The Planets poster print

I thought I would share some quick updates on work on Neue, my music project. When I completed it in February, it was a fun (if time consuming) side project that I hoped people would enjoy. So far, the comments and feedback I’ve received from fans of the album though have been incredibly positive and humbling.

To publish the album, I used the services Bandcamp (for independent release) and CDBaby (for release into existing music stores). I really really like the Bandcamp service (and get a higher percentage of album sales). And unfortunately I really regret going for the home team with CDBaby. That service has been incredibly obtuse and needlessly complicated. My submissions to their partner sites was delayed by 2 weeks because of an obscure button to press, with very little feedback on the status of my submissions telling me there was something wrong. I had initially thought of using TuneCore, and think that I will try that service next time.

Now, the album is also available on iTunes, Amazon and many others.

I know nothing about music promotion, and it seems like kind of a dirty concept to me. But when I finished up the project, I quickly realized that I wanted a specific place for people to have some kind of community.So with Sarah’s help, I created a Facebook fan page for Neue. I’ll be posting Neue news and ambient music updates there.

I created a poster print of the album (shown above), available on the Bandcamp site.

And finally I just completed a new bonus track for The Planets: Pluto. The album just seems more complete with it :) Enjoy!

I’m pleased to announce the release of the completed album of The Planets. It’s been a long process squeezed into many nights and weekends. I’ve learned a lot about production, mixing, mastering, and have had to overcome a lot of technical difficulties with Logic and the various software instruments used in the making of the album. But I am pretty happy with how it’s turned out, and really excited to have completed the project.

I’ve released the album under my new project name Neue, and have created a site on Bandcamp to handle anything music release-related from now on. From there you can stream the entire album for free, or purchase a high quality version for download. In a few weeks it should also be available in iTunes and other services.

I’ve really been encouraged by the numerous positive comments and requests for an option to acquire the complete tracks. So if you’ve been a fan of the music, head on over to http://neue.bandcamp.com to download. I’m also planning on creating a print of the album artwork available for purchase from there too. Thanks to everyone who has supported the release!

Here is a free download of the track Earth: 03 Earth

Recently, a tiny outfit called Madrona Labs released a new soft synth called Aalto that has opened the door for me into the modular synthesis technique.

The main thing I like about Aalto compared to the multitude of other modular soft synths out there is its focus on simplicity. Other software synths try to directly replicate the hardware of the giant modular synthesizers such Buchlas and Moogs, offering dozens of types of connectivity. Aalto has a refreshingly simple interface with enough connections to keep you satisfied, but still being accessible to a relative novice. However, its sound modeling algorithm is derived directly from those hardware systems, so you still get an authentic and interesting sound.

Aalto also let me finally get a handle on how the flow of signals through a modular synthesizer actually works, and what makes it “modular”.

First you set the Carrier wave. This sets the starting sound wave tone, such as a sine, a square or a triangle wave. It also establishes the primary frequency (pitch) of the tone. From here, essentially all the other things you are doing interfere, harmonize, and shape this carrier wave to get your final sound. You do this through the other “modules” by wiring (patching) the different modules together to send the output of one into the inputs of others. This is where it gets really fun.

For example, the Envelope module sets the shape of the sound. You set the attack to be shorter to form percussive sounds, or long to form pad-like sounds. You typically patch the Envelope to the output Level of the Carrier wave to create your sound. This is usually the first thing I do in Aalto.

Other tools are the Sequencer for creating rhythmic tones within the synthesizer. There is also a Delay effect to add more layers to the sound. Filters help to set the final overall set of frequencies you want in your sound. All of these modules can typically cranked to extremes to create yet more possibilities with your sound.

Overall, it’s a very fun tool that I’m looking forward to making a regular part of my compositions.

Here’s a few sound samples that I created using Aalto.

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The new version of Greg Martin’s Experience The Planets project was launched this week. After working on and off over the last few months, I’ve been able to contribute 3 new tracks (plus the remastered original ‘Earth’) to  the project. Progress continues on the complete set of 8 for The Planets, which I am aiming for the end of the year. You can stream the 4 completed tracks here:

Venus

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Earth

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Uranus

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Neptune

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About the tracks

The challenge with these tracks has been extending the creative process that led to the creation of the original track for ‘Earth’ to adequately express the  beauty, mystery and hostility of our other planets. Like the Experience the Planets project itself, I am trying to interpret our modern understanding of these planets as real ‘places.’ I’ve tried to  take the music beyond the litanny of ambient music’s sci-fi tones to a more somber and cinematic interpretation of these environments, but still blending in an expression of  the mythological heritage so deeply rooted in our thinking about them.

Outside of the warm familiarity of Earth, I’ve thought about the ‘terrible beauty’ of Venus, embraced the strangeness of Uranus and the distant frigidity of Neptune. It’s been a fun challenge.

Since starting the project, I’ve upgraded to Logic Express for my primary editing software. I’ve also added some new tools with Native Instruments Kore2, and recently a set of KRK v4 monitors. All in all I couldn’t be happier with the production setup. Look for more updates soon.

Update: The complete album is now available on iTunes and Bandcamp. Thanks for your support!

I meant to post this a few months ago, but earlier this year I had the opportunity to collaborate with Greg Martin to produce some original music for his Experience The Planets project.

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Ultimately, my goal is to produce a unique piece for each planet. I already have a variety of sound sketches for some of the others. So we’ll see how that goes.

The music was produced in Apple Garageband with a variety of custom instruments and effects, and of course no built-in loops.

Apple Garageband - Earth - Experience The Planets