so long kids lofi preview

If you understand that song, you should probably get out more. :D

This was made for a NarutoFan.com fanclub and it's about a guy I know in real life so I ok'd it with him first before I recorded it and I didn't even write the lyrics anyway I just wanted to do something fun and connect with a potential fanbase I wouldn't have otherwise dealt with directly and I'm pretty sure this is fair use and parody so please don't sue.

Making a new CD is hard. I already wanna give up, but I guess since I've got like 2 fans, I should finish it.

And the events happened in real time.

Above is a link to a preview of the upcoming new nerdcore/geeksta LP. The information (exempting the cover) is all true. I plan for it to be just as long the other album (and yes, this means 10ish remixes, though some of them are going to be more like completely alternate versions with new vocal work to match.) I additionally plan to write some more than than what's currently posted. I've got some lyrics kicking around, I just need to form them into something more, and then finish some of the half complete beats and songs I've got kicking around. OTOH, if mc chris can get away with 1 minute 50 second long songs, I can too (actually, the intro is a short one like that, and yes, it's the intro that was axed from 4920 for time. It'll be remastered and reorchestrated for OpenSource.)

So look forward to it, or maybe get your bomb shelters ready. 6. 1. Half dozen. Other. ;)

I've got 8 songs and 1 remix written for the next nerd rap CD. The tricky part? Recording all the vocal work. Especially since I want to get it all done before my little brother is off school, and especially since I want to match the 12 originals on the first album, meaning I've also got to write 4 more songs. The backings are easy - the lyrics are not. Add to that recording a parody for a NarutoFan Fan Club, and a possible cover for my personal amusement, and I've got a lot on my plate once schools up.

But I'll do it because I like music.

And money.

Call me Mr. Krabs. ;)

Well, I'm not sure if crashing the talent show at the community college that I attend counts as a gig (alright, I'm sure that it's not) but I did do a couple of improptu tracks which left me tired and happy. The crowd response was decent, but I sold no additional discs. I suppose I can live with that.

Makes me wanna do some actual live shows, but I doubt anyone'll book me, not even a anime or gaming con. I suppose I can live with that too.

I figured in a vague attempt to move some more CDs, I'd cave in post the lyrics for the tracks:

http://www.karlrolson.com/nerd.php

Now it's spelled out just how geeky and silly this album is. Enjoy. Anyway, that'll be the new nerdcore page. The old page will still work, but if some of my effectively non-existant viewership would like to plug this CD, use the above URL. So, go and read my lyrics, most likely to be riddled with sweet, sweet typos. :)

Gentleman, behold:

My Nerdcore Hiphop/Geeksta Rap Album, in the making for nearly 5 years since it's intial conception, is finished and now available for sale via the Paypal. It took a while for this to come to fruition, but now it's done and wonderful. Even if I am never to pick up the mic again, I atleast gave it a pretty good shot if I do say so myself. The art on that page is the sweet cover art that is used on the CD insert, and CD looks pretty cool. 7 dollars and 50 cents in United States dollars gets you the CD including shipping and handling inside of the United States. If you're interested in the disc and you live elsewhere, contact me, and I'll hook you up after I figure out much it would cost to send a disc to your area (5 buck + like a buck or so for the stupid ripoff mailer then whatver it costs to send to your area.)

In other news, I've probably got 50 costers ;-)

Claes is up. It's a goofy track. Very jump up, but what the hey, variety is cool.

Now, watch me have to relent on that last track business.

Attn: Blake's Bro.
Subj: I know Blake.
Mess: F'real. I go to school with him. In addition to my Nerdcore CD, you should check my upcoming Drum n' Bass CD.

That said, expect another couple tracks or 4 up tomarrow before I probably head out to Spokane, WA for Thankgiving with the relatives. I should make sure the laptop is charged. Or something.

Just uploaded to the Haven LP page:

Nekodashi Matsuri
Miu
Nobue

10 million billion trillion Whose line is it anyway? points to who ever gets the reference. Double that if you know why it's almost too weird that a drum n' bass artist would make that reference. Even you if you don't get the reference, get your ogg format drum n' bass while it's not.

Killing time while I wait until 2005 when I can and will release my Nerdcore CD properly:
Ultraklystron - Henrietta. Dark, hard, eloquent drum n' bass with creepy, creepy sample action thanks to archive.org's amazing archive of ephemeral films.

Those inclined to read the ID tag, will note that it lists the song as the tenth on an album, and that is accurate. "Henrietta" is finale song my upcoming Haven LP, which will be released after the Nerdcore CD. I'll post a few more songs up tomarrow, and maybe a few more after Thanksgiving weekend. On a side note, the song downloads for Haven are in ogg vorbis format. If you have issues playing back the files, you can download a plug in and/or software here.

I've got one more track layed down for the new Drum n' Bass disc, and it clocks in at an excessive 9 minutes and 36 seconds. However, it sounds really good and flows nicely, so it all works out in the end. I've got another track part way done that'll bring the disc up to 10 tracks, and I'll try to finish it this evening. Once I make my money back off the nerdcore CD, I'll release the Dn'B disc, though you all might get some ogg vorbis files or mp3s in advance of that. :D

Speaking of the nerdcore CD, I've just got to drop a little money off at the bank (I'd rather have something in the account after I pay for replication rather an effectively zero balance) and send a copy of the master disc to the replicator, and then it'll be pretty close to be ready to sell (I'll just need the discs back.) I suppose I should look a bit more seriously into means of payment. Or I'll just add a special paypal button the existing nerdcore page. So, start setting side 5 bucks + 2.50 S&H in antici.... pation. ;)

Why you write we even more drum n' bass, even though you're not really done tweaking the stuff you've been working on before! I've done 8 songs in the past few weeks, there all pretty cool, in part because I've really been wringing the samples out of the Prelinger Archive, which allow me to get a bit closer to a modern drum n' bass sound. Yay for Public Domain samples. Meanwhile, I've upped the amount of Dn'B I've been listening to lately, which has refreshed me and inspired me further. I figure if I write two more songs, I'll call that disc good. Or maybe I'll salvage the best tracks I can get out of the other unreleased disc. Musical quagmires bite.

Meanwhile, I've got the money for the nerdcore cd, kind of. I need to send a master CD to the replicator, except oh snap, I've got no money for postage, just enough money for replication. Well, hopefully I can remedy that in short order. Hopefully.

As it means I may very well not have the money I thought I was going to have to make the nerdcore CD in the fashion I wanted to make it.

Darn.

There go my nerdcore star dreams. Not that I had a chance to begin with, but still.

Meanwhile here is new song up which will be the intro to the cd. It's basically paroding/referencing Roni Size/Reprasent's "Railing."

Yay for genre parody.

Boo for it never seeing the light of day in the form I would like to see it in.

Ah well, I suppose I'll set aside what I can to get it made in some fashion, and maybe I'll even sell enough to pay back the cost.

Probably not though.

So I did a garage remix of "nothing like me" which you can find here: nerdcore project page.

Enjoy. :)

You know how I say keep reworking "Never Knows Best/Never Yours To Share It"? Well, I made some serious headway last night by getting 4 more songs enhanced, tweaked and more album ready than they were previously. Once I get 80 minutes worth of good material, I'll copyright and then release it for the world's (dis)enjoyment. Whether it'll flow the way I want remains to be seen, but it gives me hope for when I have real time to wrap it up this summer. I think I definetely send out demos on this, though I won't hold my breath for any takers.

I also fully recomposed/remixed "Blow This Scene" on a Mac for class. I'll try to upload it tomarrow if I remember to snag it on to my keychain drive.

...is the only to describe this:

http://www.karlrolson.com/etc/blowthisscene.mp3

Cowboy Bebop OST + Bonus Beats from Beck Single CD + School Sampling Project = Excuse to experiment with sampling w/o getting sued, cause I'm not making a dime off the track, and it was for educational purposes. It's also pretty funky. Enjoy :)

And that's all I'm saying. Be one the watch out for it, as it's my current distraction from finalizing, releasing and promoting the next Ultraklystron album, "Never Knows Best."

Ultraklystron - Never Mixed Best: (27MB, Stereo 22Khz, 64kbps CBR)

1.tracer
2.mima
3.pop idol
4.new coin
5.heavy door
6.clerk
7.bounty hunter
8.day of raising
9.misago
10.negotiator
11.lone wolf a
12.fun (the remix just for me)
13.last love song
14.alpha series

59 minutes(ish) of nonstop dn'b action from my upcoming Ultraklystron CD, "Never Knows Best," beatmixed for your pleasure. Kids love it (darn secret unreleased Toonami megamix, making interested in doing a non-stop mix myself.) ;) E-mail me if you dig it.

Alas, none of my Hijack remixes made it to the top spot in the contest for best remix at mcchris.com though I did a couple spots in the top section, though given the compitition, I probably won't even take the unofficial prize. Ah well, looks like Fett's Vette is my only hope at having a shot at remixing a track off the next MC Chris album. I'm not sure whether I should even bother doing anymore remixes that I've done for Fett.

Because I didn't...

Well, I'll make it up by posting two remixes of "Fett's Vette" now. The first is a "Elegant Tribal Minimal Electro" remix that has an early Bjork vs. early Luke Slater vibe that comes of as more agressive than elegant thank to the bass lead action, but it's very listenable and funky. The other remix is another foray into the world of modern hip/pop style in the vain of Timbaland and Timberlake (the guitar is so hip/pop, it's sad, but the pads sound like 1980's deep ambient stuff, and the bass is kinda dubish, so it's good.)

Enjoy Them... now ;)

...replace the words "pac man" with "remix" and you've got my recent stretch of MC Chris remixes. "The Mainstream Sellout," "The Swingshift Snow White," "Bass in Chaos" and "Electropwn3d" remixes of "Hijack" are probably the best mixes of the track, though I gotta admit I like the strings I setup on the "Street Symphonic" mix.

I definetely try to follow the 4 remix rule imposed in the wake of my remix spree when it comes to what I submit in the way of remixes of "Fett's Vette," but I'll see if I can release every mix I do of it to the site, even though so far, I'm not really happy with any of Fett remixes yet (I've already done three, and though the production is solid, the mixes aren't that fresh sounding really.)

To write or not to write? That is the question. Whether tis nobler to yadda yadda yadda, whatever. I'm serious though, I'm at a point where I think I just need to either go for it, or quit it. I personally think that after messing around for 8 years (arguably 10,) I should maybe quit taking this with any degree of seriousness and just backburner it.

But feel free to email me at karlrolson (at) juno (dot) com (just remove the spaces and replace the () words with the correct symbols) and tell me what you think after listening to some of the music. If I get a clear responce on way or the other, I'll follow through on it.

in case any of you were wondering about the specs of my machine(s) was (were,) here's the basic outline:

box alpha - the main machine, cobbled together from leftovers and odds and ends, plus some really nice pieces where I need it:

-AMD Athlon 1200 (hand me down from my friend, Ny, which replaced the hand me down 950mhz Tbird processors that was in there earlier)
-1 GB SDRAM (bought with my own hard earned cash, and nice to have when working with audio samples)
-Geforce 2 32MB GTS Video Card (hand me down from a friend who works at Microsoft)
-ATI TV Wonder Capture Card (hand me down and partially busted, but functional enough to capture RCA Video)
-Soundblaster 128PCI Sound Card (used as an adapter for the following card)
-M-Audio Audiophile 2496 Professional Sound Card (goodbye softsynth latency, and it was only $140 bucks. Again, I spent hard earn money on it. Worth every last penny though.)
-On-Board 10/100 LAN and AC'97 Audio (only the LAN is used)
-40 GB Maxtor HD Internal
-40 GB Samsung HD USB External (convient to take to school.)
-HiVal DVD-ROM (Bought with a giftcard I got for helping out with a class at school)
-Plextor Plexwriter 12X CD-RW (Hand me down from my parents comp)
-O/S Windows XP Pro (got it free from Microsoft by doing a product study for them)

Also, I got a hold of a case with a window for it for only 17 bucks, and I put an tricolor LED fan in that hole for another 10. Looks pretty cool.

box beta - the dedicated divx player/emulator/linux experiment box (given to me as a graduation gift):

-Intel Celeron 500 Mhz
-256MB SDRAM (upgraded from the 64MB that came with it.)
-Onboard Video, LAN and Audio (the RCA Video Out and the S-Video Out on it are very handy. The Onboard LAN is flaky.)
-3Com 10Mb LAN Card (Low speed, but bulletproof reliable, and another leftover from my Microsoft friend)
-8GB HD (Don't remember the make, but it's enough space to play with)
-Windows ME Running LiteShell (stable, minimal and clean. I wish I could run XP with LiteShell on it. That'd be sweet.)/Knoppix (when I need to play in Linux)
-Imation RipGO External MiniCD-R Burner (only 30 bucks after rebate, and it doubles as an mp3/wma player.)

What it lacks in power, it makes up in size. It's small enough to go into my backpack, which makes it handy for taking to a friends house.

Also, weapon of choice keyboard wise is this:
http://store.yahoo.com/grandtec/orblups2.html(the letters have rubbed off though.)

The mouse is just a cheap IBM Optical.

I'm working on one more box that'll play firewall, but I might just cheat and rather than work from leftovers (I've got an old Athlon box that just needs a video card), I'll just get a cheap VIA MiniITX board and a ThumbDrive running Linux w/ firewall software. Not sure whether I want to lay the money out for it though.

If you want to preview the whole ambient disc, just go here. If you like it, buy it, if only because I'm tired of working at target every night of the week except weekends.

Fun Confusion - Solace

11 songs, 79 mins and 54 secs or something like that.

Only 6 Dollars American + S&H.

Only Karlnami.

Ok, here's the final info on fun confusion - solace:

Album length: 1 hour 17 minutes 9 seconds

1. memories (6:38)
2. outage (5:48)
3. internal ocean (4:50)
4. nightengale (5:54)
5. one year (8:24)
6. little match girl (7:24)
7. little planet (6:49)
8. transformation (7:19)
9. cafe (9:28)
10. foresight (5:41)
11. evening ride (8:54)

This list does pose a problem though: it's too long for ampcast.com. So, both versions will be released via cafepress. I'll make for the fancy version later, just like LOTR dvds. The difference being the packaging only though. :)

(Random non-music side note: Boba Tea, a Tea with little Tapioca like bits in it, keeps coming up in my life on various Message Lists and Bulletin Boards, so I guess I should track some down in try it. Weird though that it's come up on various unrelated things.)

album length: 1 hour 8 minutes 15 seconds

1. memories (6:38)
2. outage (5:48)
3. internal ocean (4:50)
4. nightengale (5:54)
5. one year (8:24)
6. little match girl (7:24)
7. little planet (6:49)
8. transformation (7:19)
9. cafe (9:28)
10. foresight (5:41)

I'll try to have it released by the end of next week on cafepress and ampcast, however I've decided to reverse who carries what version to keep costs down. The cafepress version will be for $6, and be only in a paper sleeve, and the ampcast version will be $10 and it'll have jewel case liner notes and art. In other news, I think my blog isn't reporting itself again. Oh well, ce la vie.

However, the track listing aspect still gets under my skin. Here's yet another shot at it:

1. pop idol (6:53)
2. new coin (5:54)
3. heavy door (4:26)
4. cocoon (3:12)
5. clerk (3:57)
6. tracer (4:21)
7. misago (7:22)
8. blackened feather (5:08)
9. mima (6:27)
10. last love song (5:54)
11. mobile doll (5:14)
12. steel track (3:53)
13. alpha series (6:08)
14. day of raising (4:31)
15. new day (4:59)

It's probably the best playlist, and it has this very circular pattern, so I think it might just be the final version.

Additionally, I've got enough material leftover for a whole other disc:

1. sea of stars (4:16)
2. won't let up (3:50)
3. bounty hunter (4:58)
4. one year (8:24)
5. fun (the remix just for me) (5:44)
6. lone wolf a (4:34)
7. little planet (6:49)
8. lone wolf b (4:22)
9. internal ocean (4:50)
10. negotiator (3:58)
11. cafe (9:28)
12. ran (3:49)
13. little match girl (7:24)
14. blueberry honey (3:46)
15. artist team (3:48)

however, I'll just release it to the net while I try to shop the main album around to labels.

1. new coin (5:54)
2. heavy door (4:26)
3. cocoon (3:12)
4. clerk (3:57)
5. tracer (4:21)
6. misago (7:22)
7. blackened feather (5:08)
8. mima suite (12:34)
9. last love song (5:54)
10. mobile doll (5:14)
11. steel track (3:53)
12. alpha series (6:08)
13. day of raising (4:31)
14. new day (4:59)

Notable tweaks: "mima suite" is essentially a dj mix of "mima" and another song that blended very well with it. I've finally got some good media to send stuff out with. Now to burn a bunch of waves.

1. new coin (5:54)
2. heavy door (4:26)
3. cocoon (3:12)
4. clerk (3:57)
5. tracer (4:21)
6. misago (7:22)
7. blackened feather (5:08)
8. bounty hunter (4:58)
9. mima (6:27)
10. last love song (5:54)
11. mobile doll (5:14)
12. steel track (3:53)
13. alpha series (6:08)
14. day of raising (4:31)
15. new day (4:59)

"bounter hunter" is on the disc because the lead synth is fixed. this makes the disc a firm 76 minutes and 24 seconds. Now, to get everything locked down and sent out. For now though, I'll enjoy the 5 pound thing of candy I bought from Target for 2 and half bucks. Mmm... five pounds of candy....

1. new coin (5:54)
2. heavy door (4:26)
3. cocoon (3:12)
4. clerk (3:57)
5. tracer (4:21)
6. misago (7:22)
7. blackened feather (5:08)
8. mima (6:27)
9. last love song (5:54)
10. mobile doll (5:14)
11. steel track (3:53)
12. alpha series (6:08)
13. day of raising (4:31)
14. new day (4:59)*

Clocks in at 71 minutes and 26 seconds, but it's all goodness. I've got enough tracks leftover that I might release them to the net as a way of having something fresh up while I shop this disc around to labels. Once I've been good and rejected by the labels, I'll release 128kbps mp3s on ampcast, and I'll release the CD on cafepress. It's worth your money, I promise.

*=It's a new song I wrote this week. Kinda of completes the album some how. It is the sister track to "new coin" and it's inspired by the same manga. It's only track on the album that drops below 180bpm as well.

1. mima (6:29)
2. lone wolf a (4:34)
3. last love song (5:54)
4. sea of stars (4:16)
5. new coin (5:54)
6. heavy door (4:26)
7. cocoon (3:12)
8. tracer (4:21)
9. clerk (3:57)
10. misago (7:22)
11. blackened feather (5:08)
12. mobile doll (5:14)
13. alpha series (6:08)
14. steel track (3:53)
15. day of raising (4:50)
16. lone wolf b (4:22)

or conversely

1. alpha series (6:08)
2. sea of stars (4:16)
3. cocoon (3:12)
4. lone wolf a (4:34)
5. clerk (3:57)
6. heavy door (4:26)
7. misago (7:22)
8. new coin (5:54)
9. blackened feather (5:08)
10. mima (6:29)
11. lone wolf b (4:22)
12. negotiator (3:58)
13. day of raising (4:50)
14. steel track (3:53)
15. mobile doll (5:14)
16. last love song (5:54)


only problems: it clocks out at exactly 80 minutes. That can be remedied without to much worry. Additionally, I'm not completely happy with the track order. If I could go the double disc route with this, I would if it wasn't too drawn out. maybe there's something to said for the old 40 minute LP.

also, it doesn't help that "alpha series" is an incredibly strong track. I could probably pull it out 8 minutes and still be in the clear. however, 6:08 is just dandy. Anyway, it makes hard place on the album, and hard to beat on a demo. it's definetely the single. "mima" might top it once I work out the remaining issues I have with it.

And, yes I have written two new songs since the last time I posted on this. When I'm on, I'm on.

I keep writing music for my next cd, Never Yours to Share It, so keeps getting bumped off. Here's the current play list, if I go the cafepress route for this cd:

1. alpha series (6:08)
2. sea of stars (4:16)
3. cocoon (3:12)
4. heavy door (4:26)
5. lone wolf a (4:34)
6. clerk (3:57)
7. misago (7:22)
8. new coin (5:54)
9. blackened feather (5:08)
10. ran (3:49)
11. tracer (4:21)
12. negotiator (3:58)
13. lone wolf b (4:22)
14. steel track (3:53)
15. day of raising (4:50)
16. mobile doll (5:14)

It's pretty much all dance floor dn'b except for a couple drilly glitchy tracks. "alpha series," "new coin" and "misago" are probably the tracks most likely to get put on a demo, should I find a good dn'b label that'll listen to unsolicited demos.