BlackholeWhitespace

*BlackholeWhitespace* is the first music album by ThornBrain, released at the end of January 2011 on Futures Passed Free Music. The album is inspired by many 70s and 80s Post-Punk, Punk Rock, Alternative Rock, and Experimental artists, as well as the recordings of Thorn's own dad Mike. The album is half original songs, half covers.

Thorn's friend DJ Sawtooth retroactively noticed a recurring theme of paranoia in almost every song on the album, and Thorn has since adopted this as its primary concept.

Futures Passed Free Music and its successor Mind Antivirus ceased in 2013, and the album remained unavailable in its original form for years. Thorn re-released the best material in October 2014 on *ThornBrain is Really Bad at This - The Best of the Worst (2009 - 2011)* and the leftovers on *No One Needs Me - The Rest of the Worst (2009-2011)*. Three of its tracks were also remixed and remastered for *The Forgotten Ones (The 2020 Mixes)*. The full, original album was finally re-released in 2021 as part of *The Forgotten Ones 2 (The Free Music, 2009-2021)*, including the *BlackspaceWorkinprogress EP*.

## Tracklisting

1. "Void" - 2:40 - (Mike Scholl)
2. "Hark the Harold" - 3:49 - (Mikaela Thorn)
3. "Tell Us if You've Seen This Guy Before" - 3:15 - (M. Thorn)
4. "There for Me" - 2:21 - (M. Thorn)
5. "Dirty Old Ghost Town" - 2:37 - (M. Scholl)
6. "Count All the Flies in My House" - 5:41 - (M. Thorn)
7. "What's Going On" - 2:30 - (M. Scholl)
8. "Confusion" - 3:06 - (Ron Mael [Sparks])
9. "30 Century Man" - 2:00 - (Noel Scott Engel [Scott Walker])
10. "The Forgotten One (ft. Tiana Camacho)" - 4:53 - (M. Thorn)

**Back cover/tracklisting image**:

### BlackspaceWorkinprogress EP

Downloads of the album from FPFM included an EP containing the following demos and extras:

1. "They Call Me Person Man (Tell Us... 2009 demo)"
2. "Forgotten One (instrumental)"
3. "Dirty Old Ghost Town (Demo)"
4. "There for Me (Demo)"
5. "Void (Alternate Mix)"

**EP cover**:

## Recording Process

Thorn recorded music sporadically throughout 2009 and 2010. Her demos reached FPFM manager Steve, who asked her to join the FPFM label in mid-December 2010. Joining said label gave Thorn the motivation needed to begin recording again, and her first project was a song for the upcoming compilation, *The First Snow of Winter*, which would become "The Forgotten One". 9 more songs were recorded over the next month-and-a-half, all on Thorn's computer and using various effects software and her dad's Zoom and Line 6 pedals. She also contributed a cover of Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" and future *BlackholeWhitespace* track "Count All the Flies in My House" to the *Futures Passed In Two Years* compilation. The album was completed January 28, and a listening party was held January 30, then it was officially released on the 31st.

## Personnel

All instruments recorded and/or programmed by Mikaela Thorn, except drums on "What's Going On" programmed by and sampled from Mike Scholl. All vocals by Mikaela Thorn, except on "The Forgotten One" by Tiana Camacho. Mixing and production by Mikaela Thorn.

## Cover Art

The cover art is a photograph Thorn took of a faucet in her former Health/Driver's Ed teacher's classroom. The photograph was then run through several filters in PhotoShop, and the resulting picture inspired the album's title. The unaltered version is used on the bonus demo EP.

An alternate, unfiltered picture is used on the "back cover", better showing the panels in the classroom ceiling that make up the odd lines in the front cover. These original pictures were taken at least two years before the album was recorded.

## Reception

The album was positively received from TheMidnightFrogs' fans and teammates, and FPFM label manager Steve was particularly enthusiastic about it. It was the most popular release on FPFM.

Thorn has gone on to express dissatisfaction with the record, particularly in her own singing, the slapdash recording process (it was recorded in just over a month), and her poor mixing job, though she is still proud of most of the original tracks; the exception is "Hark the Harold", which was notably left off of *The Forgotten Ones* compilation.