If you’ve used FL Studio 9, you probably already know about Just Hold On, the progressive trance song I wrote to demo the program (with additional writing + performance by my wife, Jill!)
What you probably don’t know, however, is that “Just Hold On” was based on an instrumental called “Dreamer” I wrote over a year and a half ago. As part of my upcoming album, I’ve decided to go back to this song, now called “Just Hold On Eternal” and finish it, integrating the vocals from the FL version of the song.
There will also be new vocal parts and the whole thing will clock in at an epic 5+ minutes. This is almost like a successor to Antigravity and I’m really excited about it! Check out the MP3 below for a preview –
zircon – Just Hold On Eternal (Demo Preview).
A few months ago I had the pleasure of mastering an album for OC ReMixer Meteo Xavier, also known as 12 Followers. While I do mastering and production work frequently, it’s rare that I get to work on a project that I truly enjoy and get excited about. Espers, the debut album from 12 Followers, is one such project.
When I first started listening to the album, which I would best describe as ambient, instrumental electronica mixed with orchestral and world elements, I was immediately engrossed.
Each track is a different “world” with deep, evolving sonic textures but more importantly, interesting compositions. When I initially wrote a letter to Meteo about my thoughts on the album, I told him how a lot of the music called to mind scores from the Phantasy Star Online series, and he confirmed that video game soundtracks were indeed among many influences.
Espers is not the kind of album that you should drop track-by-track into an iPod. It is a meditative experience full of emotion. As I worked with Meteo for months on this project, I learned about his passion and vision for this music, and his unwillingness to put forth an album of anything but his best work. Few artists I’ve met have this level of dedication, and thus few have created music of this caliber.
You can pick up Espers at most any online music store, such as CD Baby, for only $5.99.
After the release of Fittest last year, I began working on concepts for a new album. Though I have dozens of WIPs and unreleased completed songs lying around, it is only recently that I’ve really settled on an album concept and begun working on it seriously. My next album is going to be focused on dramatic, score-like pieces with lots of dark ambiances, atmospheres and textures, as well as more live and organic components.
I chose this theme for a few reasons. First of all, a number of my previous albums were more upbeat in mood and more focused on dance beats, so reigning in the tempo and paying more attention to detailed textures and intricate parts is a great artistic challenge. I’m using many new tools, synths and techniques on this project which makes it very exciting to work on! Another reason for this theme is that lately I’ve been inspired by compositions by a variety of film, video game and anime composers, and so I wanted to write pieces that call to mind more visual imagery. My goal is to try to get this music in actual film and game productions, too!
Read more…
One of the most comprehensive pages on this site is the Discography which lists detailed information about every album I’ve ever created, along with links to purchase them, tracklists, reviews, etc. However, until now, you had to go to CD Baby to actually listen to previews.
Not anymore! I’ve created and uploaded ~1 minute, 160kbps previews of every song from six of the eight albums which you can play or even download directly from the Discography page. Enjoy! Previews for the other two albums will be coming soon.
On a related note, did you know that you can purchase discounted digital album bundles from the web store? Just click on “Bundles & Combos” to see all the deals.
I’m proud to introduce my newest album, the FITTEST Original Video Game Soundtrack!
This is a full-length (60+ minute), 14-song video game soundtrack spanning a number of electronic genres: ambient, Genesis electro-funk, synth pop, rock/metal, psychedelic, breakbeat and more. The compositional style is a blend of tributes to classic game soundtracks like Turrican, Mega Man, Donkey Kong Country and Contra, influenced by modern artists such as BT, Hybrid, Joshua Morse and Jake Kaufman.
The game itself is an arena space shooter a la Geometry Wars set to be released for Xbox 360 Community Games sometime in Q3 2009. You can watch a trailer of the game in action by clicking here.
The FITTEST Original Soundtrack is available as a digital download at CD Baby or the web store for just $10. To whet your appetite, here are some free, full-length streaming previews via YouTube. Feel free to leave comments and rate the videos if you enjoy them!
Track 13 – Morse Code
Track 14 – Star Command – feat. Sixto Sounds