So today i have just reached 100,000 Soundcloud song plays! 
A massive thanks to everyone who has helped me reach this Milestone.
Its not much but theres 50% off any of my music on bandcamp with the code 'Milestone' at the checkout; http://occamslaser.bandcamp.com/

Stay tuned today also for some remix related tom-foolery!

One of my favorite tracks i've written in the last 6 months; THE ROAD WARRIOR

When i first set out on making my Mad Max themed album 'The Road to Fury'; i had no idea how well it would be received! It was purely just a project that i personally wanted to see if i could complete.

I started and finished the album within 8 days, and that included getting it sent off and published on iTunes and a few other digital distribution sites.

One of the first tracks to be completed and also one which helped guide the whole sound and style of the album was the track 'The Road Warrior'. The track is of course a direct homage to the classic Mad Max films of the 80s.

A funny thing about my album is that i didn't get to properly listen to the album on monitor speakers until a few weeks after it was published, and the final adjustments i had to make using my bog standard iPhone headphones; so hearing it back now i am so glad it sounds as it does!

So although the album was launched back on the 1st of May, it could possibly be my favorite album ive created so far!

You can grab the album here; BANDCAMP

and please have a listen to my favorite track; The Road Warrior

Tips N Tricks with Occams Laser - Episode 3 (Music Distribution)

Its that time again!
The third in my Tips 'N' Tricks tutorials series; this episode delves into the depths of getting your music distributed without the need for using a label.
Let me know what you think, and what you'd like in the next video.
And of course it would be awesome if you re-shared this and subscribed to my Youtube channel :)

The 'Tips N Tricks' tutorials!

I decided a long time ago that when i got to a comfortable position in my music that i would then share all the secrets and techniques I've used to get where i am.

There are of course many better tutorials on how to make the actual music side of things, and so the whole point of my tutorials is to examine the background side such as self-promotion, distribution and fan-growth.

So far i have made 2 episodes of 'Tips N Tricks' and the aim is to have this as a weekly episodic series.

All i really want is for people to understand that they can do most of the leg work themselves and not have to rely on record labels and big companies to gain a good footing in the music industry.
The Music industry itself is a very odd place and for new musicians and artists its very easy to get lost.
Hopefully with some of my tips it might just make things a little easier.

So here are episode 1 and 2;

Straight outta somewhere!

My new album has been out for a few days now, four out of the eleven tracks are available to check out on Soundcloud right now;









and of course the album itself is available here; BANDCAMP

The Road to Fury!

"Law and order has begun to break down following the major energy crisis. Motorcycle gangs scavenge the lands and terrorize the population. As such, Main Force Patrol, an out-run police force, has been created to patrol the lands and uphold the remains of law and justice.

Soon only one driver remains, Max Rockatansky. This man, through vengeance and circumstance is destined to become…The Road Warrior"

==============================================

The Road to Fury is my tribute album to Mad Max!
All tracks written, produced, performed and mastered by Tom Stuart (Occams laser).

After getting hyped up about the upcoming new Mad Max film 'Fury Road' i decided to make a dedicated tribute album. This project has taken two weeks to complete all 13 tracks.
There are three dedicated vocal tracks, a couple of narrative style tracks and a whole bunch of synthesized goodness!

Released 01 May 2015

The album is out now on Spotify/iTunes/Rdio/Deezer/Amazon/Bandcamp and even Tidal :P 9there is a link to bancamp below)

All tracks are named after people, places, quotes and phrases from George Miller's dystopian world of Mad Max.

A special thanks of course to George Miller as well as DRIVE Radio, Neon Droid, Straktobeam, Renz Wilde, EAR, Stereospread, Lapses, Karate King records, Distrokid, Retro Promenade, and everyone else who has been supportive of my work so far!

Big reveal!

Okay screw it i cant hold back any more! Here is the reveal;
My album due for release next Friday (1st of May) is a MAD MAX inspired concept album! This is in celebration of the upcoming film 'Mad Max; Fury Road'.
Although i like the original scores of the first three films they needed a bit more oomph! So consider it an alternative, with more outrun flavor, more synthesizers, and maybe a few vocals chucked in for good measure wink emoticon 
At this current moment there are 12 tracks all with titles inspired by the world of Mad Max with a run-time of roughly 45 minutes. Here is the title and album artwork i cooked up to start your juices flowing -

April update!

This month so far has been the most full and also fun since i started Occams Laser.

Not only have i released my third EP, but i have made a remix for Straktobeam, a remix/cover for Stereospread, and finished three songs for various Retro Promenade compilations.

Today i have the big news of making DRIVE Radio's top 10 with my track 'Take Your Time'. which you can find here;
DRIVE Radio Top 10
They put me at number 3, which means a huge amount to me as i generally regard these guys as the official charts of the retro/synth community!

Also my remix which i made for Doreen & Emerald Records back at the end of last year is now ready and waiting to be heard as well as a host of other remixers such as Statickman, Irregular Disco Workers, Copycat, David Garcet & Mjane and of course myself!
The tracks will be exclusively on Juno, Beatport and Spotify as well as iTunes in the near future.
You can listen here;
 The Last Dream - Remixes!

E&D Records also wrote a pretty nice review of my tracl;  '...the deep and driving Occams Laser mix is perfect for your local disco club laser show at midnight and your drive back home just before the sun comes up. Hard to make a better Italo track...' 


There is also a bit more which i have been keeping as secret as possible...
Only one person other than myself knows what i have in the makings right now. All i can say is that i have made some of my best tracks so far and they may well be part of a new album. The only hint i will give is that the music is based around the theme of a film/film series from the 80s! I have a feeling you might be happy with the result ;)

EAR remix of Take Your Time

Just after i published my newest single 'Take Your Time', i was contacted by an amazing new artist on the synthwave scene! Alessio also known as 'EAR'. He asked about remixing my track and of course i said yes! Given a small space of time and free rain on the remix he thas now produced one of my favorite tracks of the year so far! Not only is the remix amazing but in my opinion it surpasses the original track.
Please have a listen to the remix and follow this amazing Synthwave up-and-comer!

How to start in the music industry

Hi, i thought it would be good to share my trade secrets on how to start out in the music industry!

With all kinds of Electronic music the key is social media. Most of the target audience for the genre will not find your music naturally due to the amount of electronic music produced. So to get around this problem (at least at the start) you need to find people who would likely appreciate your music. 
For example; if you search the word 'electronic' or 'electro' on Twitter, you will find all the people who have used the word in any tweets, this is where you can pick and choose accounts to follow with the hope that firstly they follow you back and secondly that they might listen/share your music.
(As a side note; i advise that you make a twitter persona specifically for your music, and never tweet about anything but music and your own musical projects. Hopefully you can get an account with your name that you produce under.)
You need to build a healthy enough twitter account that people will discuss your music on a semi-regular basis.

A similar approach also needs to be taken with any and all other social media outlets; google+, facebook, instagram, tumblr, blogspot, and of course Soundcloud & Bandcamp.

Social media is key to the process just because you need a loose following who are likely to publicize your work which ultimately makes the job of promoting any new songs/EP's?Albums much easier and also gaining more chance of captivating new audiences.


The second biggest part of releasing music is the 'how and when' aspect. Over the last year i have worked out that the best approach to keep your followers interested is to release music regularly, by that i mean an average of 1 track a week. In the case of any album or EP you should never post all the songs on the same day as they will instantly lose the extra exposure which you gain from posting them with at least a day in-between. 
Also the day and time you release music can be key; if your primary audience is in America then you need to release music according to peak times in america, the peak times for most countries is 5pm. So if your primary audience is in the UK then no time-zones have to be taken into account and 5pm would be the best time.
The day which you post a new song/album is also key to if it will be noticed, Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays are regarded as the best days in the UK. 

Of course the actual music that you release also has a huge part to do with the success of your music career, and related to this you need to pick a genre and stick to it. Of course you can mildly blend styles but it is KEY that you keep to a certain style or sound so that you are recognizable and distinguishable from others who produce similar music.

Once you have a good following and a strong catalog of music the next step would be to get your music distributed onto sites such as iTunes/Deezer/Rdio/Amazon/Youtube/Spotify/Beats. There are two ways to get your music distributed to these sites and they are signing to a record label or going it alone and using an aggregate site.
With the record label route, you need to contact the record labels that you like personally, and those attached to similar artists within your genre. This can sometimes take a lot of work and time as most record labels will usually be managing multiple artists. Persistence is key.

The other option (using an aggregate) is the choice that i myself have taken. I use a site called 'Distrokid' who distribute to most of the biggest digital distribution sites, of course there is a fee attached to this option however Distrokid is extremely cheap compared to others such as Tunecore, CDBaby and Reverbnation. These other sites do offer similar deals with a few extra sites added onto the list but Distrokid allows you to upload as many Singles/Albums etc as you like for a whole year whereas the other sites charge you for each EP/Single/Album that you upload. 

The choice for how you want to get distributed onto major digital music sites is of course personal preference. But whenever you publish new music it is vital to use the social media networks that you have established to drive more people towards what you have created.
Also asking your audience for feedback and engaging actively within the music community will be a sure-fire way to also gain the respect of other music producers within the community.

No matter what, make the music that you want to hear yourself! Passion is obvious and if it shows in your music then you're on the right track.

Tom / Occams Laser
https://soundcloud.com/occams-laser