The Pop Victims EP "Waiting For the Breakdown" was an alternative / darkpop solo EP recorded January to March 1993. It was completed but never released at the time.

The project was recorded on a Fostex 260 cassette recorder, centered around drum and bass programmed on a Roland R-5 Rhythm Composer. Other instruments were a Realistic Concertmate MG-1 analog synth, a borrowed Akai AX-73, a DX-100 and electric and acoustic guitar. Vocals were most likely recorded with a Realistic PZM microphone.

The project was forgotten until these cassette mixes were recently rediscovered. So it has been digitized, registered to copyright.gov and released after nearly 30 years.

The project was based around the Roland R-5, as was many other projects by the artist at the time, because it was possible to program complete drum and bass in the unit.

The 4-track layout for was:

Track 1 + 2 - Roland R-5 (left and right stereo)
Track 3 + 4 - guitar and/or synth beds

(bounced as a stereo mix to stereo Hi-Fi VHS then back to two tracks of a new 4-track cassette, then)

Track 1 + 2 Full stereo mix of the beds
Track 3 + 4 Vocals, guitar, additional synth, sound effects and/or sampled audio


The Realistic MG-1 analog synth was used a lot throughout the early beds, but sometime in February it suddenly died and was disassembled it for use in promotional photos, such as the one included here with the artist lying in the snow amid the guts of the MG-1. (photo: Kym Double)

The protagonist character of this album was common in music of the time, a romantically tortured and self-styled misunderstood young man who struggled to understand the motivations of the people around them. Often the intention was satirical, some things aged better than others. Standout tracks include "Save Your Words Now", "A Slow Way To Die" and (the hidden) "Blind Faith". This mix of Blind Faith unfortunately runs off the end of the cassette, but this truncated version is included here as part of the album.

There were a few audio samples used. The sample at the beginning of Blind Faith was taken from Midnight Caller, an often chaotic and hilarious show hosted by Tom Green on CHUO (University of Ottawa radio station).

This all happened in a tiny and run-down apartment amid a mess of instruments, cables and coffee. It was probably a bad place for anyone to live, cramped and dark, with a shower stall in the hallway and an ever-growing ring of mold in the rug around it. But the friends who passed through the space were young and free, full of musical ideas and hardly any money, but it was just taken for granted that time was a limitless resource. Why wouldn't we be young forever?

The names of all the friends who helped the artist create this project have been anonymized on the cassette jacket to protect their privacy (see bonus items) , but will be published if they allow it in the future. As with even solitary projects like this, the creativity and assistance of friends was an essential part of the project and is remembered and appreciated.

Whatever it is artistically, it's an interesting bit of forgotten personal history being set free into the great wide open to hopefully find an ear or two. Enjoy.