Skill Tree

My Sword Will Be On Fire by Wiles A.

...or you can check out the YouTube version --> Skill Tree - The Efts

   This song is dedicated to the PvPer.  Lolo and I have played many multiplayer games.  When given a choice, we pick PvP (player vs player) servers every time.  The added element of random spars with an actual player can make or break a game for us.  This tune reflects the feeling we tend to have after losing in a PvP situation.  The need for vengeance is usually overwhelming.  Skill tree tweaks, armor changes, hotkey placement, etc... it's all examined prior to a concerted effort to find and eliminate the perpetrator.  From MUDs in the early 1990s to current MMORPGs, we've been doing this for a long time.  May our enemies realize the futility of their ways.

Lyrics:

What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.
What if I'm dead?
What if I had a million lives? 
To my killers I'd say:

I'm adjusting my skill tree
and I will see you again on the other side.
My sword will be on fire
and hot rays of death will pour out of my shield.

There are twenty things I will do before we meet again:
practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, 

practice, practice, practice, practice, practice,
practice, practice, practice, practice, practice,
practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.

I'm adjusting my skill tree
and I will see you again on the other side.
My sword will be on fire
and hot rays of death will pour out of my shield.

Wearing acid coated armor
with a helm forged in molten rage.
I will ride upon a demon steed
and you will feel my wrath.

KY's Theme

KY's basement March 2002

...or you can check out the YouTube version ---> KY's Theme 0.4

This song is dedicated to our friend Kristian Yeager (KY).  We've been playing video games together for many years, so it seemed appropriate to write him a song about leveling up.  KY is a good dad and a good husband.  I (Shannon) am a terrible influence.  Regardless of my constant temptations of gaming goodness, KY puts his family first.  That being said, once his family is all tucked in bed KY becomes a gaming god.  Lolo and I have spent so many evenings playing WoW, DDR, WoW, Rock Band, WoW and WoW with Kristian.  May we level up again and again, KY!

Lolo and I were (as usual) experimenting with music recently and made a 240 bpm remix of KY's Theme 0.4.  Check it out if you feel like possibly having an earblow.  Yeah you heard me.  Earblow.  A mindblow of the ear.

Download/Listen to this song --->  KYs Theme 240bpm Remix - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version ---> KY's Theme 240bpm remix

Lyrics (same for both versions)

Your kids are tucked in tight
Your spouse is sleeping all night
You got a drink and a game and you're feeling alright.

Shed your real life skin as you pass the login
and you know as you go that you'll level tonight.

Don't you stop till you get that drop. 
Fight fight fight till you level up tonight

Fade into this game with me
Let's blow this up with some TNT.
We might even do some PvP.
Now come along and level up with me.

The Efts on Hipster, Please! (again!!)

Link to the podcast -->  Hipster, Please! Ep. 120: Occupy Elm Street

Yessssssssss!!!  We've been honored with another appearance on Radio Free Hipster, the podcast arm of the musical juggernaut known as Hipster, Please!  Our sincere thanks go out to Z for his years of dedication to our musical genre.  Hipster, Please! has been a source of inspiration for us for a long time.  For example, after reading several of his posts a few months ago we wrote Revolves Around You.  The instrumentals and words we created for that tune were all sprung from the Hipster, Please catalyst.  This particular Halloween episode of Radio Free Hipster is packed with great tunes.  The final song (the new version of Still Alive by Jonathan Coulton) is one that I replayed many times.   Thanks again Z for including us in episode 120!!

The Efts are away from the blog for a bit

Amazing news! We've been officially contracted to do the music for the upcoming social networking game called Robot Destroy Club.  It's thrilling to work on a project such as this, and we've been putting in a lot of hours making in-game loops, theme songs and more.  We're having so much fun that it's hard to believe we're getting paid to do this! We're also putting together a new 6-song mini-album for the same project, which will be released early next year.  Due to the nature of our contract with Jesta Labs, we're unable to publish these songs here until after the game's release.  We hope you continue to enjoy the previous songs posted here and appreciate your patience as we work through our contracted songs.  We should have some non-Robot Destroy Club-related songs to post soon after completing the contract.

Robots Are Our Friends

Download our 3rd free album! --> Robots Are Our Friends-The Efts

3rd Album!  We've assembled eight more of our tunes for this latest album called Robots Are Our Friends.  We're currently working on the in-game soundtrack for an upcoming game called Robot Destroy Club and have robots on the brain.  After weeks of referring to each other as Shanbot and Loretbot it seemed inevitable that the title of our third release would be robot flavored.  We hope you enjoy this sampling of our work which includes our most recent six songs as well as two older tunes we've recently re-polished.  The album versions of most of these songs are newer than those previously posted on this site.

Robots Are Our Friends contents:

01 What You Do
02 Robot Destroy
03 Co-op Dreams
04 MiniMotoX
05 Revolves Around You
06 Wiles Goes To School
07 You Are A Giant To Me
08 Time-Lapse Photography Life

Robot Destroy

...or you can check out the YouTube version --> Robot Destroy - The Efts

Lolo and I had a ton of fun making this song. This creation was born after a night of playing with sounds at Dylan and Deanie's place up in New York. We combined the dropped-octave synths with some lyrics we had worked up for Dylan's upcoming social networking game called Robot Destroy Club in an attempt to make a theme song for his project. Big thanks go out to our core beta-listening team who are integral to crafting the final versions of our songs - Dylan, Kristian, Deanie, Trista, Andrew, John and Sara. Thanks so much!!  And even more thanks to Wiles for his wonderful artwork created just for this song.

Lyrics:

There. You can feel it every time.
It's a tingle in your spine.
Your electric robot spine.
And it goes dunt, dunt, dunt, dunt.
Send a signal to your beat box
and we heat rocks with our lasers,
fire tasers with our robot claws.
Pew, pew, pew, pew
Robot destroy.

I. I am a robot.
You. You are a robot.
We can take this city down
Level this entire town
Robot destroy.
Robot destroy.

We. We can be robots.
Free. Free to be robots.
Computerized devil guise
deadly red robotic eyes
Robot enjoy.
Robot destroy.

Co-op Dreams

Dylan sets the tone.

Listen to/download this song --> Co-op Dreams - The Efts

Watch the YouTube version --> Co-op Dreams -The Efts

Happy birthday Dylan!! Here's a song in tribute of the last two decades of playing video games with you. We've co-opped our way through countless titles since meeting in 1991. The future holds so much promise for tomorrow's gaming, which makes our amazing teamwork even more of an asset. Thanks for taking so many virtual bullets for me! And thanks for letting me control the feet.

Lyrics:

When we get a new game
we get a new world to tame
we pick our character names
and they're always the same

We figure out the controls
with the easiest goals
such as looking in holes
for some cartoony moles

In our games, co-op teams
In our sleep, co-op dreams

We made our Katamaris
and we rolled through cities
now we utilize Wiis
to do exercisiis.

From your living room
with your Genesis
we have come so far
we are limitless.

When you fall asleep
in that world above
you can see me there
with a Powerglove.

When you get stressed out
and you need to play
get the Vectrex out
make blue skies from gray

The Efts on uNKnOwnCluBbErZ!!!

Link to the exclusive album --> TheEftsLoveuNKnOwnCluBbErZ

uNKnOwnCluBbErZ is a site that should be familiar with many people who like electronic

music. Ludo of uNKnOwnCluBbErZ has been gathering and posting new music for years, and it's with great honor that we are now included there! We've remixed seven of our more recent tunes, and also added our 4 newest songs in an effort to provide uNKnOwnCluBbErZ with a unique selection of our work. The mp3 versions of our songs available at Ludo's site are higher quality than those available here. We can't ever thank Ludo enough for his influence. His dedication and zeal for electronic music is unparalleled, and the world is a better place for having him among us.

What You Do

The Efts circa 1990

Listen to/Download this song --> What You Do - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> What You Do - The Efts

Lolo and I have had many adventures. We've traveled thousands of miles together, spent thousands of hours together and are completely addicted to one another. I love her and what she does. This song is dedicated to the adventures we've had, and will be our theme song during future forays into chaos.

Lyrics:

The day after we bought our house you said
"This is where we could beat the living dead
in the zombie apocalypse."
and I said "I love you and what you do."

We were walking home from a show one night
and you stole those hens and chicks and took flight
through the neighborhood and
as we ran I yelled "I love you and what you do!"

Never listen to radio, oh no.
We control the audio
Our love is stereo.
I love you so.

Sneaking into that strange basement

and we hid next to the drums

and kissed and never got found.

Then we crossed the busy highway

and went into the woods

and I whispered "I love you and what you do."

MiniMotoX

Dylan and Eric take a tour of the grounds

Listen to/download this song --> MiniMotoX - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> MiniMotoX - The Efts

This song is for our amazing friend Dylan. It was designed for a singular purpose: to be listened to whilst crushing his competition in the fast-paced, knock-down, backyard minimotocross circuit. We hope that he is able to utilize the power inherent in the mono analog sounds found within this song. May your traction be sticky and your battery be forever charged, Dyl.

Lyrics:

C'mon baby ride. You've got to win this minimotocross.

Spinning wheels, plastic wheels, little wheels make dirt fly.

Making the eights, making the eights, crazy eights.

Racetrack, racetrack in the lawn.

The Efts on Indie69's June 2011 Playlist

Download the playlist here --> Indie69 June 2011 New Music Playlist

Hooray! We've been once again included in the Indie69 monthly playlist. Our song Tiniest Viking is one of over 100 brand new songs from a ton of bands you've never heard on the June playlist. We're very pleased to have been considered worthy of inclusion for the second time in Indie69's massive mp3 dissemination project. Click the link above to find the the 1gig playlist.

Wiles Goes to School

Listen to/Download this song --> Wiles Goes to School - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> Wiles Goes to School - The Efts

This song is dedicated to Dylan and Deanie's oldest son. Wiles starts kindergarten this coming fall so we wrote a tune in support of his journey. We tried a few new things with this project. Singing like a robot was new (no effect used there, just sang in a nasally robot tone using a two-part harmony) as was an experiment with dropping the bass a full octave around 1:25.

Lyrics:

Wouldn't it be cool
when Wiles goes to school
Don't go alone
He takes a robot too

When Wiles goes to school
it gets robotical

Kicks the kickball real far
Stands in line for him
Gets an extra lunch

Knows the answers to tests
and how to solve all the quests
Robots are the best

Revolves Around You

My world revolves around her.

Listen to/download this song --> Revolves Around You - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> Revolves Around You - The Efts

Lolo and I have spent over two decades together. She's the core of the gravitational force guiding my life's trajectory. I tried to convey that feeling in the lyrics to this latest song I wrote for her. The universe may unfold it's plans, but Lolo and I have our own schematics.

Lyrics:

Age is relative
to the speed of the Earth
as it revolves around the sun.

Time is measured
as we spin across space.
We'll take measure from what we've done.

We get older.
I don't notice.
I'm no satellite of the sun.

My world revolves around you.

The Efts on The GeekSpin!

Link to the podcast --> The GeekSpin 33: No Such Thing As a Free Comic Book

Perhaps you've been hearing a dinging sound. That's the sound of the sparkle of our teeth as we smile uncontrollably. The source for our happiness? Our recent inclusion in episode 33 of The GeekSpin with Brad Bowyer. Brad has been making great quality podcasts for a long time and we are deeply overjoyed to hear one of our songs on his program. The GeekSpin is a wonderful source of nerdy music, and has been a catalyst for our inspiration. Thanks Brad!!!!!

Geek Love

Download the album (it's free!) --> Geek Love - The Efts

Yay! We're pleased to present our second collection of songs. The tunes in this album were designed as gifts for some of our friends or for each other. We hope that the geeky love contained within each song might provide some warmth for your heart as well. Some of the selections are unique updated versions of songs previously released on our blog. Lyrics and notation can be found at each song's original blog post linked to the list below:

01 Tiniest Viking v1.4

02 Tippytoe Frankenstein v1.9

03 My Science Garden v1.8

04 Your Turn Now v3.4

05 Everything Changes (Snowball re-edit)

06 Moving Away

07 Jackson and Sam

08 Chemical Love v1.5

My Science Garden

An early incarnation of Lolo's science garden

Download/Listen to this song --> My Science Garden - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> My Science Garden - The Efts

I had Lolo in mind when I wrote this song. She has a carefully planned garden in front of our house. Raised beds, companion planting, customized soil mixtures, and many exciting botanical discoveries have made this a focal point in Lolo's vision for our property. I'm hoping this song will be re-recorded in the near future with Lolo's voice replacing mine. It's her science garden, after all.

Lyrics:

This space is mine.
I carved out of the world out in front of my house.
I see it every day.

When I close my eyes
I am in my science garden.

I made it better
nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus
I worked it into the clay.

It's my reflection
See me trade sweat and dirt with the earth
Beg the sun for it's ray

It's my obsession
Hypothesize with the hedge bindweed
and I theorize with the thistle seed

Tiniest Viking

Deanie holds a secret in her eyes

Listen to/download this song --> Tiniest Viking - The Efts

YouTube version --> Tiniest Viking - The Efts

This is Deanie's theme. In some circles, Deanie is known as the Tiniest Viking. She is a powerful positive force in this world, and radiates a feeling of warmth that can be felt at a subatomic level. Deanie has been a part of our lives for many years and we'll continue to love the time we get to spend together. Tiniest Viking forever!!

Lyrics:

To the left is a temptation
To the right is a brass ring
She continues down the middle
She's the tiniest viking

Head up, chin out, eyes straight
No lack of clout today.

In her eyes she holds a secret
see them glimmer, see them glow
In her hands she holds her sons
In her arms she holds her beau

In her heart are fields of summer

winter, spring and fall
In her mind she plays this song
with her voice she sings along

Breathe in, hold it. Take wing.
Breathe out Tiny Viking.

The Efts on Indie 69!

Link to the playlist --> Indie 69 May 2011 Playlist

Yay! We've been included in this month's Indie 69 playlist. This playlist has a great history of aggregating and disseminating new music, and we're overjoyed to be added to the current grouping. Thanks Indie69!! May you continue paving the musical path for all time.

The Efts on Radio Clash!

Link to the podcast --> Radio Clash episode 203

Deep breaths. Deeeeeep breaths. We continue to be overwhelmed. Another podcast has decided to include us in a recent episode, this time with our tune In Between Games. Radio Clash, a constant emitter of superior sonic signals from across the pond, has been pumping out podcasts for years. We're humbled and honored to be a part of his ever-growing legion of listeners.

The Efts on HipTrax!

Link to the podcast --> GeekDad HipTrax #70

We're overwhelmed with unabashed waves of positive thought! We just discovered our inclusion in the 70th episode of GeekDad's HipTrax from Wired. Once again, our thanks go out to Z for adding us to the mix with chiptune maestros Comptroller and Dot.AY. Cheers!!

The Efts on Hipster, Please!

Link to the podcast --> Radio Free Hipster Ep. 109

We're thrilled to have been included in the most recent episode of Radio Free Hipster. If you're not familiar with the excellent blog Hipster, Please! we implore you to check it out. Radio Free Hipster (the podcast facet of Hipster, Please!) has been a crucial component of the geek music community, and is a regular visitor to the various subwoofers and tweeters littering our house. Thanks Z for all of your continued efforts and for allowing us to grace your program.

Your Turn Now (Updated!)

Download/Play this song --> Your Turn Now - The Efts

YouTube version ---> Your Turn Now - The Efts

This is a much needed update to one of our older songs. We originally wrote this song when our dear friends had a baby. It had lyrics like 'Used to be you thought for one, now you think for three." The song worked out fine until three became four. In an effort to make this song viable once again, a complete overhaul was recently performed. Lolo added some great background vocals and we remixed the majority of the synths to reflect a more modern feel.

Tippytoe Frankenstein

Listen to/download this song --> Tippytoe Frankenstein - The Efts

YouTube version --> Tippytoe Frankenstein - The Efts

Happy birthday Deanie! Here's a song about Tippytoe Frankenstein, the powerful alter-ego of Deanie and Dylan's youngest son. We had a lot of fun with this one, particularly with the vocals and the synthesizers. Lolo recorded some great chorus vocals (yay!!) for this project. We also extensively used this amazing new addon instrument compilation called SynthPack from AMG. It adds over 150 vintage digital and analog synthesizers to the already sizable instrument library within our Powerbook. Almost all of the sounds in this song are courtesy of the classic synths we discovered in SynthPack.

Lyrics:

Everybody rise
when he comes into the room.
You don't know why?
You'll figure out real soon.

Under a good sign
was born a good friend of mine.
No way to define
Tippytoe Frankenstein.

He has a heart of gold
that he wears on his sleeve.
He's a hero of old.
Salute him for me.

This Music is Probably Too Geeky for You

Download our album (it's free) --> This Music is Probably Too Geeky for You - The Efts

After a few years of making music, we've decided to compile the latest versions of our favorite few tunes. We hope you find some enjoyment from our efforts. As always, thanks for listening!

Song List:

1 Lyon Among Wolves

2 Zeros and Ones

3 Rises in Your Eyes

4 The Improver

5 Superimposed

6 Your Turn Now

7 Hordiculturalists Theme

8 In Between Games

In Between Games

Listen to/download this song --> In Between Games - The Efts

Watch the YouTube version --> In Between Games - The Efts

I'm a lifelong gamer. Luckily for me, I'm married to a lifelong gamer. Being sucked into a really good video game can be exhilarating but can also wreck any chance of being responsible for actual life. This song is about the productive times in any gamer's life when no games are being played.

Lyrics:

Hard to believe all I do
when I'm in between games

Working and driving and writing songs
Talking and laughing and walking dogs
Sleeping and making Ovaltine
Seeing and touching you

Superimposed

Listen to/download this song --> Superimposed - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> Superimposed - The Efts

Recently I watched a documentary about a mathematician that pioneered the field of quantum mechanics. After some follow-up research of the film and its subject, I became aware of the idea that quantum bonds are created as a result of spending a lot of time with others. This song is dedicated to all of those who've superimposed time and space with me.

Lyrics:

Our bodies fail
but that's okay
Our minds get frail
we have today

We share this ride
through space and time
Walk side by side
indivisible prime

We are superimposed
Oh yeah

Our lives just can't
be quantified
Our atoms dance
electrified

Zeros and Ones

Listen to/download this song --> Zeros and Ones - The Efts

Listen to the YouTube version --> Zeros and Ones - The Efts

After Dylan worked so hard to host my music I was inspired to write a new tune this afternoon. This is a quickie based on an idea I had to embed binary code within a song. When connected, all of the zeros and ones in this song equal 'I heart U'. Sigh, I'm such a dork. Also I experimented with bitcrushing the vocals on this one.

Lyrics:

0100100
I want to be your digital hero

1001000
Don't want to be a binary Nero

0000111
Returning my waves back to the sun

1000011
Set my signal free to seek and run

I'm reducing this message to it's basic parts.
I'm reducing this packet size for you.

0011001
My pulse is beating off and on

0000001
My work has only just begun.

010101

How to make songs just like The Efts

We tend to get a lot of questions about our methods. In an effort to help make the world a more musical place, we've decided to detail our general tactics in a few easy steps. So without further ado, here's how you can make your own stuff!

1. Start using loop-based software. There are several similar programs out there (ACID, Sound Forge, FruityLoops, GarageBand, MixCraft, among others). We use loop-based software to build songs in a visual manner, chunk by chunk. A 'loop' is a short (usually 4, 8, or 16 beat) clip of sound.

2. Create several loops that sound good together. Using the aforementioned software and a USB-enabled musical keyboard, tap out a few notes on your synthesizer.  If you're just starting out, it can help to borrow from one of the many loops that generally accompany such software.  It's also very easy to write your own loops using just your computer's QWERTY keyboard, although we prefer to use our giant Casio CT 6000 or our tiny Akai Pro LPK25 to write the synthesizer loops in our tunes. Most loop-based software organizes the loop library by beats, key, style, etc to make it simple to sort through and find other loops that melodically fit the first loop in your creation. Also try to find a few beats (building beats by overlaying several drum patterns can be addictive! Beware!) Once you've managed to gather a few loops that sound nice together, it's time for step 3.

3. Hum a lot. Listen to your short loop-based creation made in the previous step. Listen to it a LOT. Over and over and over and over again. Hum along with it. Hum creatively, adding some rests and some harmony. Make a new mental loop using your hum. When you hear your instrumental loop, you should automatically start humming your voice part. Now replace the hum with a few words. Add some rhymes (use a free online rhyming dictionary to juice your creativity). You just made lyrics! Congratulations!

4. Record your vocals. Once you've managed to think of a voice part and written some lyrics, it's time to record. Go to a quiet area, free of white noise and reflective surfaces. We use a Snowball microphone from Blue for our vocal recording. The voice recording phase for any song can be maddening. Record more tracks than you need. Experiment with different qualities of your voice. Try singing extra breathy, or extra loud. Save all your tracks for later. Be patient, it will be worth it when you get to the next step. Remember, after you've added some effects to your vocal track it ALWAYS sounds better than you think at first.

5. Post-editing. This is the biggest step. Think of your song as a Lego creation. You have your pieces out in front of you (loops, vocals, drums) and you have to fit them together. There are hundreds of effects and sounds that can be applied to any loop. Perhaps you started out with loop that used a classical piano sound, but you change it to an old 1960's sci-fi wave sound. Then you add a spooky bongo drum part that you effected with a metallic echo. You drop in your vocals which you change to sound like you're singing from space over an old radio. When we make songs, the vast majority of time is spent in this phase. We move parts of songs around, add and subtract loops, change individual sounds, etc.

6. Beta testing. Your final step! Assuming you want to make an mp3 of your creation, it's vital that you beta test your new song on a few different systems. Some of our songs have included over 30 different tracks of audio. When all of those tracks are compressed into an mp3, the song will sound quite different. Usually the bass is much louder in the mp3 version. Send your song to a few friends and see what they think about the various volume levels. Just because it sounds good (or bad) on your computer's speakers doesn't mean it will sound okay in your car. After your beta test, go back and tweak your song a bit more until it sounds acceptable.

...and done. Enjoy your new song! We've made songs that have taken about an hour to get through all of these steps. Other songs have taken weeks. Most songs never get completed. Of the 200+ songs we've started, only about 20 have been 'done'. Don't be discouraged, and most importantly always have fun!

The Improver - The Efts

Listen to the Youtube version -> The Improver - The Efts

Download this mp3 -> The Efts - The Improver

This is a song I wrote for Lolo's Valentine's Day 2011 present. For over 20 years I've watched Lolo slowly improve the world around her. Whether it be home improvement, gardening, teaching, or her carefully crafted WoW UI, she's always improving something. This song is dedicated to her powerful alter ego: The Improver.

Lyrics:

The Improver is your name, and improving lights your flame, you will always be the same, fixing everything that's lame

Adding to your students' lives, taking miles off of drives, saving all your ones and fives, until your rainy day arrives.

When you look into the mirror I just wish that you could picture the perfection that I see.

You are to me the perfect you.

Some things need some real improving, but don't be self disapproving, look through me, and the vision that I see.