Notes
Not very long after Will (a.k.a. 'W. DasGift III') recorded and released the self-financed E.P. ghost stories in 2004 under the group moniker 'Sunset Aside', he realized that his songwriting was growing more complex and seemed to be reaching beyond the learned scope of his current musical implementation. This lead to his withdrawal from the guitar and voice as his chosen medium for creativity and finding him seated instead at the piano, where he would begin composing and rearranging the music for a rich new sound, the sound of what remains. Although he continued performing live as Sunset Aside (with the help of friends and associates alike, including Johnny Riott), it wasn't until 3 years later that the first full length album would become a tangible reality. Thus, of what remains was born after a yearlong stay at Scarlet East Studios, located in Upstate New York. 'It took a bit to get it right', says Will. 'Looking back at how we did it, it seems like it took a lot shorter period of time to complete. However, as we see, this is not the case. John Delahanty (producer and engineer) and I were after dynamics and keeping what was already there as accurate as possible to what I was hearing in my head. After it was all committed to tape, it became a matter of manipulating textures to fit each particular song's unique identity while keeping our minds open to any resultant ideas that may come up along the way. I recall that there were many hours spent at this stage of the recording. It was very non-linear, yet extremely organized, as I see the creation of any great story being.' A broad collection of emotive tracks ranging from dark, indie-tinged pop nestled alongside elements of progressive rock to moments of Bowie-esque glam, this 'most realized' effort from Sunset Aside has a sound that even the creators have a hard time pinning down. 'This is one of those records where you listen to it and, every time, you hear something new' quotes percussionist Johnny Roitt Utilizing layered cello ('moviestars', 'Autumns Eyes') an antique Vox organ ('The Fainting Room', 'In The Hills, In the Streets') and selected sound bites ('Between The Sea and The Sky'), of what remains projects the 'thematic elements of loss, acceptance and living on, as typified by such enigmatic projects as Swans, Pink Floyd and King Crimson,' says Will. 'I wanted this album to play out like a film, complete with credits. I wanted the listener to feel as though they were in that film, living the music.... In this day and age, it may be too much to strive for without a multimedia package, that sort of 'dynamic', yet I believe we have captured it with this release and will continue to strive for it in all our future endeavors.' Standing behind of what remains as a quality release, the core of Sunset Aside (currently comprised of Will and Johnny) are actively working towards a publishing and/or distribution deal, pending the results of the oft-used and time worn DIY approach, which includes pushing the album on the Internet, local radio promotion and word-of-mouth, as well as soliciting promotional copies of the album to record labels. As far as performing live? 'Sunset Aside exists only when it has to,' quotes Will. 'Johnny and I decided that the 'live band' should be deconstructed in favor of training our focus on writing new material, which, in my opinion was the right move, being that our newer songs are quite a few levels away from we have established with of what remains in that the music we are composing these days doesn't really have the same feel per se as previous material.' 'After we finished of what remains,' adds Johnny, 'we really just needed to step back and evaluate where we were. Will bled for that record (not just figuratively) and it is a complete emotional statement. It also became obvious we were in a different state of mind afterward, that we had something very different to say and it was being reflected in the new music we were creating. The
