Datascape by MASK

This is the third album, "Datascape"!

Starting off, I want to apologize for taking so long. I didn't think an album would take me two years to make but I think the time has allowed me to refine the songs to their best versions. No compromise of vision...I think.

This is the first album where I tried to keep a consistent narrative throughout the runtime so I hope everyone who listens can enjoy that aspect! I also have a better understanding of the DAW I currently use so I was able to take advantage of more tools and create the digital rock sound I wanted for the album.

Initially this album's journey starts with a song idea/jam that I messed around with back in 2017/2018. This was a time when my old bandmates and I were spit-balling any idea we could come up with. I'm not sure if I have the old recording but I might put it in the next trash bin collection if I find it. Back then it was a jam that sounded like background music for some old vhs tape explaining the internet, which led to me colloquially referring to the jam as "datascape" . We never figured out how to continue that jam so it was shelved and forgotten. Later on I had tried to reintroduce the idea of making an album about the internet with the name "Datascape" but the rest of the band wasn't too thrilled with the concept so it was shelved then as well.

After I finished "Seasons" I thought about doing a concept album focusing on the internet as it is today. The album goes into the corporatization of the internet and the societal pressures that shape an individual while this paradigm shift occurs. I still had the name "Datascape" bouncing around my head while making this album so halfway through writing I decided that this name would be perfect for the album. (The name sounds cool to me so it MUST be cool...right?....RiGhT?...)*cough*

Now I would like to give a few shout-outs to some very good friends!

First is a HUGE thank you to Nathan Morales for making the wonderful album cover! He helped create the original MASK logo and his work on this cover was great!

Second I want to thank William Gan for helping me out on "Thick Skin". The exorcising line in the song is something they came up with and I just had to put it in. Also thank you for listening to me ramble through the story of this thing two years ago.

Finally I want to thank Kelly Northcraft, Alex Hikmat, and Evelyn Horstman (as well as everyone mentioned previously) for your feedback and support over these two years. All of you really helped me get through this project. Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to any song I threw your way and thanks for being such great friends!

I hope everyone enjoys the album and thank you all for taking the time to listen to it! -Louis

A band going one strong!

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