Track By Tracks: Alex Sévigny - Outlandish (2019)

1. Motivate:

This song came about during a period of time in my life where I felt kind of lost and directionless. It served as a reminder to myself to continuously challenge myself (as a guitar player, producer, and in my life in general). I feel that having motivation is a super important aspect of life and above all must come from within, as opposed to any external source thereof.

2. Human Resources:

Human Resource management is a stressful time, though often a lot of fun. This song is just about the struggle of being in a management position and having to coordinate and communicate with a team. Managing human resources is often whimsical and a nightmare.

3. Outlandish:

This song is just meant to be a fun banger where I show off my tone and grooves.

4. I. Hedonism:

"Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that the pursuit of pleasure and intrinsic goods are the primary or most important goals of human life. A hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure" – Wikipedia This song is solely about experiencing the simple pleasures in life. If I had to envision a music video idea for it (stay tuned!) it would probably take place at a party full of close friends all drinking, laughing/smiling, and having a wholesomely good time!

5. Crippling Emptiness:

Emotionally, this is probably the heaviest track on the album. The track placement after “I. Hedonism” is very intentional. I chose this as in my life I have experienced a great deal of emotional emptiness following times of high pleasure and enjoyment. Sometimes life slows down and all of the excitement dies down and you find yourself feeling super empty and wondering when you’ll next feel that deep sense of liberating enjoyment. Additionally this song seeks to characterize that feeling of looking into the future and only seeing dark clouds by way of not seeing when one’s goals will be achieved and when one will experience fulfillment.

6. Down the Rabbit Hole:

This song furthers the concept from “Crippling Emptiness”, though was originally inspired by a quote from Black Mirror’s “Bandersnatch”. The quote was “You’ve gone down the rabbit hole” which at the time of originally hearing it really struck a chord with me. Life is full of rabbit holes, and it’s important to tread carefully. In this instance the song is presenting the “rabbit hole” of a deep emptiness within which one dwells.

7. II. Eudaimonism:

This song is given a numerical prefix to signify its connection with the previously numbered “I. Hedonism”. This song is also placed after “Crippling Emptiness” and “Down the Rabbit Hole” to signify a departure from torturous feelings of emptiness by replacing it with a more goal oriented and focused mindset. Eudaimonism is a contrast to hedonism, where a sense of satisfaction is achieved through hard work, perseverance and accomplishment, rather than chasing simple pleasures. In my life it is one of the most effective ways for me to get away from my dark periods, by focusing more on goals and achievements and deriving satisfaction from them.

8. Racer:

This song is about someone I once knew who was very good at drag racing who I unfortunately don’t really talk to anymore.

9. Breaching the Bounds of Society:

The concept behind this song is probably one of my favorites from the album, and something I often revisit in my life. In a nutshell, it’s about getting out into nature and leaving the concrete jungles behind to gain a new perspective on our lives, and to experience a simpler world. I’m a huge advocate for camping and getting out into the outdoors in general, and I wish I spent more time outside. I originally coined the term “Breaching the Bounds of Society” while exploring past city limits in kind of a badlands, early one morning. Below is a picture I took that morning with Kelowna pictured in the far distance.

10. Persistence; Cohesion:

“Persistence; Cohesion” is about dealing with a hectic symptom of depression/anxiety called “Emotional Amnesia”. This symptom involves causing someone to be incapable of associating with previous emotional/mental states, which is something I have struggled with a lot in the past. However, while troubled, the song strives to preach optimism (to myself, and others). I strongly believe that through analysis, and effort a sustainable coping strategy is attainable to help me cope with it, and this song represents that. “Persistence” signifies continued effort towards solving the problem thereof and “Cohesion” signifies “gluing” together these different emotional/mental states, to put it simply.

11. Fluidity:

This song furthers on the concept from “Persistence; Cohesion”, though in a more positive, less troubled way. It’s meant to sound more accepting of mental change, and tries to further an understanding that moods change, and so does ones’ mental state. Thus even if one is stuck in a dark place, by understanding “Fluidity”, we can understand that things will eventually look up, and things will improve.

12. Transition State:

This song is actually a redux of a song I originally wrote in 2014, right before moving from the town of Salmon Arm where I grew up, to the city of Kelowna where I now reside. Right before moving my friends and I had had trouble lining up a place to move into, and the school semester was getting worryingly close. This turn of events had left me in a feeling of limbo, a transition state. Where the usual routine of living in Salmon Arm was now met with an expiry date, but my future in Kelowna was at that time very uncertain. I decided on redoing the song for “Outlandish” as I find the concept of a “Transition State” to actually be very common in my life. It is something I find myself feeling when I’m caught between two different parts of my life, where a large change is either about to occur, or has just occurred causing a significant amount of instability in my life. I also just want to add that this song includes my favorite guitar solo that I recorded on the whole album!