Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Roy Orbitron—aka Conor Meara—completes a long-gestating album during a time of transition.
By Thomas Crone
It's a guess, and only a guess, but Conor Meara's next album—recorded and released under the name of Roy Orbitron—might feature some songs about transitions. That'd only be natural, as the recent SLC arrival has come to town with a host of elements in flux. Instead of leaning into every one of his life's many changes, he first tackled the one thing that he had some control over.
That was a partially-finished, six-song album called Post-Byronic. It's available now on Bandcamp, showcasing six-songs that were begun way back in the last months of 2019, aka the time just prior to Covid-19. Writing, recording, collecting digital submissions from friends around the country and the final mix-down took place in almost a half-dozen states. The final push took place in Salt Lake, where Meara, his young son and girlfriend/bandmate Ellie Cohen now reside.
Landing in town for good around the first of February, Meara revisited the tracks, calling on old and new friends to polish off his EP. Meanwhile, he began to tentatively explore the local music scene. Among the new folks he met was multi-band bassist Luke Bamford. "He's been plugging me into what's happening around town," Meara says, "and telling me where the record stores are."
That's a solid bit of information, as Meara's moving this work onto some physical media sooner than later. To start, he's having the Far Out Cassette Club make a run of 30 tapes, "which'll be cool for handing out to people" and might be good for a few dollars coming back, too. After that, he's planning on selling a couple of guitars, giving him enough money to release a two-sided, 10-inch piece of vinyl, a process he hopes to see through this summer.
At that point, he's ready to call it a wrap on the three-year-old Post-Byronic cycle of creation, recording and release. It'll remain a sort of digital calling card, an album that he hopes will ease his transition in putting together a new group for SLC.
He's got a start on that band in Cohen, who's been learning drums. Though she's never really played with other musicians before, other than her teachers, it's been interesting. "We're coming up with some really cool stuff," Meara says. "We'll add some bass to it and have a bigger sound."
(As an aside, Meara moved to town to support Cohen in a new, created-for-her position at The Entertainment Arts and Engineering [EAE] Program at the University of Utah, described as "a top-ranked program in video game education and research and a national leader in the nascent discipline of games." She's got "a background in philosophy and video games," Meara says, plus that newfound appreciation for rock'n'roll drumming.)
Hoping to put all the elements together soon, Meara's learning a city as new songs form. What's next is anyone's guess.
"I don't have a live set to play (for my EP) or a label to promote and distribute it, so I'm writing a lot of music," he admits. "I don't know what's possible here, yet."
For more information, visit royorbitron.bandcamp.com and instagram.com/faroutcassetteclub.
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