Quick Update

Hey.

I'm trying to round some more support for the YouTube account, but it's slow at the moment. As you know I've got the Skyline collection up there, two Mix Sessions tracks and I'm currently rendering a Mix Session track into a video now to upload.

I'm going to spend tonight working on a new song idea, and remastering the two Mix Sessions tunes, plus I might do some remixes of the Skyline stuff later in the week. But, at the moment I'm a little ill, and I feel a little deflated to tell you the truth. I'm running out of ideas of how to promote Akuma Music in a more solid way. I really want to attract more musicians but it's just not happening.

I might look for some other electronica musicians on YouTube and approach them directly to do some collab work. Not exactly the way I wanted it to happen, but I'm getting tired of writing tunes by myself now, and I'm finding myself writing them the same way (structurally) every time. The only one that differs from the rest is the one I'm rendering now, "Nerve Gas". It's a remix of a track I wrote a while back called "Room 9016", which a horror based piece. Anyway, I threw some more samples in, a punchy but steady drum n' bass beatline and some synth. It sounds okay, and definately retains its horror feel.

But you know what? I'm still not happy with it.

Anyway, it should be on the YouTube account within the next 30 minutes.

Bye.

The Mix Sessions

Project #2

Hey guys, take a looky at the new project logo, The Mix Sessions. :) Snazzy, eh? Not bad for a five minute scratch-up in Photoshop with a stock photo. So what does it mean?

"The Mix Sessions" is the new Akuma Music Project. Here's what I want to achieve: a collection of 30 songs of any length, style or genre. I really want people to get involved with this one, the whole point is that I don't do everything myself :P

My friend Mat, who I ran Slayer City with said he may have some guitar/vocal material for me to work with sometime in the near future. Which I'm really excited about since my own guitar/vocal recording equipment is currently... out of use. I will be fixing that in the new year though!

So, to kick start this new collection off, I've submitted a new song to the Akuma Music YouTube account entitled, "Do the Mix". So check it out!

Like I've said before, get involved by emailing me at bradley.smith1990@gmail.com

I may make an Akuma specific e-mail address thinking about it... update on that when I can!

Right, hidy-how!

Trancy, Trance

Hey. I spent like eight hours yesterday until about 4am listening to music on YouTube. Mostly industral and some "PsyTrance". I've got to say the PsyTrance stuff is pretty trippy, especially Gataka and Time in Motion.

A good industrial band to get your ears into is Wumpscut, cheers Neil for that one :) There is so much good music about and people either don't realise it, or are too lazy to go looking for it. Behind the scenes, in the underground, there's some top-noch, untouched by commercialism music going on and it doesn't take much searching to find, especially with YouTube and the many music forums around the web.

I thought about posting a list of Artists and songs, collabs, ect... But, I thought why? Half the fun was actually in the looking for the music. So, I challenge you. Go out and find the craziest, weirdest shit you can and then simply enjoy.

On a more Akuma related note I've been doing some Trance style songs. Punchy kicks and Acid synths all over the place. Couple of tracks coming out nicely and the sounds are mixing together really well.

I'll have something to post up to YouTube within the next day or so, and I'm going to be introducing a video blog soon, either here or on the YouTube. I can then have a dabble at my video skills, which are the moment are quite limited :P

Nothing a few online tutorials can't sort out.

So, go take a look for some weird music and enjoy!

Toodle-pip.

Going live, people

Hi again. How are you? I'm good thanks. Oh, did I mention? Akuma's Skyline is going live right now on YouTube! Really? Yeah!

I finally got off my arse and I'm currently rendering the tracks into very boring looking videos, which consist of the music and a low quality image of the album front cover. But the music quality ain't bad, and I'm getting the files down to less than 8mb which is brill.

So, by the end of tonight the full Skyline collection will be available for your unlimited viewing pleasure at

this <- link! I also wrote some stuff about offering constructive comments, blah blah blah, but Blogger spazzed out at the use of my less than sign and cut a load of my text out. So yeah, be nice :)

The trolls are out there! I know who you are! I'm pretty thick skinned though, so I welcome your trollyness to laugh at your amusing yet immature comments. Lets see you try and knock me down!

Anyway, enough #ing and !ing, I need to get to rendering the rest of the videos.

Oh yeah, and on a side note, if you would like Hi-Quality MP3's, please email me at bradley.smith1990@gmail.com <- I'm sure we can work something out :)

Toodles!

Update: "The Planet"

Update #2: All nine songs are now live for listening on YouTube! Click here now!

It be finished!

Right, it's done. Well, I'm done doing it.

MP3's rendered. Front and back cover design completed. But, remember my original spec idea for the collection? Ten short, ten long, ect... Something like that anyway. Well, that went way out of the window, I mean completely vanished into the void.

I got a little bit carried away messing around in FL, and then I liked what I was creating so I just carried on. In the end I came up with a collection of pieces that I was happy with and thought: "What the heck? Don't fix what's not broken".

Though, in light of the finished collection there are some points that I'm not happy with. Hell, I'll do a little mini self review here (probably in alphabetic order, and not album order since that's the order in which they show up in nautilus):

1. A Dark Place - While it is a trancey, trippy, get high and listen to track, it's quite repetitive. The beat is pretty old school, which I like, but it does lack any catch lines. However, something about it just makes my brain trip a little, so I kept it in.
2. Alone - It's taken me a really long time to finally get piece sounding good with a strong piano line in it. It's got some nice build ups and gives a very chillout feeling. I'd have liked the percussion to have been a little more prominent but the melody definitely carries it through.
3. Avoid the Daylight - A weird one for me. It's like some kind of Ibiza rave, but with a twist. I probably could have mixed the drums in with the synth a little better, but I like little imperfections.
4. Blueberry Jam - A little bit of Drum n' Bass mixed in with some old school sounds and synths. It's a happy go lucky one. I can imagine it being played at some American basketball game. The chances are that it never will. Bit of a random one I'd say.
   
5. Depthwalker - My favourite! It's got a real sci-fi sound to it. I'm yet to listen to it while I play Timesplitters, since that's what I was thinking of the whole way through creating this one.
6. Look to the Sky - Interesting sounds and drum lines. Again, very trippy style synths and some nice oscillating bass in there as well. It's all gone a bit Ibiza trance again.
7. Skyline - The original piece. Chilled. Repetitive (in a good way). A little creepy. Sums up the feeling I want to get out of my music right now. I must say though, that this did slowly creepy down my favourites list the more I wrote.
8. The Planet - Timesplitters galore! This would go right next to Depthwalker on my "Songs to listen to while playing Timesplitters 2". Beautiful buildup to the start, spacey sounds and a driving drum line that doesn't interfere too much, but keeps the pace going nice and quick. Only thing is that it takes over a minute and a half before it really kicks in, probably the reason it's the opening track on the album.
9. Unleash the Slayer - Tribute to the Slayer City roleplaying game. I don't like this one but when it sneaked into my playlist on holiday in Greece my best mate told me he really liked it. So I kind of tagged it in on the end... I know it's bad.

There we have it, less than half of what I'd promised. I now have some crazy new ideas that will undoubtedly lead to my next collection. I refuse to them albums, don't ask me why I just don't see them as "albums".

So, now you're either thinking: "Shut up and let me listen to them!" or "That sounds like shite! Bye, bye".

Either way, I will compress and upload them to a friendly file-sharing server when I can. I'll post again then, see you soon!

Bye!