I think DAVE Single is the first thing I’ve made in a while that I haven’t fucking agonized over. The album was recorded relatively painlessly, being completed in the same glorious week of mania that produced “Cold Front” by SK1FREE. I would record basslines by day, practice the drum parts on Griffin’s (my roommate) e-kit and record them in the practice space in the evening, and then stay up really late mixing or working on SK1FREE stuff until the sun came up. Whereas for davEP I would be at the practice space until one or two in the morning trying to perfect the drums in the blistering summer heat, for this project I tried not to get bogged down in having the most complex drum patterns, instead opting for something which worked around the fact that I had no viable means of being able to record live drums for any extended period of time. In a sense, a lot of my drumming has a kind of sloppiness to it, but it adds to the frantic nature of the album as a whole, which I enjoy–a result of Ruth standing right next to me as I recorded, and me trying to get a good take before Rob and Isaac got there.
As mentioned, most of the drum parts were practiced on an e-kit in my living room, which allowed me to get a good idea of what I was gonna play before I did it. I had to maximize the little time I had before practices to get good takes of the songs, so being able to be well-rehearsed was a plus. The basslines were a combination of parts I had for a while but didn’t know what to do with and stuff I wrote entirely off rip, usually in the middle of the night while Robby (my roommate who I share a wall with) was trying to sleep.
The name came from IHNLFMLY’s love of Wendy’s. I think it was either Ruth or Isaac who suggested the name, and I thought it was very funny and would mean I would only need a couple songs for it. Then I thought it would be even funnier if something with the name DAVE SINGLE actually had four tracks on it, making it technically an EP.
Then I got carried away and added four more tracks to it, those being the demos of the songs. Whoops.
As a closing note, I think this is the first BasementDwellers album since D4VE that was made in a halfway decent mental state, and as a result I have a much better relationship with this project than previous ones. That’s gotta count for something.
Also shout out Harrison for coming up with the phrase “Dingle out May 3st.” I have stolen that so much in the past couple days.

MINGEBAG

I think I came up with most of this bassline shortly before I went back to Ohio for winter break, as I was jamming on it with Brennan before the song itself was finalized. This song fucking sucks to play but it’s really cool. The beginning came later around the time I was formally recording, and kept Robby and Hilly (his girlfriend) from sleeping one night while I was writing it.
The final structure of this one was the kickoff to my week of productivity, and holds a special place in my heart because of it. I remember going into IHNL and PCL practice, excitedly playing the new basslines I had written to really the only people who care. Better times (earlier this month).

AND THEN THE D.A.V.E.S. CAME!

The voicemail at the beginning has a very silly story behind it. I had been in communication with the Cincy artist NINEBALL for a while, and we were talking about exchanging tapes with one another. When Tom (9B) sent my tape out, he didn’t know my apartment number or my name, so he just wrote “BasementDwellers” on the package. Surprisingly, the employees at my apartment weren’t aware that the illustrious BasementDwellers, in reality, dwells inside the very building they work in, so they returned it to the sender.
I was unaware of this at the time, being very confused as to why my sweet 9B noises had not arrived in my mailbox yet. Naturally, I went down to the front office, oblivious to the fact that, if I wanted my package, I would have to explain to the person there that I not only make music, but that I make music under the name BasementDwellers.
I confessed all of this and more to the woman at the desk, who–in spite of my raging social anxiety and general unapproachable demeanor–was very understanding and helpful. So helpful, in fact, that when the post office sent the tape back to my apartment for some reason, she remembered me enough to call me and tell me it was there. The voicemail is what resulted, and I got my tape. Shoutout Tom of 9B fame.
In other news, this song was named after a Daughters song. I don’t even like Daughters that much, I just thought the name was funny. I was gonna change it, but I liked it too much.

HOLLYWOOD ASTRAL PROJECTION CLINIC

Named after something in the Errattas mystery ARG, I just liked the sound of it so I used it. I’ve had this bassline for quite a while–an early version can be heard on the DAVE DEMOS album, under the name Giant Lacewing–but could never find any other part that fit with it. For about a year I forgot how to play it, until I actually sat down and learned it again, which made me realize that I can just play the same shape in different rhythms and make it work. I was probably listening to Rush or some shit around that time, hence the weird timing on the parts. It was just great to finally have this idea I came up with years ago fully realized.
Something I don’t talk about often is that occasionally when I’m coming up with songs, I’ll think of a shape I can make on the fretboard and then use that as a foundation for the bassline. For this song, it was the letter “x.”

SECRET MALL APARTMENT

Named after a documentary I have yet to see because I don’t have Netflix, but, god dammit, the idea of living in a fucking mall with a couple friends has been a dream of mine for so long. The photos taken in there show exactly the way I wanna live, scratching that weird, out of place corporate living mundanity itch that IKEA Heights and liminal spaces filled for a while.
The song was built around a beat I improvised one day when practicing during the davEP recording sessions, hence why there is no structure. I think I came up with the bassline on the spot while listening back in my room later that night. It was recorded and mixed within a day. Now that I’m thinking about it, this was probably the last thing I recorded on my Peavey Pacer before the thing just up and died on me. It’s definitely a favorite of mine to play.
This one has been around since davEP and was gonna go on the final tracklist, but in the end I was held onto it for use in a Nightmarket split which never ended up happening, as Andrei moved to Boston and didn’t tell anyone. It still might happen, but it’s very unlikely.

(BONUS) ETHANY JR.

This one is a version of Anthony Jr. that was originally recorded when I was still living in the dorms. It was the last “final” rendition of the song that was made before proper recording began.
The voice in the background is my old roommate, Ethan, playing Fortnite and screaming, which he would do often. I thought it was all very funny so I made an effort to capture it on a few recordings–whenever I could, really.