Who is Alyson Jane Parker?
Alyson Jane Parker was committed to Sea Asylum in 1963, her past a complete void. Stripped of all memories she was discovered naked on the shore, with only one clue: the name "Parker" scarred into her arm. Initially resistant to hypnotherapy, she remains guarded. Yet, as the sessions progress, fragments of her lost memories begin to resurface, hinting at a story both haunting and profound.
The Mind of Alyson Jane Parker
Through hypnotherapy sessions, Alyson begins to recover her memories, each fragment surfacing like pieces of a shattered mirror. Under hypnosis, her mind "sings," revealing haunting glimpses of her fractured past and a disjointed melody of pain, mystery, and forgotten truths.
The Ship Reverbs
The reverbs for the records were created using impulse responses that we captured aboard the luxury liner Queen Mary. By recording in various locations throughout the ship, we infused the soundscape with its unique acoustics, imbuing the story with an authentic, immersive atmosphere that echoes the ship’s haunting elegance.
The Vocal Reverbs
Since our story unfolds primarily in the bowels of an abandoned ship, it felt only fitting to have the vocals mirror that haunting environment. All lead vocal reverbs were captured from the deepest, most isolated parts of the vessel, immersing the listener in the oppressive, echoing depths where the story resides.
The Siren Reverbs
The Asylum Reverbs
Our siren vocals, performed by an array of talented female artists, bring an ethereal and haunting quality to the soundscape. Most of these vocals were recorded on the ship’s deck, where the natural reflections of the open space added an otherworldly resonance, amplifying the eerie allure of their sonic presence.
The Asylum Reverbs
The Asylum Reverbs
Portions of our story unfold within an asylum, where our lead character undergoes hypnotherapy. To authentically capture the atmosphere of these sessions, we used reverbs sourced from an abandoned asylum that had been recorded during our previous project. These haunting acoustics immerse the listener in the chilling, echoing spaces of a forgotten institution, perfectly complementing the story's psychological tension.
The Hypnotherapy Sessions
To authentically recreate the hypnotherapy sessions, our talented actresses performed their parts as fully realized scenes. Both audio and visual elements were captured using vintage 1960s microphones and recorded on reel-to-reel tape—the precise medium used during that era. This meticulous approach adds a layer of historical authenticity, drawing the listener deeper into the story’s immersive world.
The Metronome
The metronome plays a subtle yet pivotal role throughout the records, weaving its presence in various forms. To achieve the perfect tone, we meticulously sourced and tested numerous vintage metronomes until we found the one that resonated with just the right rhythm—both haunting and hypnotic.
The Drum Theme
The Ocean Sounds
The drum sound for the records was a labor of precision and creativity. We sought a tone reminiscent of metal drums, like the reverberation of banging on a ship's hull. After much experimentation, we achieved this by using a 50-gallon oil drum filled with water and recording with hydrophones. The result is a deeply resonant and unique drum tone that echoes throughout all the records, perfectly aligning with the story's atmospheric depth.
The Ocean Sounds
The Ocean Sounds
To capture authentic wave and underwater sounds for the project, we ventured far out into the open ocean. Using 50-foot hydrophones, we recorded the deep, ambient sounds beneath the surface. These recordings form the foundation of the underwater textures woven throughout the album, immersing listeners in the haunting depths of the story’s aquatic world.
The Microphones
The Microphones
A variety of microphones were employed to capture the unique sounds of these records, but the standout is our custom 3D binaural microphone. This innovative mic was used extensively for organic sounds, delivering an unparalleled sense of depth and realism. All lead vocals were also recorded with this microphone, ensuring an immersive, lifelike experience that places the listener right in the heart of the story.
The Mixes
The Microphones
Attention to detail was poured into the mixes for a year to craft a truly larger-than-life, immersive listening experience. Every element was carefully balanced and refined to draw the listener deep into the heart of the story.
The Summing
The Mastering
To evoke the vintage feel of the story's time period, we processed all recorded audio through a custom tube summing console outfitted with authentic 1950s and 1960s tubes. This technique added a warm, gritty texture to the records, perfectly complementing the era and enhancing the immersive atmosphere.
The Mastering
The Mastering
The album was mastered primarily with analog hardware, infusing each track with the warmth, subtle noise, and rich depth that only analog processing can provide. Many of the hardware pieces used are one-of-a-kind, adding a unique character to the final sound.
The Story
The story for the Alyson Jane Parker album was first developed in 2014. Once the concept was fully fleshed out, we transformed it into television scripts to better visualize the project as a cohesive whole. This approach not only solidified the narrative but also provided clear direction for everyone involved, ensuring a shared understanding of the vision we were bringing to life.
The Narrator
The album is structured into three acts, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue, weaving a narrative about an old maritime song hunter and his obsessive encounter with a Siren. To bring the narration to life, we enlisted the talented Nick Podehl, a seasoned narrator with hundreds of audiobooks to his name. His captivating performance perfectly embodies the character, adding depth and authenticity to the story.
The Novel
The Artwork
We’ve developed a full-length novel that serves as a prequel to the Alyson Jane Parker album, delving into the events leading up to Alyson’s mysterious awakening on an abandoned ship adrift in the middle of the ocean. The novel explores the dark, twisted corners of the lawless city of Freeport, unraveling its intricate connection to Alyson Jane Parker and the secrets that tie her to its haunting legacy.
The Artwork
The Character
The Artwork
To enhance the immersive experience of the album, many unique pieces of art were created, each reflecting the story's haunting themes and atmosphere. These visuals serve as windows into the narrative, drawing the audience deeper into its dark and evocative world.
The Comic
The Character
The Character
As a companion to the album, we created a comic where each page represents a song, offering a more immersive listening experience. The visuals expand on the lyrics, bringing the story to life in vivid detail and deepening the connection between the music and its narrative.
The Character
The Character
The Character
Alyson Jane Parker is vividly brought to life through the compelling acting of Kaley Victoria Rose and the evocative musical performances of Leah Culver. Together, they embody Alyson's complex character, enriching the immersive experience and drawing the audience deeper into her haunting narrative.
The Memories
Alyson's fragmented memories, lost to amnesia, are unearthed through a combination of hypnotherapy sessions and evocative song performances. With each recollection, she pieces together her identity, uncovering not just who she is, but the deeper, unsettling truth of what she might be.
The Lore
We dedicated significant time to world-building and character development, making a rich narrative where events from the early 1500s ripple through history, shaping the fateful occurrences of the 1700s. These historical threads ultimately converge in the early 1960s, where Alyson awakens on an abandoned ocean liner adrift in the middle of the sea—marking the haunting beginning of our album's story.
The Sinking
The Song Hunters
At the start of the album, Alyson awakens aboard an abandoned ocean liner, shrouded in mystery. As the ship meets its tragic end and sinks into the depths, she washes ashore with no memory of who she is or how she got there, setting the stage for her haunting journey of self-discovery.
The Song Hunters
The Song Hunters
The Song Hunters
Song Hunters have pursued Sirens since the earliest days of seafaring, driven by a dark obsession. Those Sirens unfortunate enough to be caught become their prey, their flesh consumed in twisted rituals of dominance. But the hunt exacts a toll. The longer a Song Hunter stays on the trail, the more their sanity unravels. Madness begins in the eyes—a telltale sign of their descent into obsession and chaos.
The Calling
The Song Hunters
The Sea Asylum
The Calling is the ocean’s relentless pull, beckoning Sirens to return to the sea. The longer a Siren resists and remains on land, the more violent and unforgiving the sea grows in its demand. For Song Hunters, The Calling manifests as a deep, resonant rumble, reminiscent of a horn from a sunken ship. This eerie tone is featured throughout the album, created through intricate sound design blending Siren vocals with the groaning echoes of bending metal.
The Sea Asylum
The Song Hunters
The Sea Asylum
The Sea Asylum houses countless patients, each with untold stories shrouded in mystery. To date, only the release records of Kaley Victoria Rose and Alyson Jane Parker have been uncovered, leaving the fates of the others lost to the asylum’s dark and silent halls.
The Alyson Jane Parker Project
The Concept Album of Memories
The Alyson Jane Parker project takes the concept of immersive listening to a new level, placing the listener deep within the fractured mind of forgotten memories. As we recover Alyson’s memories through her perspective, the experience becomes both ethereal and haunting, a journey into the lost corners of her consciousness.
The spaces within this concept are drawn from the eerie, long-forgotten halls of an abandoned insane asylum. The sounds echo through these desolate spaces, guiding you into an intimate immersion where you are not just an observer, but fully inside the mind of Alyson Jane Parker, lost in the fog of her memories.