It is with great pride that I can announce the first Rupert Goes Shopping album is released. Autumn Daemons is a chilled ambient electronica album. A lot of people are surprised by that as I play a lot of guitar (and most of its pretty heavy). This album was written and recorded at a time when I couldn’t play guitar, so it’s a very different genre to what I normally listen to or write.
The journey to this point has been surprisingly long when I reflect on it. The oldest song on this album is Whisper, started in Sydney Australia in October 2004 and worked on in Vancouver Canada, Mt Pisgah NC USA and Copenhagen Denmark. Then I settled down and wrote the rest of the album between 2005 and 2009 in a small Sydney flat above the 7/11 in St Leonards. This album will always be a strong reminder of those days and the people who were such an important part of my life during that time.
What does the name mean?
More than a few people have asked why the name Autumn Daemons. One friend who works in marketing even suggested that it was the worst possible name I could choose to describe the music, that everyone would think it was a metal album or something. While that’s true, the album has been called Autumn Daemons for so long now, it didn’t feel right to change the name just at the end of the process.
If you think of Autumn as being the end of a cycle and Daemons as something that you have struggled with, or been overwhelmed by, you will come close to the intention of the title. This album marks the end of a cycle. The songs on it are from a particular chapter of my life and writing style.
Stores
If you are interested in purchasing the album (or individual tracks) they are available in the following places:
Credits
RupertG – All compositions, mixing and mastering
Cover Painting – Kent Marcus (http://kentmarcus.com)
The Thank You’s
Remember the good old days when you would open up a CD cover and read the thank you’s that the band members would write? Well, I thought I’d do a modern version of that and thank people on the release blog post.
There have been many, many, many people who have supported me throughout the years in getting to a point where I am comfortable with releasing something officially. These are but some of them…
JR Raith – dude, you told me you liked my music early on, and without that encouragement I don’t think I would have stuck at it. You kept me sane at a very insane part of my life and I hope you appreciate just how important you were to my getting through it all. Also, a HUGE thanks for introducing me to VNV Nation, Assemblage 23 and Dead Can Dance, they were all hugely influential in shaping my approach to writing.
Paul Howse – it’s rare gift for a musician to have someone near them able to say “Nah, that’s shit dude…”. You’ve kept me persisting at getting a song ‘right’ and not just settling.
Nathan Holland – you have been my quiet producer for years, and without your support I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to put something out there. Your advice, praise and criticisms over the years have been invaluable.
Kent & Ally Lock – thanks for being my first ‘fans’. Having people excited whenever I finished something new meant more to me than I ever really let on. Also, Kent, the painting shaped the sound of the songs I wrote during this era, and gave them, collectively, a name. I know it’s a misinterpretation of what you were intending, but it was important to me.
Andrew Mortensen – thanks for letting me know I could be ‘metal’ and also write music with piano and strings. Also, it has been my great privelege to work on remixes for the Fleisch project and our collaborations ButterKnifeNinja and DöD.
Natasha – you allowed me to believe that I wasn’t just a hack and provided a lot of support at a very strange time in my life…
Famous – you were a big part of my time living in St Leonards (we were neighbours after all) and as such had a significant impact on the end result. Your friendship and support during that time was invaluable and shall never be forgotten.
Trent Hansen – without your early involvement and support in the early years, none of this would have happened – dude, I’ll make it up to you someday…
Trent Chapman – if you hadn’t uttered that important admonishment in the Oaks late one Friday night “Dude, you only write happy techno music! There’s two things wrong with that – you don’t like techno and you’re not happy!” I wouldn’t have found my own voice. It was a crucial step to go through. That night, after getting home, I wrote the first part of Whisper, track 8 on this album…
My daughter Gabrielle – Thank you for giving me the name for the band 
Tamsin – you have always believed in me and been my biggest fan. Thank you for making me happy and unable to write music anymore 
A few people have asked me how I put together the heavy guitar tone in our single 
