| System;Start | |
|---|---|
| |
Area 11
| |
| Album | All The Lights in The Sky |
| Anime | None - Title influenced by Steins;Gate. |
| Length | 1:04 |
| Release Date | 31 January 2013 |
| Record Label | Yogscast Studios |
Area 11 - System;Start
System;Start from All The Lights In The Sky
System;Start is the introduction to and therefore the first track of Area 11's first full album All The Lights In The Sky. It was recorded by Sparkles*, Beckii Cruel, Sam 'Strippin' Thorne , Kaeyi and Martyn Littlewood (inthelittlewood) . Beckii plays the part of Cassandra.
"Lyrics"
*bubbling noises and computerized sounds throughout*
Kaeyi: Are we ready to begin?
Sparkles*: Almost, I need to calibrate...
*dial-up connection buzz*
...Okay, calibrated.
Kaeyi: Subject is responding normally.
Sparkles*: Okay, let's begin.
Martyn: Machine start.
Sam: Initiating signal, over.
Sparkles*: Signal is stable.
Kaeyi: Subject is ready.
Martyn: Machine is up to speed within normal parameters.
Sam: Subject is awake. Vitals are good.
Sparkles*: Cassandra, can you hear me?
Beckii as Cassandra: *pause* ...Yes.
Sparkles*: Are you ready to begin?
Beckii as Cassandra: *pause* ...Yes. I'm ready.
Meaning
System;Start seems to imply that Cassandra has been offline and is being re-booted. This conclusion is supported by the fact that S* previously tweeted that Cassandra "needs an upgrade". It is widely believed that in this track, Cassandra is being upgraded or updated from analogue to digital - "A Digital Haunt in an analogue life". For more info on this see here.
The Modem noise
This theory gets kinda technical and kinda over-the-top, you have been warned.
The segment of the dial-up connection sound heard in System;Start is known as SYN-ACK (SYNchronise-ACKnowledgment) and is part of the three-way TCP handshake between two routers or computers when they connect.
When a computer wants to connect to another, it first sends a SYN command, basically asking the other computer whether or not it's okay to connect. If successful, the target computer or server will respond with SYN-ACK, which means the server has recieved and ACKnowledged the request, and is ready to start transferring data (SYN). The client computer then ACKnowledges this. This completes a basic SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK handshake.
At the end of System;Start, the dialogue between S* and Cassandra can (loosely) be compared to a TCP handshake, where S* asks Cassandra a question (SYN), Cassandra responds (SYN-ACK).
Trivia
- "System;Start" was originally a part of "Vectors" as stated in an interview on MCM Buzz. One song was not felt to be ready for release so the band split the two pieces, presumably to keep 11 listings on the album.
- This track serves as a form of homage to one of the band's inspirations, One OK Rock. The computerised noises sample from the track "Introduction" on the One OK Rock album "Niche Syndrome".
- The name "System;Start" is influenced by the anime Steins;Gate, which Leo had been watching around the time that Sparkles* came to him for a name.
Commentary Track
