About a month ago I made mention that process of producing my next effort, an ambient / dub / abstract album.  As of 11/18/2008 I had 7 tracks in various forms of production, and I even released 3 of the demos, but production on this album has come to a halt.

Why?  Because of my mentality.

When I am producing ambient / dub, I have to be in a certain frame of mind.   That is not to say I have to be “happy”, but I cannot really be off my game or I simply don’t care about making music that would make me relax.  Actually, all ideas – all inspiration for any ambient production – simply vanishes.  Instead, what I wanted to develop is aggressive, hard, electronic music.   

So, for the last three weeks I have been focusing on another project – under another name (not trying to be super secretive, but it will come out later).  As of now it really has a life of its own.  I have nothing specific in mind, but it’s turning out to be music that is highly aggressive but engaging at the very same time.

To give you an idea, I’ve already released the first demo track, titled “Enhanced”. I find that my ability to produce music of this nature comes very easily when I am in this state of mind. Once I have everything down, a little bit of polish during the re-write portion of production will allow me to have some outstanding tracks.

More to come!

I just couldn’t focus on track number four because of this track, so I decided to add a few more things and call this one “done” for the demo, so here you go…

EDP/VMS Demo #3

So, a few notes from the studio note pad.

• the samples fit perfectly, but I need a bit more atmosphere
• I am doctor up the sitar a bit more
• the bass hit may continue a few more times (maybe 1)
• depending on a few other minor changes I may make - after listening to this over and over - this may easily be the intro track to the rest of the album

With two demo’s already posted, and the promise to post more as the weeks pass by, I wanted to give an update on how things are moving forward.

The two songs my focus has been on are really coming together.  I had hoped to be finished with both by now, however, one is only in the “demo” bin.  I want to have them both finished and posted at the same time.   

Demo 3 is a sample driven ambient track and, if things play out after the rewrite and mastering, it will end up as the first track on the album.  It kinda set the tone for everything (in my mind at this point).  

Demo 4 is pure dub…. nothing more and nothing less… you simply get loss in the bass.

Again, hope to have the tracks posted soon.

I am in the process of producing my next effort, an ambient / dub / abstract venture. The project name is not yet released, and the official album title is unknown but a working title is in place (Half moon, half happy). As of this writing I have a total of 7 tracks in various forms of production which span a number of musical influences.

With the site up and running I’ve decided to document the entire process. This includes the early demos, studio notes, album and production changes all the way up to the final product. Understand these are EARLY demos. This means the track are not properly mixed, the FX are not in place, portions will be added or deleted, arrangements will be changed and, above all things, the final tracks will be properly recorded and mastered before pressing.

So, without further delay, here we go:

EDP-VMS Ambient Demo 1

• The song has was too much reverb in the water
• Need to find a way to clean up the samples, also add a few additional sample
• The Lead Acoustic guitar will come in once and fade into a long, long analogue delay that mixes into background and other samples
• The bassline will change to establish a new feel for the slong, more relaxed. I think I will use a Korg MS10 for this or a Juno 106. Have the ability to provide the structure I am looking for
• The muted Jazz Guitar may gain a larger roll in the final mix as there is a potential to use it as a transition into another song
• Provide more punch to the vocals chorus sample

• Change the vintage house piano out, change the pattern and the reverb used on that track
• Have a clean organ hit that can be processed by an auto filter delay
• Retool the highs
• Move the “oooos” up during the second break - make it constant
• add a jungle break beat theme for the last min of the song
• Filter the sample a bit more

Since I suck, apparently, with my promise to get pictures of the new setup posted you will need to live life and be happy (DAMN IT!) with the latest gear list:

Keyboards

• Roland Juno 106
• Roland SH 2
• Roland SH 101
• Korg Wavestation EX
• Alpha Juno 2

One day, some day, I will get the pictures out.  It really feels good to be creating new music once again….

I’ve never had a problem with Roland gear - quality is topic notch.  I have synths over 30 years old produced by Roland Japan that are just as stable today as when first purchased.  As technology advanced in music production more variables were added to studio gear in order to “get the most” out of the device but user interface design did not keep up with the cutting edge technology.

Translation: As gear got more advanced, UI became less intuitive.

Need to change MIDI channels, get out the manual.  Need to change to a different sound bank, get out the manual.  Need to route the EFX differently, get out the manual.  

While a user adapts and becomes familiar with the device(s) as more time is spent with the device, it’s still a serious pain in the ass.

/done ranting

On another note, I’ll post the new ‘mini’ studio pictures later.