My best of (in chronological order)…
Posted on May 27th, 2011
Filed under: Music News — Karl Olson @ 2:19 pm
…according to less than 10 fans.
01. ultraklystron – [romance language 2 #02] shutter
02. ultraklystron – [romance language 2 #15] sweetest
03. ultraklystron – [romance language 2 #11] on your six
04. ultraklystron – [the fourth estate #03] gothic lolitas
05. ultraklystron – [the fourth estate #04] absolution
06. ultraklystron – [the fourth estate #01] death won’t stop this
07. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #03] so long kids
08. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #01] opensource lyricist
09. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #19] it’s the beat
10. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #13] hit reply
11. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #08] mahou shonen theme
12. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #14] hikikomori
13. ultraklystron – [opensource lyricist #04] eighty three
14. ultraklystron – [romance language #02] girls with glasses
15. ultraklystron – [romance language #06] well that’s moe
16. ultraklystron – [romance language #04] shoujo n’ shonen
17. ultraklystron – [revision4920 #07] pilot remix
18. ultraklystron – [revision4920 #05] otaku soundsystem
Anything critical missing? If there is, can you get at least 2 people to agree with you on that?
If you can, I’ll stick that on too.
That said, the production is so different between each album there isn’t really a good way of making this into a best of without remastering everything. Considering the idea is to give a taste of what I’ve done away for free everywhere I can stick it (not just bandcamp, but datpiff, filesharing services, etc,) I think it’d be fake to clean up the old work. I mean, I might as remake everything but the most recent material with fresh vocals if I’m covering blemishes, and that seems like something other than a best of.
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When it comes to fame, I feel like I’m a stranger
Posted on April 23rd, 2011
Filed under: General,Music News,Videos — Karl Olson @ 3:00 am
…But at last AkiCon, I chilled with Power Rangers*:
Aki Con 2010 artist panel part 1
Aki Con 2010 artist panel part 2
Aki Con 2010 artist panel part 3
Still doesn’t make up for how awkward that weekend was otherwise (con organization is a oxymoron sometimes, and opportunities usually arise at inopportune times.) However, it wasn’t absolutely without fun, and hopefully, the videos generated have something of interest to my dozen fans. 😉
*=only one Power Ranger, but he’s also Vash the Stampede.
In more recent news, I saw Donald Glover live last night. It was fantastic, and a reminder that since I have some spare time, I should get on remixing some more of his acapellas. In general, I think a little “Ultraklystron remixTAPE” might be due during my semester break. If any of you have any suggestion of artists with acapellas I should ruin, comment, tweet, email or whatever. Hit me on Diaspora if you’re on the cutting edge like that.
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Vocal Stems
Posted on April 10th, 2011
Filed under: Music News — Karl Olson @ 7:09 pm
for one song so far…
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9418093/ultraklystron-duplicate-stems.zip
(for reference: http://ultraklystron.bandcamp.com/track/duplicate )
I think I’ll rotate what I put up every week or two for a bit. I know people have wanted some Ultraklystron stems for a while, so I intend to deliver now. That said, I might also collect some instrumentals and post those to bandcamp, if there is any interest.
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Behind The Music
Posted on March 8th, 2011
Filed under: Music News — Karl Olson @ 3:14 am
As I’ve said before, my making first HipHop album was a long process. I started it in late 2001, and the final album wasn’t released until 2004. There was a lot of trial and error and a lot of concepts and approaches that were ultimately abandoned. This resulted in a few years of constant re-recording, re-mixing and re-engineering. It was a slow burn getting it all together, and the initial work was definitely awkward, demo-quality music that was even much rougher than the admittedly rough and mediocre Revision 4920. It was even worse relative to the electronic music I was making at that time. However, for the first time ever, I’m making the demos, including previously unheard remixes and songs ultimately omitted from Revision 4920, available in one place:
Ultraklystron – In Need Of Revision: The Nerdcore Demos
Let it make clear to aspiring MCs and producers, that yes, you don’t start out good. You bust your hump for a long time, and you eventually get good. That said, unless you’re a completist, there is nothing really good to listen to hear. It’s not like the demo CD included with the Velvet Underground boxset where you hear talented musicians who just happen to be in the middle of their composition process. Everything here is horrendously rough, and there are a lot of bad ideas and bad takes on this. However, you start with nothing and build up.
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Nerdcore Reload
Posted on February 8th, 2011
Filed under: Reviews — Karl Olson @ 7:07 pm
So, after MONTHS of scene internal hype, Nerdcore Now Volume 1 (edit: try their front page too,) the spiritual successor to old RhymeTorrents compilation series, has dropped with a couple of reviews and articles, all pretty positive on the compilation. Of course, it’s all nerd media staples giving it ink, some of which liked my contribution, and others which weren’t so hot on me.
However, since one of the many hats I wear is critic, I figure I’ll do a sentence or two on each of the contributions… after the break.
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Over a decade/Upcoming events
Posted on January 31st, 2011
Filed under: General,Music News — Karl Olson @ 8:00 pm
First, I have to take a moment and be somewhat stunned. In nosing through the music on my portable hard drive, I stumbled across the FLCL and Earth Maiden Arjuna soundtracks. Those shows were key in keeping me into anime in my relative youth, especially Arjuna as it was one of the series that got me into fansubs, and that method of anime acquisition introduced me to whole genres I wouldn’t have dared try left to my own devices. This then precipitates into anime becoming critical to my musical development (both in terms of melodic composition influence and subject matter for lyrics,) and of course it eventually gets me in as a reporter/critic and later a moderator at ToonZone.net. Still, while I can remember watching Arjuna via the old DivX player software like it was yesterday, that’s now over ten years ago. My how the world has changed in those years.
Anyways, I need all my fan(s) to be aware that I have an upcoming song for the first ever Nerdcore Now compilation. If that’s not incentive enough, Beefy, Death*Star and Supercommuter will also be representing with many other good (read: there is quality control on this compilation) artists. It’s a pretty good track, and it’s indicative of what will be on the next Ultraklystron album/mixtape/8-track, whenever that happens. Oddly enough, I don’t think I make even one anime reference during the whole track.
Like I said, change.
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No Thanks For My Support
Posted on December 28th, 2010
Filed under: General — Karl Olson @ 4:00 am
Propellerheads just got their last purchase out of me unless they switch their copy-protection scheme.
I hate dongles, and yet Record 1.5 requires one or you’re stuck with internet verification (a problem if you’re mobile.) Had this been made more explicit when purchasing the software, I probably would have forgone buying it whatsoever. Anyways, I now have a liability stick I have to keep track of lest I have to be tethered to an internet connection to run software I own, legally, which they have the registration and purchase record of anyway. I truly and completely dislike it when the legit user who is trying to support the developer is the one treated like a criminal, while a cracked/hacked copy would give me normal, simple, non-babysat functionality. The software better be excellent, or I’m definitely switching to Reaper the second the copy-protection scheme of Record gets in the way of the process.
Seriously, they had a nice registration system for Reason (which they’ve kept for Reason 5,) so it’s beyond me why they’d get on the universally hated dongle system. Oh, they can call it an ignition key or whatever nonsense name they want, but at the end of the day, if I’d just stolen their software, I wouldn’t have a dongle to keep tabs on. Also, I wouldn’t have had to wait for said dongle to arrive in the mail to install the software. Bad enough to have the keys, and the hassle of registering once, but this? Like I said, I’m no longer a customer. Only thing a USB key should be used for in regards to retailing software is holding your software installs.
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year one: complete
Posted on December 16th, 2010
Filed under: General,Music News — Karl Olson @ 8:06 pm
My first year of university is over. It’s been hard (really shouldn’t have let it slide so long after community college,) but pretty interesting too (don’t think I’d have gotten the mobile development opportunities back in 2006 or 2007.) That said, I look forward to 2011 as the classes are only gonna get more interesting.
Similarly, while I very much doubt I’ll get an Ultraklystron-only album done anytime soon, helping Nursehella drop her debut and Rai Kamishiro on her sophomore album may only be the tip of the iceburg for recording-assistance/co-produced/production projects in 2011 as those should both ship in the first third of the year. If I’ve learned one thing from the past year, while I may not have the time to set aside for doing my own vocal work, I can still be decently productive with production and composition (it’s a great break between subjects.) I intend to ride that I think.
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Woah time flies.
Posted on October 13th, 2010
Filed under: General,Music News — Karl Olson @ 2:16 pm
So, this time last year was the big push to finally wrap up Rai’s debut album in time for AkiCon. My mind is literally blown that said album has almost been out for a year. More stunningly still, this means I’m closing in on a year of school in Canada as well. Somehow, I’m already almost halfway through my 3rd semester up here. Where does the time go?
That said, once Nursehella’s voice recovers from the ATR show we saw, it’s down to brass tacks on her record. Granted, I’m just playing studio engineer and maybe doing some remixes (because everything needs a dubstep and/or drum n’ bass version by yours truly,) but I’m absolutely ecstatic to be helping her out with this. I think it’s going to be a really impressive release (though I am very, very, very biased.) 2011 or bust!
Also, I had some friends up here this weekend, and I have to say, for all the complaining I did early on about Vancouver, I do enjoy all the fun stuff I can do up here. When I finally wrap school a year or so from now, I’m going to really miss all the neat restaurants and stores and malls that are up here.
I just won’t miss the traffic and the freeway system.
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House of AGP Cards / School Gets Interesting
Posted on September 13th, 2010
Filed under: General — Karl Olson @ 4:32 pm
I think the past week has just been one long reminder of how fragile my digital life is, especially while I’m abroad. One little thing goes wrong, and I may be without the ability to take notes, access my music masters, record music, access the data on my desktop, or even use the internet. Given that I don’t even have all my regular back up options with me, let alone my support network of friends, I’m left with the choice of going without, or being extorted for the cost of an emergency replacement.
I think I’ll feel better about this once I grab my spare netbook from home, and probably a few other odds and ends as well, but that doesn’t cover me 100 percent, and the fact is, I will never be as secure be up here as I am in Seattle. Sure, I can ultimately buy my way out of any problems, but the increased extent to which that is a necessity while I’m in Canada (rather one of many options) is something different for me, and something a little extra caustic when already having to pay for tuition and books. It all makes me feel a bit anxious, and that anxiety is probably the result of growing up in Microsoft’s backyard: I have been absolutely saturated with the expectation of having abundant, cheap technology, with plenty of friends with the same goods spare when ever a problem arises. Conversely, being without that safety net is surprisingly worrisome. If something breaks, I’m in it for 100 bucks, when even back home it’d only be only be 65, if not nothing. I mean, I wouldn’t even have a functional desktop right now if not for the pure luck of winning that PSU at PAX (and the hubris of bringing it up with me to Vancouver to sell on craigslist,) and so I’d either be over paying, or waiting to head down to Seattle while stumbling along on my netbook, which itself is prone to failure (already replaced it’s power adapter, and while the old one has been patched up, it’s nothing to rely on.)
I’m not really that stressed about it, but it’s a bit eye-opening. I’m not abusive of my gear, but it’s gotta be completely pampered now.
In other news, I’m really enjoying the coursework so far this semester. I’m finally into upper level stuff, and it brightens my spirits to be past a lot of the lower level filter stuff. I feel like I’m learning stuff I’ll use on a daily basis in the future.