The Lunar Laugh was a power pop band based in Oklahoma City. Their final album, In The Black, was released on November 3rd, 2023. The album features Jared Lekites (guitar, vocals), Connor Anderson (guitar, vocals), Campbell Young (guitar, vocals), Triston Lightner (bass, vocals), and Levi Sherman (drums, vocals). On this podcast, we heard from Jared, Connor, Campbell, and Levi. We talked about the events preceding and surrounding the album's creation, each individual track and its production, and a quick retrospective on the history of the band. I'm sad to say goodbye to this band, but they left us with a great album, which you should listen to. You can follow the individual members of the band on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaredlekites/ https://www.instagram.com/connorandersonn/ https://www.instagram.com/campbellyoung14/ https://www.instagram.com/shrmn8r/ https://www.instagram.com/tristonlightner/ Or you can follow the band's Instagram still: https://www.instagram.com/thelunarlaugh/ The song playing at the end of the podcast is "Born Weird", which you can listen to here: https://open.spotify.com/album/24no7nR9Td7LXRMJM27AQH?si=32IVFsc0RN6kwh4AtRbZGw Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

No Justice, No Peace is a one-act opera composed by Chris Prather and co-written by Kenneth Ray Woods and Megan Prather that presents the real-life effects of police brutality on families and communities, specifically following one fictional family. We talked about how the opera began as a 10-minute opera, how it grew into a full one-act opera, the challenges and successes in the process, and our personal experiences and perspectives about police brutality. You can watch the whole opera on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/aZEl8lbvNd8 You can follow each of them on their respective Instagram accounts here: Chrishttps://www.instagram.com/chrisprathermusic/ Kenneth Ray Woodshttps://www.instagram.com/mister_woods/ Megan Pratherhttps://www.instagram.com/meganpratherjpg/ The music at the end is from this trailer: https://youtu.be/rHBYg3KDbw4 Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Ryan Smith and Nich Allen met doing compost-adjacent things. When Nich heard Ryan play his music, he knew he wanted to play music with him, somehow. They’ve been playing together for some time. They both frequent the Red Dirt Poetry Open Mic, at which I was playing, too. I actually know Ryan through mutual friends, and I went to the same high school as Nich. So we got to reconnect through the open mic and I asked them to be on my podcast, that night. They agreed to my chaotic request and here they are, giving them the push they needed to decide on a band name. We talked about music, how they got together making music, academic musical knowledge and how much it isn’t needed, emotional communication, and how we grow through the music we make. Get to know Compost Adjacent! You can follow them on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/compostadjacent https://instagram.com/nallenwrites https://www.instagram.com/rsmithtxco123/ The song at the end is “Linger” by Compost Adjacent, for which this is the first recording, and had to be a little quiet because we were trying not to wake Sable up. Catch it live to hear the big screams. Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet, but it is the song I mentioned. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Benjamin Rosfeld is back and we mostly talk about artificial intelligence, but we also end up talking about music. Some things we touch on include ChatGPT, personhood and life, the nature of the algorithms we’re dealing with, free will, ethics surrounding artificial intelligence, video games, music theory and music education, signal to noise ratio in regards to musical interpretation, and more! You can find Benjamin Rosfeld on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/brosfeld The track playing at the end is “Out of Time” by Benjamin Rosfeld: https://open.spotify.com/track/6QNAN7gzgjpz3Xnc3GXaL6?si=18206454ce304ac6 Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Benjamin Rosfeld is a composer, performer, and listener. Their primary instruments are piano and cello, but they are also an avid electronic musician and has a number of synthesizers, along with a modular synth system they’ve built. You can see them playing around Oklahoma City for various functions such as church services, weddings, etc. but they’re also a DJ and are very involved in the experimental music scene. Their passion project for last few years has been SHIFT, an electronic/progressive rock band, and they are currently working on their second album, Jagged and Bold. We talked about music, music school, composition, artificial intelligence, and the usual morality and spirituality. Get to know Brosfeld! You can find them on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/brosfeld The song playing at the end is a scratch mix of “The Listener” by SHIFT, which will be out on April 30th, but you get the exclusive here on Bit Depth! So follow them on Spotify so you can catch when they drop it for real: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3fcn65Bw0kSxSi6TycRMTH?si=9kU8PxVETZKTkabvpyBw-Q Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet either. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Rowan Weathers and I discuss love: loving intentionally, passionately, actively, with friends and romantically. We also talked about the dating scene of today, participating in communities, friends, the gray areas of romance and friendship, therapy and what can come from it, and our own queer experiences, including pronouns, nonbinary, labeling (or lack thereof), how we change over time, and much more. Yes, the title is a reference to the Portal 2 OST. You can follow Rowan on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/rowanoakie The song playing at the end is “sinking” by Rowan, which is not released yet. Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet either. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Rowan Weathers is a self-proclaimed “Jackass of All Trades”. They draw, do improv, comedy, write poetry and scripts, music- a lot of stuff! Because of this, we don’t just get into the things themselves, but we get into the communities surrounding those things. We also talked about spirituality and religion, morality, and their time doing disability activism. Rowan is a homie and you should get to know them! You can follow Rowan on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/rowanoakie The song playing at the end is by Rowan but it’s not released yet. Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet either. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Caleb Collins returns and we talked about comedy in media, metamodernism, how the medium of media affects the message, nuance, and the Taking Back Sunday/Brand New beef in the 2000s. You can follow Caleb Collins on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/fosterbread The song playing at the end of the podcast is “Ain’t Nobody” by The Nghiems: https://open.spotify.com/track/2VgtaHuiXh8YjbKcJcCu9b?si=7828838e52cb490a Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Caleb Collins is a comedian. He hosts an open mic night at Fair-Weather Friend Brewery on Mondays. We talked about comedy, how he got into it, what it’s like in Oklahoma City, and the usual Bit Depth philosophical mumbo-jumbo. Get to know Caleb Collins! You can follow him on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/fosterbread The song playing at the end is “Kpop Band” by The Nghiems: https://open.spotify.com/track/6QfVjSG4RJVoFZuXhEO4bd?si=6952e60de7354873 Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Stefani Heller is a producer, manager, and audio engineer, among other things. She started Heller Music Group, started Women In The Studio, and this is her third time on Bit Depth. We talked about what she’s done since the last time she was on, like working at Castle Row, managing artists, going to law school, and more. There’s some great music business wisdom that Stefani shares on here, so any musically inclined person might benefit from giving this one a listen. She’s not here for no reason, though. She has a charity show coming up on March 11th at 7pm and here’s the text she has for the event: ”Art Fusion is an event where local music and visual art collide. Some of OKC’s most talented bands and artists will be presenting their art at one of the city’s most prominent event centers, The Yale Theater in OKC. While our guests enjoy music from multiple genres including Singer/Songwriter with a taste of Rock, Neo Soul, Hip/Hop mixed with poetry, and Alternative Rock and Hip/Hop crossover, you can browse the walls with canvas’s created by four our most talented local painters. If that isn’t enough, two live paintings will take place throughout the evening and raffled off to benefit the Girls Rock Camp in OKC. There is so much to experience and enjoy, we hope you fall in love with the journey this night will take you on. Grab a drink with us and live local. GA and VIP options are both available.” Here’s a link to the event: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/5815323/art-fusion-oklahoma-city-yale-theater You can find Stefani on Instagram, which has links to other things: https://www.instagram.com/heller51/ The songs playing at the end are “don’t need u” by ROZ and “Do What We Want” by Original Flow: https://open.spotify.com/track/79ZDjzAbUew4mAgFcI3Rjw?si=5bb196bda79b4303 https://open.spotify.com/track/3uoUIbrVs4V881jlY0GCPz?si=5f51f5b5c4eb4803 Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Uh, oh. We’re getting into the weeds here. exmaxhina and I compare and discuss music production techniques in Ableton Live. We also talked about hearing loss, making albums, fears, goals, and more! You can find exmaxhina and his things here: https://distantether.com/ The track by him playing at the end is “princess parking” featuring Mitzie: https://open.spotify.com/track/6IlncQbnEKFk7hybeO7h2f?si=2e4c015e5712457e Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

“Dark lofi dreams. Fragments of a memory. Producer from Oklahoma City with influences from artists like Bonobo, Emancipator, and trxxshed. From eerie soundscapes to vibing melodies, exmaxhina becomes a prime flavor in a new space. Pioneering a unique sub-culture of low fidelity music, exmaxhina creates “dark lofi glitch”, a fresh take on an already beautiful genre. Jumpstarting "Distant Ether", an Oklahoma City-based dark lofi glitch record label in 2021, the floodgates have opened for a new wave of sound for the years to come.” Arman Sikder is a music producer known as exmaxhina. He also started Distant Ether. We talked about making music, his journey through film and music, his work ethic, religion and spirituality, balancing selfishness, and morality. Let’s get to know exmaxhina! Here’s where you can find his things: https://distantether.com/ The track playing at the end is “Cybernetic Ensemble” by exmaxhina, icey wavs, and Tsunami Sounds: https://open.spotify.com/track/1nZRR1Tr7Y18dWBGPu4d2g?si=ba0760d1ace744b0 Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Hello, 2023! Bit Depth is not dead and I’m excited to kick it off with the one and only Jabee! “Jabee is a rapper from Oklahoma City whose music, according to Chuck D. from Public Enemy, ‘has the potential to change the world.’” Now Santiago’s words: He also helped bring Eastside Pizza House to his community, a local pizza place on the East side of OKC. Jabee is one of the most influential rappers in the OKC music scene. He’s seen and heard a lot, done a lot, and he puts his words into action. We talked about rapping, the Oklahoma music scene, Eastside Pizza House, spirituality and religion, morality, and more! Let’s get to know Jabee! Links to all his things: https://linktr.ee/jabee The song playing at the end: “Indulgence” by Jabee, Conductor Williams, and Boldy James: https://open.spotify.com/track/3vHqN0lIEhXPHxRjif7LwR?si=47adffd48600449a Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Chase Hampton, also known by his artist name, Generation Lossless, is a composer, producer, and musician from Enid, Oklahoma. He has been on the podcast before, a long time ago, but a seemingly common theme in this podcast is “getting people on the podcast that have not yet emerged from the Chrysalis.” With his second album, Advertising Films, Chase, and therefore, Generation Lossless, has more fully come into himself as an artist. This was recorded before the release of Advertising Films, and so many of the pressures and anxieties that come with nearing the release of an album are present in this recording. We talked about his journey as a musician, drummer, and composer/producer, synthesizers, growing up in Enid, being a contrarian, his album, Advertising Films, spirituality and religion, and more. Let’s re-get to know Generation Lossless! You can find Chase on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/generationlossless/ The Generation Lossless song playing at the end is “Mistletoe in Guadalcanal” from Advertising Films: https://open.spotify.com/track/3dJDGBlEWviWtfO5HFVUD2?si=7269b2f8c9164d11 Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Jordan Vargas of Burl is back and we talked about cultural expectations, dealing with prejudiced and racist people, musical opinions, the nature of consciousness, and just taking it easy and not making a big deal out of things that aren’t worth your time or energy. Granted, we’re speaking from a place of privilege, being two cis dudes, but still, it wouldn’t hurt for everyone, including us, to lighten up.  You can find Burl things on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/buurrl The Burl song playing at the end is “birds don’t land”, which you can stream on Spotify tomorrow: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2grXdqJjYe9VKd4HNaarmW?si=fGU3ImCGQzCk3jaRblGuBw Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Jordan Vargas is a musician, songwriter, producer, and Burlian, as in he fronts the band Burl. He also makes and enjoys beer quite a lot. We talked about music, guitar, the music industry and business, spirituality, morality, and beer. Get to know Jordan Vargas of Burl! You can find Burl things on Instagram here: https://instagram.com/buurrl  The Burl song playing at the end is “i just noticed”, which you can also stream on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/758um2ZqTD9Ls4t0cGfINK?si=53886ff0e5d348be Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Jazmin Bryan is a podcast producer at Possibilities, Inc. She’s also a musician at heart, and she aims to bring communities together through education, advocacy, and a reunion of spiritual/healing practices through the arts. This time, Jaz asked most of the questions, so I ended up talking more. We talked about creativity, why we’re not enjoying the big mainstream products like the MCU as much lately, the many behind-the-scenes affairs that can affect the final creative product, and much more! The music playing at the end is by Jaz, which you can’t necessarily find anywhere but you can check out their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazbot_talkspot/ Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Jazmin Bryan is a podcast producer at Possibilities, Inc. She’s also a musician at heart, and she aims to bring communities together through education, advocacy, and a reunion of spiritual/healing practices through the arts. We talked about music, podcasting, DJing, community, morality, religion, and more. Get to know Jaz! The music playing at the end is by Jaz, which you can’t necessarily find anywhere but you can check out her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jazbot_talkspot/ Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Warren Realrider, TickSuck, is back and we talked about noise - getting into it, the culture surrounding it, the performance of it, and other stories Warren has about it. I surprised myself with how much I could talk about noise. Enjoy this fun conversation! You can find links to Warren’s stuff here: https://linktr.ee/wrealrider.ticksuck.sound The TickSuck track playing at the end is “my last prophecy for the societies”, from his album, Comas: https://ticksuck.bandcamp.com/album/comas Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support

Warren Realrider, also known as TickSuck, is a Pawnee/Crow noise artist. I had the pleasure of playing the same night as TickSuck at The Sanctuary and got to experience Warren's cool sounds in person. We talked about visual art, his upbringing being surrounded by art, sound art, Pawnee culture, spirituality, morality, and more! Get to know TickSuck! You can find TickSuck and his things on this link: https://linktr.ee/wrealrider.ticksuck.sound The track by him playing at the end is titled "Overpass Shaping Kahâriwis Wing" and it can be found on the compilation album, The Future Disintegrates. https://thejewelgarden.bandcamp.com/album/the-future-disintegrates Bit Depth: https://santiagoramones.com/podcast Music: https://santiagoramones.com/music Discord: https://santiagoramones.com/discord The song by me playing at the end is not released yet. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/santiagoramones/support