Wow I finally fixed my computer. The poor bastard has been out of commission for ages. Eeeks!
Anyway, been busy recording songs off the solo album, along with the Ronin album crawling along. I'm really excited (and really blessed) to be working with so many talented individuals from drummers, guitarists, bassists, violinists, keyboardists, engineers and etc.
Here are some of the tracks off the solo stuff. The vocals aren't done, and the songs haven't been mixed or mastered, so they're in their rawest and unrefined form. But I love the energy and gah-rang-ness that the musicians managed to capture. :)
http://download.yousendit.com/76FC3D4F13FAA348
Temporarily called New World Cheebai, thanks to Wayne the producer lol. Anyway, it won't actually be titled that for obvious reasons. It's pretty much an un-ronin song. Check out the bass riffs and the drummer, done by Joel of Leaven Trait and Syed of West Grand Boulevard respectively!
http://download.yousendit.com/03B584823B597155
A song titled Hold On. Check out the sexy violin and string section at the 2.50 mark. It's the first time I've attempted for that big orchestrial sound. I'm hoping to hire a small choir to do the "ohhs" and "ahhs" there too :) And the solo by Dong from Bad Obsession reminds me of a phoenix rising from the ashes to consume the globe with its giant nostrils. lol. Love the violin outtro too. Will be horrendously difficult to sing this song because it reaches up to the high B's. Which is a falsetto for most girls. Which means I have to wear tight pants so my balls can't breathe before I could possibly get that high. I'll manage..er.....hopefully. The wonders of technology will save this wretched soul!
http://download.yousendit.com/9831E81309C1DFC8
A track called Yo Yo girl, with drums done by Wayne Thunder from The Suns. I love the raw energy put into this song. Hopefully the singing will do it justice. Eeeks. Also an un-ronin song. Insane shredding by Dong in the solo bits.
I wrote most of these songs at the void deck of the flat I live in. Many a times the police came around to take down my IC, name, blah blah, for the rackus I was making at 3am in the morning. I Don't really blame the residents there, what with my subpar playing and what could be considered unwanted noise. But I always enjoy the alone time in the morning. The cops probably disagree, bu they're a friendly blue bunch just doing their job. They came along once, and they asked me why I had to play downstairs at 3am. I told them "I Don't want to wake my mum up". and the cops rightfully replied "So you want to wake up the REST of the neighbourhood?" haha, that part kinda slipped my mind.
Been struggling with singing the new songs a little bit because they were intentionally done to challenge everything I've known how to do to things that are new territory for me. But I love challenges because, for beter or worse, they push you to new levels that are both frightening and rewarding. And it isn't just applied to music. I've always believed that human beings, as the frail and emotional creatures we are, have to constantly challenge ourselves in order to postpone that slide into boredom or self-redundancy. Be it writing, studying for an exam, doing your job at the office, writing a (gay) poem, or planning an elaborate murder --> everybody needs something to strive for in order to feel respected, needed, and valid to the world around us. I've never been a fantastic song writer, never really good with time signatures and key changes, but I accept my limitations and work around them, or at least try to improve on them.
Took a few weeks, but I've managed to finish watching every single episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer from Seasons 1 through 7. I had the distinct impression that Buffy was just a teenage rad flick, but was quickly proven wrong after continuously being glued to the tv screen night after night, episode after episode. Probably my favourite tv series of all time! Would never have expected such depth.
That, and my XBOX360, has been the hook to my nights. Helpless game addict.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a slight disappointment to me. Where the heck is shredder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How could a turtles movie not have shredder and crang?! Instead there was this immortal hero with the rampant monsters running around (undetected for hundreds of years). 23, starring Jim Carrey, was much better, though not as fantastic as I thought it'd be. And of course, everybody's waiting for Spider-Man 3!
Phantom of the opera this sunday. Can't freaking wait!
lev
