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The Worm: A Narrative Album

Abstract

The Worm is a studio recording project for overdubbed vocals, saxophones, synths, and bass guitar. It features six tracks unified by a narrative about two main characters who go on a trek to save the giant worm. Skyla encounters Grogan who has just recently committed suicide, and Grogan convinces Skyla to join him on a journey to save the giant dying worm in order to prevent the portal to the parallel Butter World from collapsing.

Though there are numerous musical styles (both popular and experimental) which the tracks on The Worm draw from, they are there to act as vehicles to convey the absurdity (both comical and dark) of the episodic trek of the two characters. This dissertation focuses on the compositional and production process through the lens of different literary themes. Themes such as suicide and displaced identity (magnified by the untenable premise of the parallel Butter World), nostalgia and grief, and surrealism and absurdity are explored as the two main characters face their adventures, challenges

and moral conundrums.

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