Its been a busy year!
Since the conception of 'Occams Laser' only 9 months ago i feel that things are finally taking off!
Recently Hifi Brown released his EP 'Do They Know It's Last Christmas?' which included my remix of his track Lucky Glitter. This was a great project which i completed for him a while back, so my style has changed a little bit since then.
Before that i made a remix for Preqwal which featured on the 'Gold EP'. His original was already fantastic, and it was a nice change to get to work using some vocals.
There is also another remix waiting to be released with Doreen & Emerald called 'Last Dream' by The Sweeps; which is due for release very soon.
But the biggest news for me is that my first album is nearly finished! And i am very happy that both Renz Wilde and Citizen Kannot have made such awesome remixes which will feature on the album.
Due to a distinct lack of faith in using a record label; i have decided to release & promote the album myself. It will primarily be distributed solely through bandcamp but will later be on spotify ad itunes. It has turned into one hell of a dark ominous beast! A mildly 80s horror vibe combined with a flutter of Miami Vice and just a smidgen of Moroder!.Currently the track list consists of 10 tracks, but i might accidentally create an extra track in the remaining time. There may even be a guest appearance of my good friend and tv presenter Tina Edwards. Watch this space!
Also...
Thanks, to the readers, listeners, fans, collaborators, friends, and synthwave community!
Sunday, 21 December 2014
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
The EP evolved into the album...MIDNIGHT ESCAPE
The EP which i was going to release, will now be an album...MIDNIGHT ESCAPE! Iv'e had a mad four days and created 4 new tracks, which i cant leave out, so the track total is now 9! And of those 9 tracks; i am happy to say Renz Wilde - Muzik has created an awesome remix!
The fun isn't over quite yet though as there will be other names adding to the list very soon!
Of course im still trying to sort out mastering and who to distribute through so labels/people/fans/animals - get in touch if you have any insider intel!
Here is a little concept art i whipped up to wet your whistle;
The fun isn't over quite yet though as there will be other names adding to the list very soon!
Of course im still trying to sort out mastering and who to distribute through so labels/people/fans/animals - get in touch if you have any insider intel!
Here is a little concept art i whipped up to wet your whistle;
Friday, 5 December 2014
30,000...ERMGRDDD THANK YOU!
So today my soundcloud hit 30,000 plays from you amazing people who have supported/listened.
Each song-play makes writing my 80s cheese so much sweeter!
Yesterday I also finished another track for my next EP which brings the total to 5 tracks with one or two possibly before the beast is released!
I'm still contemplating getting other Synthwave artists to remix one of the tracks on the EP; so if you're reading this and you'd like to - send me a message on soundcloud and we can start the process!
I've sometimes wondered why I created this blog, and it makes more sense the more I write. The reason is so just perchance the people who have helped me to get where I am will read this and understand what they've created :)
Now go and buy my music you filthy animals.
Friday, 28 November 2014
The EP Decision
This week i decided that some of my older tracks needed to be bundled together.
I've umm'd and aaa'd about whether to collect enough tracks to make a full album release but then realised that over that time my style has completely changed and putting all the songs together would sound odd. So here they are, released finally into the wild in the body of a digitally downloadable four-track EP titled 1989 and all yours for the princely sum of £1 (or more).
I've umm'd and aaa'd about whether to collect enough tracks to make a full album release but then realised that over that time my style has completely changed and putting all the songs together would sound odd. So here they are, released finally into the wild in the body of a digitally downloadable four-track EP titled 1989 and all yours for the princely sum of £1 (or more).
Saturday, 22 November 2014
Neon Vice!
About 9 months ago, i took my music in a new direction; Synthwave. At around the same time i got in contact with a website called 'Neon Vice' (www.neonvice.com) a site ''dedicated to helping 80's, synth, retro, and dreamwave musicians promote their sounds.''
As i had only just got into the genre i asked them a few basic questions and advice. I didn't expect much of a response as i'd asked similar questions to other sites and forums with little feedback. But to my surprise they gave me a bucket load of tips, advice and generally guided me towards the path i have now firmly stuck to. This response came from Axel Ricks (the head honcho) who started the site back in 2013. Since then their website has grown, and so has the synthwave community. I hope that this all keeps happening and that their site gets the spotlight that it deserves.
Simply put - i would not be where i am today without the guiding nudge from Axel and his amazing team!
So go and please check out www.neonvice.com
As i had only just got into the genre i asked them a few basic questions and advice. I didn't expect much of a response as i'd asked similar questions to other sites and forums with little feedback. But to my surprise they gave me a bucket load of tips, advice and generally guided me towards the path i have now firmly stuck to. This response came from Axel Ricks (the head honcho) who started the site back in 2013. Since then their website has grown, and so has the synthwave community. I hope that this all keeps happening and that their site gets the spotlight that it deserves.
Simply put - i would not be where i am today without the guiding nudge from Axel and his amazing team!
So go and please check out www.neonvice.com
Friday, 14 November 2014
80s Retro-Electro Synthwave at last!!!
Its been 8 months now since my first track released under 'Occams Laser' and over these 8 months a lot has changed. The Synthwave genre has been getting better each day and with that i am even more grateful that i get to take part in this progression.
For a long time the tracks that i made were purely experimentation, and without much thought i published unfinished and very basic tracks. When i look back at my early tracks on my soundcloud page; i barely recognize what i must have been doing!
At last i feel that i have found my own sound and know exactly what style music i want to make. Although it has always been synthwave at its heart i think i was being naive when i first started calling my tracks 'synthwave'. The last few tracks that i have finished such as Miami Beach (PT 1&2) are actually the exact 80s style retro-electro Synthwave that i have been trying to make all this time.
I'm fully aware that there is a sense of irony attached to trying so hard to make a sound that sounded out of date almost as soon as it came out, but what can i say...I love those 80s synthesizer sounds! The simplicity of 80s tracks are also a nice change to modern style compositions which seem to be dependent on a derivative of dubstep or some sort of grimey rap...
With the music industry generally there are cycles of styles, and i would say the 80s are about to be re-injected into the modern music scene. I hope that it works in the way i want it to and that all the amazing Synthwave and 80s style electronic music producers all get more recognition for all the hard work and great musical creations they have made!
"There's no fate but what we make for ourselves."
For a long time the tracks that i made were purely experimentation, and without much thought i published unfinished and very basic tracks. When i look back at my early tracks on my soundcloud page; i barely recognize what i must have been doing!
At last i feel that i have found my own sound and know exactly what style music i want to make. Although it has always been synthwave at its heart i think i was being naive when i first started calling my tracks 'synthwave'. The last few tracks that i have finished such as Miami Beach (PT 1&2) are actually the exact 80s style retro-electro Synthwave that i have been trying to make all this time.
I'm fully aware that there is a sense of irony attached to trying so hard to make a sound that sounded out of date almost as soon as it came out, but what can i say...I love those 80s synthesizer sounds! The simplicity of 80s tracks are also a nice change to modern style compositions which seem to be dependent on a derivative of dubstep or some sort of grimey rap...
With the music industry generally there are cycles of styles, and i would say the 80s are about to be re-injected into the modern music scene. I hope that it works in the way i want it to and that all the amazing Synthwave and 80s style electronic music producers all get more recognition for all the hard work and great musical creations they have made!
"There's no fate but what we make for ourselves."
Saturday, 8 November 2014
Take a trip to...MIAMI BEACH
This week i made a significant purchase...my first synthesizer. Up until this point i have been clicking each note into place with a mouse and hoping for the best when it comes to my compositions. Now i have the new Alesis V49 at my disposal; which already has steered me in a new direction for my latest track...MIAMI BEACH.
As the name hopefully suggests; Miami Beach is a happy 80s summer style track, taking obvious inspiration from Miami Vice and other american 80s beach based cop/drama tv shows.
With regards to the composition of the track, i tried a new approach and actually used a bit of theory before starting. The basis of the track is based upon a five black key Pentatonic scale (common in Asian music) with a few tranposed white keys for a bit of diversity.
Have a listen and feel free to let me know what you think;
As the name hopefully suggests; Miami Beach is a happy 80s summer style track, taking obvious inspiration from Miami Vice and other american 80s beach based cop/drama tv shows.
With regards to the composition of the track, i tried a new approach and actually used a bit of theory before starting. The basis of the track is based upon a five black key Pentatonic scale (common in Asian music) with a few tranposed white keys for a bit of diversity.
Have a listen and feel free to let me know what you think;
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