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Friends!

I hope you have all had the chance to buy wonderful adornments for your loved ones this past Valentine’s Day… and i say this not purely out of pseudo-cynical smugness, but also in a genuine desire that we can take advantage of this time as an opportunity to create a sense of open-ness in our relationships, to fulfill the sometimes stilted wants-to-communicate. I’m unsure how narrow my specific tunnel is sometimes, but often i feel that too much time is spent not communicating just how important people are to us. That we stay superficial either out of fear of rejection, insecurity or other inner traumas. We do need things that promote an easier path to understanding, especially as the world continually provides more and more technological ways of distancing and distracting us from one another. So go ahead, buy that overpriced box of chocolates but use it as an excuse to get to the heart of the matter.

Speaking of the heart of the matter - i would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those that have noticed the track that was on xlr8r.com as a featured song and given me feedback, criticism and encouragement - it’s been a really great surprise. And… well the spike in Myspace page views has been kinda neat to witness too. Power of the press, eh? I can’t wait to see what ripple effect happens when the magazine itself — and accompanying CD comp with the track on it — hits news stands.

Work has continued on the album, though not without many distractions. My fascination with tumblr has continued, and after going through my page there and noticing how voracious my habit has become with that i’m a little embarrassed to see much i’ve put into it versus all my other commitments lately. Even so, you’re welcome to take a look at my other blog here. You’ll find a full description on the page, but basically i’ve been putting everything non-album specific that i do [mostly doodles] as well as key curiosities and things that have influenced me in a significant way on it.

The next interview in the series has been scheduled — it will be with Jfrank, of Brainstormlab.org. It’ll be happening sometime this sunday and i’ll hopefully have some time to transcibe it by early next week. Along with the interview, i’ll be posting bits of his remix for my track ‘Drowning Coins’ and bits of my original version from the album… which may or may not be done by the time it all goes down.

Maybe i should backtrack a little here… When the album was first being dreamed up, i had most of the the tracks started in at least sketch/pattern form, and had started performing them live in different ways to see how they could come together. At this point i also came across the music of Jfrank and Dirty Fire Project, and knew i wanted them to participate in the album. It was agreed that what would happen was a set of remix trades — and everybody that offered a remix i’ve either remixed already (like Hecq), or i will be remixing a track for them as a return favor/cross pollenation thing. So anyhow, as the potential remixers responded, i went into the hospital and was unable to really work as much as i would have otherwise. In my weakened state the remix packs came together for all the artists, though they didn’t include my original version of the songs in their arranged form. It’s definitely influenced the outcome, giving the remixes a flavor probably impossible to have had if things had worked otherwise.

Back to the present, ‘Drowning Coins‘ has had a bit added to it since Jfrank’s remix was finished, but it’s still around 80% done. There’s been an incredibly long gestation period for all of the tracks on ‘From Unity To Segmentation’ but they are being finished in roughly the same time period. The narrative element to this album was built-in more or less from the beginning, as i’ve been living it… but compressing it and weaving only the essentials into the album in a non-invasive way — in a way that doesn’t detract from the songs as individual things — has been pretty tricky, and is probably the hardest part of writing.

Finally, the last thing on the initial ‘stuff i want to do with this blog‘ list; taking studio pics and generally boasting about the machines i use will finally happen sometime next week… prepare to be shocked at the luxury of Sinterbox Studios Room 1c! …otherwise known as my booze-den and insomnia palace. The digicam is sorted, i just need to find a box big enough to put all these dead bod—– i mean, ahem, “garbage bags” and we’ll be in business!

Stay tuned, there is more to come soon!

It has been officially 2008 where i live for the past 67 minutes.

How was your year?

Are you still partying?

Were you able to hold the right people in your mind as the calendar page flipped?

As 2007 comes to a close, i’m given the sense that a strange weight, inconsequential as the actual numerical change of a year may be, has been lifted from my self. 2008 in it’s approach has been, in my mind, some sort of milestone for at least my own output, giving me many strong currents to be directed within the scope of my projects — especially when it comes to music, to art.

I’ve chosen to to notice that — in some mostly-subconscious way– what is created from me is in essence always a clue regarding next step when it comes to steering the good-ship-sinter. My tastes and perspectives are in constant motion as I write, and the end-product mostly reveals itself “in-the-process-of-becoming” itself… which in the case of ‘From Unity To Segmentation’ has spanned almost two solid years.

Life has given so much to consider (if i am paying close enough attention) it often feels so very overwhelming; the overall sense of awe (whether manufactured by ‘my-self’ in the singular or ‘the-self’ in the grand scheme of things) is enough to dredge tears from my eyes. The very ponderance pulls away a veil between the spaces between me and a larger thing.

When it comes to the gift of life, what i believe makes it so valuable is at least the sense or possibility of an underlying, unifying, element. I swear i’ve felt it, could never deny it’s being. This influences a large set of proposals that become known every single day for me. It, for instance, means that there is a genuine cause for coincidence outside-of-it-self. It may mean that all there is, is ideas: executing themselves in slow motion — but it gives me great strength in knowing that it’s impossible to be alone as a some sort of nodal point, to be a cog in an impossibly large machine whose sole purpose may only be the recognition of itself over the course of many aeons.

I knew i’d go a big rubbery one here, but i’m leaving it because this is what this thing is for innit?

Thoughts? Comments? Complaints? Questions? Put them in the comments! Interact!

p.s. blog will receive some plugins by the end of the week; expect the ball to begin rolling ever faster!

Happy Temazepam Tuesday! I’ve just shuffled out of a 14 hour coma.

Stealing a page from the Sundance Channel, i’ve decided to include an interview series between myself and the remixers that have participated in the upcoming album. That means that you’ll be hearing the perspectives of Hecq, Set in Sand, Jfrank, and Dirty Fire Project on their remixes, their outlooks on music, and probably something about pandas.

None of these interviews have been coordinated yet, but i’m thinking of either recording them via skype [since 3/4 of them are on the other side of the planet] or just doing them in an instant messenger and posting them here.

What do you think? Would you rather read an interview or hear one?

Somewhere in the process of this blog, if and when it ramps up to the visibility levels i hope it does, i’d like to compile the questions that you, the audience have for myself (and my inner children) and post the answers here for you.

I planned on having a couple of bits of music for you to hear, but the wordpress blog plugins folder is not as robust as it should be yet. Later this week you’ll be able to start hearing some bits of tracks right in the blog.

For now, here’s an excerpt of track 7 of the upcoming album, entitled ‘beside you through the wires, forever’ and it serves as a tribute to all the people whom i’ve grown close to that i never would have met if it weren’t for this beautiful tangle of networks that wrap around the globe.  I had the idea of communication, binary bits bouncing along light beams and the pulses of loved ones coming in sync as i was writing this.  This track was also remixed by Dirty Fire Project, hopefully we can get them to talk about their version later this month.

Beside You Through The Wires, Forever [clip1] - mp3 link, right click->save as [in windows] or left click if you’ve got the right players installed.

jeez… that link text is dark isn’t it? Something i’ll be fixing asap.

Comments welcome~!