Start with 1970s soft rock/fusion jazz
Then remove everything that does not absolutely need to be there.
Keep the song, the pulse, and the atmosphere.
Use a drum machine, electric bass, one guitar, one cheap synthesizer, and restrained vocals. More equipment is allowed only when it solves a problem. It should never exist simply because it is available.
Reduce complicated drum parts to steady patterns. Motorik beats, Linn-style grooves, rigid eighth notes, and simple kick-snare structures are enough. Fills should be rare. A fill that happens once every eight or sixteen bars is usually sufficient.
Turn bass parts into loops. Find the few notes that make the harmony move and repeat them. Root notes, fifths, octaves, and occasional passing tones are enough. A Barge Wave bass line should be possible to play for ten minutes without becoming physically or mentally exhausting.
Reduce guitar parts to fragments. Use single notes, two-note shapes, small chords, muted rhythm parts, and short repeating figures. Do not reproduce elaborate guitar arrangements simply because the original contains them. Find the smallest part that still makes the song recognizable.
Use synthesizers sparingly. One organ sound, one string sound, and one simple mono lead can make an entire record. Avoid endless patch changes. The synthesizer should sound like another object in the room, not an orchestra.
Shorten solos.
Replace long solos with a motif.
Replace complicated solos with three or four notes.
If the song works without the solo, remove it.
Do not confuse complexity with sophistication. The original song already contains the sophistication. Your job is to leave enough of it exposed that it can survive the reduction.
Keep the vocals calm. Do not oversing. Do not perform despair, coolness, or detachment. Sing the words clearly and let the song provide the emotion.
Do not make the music theatrical.
Do not make it sunny.
Do not make it glamorous.
Do not polish away every rough edge.
The correct setting for Barge Wave is a nameless city divided by a river in the middle of the night.
Warehouses stand along the water.
Sodium lights reflect on wet pavement.
A barge moves slowly through the dark.
Inside a brightly lit building, the same cassette has been playing for hours beneath fluorescent lights, ventilation fans, running water, refrigeration motors, and metal surfaces.
Make music that belongs there.
The arrangement must survive repetition.
A listener should be able to hear the same bass figure fifty times without becoming irritated by it. The drums should establish motion and then stay out of the way. The guitar should return often enough to become familiar. The synthesizer should create atmosphere without constantly announcing itself.
The music should not demand attention every second.
It should be able to disappear into the room and then suddenly become noticeable again.
Do not obsess over perfect reproduction.
Barge Wave is not made to demonstrate what an expensive stereo can do. It should still work through an old speaker in a large concrete room with machines running nearby.
If an arrangement only sounds good under ideal listening conditions, simplify it.
If a part exists only to demonstrate skill, remove it.
If everyone is playing at once, ask who can stop.
If a complicated part can become a two-note figure, use the two-note figure.
If something can repeat, let it repeat.
The song should remain melodic.
The harmony can remain sophisticated.
The performance should stay plain, dry, and patient.
Barge Wave should be calm without becoming soft.
Dark without becoming theatrical.
Translate bits into German, Dutch, Polish, etc.
Repetitive without becoming empty.
Play as though the river will still be there long after the song ends.
Example Album:
Kleinajen von Der Stählern Dank
Barge Wave arrangements for bass, guitar, drum machine, and synthesizer.
They are stripped-down Barge Wave backing arrangements: repetitive, dry, economical, and designed to leave the songs intact while removing nearly everything ornamental.
At any given moment, only one instrument besides the voice should be doing anything interesting. If the bass moves, the guitar backs off. If the guitar has a figure, the synth holds a note. If the synth moves, the bass becomes simple. The drum machine does not care about any of this.
1. Schwarze Kuh
92 BPM — heavy, tired, repetitive
Bass
Dark, dry tone. Pick or firm fingers. This part should be able to repeat for several minutes without calling attention to itself.
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
G|----------------|
D|----------------|
A|------5---------|
E|--3-3-----6---3-|Variation: Use only at a major section change.
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
G|----------------|
D|----------------|
A|--5-------3-----|
E|------3-------6-|Guitar
Clean bridge or middle pickup with a little chorus. Short notes. Play the figure and get out of the way.
e|----------------|B|------6---------|G|--5-------5-----|D|----------------|A|----------------|E|----------------|
Play once per bar or once every two bars. Do not add chords underneath it.
Linn / Drums
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
SN |----S-------S---|
BD |K-------K-K-----|Every fourth bar, the final closed hat may become an open hat. That is the fill.
Synth
Cheap organ. Long notes. The synth should barely move.
Bar 1: GBar 2: GBar 3: BbBar 4: G
Repeat. Occasionally substitute F for the final G. Do not continually outline the harmony.
LYRICS
In the corner of my eye
I saw you in Rudy’s
You were very high
You were high
It was a cryin’ disgrace
(Sie haben dein Gesicht gesehen)
On the counter
By your keys
Was a book of numbers
And your remedies
(Eines davon)
Surely will screen out of sorrow
But where are you tomorrow
I can’t cry anymore
While you run around
(Während du herumläufst)
Break away
Just when it seems so clear
Dass es jetzt vorbei ist
Trink deine Gross Schwarze Kuh aus
Und verschwinde von hier
Down to green street
There you go
Sieht so empörend aus
And they tell you so
(You should know)
How all the pros play the game
(Du änderst deinen Namen)
Like a gangster
On the run
You will stagger homeward
To your precious one
(Ich bin der Richtige)
Who must make everything right
Talk it out ’til daylight
I don’t care anymore
Why you run around
(Während du herumläufst)
Break away
Just when it seems so clear
Dass es jetzt vorbei ist
Trink deine Gross Schwarze Kuh aus
Und verschwinde von hier
I can’t cry anymore
While you run around
(Während du herumläufst)
Break away
Just when it seems so clear
Dass es jetzt vorbei ist
Trink deine Gross Schwarze Kuh aus
Und verschwinde von hier
Empörend
Empörend
Empörend
2. Aja
108 BPM — severe motorik
Bass
G|----------------|D|----------5-----|A|------5-5---5---|E|--3-3---------6-|
Repeat for long stretches. Do not create little transitions between sections.
Contrasting section only:
G|----------------|D|------7---------|A|--5-5---5-8-7-5-|E|----------------|
Return abruptly to the main figure.
Guitar
e|----------------|B|--------6-------|G|--5-7-------7-5-|D|----------------|A|----------------|E|----------------|
Play once every two bars. During the large instrumental section, play it once every bar.
At the peak, replace the entire guitar performance with:
G|--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|
Linn / Drums
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
SN |----S-------S---|
BD |K---K---K---K---|Every eighth bar:
TM |------------T-T-|
Those two tom hits are the drum solo.
Synth
D D - F | G - F -
Cheap mono square wave. Repeat until it becomes architecture rather than melody.
LYRICS
Oben auf dem Hügel
Die Leute starren nie
Es ist ihnen einfach egal
Chinesische Musik unter Banyanbäumen
Hier auf der Ranch über dem Meer
Aja
Wenn ich mit meinem Eintanzlokal fertig bin
Laufe ich zu dir
Oben auf dem Hügel
Dort gibt es Zeit im Überfluss
Es gibt kein Zurück mehr
Eine Doppelhelix am Nachthimmel
Wirf den Ballast ab
Lass es uns richtig machen
Aja
Wenn ich mit meinem Eintanzlokal fertig bin
Laufe ich zu dir
Oben auf dem Hügel
Sie glauben, bei mir sei alles in Ordnung
Oder zumindest sagen sie das
Chinesische Musik befreit mich immer
Ich mag den scharfen Klang von Banjos
Aja
Wenn ich mit dem Eintanzlokal fertig bin, laufe ich zu dir
3. Deacon Blues
76 BPM — exhausted
Bass
G|----------------|D|----------------|A|--3-------5-----|E|------3-------1-|
Quarter notes. Round tone. Do not decorate them.
Only in the final section:
G|----------------|D|----------------|A|--3-3-----5-5---|E|------3-3-----1-|
Guitar
e|----------------|B|--5-------------|G|------5---------|D|----------5-----|A|----------------|E|----------------|
Play the gesture, then stop. Silence is part of the guitar arrangement.
Linn / Drums
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x---x---x---x---|
SN |--------S-------|
BD |K---K-------K---|One snare per bar. Do not build until the final section.
Synth
Cheap string ensemble. Treat it like a refrigerated church organ.
C --------G --------Bb -------F --------
Long single notes or bare fifths. Do not continuously voice chords.
4. Peg
118 BPM — stiff machine pop
Bass
Pick near the bridge. Play it straighter than feels natural.
G|----------------|D|----------------|A|------4---------|E|--5-5-----5---2-|
Do not add funk fills. The awkward stiffness is desirable.
Guitar
e|----------------|B|--5-------7-----|G|--6-------7-----|D|----------------|A|----------------|E|----------------|
Short, compressed CHAK attacks. Do not strum full chords.
Linn / Drums
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
SN |----S-------S---|
BD |K-------K-K-----|Do not try to make the machine funky. The song supplies the groove.
Synth
A ----- C# -----B ----- A ------
Use as occasional punctuation rather than a continuous lead.
5. Home at Last
104 BPM — engine-room Barge Wave
Bass
G|----------------|D|----------------|A|------5-----5---|E|--3-3---6-3---6-|
Alternate only when the section clearly changes:
G|----------------|D|------5---------|A|--3-3---6-5-3---|E|--------------6-|
Do not swing either pattern.
Guitar
e|----------------|B|----------------|G|----------------|D|--5-5-5-5-------|A|----------6-5---|E|--------------6-|
Variation: rest for four bars.
The rest is a real part of the arrangement.
Linn / Drums
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
SN |----S-------S---|
BD |K-K-----K-K-----|No swing. No humanizing. Treat the kick pattern like an engine cycle.
Synth
G G G G | Bb - F -
Low sawtooth. The occasional high answer may be:
D - Eb - D
6. I Got the News
124 BPM — nervous fluorescent light
Bass
G|----------------|D|----------------|A|------4-----2---|E|--2-2---2-----4-|
Pick beside the bridge. Keep it narrow and repetitive.
Guitar
e|----------------|B|----------------|G|--6-------4-----|D|------------6---|A|----------------|E|----------------|
High register only. Thin rather than powerful.
Linn / Drums
The earlier pattern was too clever. Use straight eighths and let one interruption define the machine.
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|
SN |----S-------S---|
BD |K-------K--K----|Every fourth bar, omit the hat immediately before beat four. Do not add a fill in its place.
Synth
F# ----A ----
Short organ stabs. Silence between them.
7. Josie
110 BPM — the closest the record comes to dancing
Bass
The original Barge Wave part was still too active. Reduce it to this:
G|----------------|D|----------------|A|------5---------|E|--3-3-----6---3-|
Repeat until the section demands otherwise.
Guitar
e|----------------|B|--6-------------|G|----5-------7---|D|----------------|A|----------------|E|----------------|
Use chorus. Leave several beats of empty space around the figure.
Linn / Drums
1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a
HH |x-x-x-x-x-x-x-o-|
SN |----S-------S---|
BD |K---K-------K---|The open hat is sufficient evidence that this is the upbeat song.
Synth
Use the cheapest BRASS preset available.
G ----- Bb ----- C
Play it only as punctuation. Do not turn it into a horn section.
At the end:
G G G G | Bb Bb | C
Then everyone stops at once.
The Barge Wave Rule
The arrangements should be simple enough to disappear into the room.
If a bass line starts sounding impressive, remove notes.
If the guitar begins filling space, stop playing.
If the synthesizer sounds cinematic, hold one note instead.
If the drum machine sounds like a drummer, quantize it harder.
The songs can remain sophisticated. The performance should remain plain, dry, repetitive, and patient.
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