Latest Smaragd News

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Yes, the single is still forthcoming. It should be ready pretty soon. I really want to do a little more touch-up work on it, but haven't had the chance. The packaging, however, is ready to go. Hang in there!

8:33 PM (0) comments

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

I have received permission to use the artwork I had hoped to use on the cover of the forthcoming goslower single. And almost as soon as I got permission, I put together a wonderful sound collage which reflects the cover art, tying the cover art directly to the music. I'm not going to give any hints about the cover art at this time, but I'm absolutely in love with the wonderful photographs which will appear in the packaging. You'll all see it soon enough.
I have the week of October 31st off from work, and I'm hoping to complete the work on the single during that week, and release it in early November. Consider it a tentative release date.

6:35 AM (0) comments

Monday, October 10, 2005

A new single from Smaragd is coming soon! I'm not prepared to state an exact date, as I'm still putting finishing touches on the songs, and the cover art is not yet established/confirmed. I can, however, give you the planned track listing:
1. goslower
2. Palingenesia
3. Coded Signals
I would like to move relatively quickly on issuing the single, releasing it in a matter of a few weeks rather than months. But we'll see how it all goes. More info to come, when I have more to announce.

1:00 AM (0) comments

Sunday, May 29, 2005

After slacking off lately, I've returned to work on music again. In addition to returning to work on the Mythconception project, I've also been working on a couple individual pieces of music which are not related to Mythconception. One piece, titled "goslower" is an atmospheric song with a big, spacious sound. The other, "Coded Signals", is a synthesizer-dominated track with some nifty rhythmic experimenting. "goslower" is very nearly complete, but "Coded Signals" is only just now coming together, and is still in a malleable state. No promises, but I might release a "double single" soon, which probably will feature "goslower" and "Coded Signals."

6:24 AM (0) comments

Friday, March 18, 2005

I've set up an account on MacJams.com. Check it out here.

8:25 PM (0) comments

Sunday, February 20, 2005

It's time that I posted a couple unfinished tracks from Mythconception. Here's a little something to listen to.
Track 3: Stigma (4:15 long, 6 MB)
A fairly "heavy" song, with more guitar and more "attitude" than is on the rest of the album. Crunchy, rhythmic and dark.
Track 5: Sarah In the Garden (5:24 long, 7.6 MB)
A gentle and (I hope) romantic track describing the first encounter between the two main characters of the album, and their developing relationship.

7:25 AM (0) comments

Monday, January 31, 2005

Well, I've been back at it lately. I'm still working away on Mythconception, although the last couple months I've mostly just been listening to what I have so far, nitpicking them, and figuring out what still needs to be done.
Ever since I first issued the Suchness album I've been thinking about re-recording the old tracks from it. I've begun that as a second project, to "cleanse the palate" while working on Mythconception. The new version of "What Have You Done" is underway, with a good foundation of drums and keyboards already recorded.
More surprisingly, my old Jawbone bandmate, Rick, and I have started working together a bit again. Yes, Jawbone may still yet be alive! It started last week when, just to see how it sounded, I recorded some of the keyboards from our old song "Making Waves" using vintage early-80s Oberheim sounds. It came out pretty amazing-sounding, and I let Rick hear it. To my surprise, he was eager to re-record it! How completely friggin' cool! So, I've continued work on laying down drums and keyboards for a new recording of "Making Waves." It's sounding pretty amazing to me, and Rick seems impressed. This past weekend I started work on re-recording one of my favorite Jawbone tracks that I was the primary author of, "Superposition," and that one is sounding even more amazing than "Making Waves."
Last week I received some new, professional microphones from Musician's Friend, and I have the cables for them as well as a sustain pedal for my keyboard all on back order. I'm really looking forward to getting the cables and pedal. I've been holding off on recording any vocals or acoustic guitars so I can use the new microphones.
So, I've definitely been at work on new music. Between Mythconception, re-recording tracks for Suchness v2.0, and the resuscitation of Jawbone, it's been rewarding and exciting lately.

5:56 PM (0) comments

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Hmmm... Note to self: How about using little clips of Apollo missions in "Apotheosis"? Perhaps slip in a few of others like Tim Leary, Bush on "Weapons of Mass Destruction" or Yellowcake, etc.

6:08 PM (0) comments

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

I've broken my little vacation and done a little more work on the album, specifically some progress on "Palingenesia." I've expanded some of the guitar parts, so there's more guitar on the track now then previously. I also completely re-recorded the guitar solo, not only getting a much better sound from the guitar, but adding a nice harmony to the second half. Sounds pretty sweet now! I'm thinking perhaps of doing a bit more work on the track--the opening section still needs something more, and the vocals need work--and then releasing "Palingenesia" for download.
And if I hadn't mentioned it before, yes, I became aware some months ago that the correct spelling of the term is "palingenesia," not "palingensia."

8:13 AM (0) comments

Friday, September 24, 2004

It's been a while since I've done any significant work on the new music. I've been giving myself a "perspective break." When you're working on a big project, sometimes you can get too "close" to all the little details, and wind up losing your perspective. This little "breather" should help me return to the project with fresh eyes and ears.
I'll be returning to work on Mythconception as I take a vacation this coming week in order to devote some time to the music. So, hopefully, I'll be able to report more progress in the next few days!

12:30 AM (0) comments

Archives:

The original news page (June 2001 to 21 Oct. 2002) is archived here.