New Album!

Finally, its time to POWER UP!
My new 11 track album has just launched!
Full of uncomprisingly high energy, gritty, powerful and fast paced retro-futuristic sounds!
Please have a listen, maybe a purchase and even a good old re-share :)
https://occamslaser.bandcamp.com/album/power-up

The Glamorous EP

The Glamorous EP
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Three remixes of the Fergalicious track by the token woman from the Black Eyed Peas; Fergie!
The original track is from Fergie’s first album ‘The Duchess’. Featuring additional vocals by Ludacris (Luda to his mum).

Un-satisfied with the lack of synthesizers, side-chaining and general 80s’ness of the original; three men ventured into the creative wilds to form three new angles of sound.
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Support the artists on this EP by using the links below;

Absinth3
soundcloud.com/absinth3official
twitter.com/Absinth3Music
absinth3.bandcamp.com

Occams Laser
soundcloud.com/occams-laser
twitter.com/occams_laser_
occamslaser.bandcamp.com

The Encounter
soundcloud.com/theencounter
twitter.com/nigelxd
theencounter.bandcamp.com

credits

released 05 October 2015

Today Mad Max: Fury Road comes out on Blu-Ray/DVD etc...
So as a gesture of good will for all those scavenging the wastelands for 'guzzoline'; there is 50% off my Mad Max themed album with the code 'fury' at the checkout -

https://occamslaser.bandcamp.com/album/the-road-to-fury

Why Music Is Important

Cliche topic?
Of course it is!
But none the less it is still a worthy topic to talk about.

Music nowadays has become a commercialized product; where for most artists the be all and end all is the sales figures at the end of the month. Now of course music is a product, and the effort which (most) musicians and producers put into each of their creations is more than worth the price.
But at the heart of all the great and revolutionary music makers you will find one common attribute.....none of them chased the cash flow.

The slow burning, creative thinking, barrier breaking artists who create new genres, try new techniques and break the mold of 'modern' music are the ones who will continue being the ones to focus on.

Music is a form of art (obviously) and to many the art of a civilization can tell you much more than the written word. Paintings, operas, orchestral pieces of work, statues, monuments; all of these have out-lasted the people who wrote them/created them/worked on them.

If there is a meaning to life, surely an obvious one would be to leave your mark on the world, proving your existence long after you're gone.

I can only hope that i can follow this path and make something worth remembering one day. Till then i'd better get back to creating!



Tom / Occams Laser

Better Late Than Never!

Iv'e finally got round to posting my back-catalog of music onto Youtube.
Starting with my first ever EP - 1989

So here are the 4 tracks;

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!

Anger and music writing

The people who know me best know that i'm a rather happy chappy! It's hard for anything to negatively affect my mood in a negative way.

However...

There will always be one thing (one girl) that can instantly transport me to a place where my entire body slowly fills back with uncontrollable hate. Even a slight glimpse of a picture or even the mention of their name can take me back to one specific hate filled moment.

Funnily enough though this is something i have been known to activate on purpose. And that purpose is when i need some music writing inspiration!

I found a long time ago that i can truly funnel these pure emotive feelings and turn them into powerful and emotive tracks. Writing music is usually meant to be a fun and happy thing to do, but if in doubt GET MAD :)

More new stuff!!!

I haven't released a music video in a while, so to rectify this; here is a nice 80s-style-lyric-based -music-video that i knocked together this afternoon for my track 'Look Into Your Eyes' from the 'Take Your Time' LP which you can purchase here; BANDCAMP

New Occams Laser EP - Judgment Day!

Judgement Day is a collection of 6 no holds barred synthesized electronic monsters!!
The EP has an overall dark powerful vibe with of a twist of fun in the mix. All instruments, effects and vst’s used to create the tracks were designed to have an 80s feel to them but with a modern edge.

The lyrics for ‘Judgment Day’ are heavily influenced by the story of the first two classic Terminator movies. This track was a fun concept idea that became too good not to complete. If you thought a power ballad about the Terminator was impossible then prepare for mind to be blown!

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All music was written, produced, performed and released by Tom from Occams Laser.
Artwork created by Occams Laser.
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A big thanks to everyone who has shown support for my Occams Laser project recently.

A few specific shout outs go to; Renz Wilde, Mike George from 30th Floor Records, Drive Radio, Marko Maric from Synthetix Sunday as well as the whole Synthetix crew, Stereospread, Daniel Kibadachi –Karate King, Volt Age, Lapses, Luigi Donatello, Maniac Synth as well as so many other amazing people and artists in the Synthwave/Retrowave scene!

credits

Poster design and new logo

Today marks a whole year of my Occams Laser logo's creation!
So to honor how well it has served me i am upgrading it and also have made a movie poster to accompany a new era of Occams Laser!

The design was made purely on my iPad using the brushes3 app. No fancy filters, no magical template, just good old fashioned paint skills and a bit of time.

The tagline 'Dubstep is a disease. Meet the cure.' is a homage to the similar tagline from the film 'Cobra'.

This may also be used as a promo for my next EP/Album.

June - update!!

Damn its been a busy month!

- hitting 70,000 plays on Soundcloud
- 28,000 followers on twitter
- Appearing on two themed compilation albums.
- Being interviewed on Synthetix Sundays by Marko Maric.
and now im just finishing off another album!

But until my next album is ready; howabout some true retrospective music :)
i present the awesome new Street fighter themed album by 30th Floor records called....
SYNTH FIGHTERS!

And guess who got the chance to be on the album and cover one of my favorite tracks?
ME :D i got my hands on the M. Bison theme, and hopefully it does the trick.

So go listen to the full album and also you can get it for FREE!
(also it would be swell if you supported the other artists on here too, they all did a great job!)

New Tron themed compilation album!

Check out the new Tron themed compilation album by Retro Promenade, with not one but two tracks by Occams Laser!!!
Oh, and its name your price, so grab it for the always amazing price of FREE

Its been a few weeks since i launched my album 'The Road o Fury' and i thought it was about time to hack back to the past and create an 80s style commercial for it!!




Album available at these digital stores;
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the...
https://occamslaser.bandcamp.com/albu...
https://soundcloud.com/occams-laser

Also come and follow me
https://twitter.com/occams_laser_
https://www.facebook.com/occamslaserband

"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" 

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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!
credits
released 01 May 2015 

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!

A possible new logo, based on the Hotline Miami theme

Some of you may have heard my 80s ballad 'Take your Time'; however it has just been stepped up to a whole new level by the amazing Volt Age.
His rework injects so much funk, love and fun into the track! So go check it out -

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 ;)

Straktobeam

Some of you may remember around a year ago (back when i had just started making music under Occams Laser) i made a remix for a band called Straktobeam! The track was called 'Midnight Run' and to date this was by far the most fun track i have had the pleasure of creating. The combination of an already amazing track as well as an equally awesome group of people; made this a bit of a landmark for me.
It is safe to say that if i had not have attempted that remix, i would probably not be in the position i am now!

A year on, and i am proud to present another remix that i have made for Straktobeam, this time it is their new track 'Melange'. I wanted this remix to be a surprise for the band, so i made the remix from scratch, working out the notes and trying to capture the essence of the original but with my own 80s spin.
Who knows, in another year i may create another remix for them! Until then, enjoy my remix of Melange by Straktobeam;

The Happiness Approach!

There is something which i have always adamantly tried to adhere to when making music; Having fun!
At times making music can be very high pressure due to time constraints and even genre constraints. But if the stress is the motivation behind the creation of a song then it will never sound as good as one created whilst powered by the enjoyment of creating!

Considering that most music producers and artists will have to listen to their tracks hundreds if not thousands of times in small snippets and in its entirety; you have to have a full on enjoyment of the song, otherwise it can quickly become just a pest that you cant wait to see the back of.

I live to make music, and it will never be the case that i make music to live. Money can play some part in music, but it should never be the driving force. Finishing a song quickly because you need the money from a song is the quickest way to make no sales whatsoever :D

Even when iv'e released a track and the track doesn't magically get a massive hype around it, im still happy! Im only trying to spread the music i make and enjoy and not trying to get others to follow me like a cult of mindless troglodytes.

Musical taste is personal, but that shouldnt be taken personally ;)

Better late than never

I forgot to say a few weeks back about the locations you can now buy and listen to my latest EP...MNEMONIC POSSESSION

Amazon

Google Play

Youtube

Bandcamp

The EP is also available on iTunes, Deezer, Rdio and a few other digital music vendors!
Thank you so far for all the amazing support! This EP has been the most fun so far to make!

The Privilege of thinking differently

Now of course most people who will stumble upon this blog will be here because this blog is linked to the music making side of my life. And whilst it is of course true that making music is one of my biggest passions in life, i don't make music because i want to, i do it because i have to!

Let me explain;

For the last 4 or 5 years i have become increasingly aware that my brain struggles to shut off, and even though it might sound egotistical in some ways; i know that throughout my life i have never met anyone who truly can understand how i think.
Im an only child, something i am very glad of, although i am of course biased to this opinion i feel that being extremely comfortable existing as a singular person and not someones brother or sister grants an extra boost in mental stability. I also think that it lends very well to the idea that only children are much happier when left to their own devices and can make use of alone time to a higher level.
For instance; if you leave me on my own for a few hours with my keyboard and laptop, i will start, write and finish a composition. But if you have someone else in the room at the same time, it is likely that this will slow down my progress. This isn't saying that i cant work well with others, but rather that i am happier solving problems on my own for the reason that there is much more reward when the success isn't shared :)

Its very true that i have never tried to be the best academically in my life, i scrapped through my a-levels and only applied to one university which i got into and then scrapped a 2:2. But this is based mostly on the fact that i have always enjoyed absorbing information in a more natural sense. If you have a tutor or teacher that are telling you what to learn and how to learn it; then there is much less incentive to accept and retain that knowledge. However finding a passion and then improving that passion through your own methods of information gathering and self teaching - can provide something much more worthwhile.

All of this is linked to having a brain that wont shut off. My coping mechanism is to channel my over active synaptic's into something i have chosen to be my passion, and as it was chosen it also means that the outcomes and successes give much bigger rewards. Meaning that the more i create the more rewarding it becomes!

This is why i quit my job to make music.

Tom / Occams Laser