with a beautiful painting by Monet on display with rich and vibrant blue and green colors.

Off to my immediate left sat something that looked like it was from a 1950’s science fiction movie. It was a giant mixing board with room for at least 64 tracks. I was thinking that it would be serious business when we get around to recording with all this equipment.

In front of Chris was a curious old looking mirror. I asked him about it and he said it was a feng shui thing. He faced away from the door yet he could still see in back of him. I muttered aloud "what a concept!"

Two squarish black amps were placed in the back of the room. I noticed that there was a temperature gauge next to the window. It told the temperature inside and out, the date, and the relative humidity. It was climate controlled in the studio. I could feel the cool wisps of air on my arms and neck. I would discover later that Chris was very interested in weather conditions and patterns.

It was 11:05 AM and time to start the recording process. We began that morning by thinking about making hooky guitar riffs, finding buzzy synths, and tight beats that would become our musical signature.

That day we launched into a great level of productive interaction. The computer was fired up. Chris said "Let’s find some really cool beats!" and he tapped out a steady rhythm with his right foot along to a computerized drum. He hooked up my microphone, and I became "digital." Next came the keyboard melodies and then my vocals.

I believe we were destined to have prolific energy. We have shared much laughter and fun, and have been together as the band "Neo Cortex" for over five years now. I have written over 250 pages of lyrics. This is our story. Who knows why it started. I just thank God for being able to jam upstairs with Chris.