Hello All, and may I take this opportunity to wish you all a joyous Samhain, and I hope whatever celebrations you might have planned go smoothly and enjoyably. For the sun is now dying, to be reborn at the time of the new year. This is the season for stories, warm fires, and lovely thick stews!!!
But to get on to the news bit. Interesting things happening again. The MAGIX press representatives, bless their hearts, sent me two sample discs on Friday, 6GB apiece. One is very welcome - Soundpool 16, but the other I am not too sure about as it is a kind of "compilation" disc of the best stuff from all the previous discs. Most of which, I already have!!!
So earlier today, I decided to explore 16 and create a little track to just play with a few of the new samples. I saved the track as I was working on it as "Halloween Tune", but am subsequently renaming it "Interlude" or "Interludings" - as that's what the track was, a little interlude.
Then I listened to a batch of old Soviet-era interval signals on headphones whilst I was outside having a luxurious smokette, and began to wonder about an actual "Interlude" CD. Not quite an album, as 7 is finished and mvVIII already has a track or two in progress, but certainly NOT designed as a CD single - I would try to fill the whole 70-80 minutes, and it would therefore take the form of "mv7 - Interlude - mvVIII".
I had not really given it much thought as I sat outside on a grey Samhain afternoon, but the more I DO think about it, I'm wondering what it might be like to fill a CD with all kinds of bits and pieces. A few actual new tracks that don't belong anywhere else, maybe pull a couple of unreleased tracks that I have had sitting on the hard drive waiting for a decision, then complete an idea or two for tracks that have also been sitting on the hard drive, my favourite interval signals perhaps all laced together and very heavily processed, bits of sampled conversations: In short, fill the thing up with fun, listenable, interesting junk!
I have a CD by the now legendary multi-media wunderkinder of art/music combinateurs Pyschic TV, called "Electric Newspaper Issue Three" from 1995. It is a disc intended to be used as the owner of the disc sees fit. The tracks are just 1, 2, 3 etc, and the accompanying literature encourages one to sample, loop, reorder, reorganise, remix, distort, attack and kill the content of the disc. "It is yours because it is free" is a quote on the packaging from The Diggers from 1967, and re-enforces the "do what you like with this" aspect. Whilst I would never claim to be in the Genesis P. Orridge class, the idea of a CD full of "stuff" has really quite taken me, so I am "looking at it and thinking about it" as the great Lord Eric of Morecambe once said.
Since mvVIII is such a huge project, which is easily going to take me through the death and rebirth of the sun, so right through into Spring in effect, this "Inturludings" CD might be a fun diversion in the way that 7 became over the last few weeks of its recording. I have discussed the idea with Mrs. mad_vicar (always the voice of reason and sanity), and she thinks it sounds like something that might keep me occupied for a while. I must admit, I am a bit apprehensive of how intense mvVIII will be, and this could be just the thing to take away some of the worry!
So there we are. A possible side-project thing to play with whilst I take breaks from the heavy stuff of mvVIII. I shall, or Dex will, as ever, keep you informed of how things are going.
Until then, I wish you all a joyous Samhain. Blessed Be. Merry Meet and Merry Part. Blessings of the Goddess on this night of nights, where the veil between the worlds is almost transparent, and those we love and respect can be brought to mind and blessed in turn. Blessings upon you all.
Love always,
m_v
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Dexter Returns!
Hello All mv fans.
Yes, I am back from my little vacation in Califonia. I had a lovely time, and have returned bronzed, buff, and now the leg-end mad_vicar looks like a blue shivering thing stood next to me! The news that mv7 was finished whilst I was away was a surprise, but thanks to Skype, I managed to join in the celebrations, right across the other side of the world.
As regards mad_vicar news, plenty is going on. Firstly of course, there was the surprise completion of mv7. A big surprise, since when I left for my vacation I understood that 7 was on hiatus and shelved for the foreseeable future. In my absence it seems that mv had cracked on with this "shelved" album and in the midst of a mass redecoration of the mv house and Marsfeldenstrasse Studio, mainly undertaken by Mrs. mad_vicar who worked tirelessly to add some glitter and polish to an already lovely house and recording studio. As I say, in the midst of all this - usually overnight - mv worked on and developed ideas he had been toying with in his head whilst holding an emulsion brush and listening to "Journey Into Space"!
The upshot of all this was to take an album that had been shelved, but containing somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2 CDs worth of musical content and create brand new material to completely fill up your average disc. 7 works out at around 70 minutes of music across nine tracks. As I think he mentioned in an earlier post, a couple of tracks had already been released by AEGRE as a CD single at the beginning of 2009 - AEGRE are always desperate for new mv material, and are almost hanging over him as he completes a new track or two!
As regards the release of 7, I'm sorry to say I have no news yet. AEGRE, as I indicated above, are always eagre (is that an anagram?) to package up and release mv albums as soon as they are completed, but all is quiet at the record company. I get the feeling, and this is only a hunch, that they will be looking to launch it sometime in November to take advantage of the Chrimbo market. But this is only my supposition. mv himself, once an album is finished, is always keen to send the masters and any artwork he would like to see as the cover straight into the waiting arms of AEGRE, and this is what has happened with 7. So, mv fans, all I can say is keep checking the blog to see what's going on - any mv news is always posted here immediately.
I have heard 7, in fact I have been playing a demo in the car ever since I returned from the US, and it is extremely good. It's quite obviously a more mature mv album, I think that after the fun of MV5, and then the deadly seriousness of the charity album "Participant in the Liquidation of the Accident Consequences" (or "Liquidators" or mv6), mad_vicar has matured a great deal over the last five years or so. 7 is a reflection of this budding maturity - that's not to say there's no humour, of which there is plenty! - but we have certainly entered a new phase since "Liquidators". When 7 finally hits the streets, there's no doubt it will be well received, of that I am very sure.
And so now that 7 is in the packing and wrapping stage, mv is devoting all recording time to what some have called his "ecological" album, mvVIII. Creating "Liquidators" was an emotional roller-coaster for him, and we all saw the change in his outlook. His "Liquidator" medal is one of his most prized posessions, and always maintains that he does not own it but is merely looking after it for a Liquidator who was not alive to receive it after the completion of the Saracophagus over the destroyed Chernobyl Reactor Number 4. mvVIII is a direct consequence of the "Liquidators" album, only this time, rather than focus on just one terrible disaster, he has broadened the scope and is going to look at some other terrible man-made "accidents" and their after-effects - utilising a format that he has called "music with a message". Thus mvVIII has already started - one track "The Winds of Karachai" has been released for free via MySpace and the SkyDrive, so any fans who haven't heard it can either play it on the MySpace player or download it from the SkyDrive.
Well, that's enough from me for now. I think we are totally up to date. Do keep the comments coming in via MySpace to let us know what you think. You can friend mad_vicar if you are a MySpace member, and we would really appreciate you spreading the word about what mad_vicar is doing and the music he makes. I know he is going to write a post shortly about the hard and software he uses in creating the music, so watch out for that. Until the next time, this is Dex (now bronzed and healthy looking) signing off.
Keep the faith - keep it mv!
DEX
Yes, I am back from my little vacation in Califonia. I had a lovely time, and have returned bronzed, buff, and now the leg-end mad_vicar looks like a blue shivering thing stood next to me! The news that mv7 was finished whilst I was away was a surprise, but thanks to Skype, I managed to join in the celebrations, right across the other side of the world.
As regards mad_vicar news, plenty is going on. Firstly of course, there was the surprise completion of mv7. A big surprise, since when I left for my vacation I understood that 7 was on hiatus and shelved for the foreseeable future. In my absence it seems that mv had cracked on with this "shelved" album and in the midst of a mass redecoration of the mv house and Marsfeldenstrasse Studio, mainly undertaken by Mrs. mad_vicar who worked tirelessly to add some glitter and polish to an already lovely house and recording studio. As I say, in the midst of all this - usually overnight - mv worked on and developed ideas he had been toying with in his head whilst holding an emulsion brush and listening to "Journey Into Space"!
The upshot of all this was to take an album that had been shelved, but containing somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2 CDs worth of musical content and create brand new material to completely fill up your average disc. 7 works out at around 70 minutes of music across nine tracks. As I think he mentioned in an earlier post, a couple of tracks had already been released by AEGRE as a CD single at the beginning of 2009 - AEGRE are always desperate for new mv material, and are almost hanging over him as he completes a new track or two!
As regards the release of 7, I'm sorry to say I have no news yet. AEGRE, as I indicated above, are always eagre (is that an anagram?) to package up and release mv albums as soon as they are completed, but all is quiet at the record company. I get the feeling, and this is only a hunch, that they will be looking to launch it sometime in November to take advantage of the Chrimbo market. But this is only my supposition. mv himself, once an album is finished, is always keen to send the masters and any artwork he would like to see as the cover straight into the waiting arms of AEGRE, and this is what has happened with 7. So, mv fans, all I can say is keep checking the blog to see what's going on - any mv news is always posted here immediately.
I have heard 7, in fact I have been playing a demo in the car ever since I returned from the US, and it is extremely good. It's quite obviously a more mature mv album, I think that after the fun of MV5, and then the deadly seriousness of the charity album "Participant in the Liquidation of the Accident Consequences" (or "Liquidators" or mv6), mad_vicar has matured a great deal over the last five years or so. 7 is a reflection of this budding maturity - that's not to say there's no humour, of which there is plenty! - but we have certainly entered a new phase since "Liquidators". When 7 finally hits the streets, there's no doubt it will be well received, of that I am very sure.
And so now that 7 is in the packing and wrapping stage, mv is devoting all recording time to what some have called his "ecological" album, mvVIII. Creating "Liquidators" was an emotional roller-coaster for him, and we all saw the change in his outlook. His "Liquidator" medal is one of his most prized posessions, and always maintains that he does not own it but is merely looking after it for a Liquidator who was not alive to receive it after the completion of the Saracophagus over the destroyed Chernobyl Reactor Number 4. mvVIII is a direct consequence of the "Liquidators" album, only this time, rather than focus on just one terrible disaster, he has broadened the scope and is going to look at some other terrible man-made "accidents" and their after-effects - utilising a format that he has called "music with a message". Thus mvVIII has already started - one track "The Winds of Karachai" has been released for free via MySpace and the SkyDrive, so any fans who haven't heard it can either play it on the MySpace player or download it from the SkyDrive.
Well, that's enough from me for now. I think we are totally up to date. Do keep the comments coming in via MySpace to let us know what you think. You can friend mad_vicar if you are a MySpace member, and we would really appreciate you spreading the word about what mad_vicar is doing and the music he makes. I know he is going to write a post shortly about the hard and software he uses in creating the music, so watch out for that. Until the next time, this is Dex (now bronzed and healthy looking) signing off.
Keep the faith - keep it mv!
DEX
Dex Leighton returns and MAGIX is about to help out with mvVIII...
Hello all you lovely mv-type people!
I am just quickly dropping a note on the blogginton to update things a little bit. Firstly, Dex has returned, and will be back to organising things and helping me out vis-a-vis the blogroll and admin/media/promotional bits and pieces. This is fabbo news as I am hoping that once we have celebrated Mrs. mad_vicar's birthday, work can get steaming forward on mvVIII. Dex will no doubt be posting something interesting in a bit.
Secondly, a superb development. As you all know, rather than using high-priced music software, such as CuBase, Pro Tools, Sibelius and all the trappings of the very rich and famous, I have eschewed them all in favour of MAGIX Music Maker. Obviously budget and economics plays a part, but I have always made it quite plain that anyone, I mean absolutely anyone, can create great sounding tunes using this software. Yup, it's nowhere near as complex as the above mentioned packages, but it costs about 10 times less. Indeed, a few mv followers have asked previously about what software and equipment is used in the Marsfeldenstrasse Studios, so I might put together a blog entry giving a textual virtual look around the studio, listing what I use to make the fun ditties that I foist upon an unsuspecting world. But the important thing here is that MAGIX have released some new sample discs (which they call SoundPools) and a brand new one is due out in November - about which I will keep you all posted. Really though, MAGIX Music Maker is powerful yet easy to use, and so anyone who fancies having a crack at emulating the phenomenon that is the mad_vicar, I would heatily recommend it. So check back soon and I will discuss the software and hardware used to create my "music".
Stay well everyone, and thanks for your continued support. Oh, I forgot, some live dates are coming up, but Dex will bring youse all up to speed about that later on.
Love as always, and Blessings Upon You All,
m_v
I am just quickly dropping a note on the blogginton to update things a little bit. Firstly, Dex has returned, and will be back to organising things and helping me out vis-a-vis the blogroll and admin/media/promotional bits and pieces. This is fabbo news as I am hoping that once we have celebrated Mrs. mad_vicar's birthday, work can get steaming forward on mvVIII. Dex will no doubt be posting something interesting in a bit.
Secondly, a superb development. As you all know, rather than using high-priced music software, such as CuBase, Pro Tools, Sibelius and all the trappings of the very rich and famous, I have eschewed them all in favour of MAGIX Music Maker. Obviously budget and economics plays a part, but I have always made it quite plain that anyone, I mean absolutely anyone, can create great sounding tunes using this software. Yup, it's nowhere near as complex as the above mentioned packages, but it costs about 10 times less. Indeed, a few mv followers have asked previously about what software and equipment is used in the Marsfeldenstrasse Studios, so I might put together a blog entry giving a textual virtual look around the studio, listing what I use to make the fun ditties that I foist upon an unsuspecting world. But the important thing here is that MAGIX have released some new sample discs (which they call SoundPools) and a brand new one is due out in November - about which I will keep you all posted. Really though, MAGIX Music Maker is powerful yet easy to use, and so anyone who fancies having a crack at emulating the phenomenon that is the mad_vicar, I would heatily recommend it. So check back soon and I will discuss the software and hardware used to create my "music".
Stay well everyone, and thanks for your continued support. Oh, I forgot, some live dates are coming up, but Dex will bring youse all up to speed about that later on.
Love as always, and Blessings Upon You All,
m_v
Saturday, 23 October 2010
News! 7 is now complete!!!
20101014 0530
CHAMPAGNE CORK FX CHEERS FX
Well there it is! 7 is put to bed! It is done! The recording is complete!
At 0530 on 14th October 2010, almost a mere two years from commencing, 7 is finally finished. It works out a 9 track album, with 70minutes of chewnery contained therein. It's been fun, frustrating, other words beginning with "f" and a darned good exercise all round. A few tracks have been previewed at the live giggings, and via the various online outlets, but there is about half the album that has still not be debuted anywhere.
Ha! Dex wasn't here! We did a groovy technical hookup thing over Skype so that we could raise glasses, but he's still on his sunburn vacation. By crikey he'll get a shock when he gets back to the Frozen Wastes - it's getting very chilly now. It's almost too cold to go out for a fag - well, it's not THAT cold. Let's not get too carried away.
Whilst in the celebratory mode, I am going to give what I believe is called in the trade a "big up" to my main man John Allison, creator of online webcomics "Scary Go Round" and "Bad Machinery", which I have been reading a lot of late. You can find them at these locations: http://scarygoround.com and http://sgrblog.blogspot.com - they really are wonderful and worth spending time reading when you should be working or doing something else! I haven't finished SGR yet, so Bad Machinery is still an unknown world to me. It's bound to be excellent though!
I suffered a terrible laptop accident here - I typed loads more, then the machine just died before I saved it all. So now I have to write it again. Anyway, here is the stuff as I remember it. Firstly, I wrote out a track listing for 7, which follows below:
1. Our Feature Presentation 0.10
2. Gniksam Drawkcab 3.20
3. I Close My Eyes 15.48
4. Rizla 3.07
5. THX1138 (In Honour of George Lucas) 10.35
6. Hold Me In Your Arms Tonight (Radio Edit) 6.49
7. Chernobyl Hill Stalker Silent Zombies 2 18.38
8. You Can Not Win 9.28
9. The Flowers In The Dustbin 1.45
So there it is. It looks finished now I have listed it all. And yes, track 5 is in honour of George Lucas. He may have produced some questionable films since THX1138, but it remains one of my most favourite films ever ever ever. Thus track 5 is for him. I have just burned a test CD album to see how it works on disc, and am playing it via the old WinAMP version 2 - still my main music player.
In closing - if indeed I am closing - I should thank a few people for help and support around 7. As ever, my first enormous thanks go to Mrs. mad_vicar, who has to listen to endless mixes and remixes as I go about the long-winded recording process, offering me advice and critiques, but never in a bad way. I will certainly thank John Allison for Scary Go Round, my reading material when I can't get to work in the studio - or get the studio to work. His website addresses are listed above, and I think therefore I have given him tons of back-slap kudos.
Love always!
m_v
CHAMPAGNE CORK FX CHEERS FX
Well there it is! 7 is put to bed! It is done! The recording is complete!
At 0530 on 14th October 2010, almost a mere two years from commencing, 7 is finally finished. It works out a 9 track album, with 70minutes of chewnery contained therein. It's been fun, frustrating, other words beginning with "f" and a darned good exercise all round. A few tracks have been previewed at the live giggings, and via the various online outlets, but there is about half the album that has still not be debuted anywhere.
Ha! Dex wasn't here! We did a groovy technical hookup thing over Skype so that we could raise glasses, but he's still on his sunburn vacation. By crikey he'll get a shock when he gets back to the Frozen Wastes - it's getting very chilly now. It's almost too cold to go out for a fag - well, it's not THAT cold. Let's not get too carried away.
Whilst in the celebratory mode, I am going to give what I believe is called in the trade a "big up" to my main man John Allison, creator of online webcomics "Scary Go Round" and "Bad Machinery", which I have been reading a lot of late. You can find them at these locations: http://scarygoround.com and http://sgrblog.blogspot.com - they really are wonderful and worth spending time reading when you should be working or doing something else! I haven't finished SGR yet, so Bad Machinery is still an unknown world to me. It's bound to be excellent though!
I suffered a terrible laptop accident here - I typed loads more, then the machine just died before I saved it all. So now I have to write it again. Anyway, here is the stuff as I remember it. Firstly, I wrote out a track listing for 7, which follows below:
1. Our Feature Presentation 0.10
2. Gniksam Drawkcab 3.20
3. I Close My Eyes 15.48
4. Rizla 3.07
5. THX1138 (In Honour of George Lucas) 10.35
6. Hold Me In Your Arms Tonight (Radio Edit) 6.49
7. Chernobyl Hill Stalker Silent Zombies 2 18.38
8. You Can Not Win 9.28
9. The Flowers In The Dustbin 1.45
So there it is. It looks finished now I have listed it all. And yes, track 5 is in honour of George Lucas. He may have produced some questionable films since THX1138, but it remains one of my most favourite films ever ever ever. Thus track 5 is for him. I have just burned a test CD album to see how it works on disc, and am playing it via the old WinAMP version 2 - still my main music player.
In closing - if indeed I am closing - I should thank a few people for help and support around 7. As ever, my first enormous thanks go to Mrs. mad_vicar, who has to listen to endless mixes and remixes as I go about the long-winded recording process, offering me advice and critiques, but never in a bad way. I will certainly thank John Allison for Scary Go Round, my reading material when I can't get to work in the studio - or get the studio to work. His website addresses are listed above, and I think therefore I have given him tons of back-slap kudos.
Love always!
m_v
Monday, 11 October 2010
7 Resurrected?
Although in previous postings and what not it has been said that work on 7 would stop for the time being ("on hiatus" was the term I think), suddenly two new tracks have been recorded. However, I'm still not totally satisfied with all the work done, and therefore 7 is "in progress" rather than "on hiatus". Interestingly, one of the new tracks is quite possibly the loudest mad_vicar creation to date (including "Reactor Number Four Suite" from "Liquidators" (mv6)) and the public can judge when it finally comes out!
I am intrigued by the way 7 has matured. I looked at the "Master Recording File" (as you know, I keep loads of details about the music I record - mainly so I know where I am with samples and things) that accompanies 7, and discovered that the first couple of tracks were recorded January 2009! Not too far off two years ago! We are heading into Pink Floyd territory here as far as waiting for a new album to come out goes!
There was the early 2009 CD single, of course, which served as a "taster" for 7, but many things got in the way of actually getting stuck into it. But now that these two new tracks have come along, it's rather like 7 and mvVIII are developing concurrently. The good thing is that if 7 is almost finished, it will work chronologically - something that I didn't actually think would happen. I had the feeling that 7 would be paused until after VIII had been released, which would have been rather strange.
The point is that 7 and VIII are two completely different albums: 7 is a typical mad_vicar creation, with a collection of fast and slow tracks that do not follow any theme. On the other hand, VIII is a concept album, and thus when I am in the studio and I get stuck in, I know by the "feel" of the track whether it is bound for 7 or will fit instead into the themed flow of VIII. That is how these two new tracks came along.
Mrs. mad_vicar advised me to stop fretting about the concept that surrounds VIII and instead get in the studio and "just make some music" - and this is what I did. From Friday into Saturday (8th-9th October), I worked away without any thought as to where I was going musically. And thus the resulting two tracks (two! I ask you!) are perfect for 7. As I wrote in the Master Recording File, if I wasn't such a messy-perfectionist, I could easily call 7 finished and get it out. But I am still not completely satisfied as I said above. So there's still plenty of tweaking and twiddling, maybe even another track, before I can even think about calling it finished.
And so that's where we are as of now. VIII in the works, and 7 in the works as well. Therefore, keep checking back here to stay up to date with the recording progress.
Love always, and Blessed Be,
m_v
PS: Dex is not around at the moment - he's managed to finally get some vacation time and is sunning himself in California as we speak. We are in touch via Skype and email, and it seems he's having a lovely holiday. While we sit in the mist and damp of the Northern Celtic Isles Swamplands. I hope he brings back some Hershey bars and a few Baby Ruths - you know what a sweet tooth I have!
I am intrigued by the way 7 has matured. I looked at the "Master Recording File" (as you know, I keep loads of details about the music I record - mainly so I know where I am with samples and things) that accompanies 7, and discovered that the first couple of tracks were recorded January 2009! Not too far off two years ago! We are heading into Pink Floyd territory here as far as waiting for a new album to come out goes!
There was the early 2009 CD single, of course, which served as a "taster" for 7, but many things got in the way of actually getting stuck into it. But now that these two new tracks have come along, it's rather like 7 and mvVIII are developing concurrently. The good thing is that if 7 is almost finished, it will work chronologically - something that I didn't actually think would happen. I had the feeling that 7 would be paused until after VIII had been released, which would have been rather strange.
The point is that 7 and VIII are two completely different albums: 7 is a typical mad_vicar creation, with a collection of fast and slow tracks that do not follow any theme. On the other hand, VIII is a concept album, and thus when I am in the studio and I get stuck in, I know by the "feel" of the track whether it is bound for 7 or will fit instead into the themed flow of VIII. That is how these two new tracks came along.
Mrs. mad_vicar advised me to stop fretting about the concept that surrounds VIII and instead get in the studio and "just make some music" - and this is what I did. From Friday into Saturday (8th-9th October), I worked away without any thought as to where I was going musically. And thus the resulting two tracks (two! I ask you!) are perfect for 7. As I wrote in the Master Recording File, if I wasn't such a messy-perfectionist, I could easily call 7 finished and get it out. But I am still not completely satisfied as I said above. So there's still plenty of tweaking and twiddling, maybe even another track, before I can even think about calling it finished.
And so that's where we are as of now. VIII in the works, and 7 in the works as well. Therefore, keep checking back here to stay up to date with the recording progress.
Love always, and Blessed Be,
m_v
PS: Dex is not around at the moment - he's managed to finally get some vacation time and is sunning himself in California as we speak. We are in touch via Skype and email, and it seems he's having a lovely holiday. While we sit in the mist and damp of the Northern Celtic Isles Swamplands. I hope he brings back some Hershey bars and a few Baby Ruths - you know what a sweet tooth I have!
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