Greetings light acquaintances,
I'm going to wager that some time has passed between my last update about the little premier party, and this. Do I win the wager? Damn right I do. Penny up!
I'm sure there are at least two to three of you out there that are still interested in what is going on with Envinity, yes? (Maybe that estimate was too high).
For those of you who are staying, first take off your shoes, and second, give me a back rub. Mmmmm.
There was a tear in the fabric of space time a few weeks back as Bryan, John, Eric and myself all managed to convene at the same time and place for a fairly involved photo shoot. I'm going to be purposely vague about the details of the shoot as they coincide strongly with the story and overall theme of the new album (and I still have to save something for later, or maybe all of it. Suckas.) Point is, things were surprisingly efficient and the graphics I've been concocting with the photos look absolutely bad ass (that is a hip slang term for 'neato').
I may or may not post some of the graphics sometime. Depends on my mood (which is pretty shitty these days).
Music wise, I'm being super anal with everything, and as a result, have started my millionth pass of mixing, since each time I do a new full mix (which takes a long time by the way, and is really exhausting work), I hear something else that I want to change or fix. I promise that this will be the last major pass, and, assuming I ever get time anymore, I'll move to getting the master all set up. I've already tested some recent mixes out with my mastering software configuration, and it sounds really amazing.
What then you ask? Well, I still need to get the new website up and running, since you may have noticed that I took the old one down about. . . . oh . . . two years ago? I've been really apathetic and did not want to update anything. So I guess I accomplished my goal in that respect eh?
The new site will be very involved and different from anything I've done so far, as it will tie in heavily to the story and environment of the album. Details once I actually get working on that.
Everyone has been really busy lately, including myself, making working on the things I do for myself out of love quite difficult. I have very little time, energy or even money at the moment, but I've been slowly progressing on this record and everything that it encompasses because I truly do believe in it. I know that's a biased statement coming from me, but who cares.
This year, sometime. Promise. Perhaps, if I'm not wallowing in cottage cheese, we may even get out there again and perform some of this ridiculously crazy new stuff.
Perhaps.
I hope you guys are doing better then I am, and I'm sorry to have kept you waiting five years for new music. I can only trust that what I will give you will be completely worth the wait.
Toodles,
NIKO
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Envinity 3rd album listening party (with photos)
A few weeks ago I held a small get together for some close friends of the band to premier the long-in-the-works 3rd album.
In attendance were some old friends and former band mates who I'd known since I was 15, namely Michael (who also played guitar on Empyreal Progeny with John) and Jud (who used to play bass in bands with Michael and I when we were young and stupid). Also there were friends of the band like Josh Wombeck of the band Fell, and a group of musician housemates, who, obviously, live in the same building as me.
I can tell you that this was both an exciting and also quite nerve racking event, as no one besides the band members themselves had yet to hear the new monstrosity I had been concocting over the last several years, and I felt I needed to justify myself. I'm sure my so-far faithful musicians could use a pat on the back too after putting up with me and performing beyond their previous level.
I began the presentation with a short speech about the trials and tribulations it took to get to this point, about the new musical and stylistic approach of this album, about origin of the story, and some background on the premise, and underlying concepts of the narrative. With an album so focused on delivering a full, tangible experience, I had to do at least some preamble to put things in context.
Since the story and the music are so closely related, Bryan suggested the idea of printing out a short synopsis of each chapter, so that everyone could follow along with the main ideas of each song, as the events happen. In the end this proved to be a great strategy for bringing people into the complicated world of these fictional characters and events.
With synopses handed out and beer in hand, I nervously pressed play and stood back.
The first few minutes were quite hard to bare, as it was challenging to glean what people's early impressions were. But soon people began commenting to one another, and to myself about specific melodies, rhythms, vocal lines and moods. So far it seemed positive, but we had a long journey ahead of us.
A long time friend and supporter of mine, Jud, had pulled me aside several times during the course of the album to tell me that "This is really good, man". Later he would confess, "I honestly expected another Empyreal Progeny, but this is completely differnet." He meant this in a good way, even though he is still a fan of the last album.
One of my fellow housemates turned to Eric during a particularly strange odd time signature passage in one song and asked with wide eyes, "how long did it take you to learn that?" Eric's answer was, of course, "a long time".
Eric and John's parts are especially easy to call attention to, due to their very up-front musicianship and technicality in many of the parts, but Bryan also got his fair share of positive comments, including several "air bass shredding" parodies by Josh Wombeck after hearing certain stand out bass lines and runs. I am quite biased, but the bass lines on this album are pretty damn cool, and Bryan deserves all the air bass parodies he can get for his drastically improved performance.
The end reaction from everyone who attended was beyond what I had expected. Vadim, a friend of John's who had been a bit critical of my previous work, surprised me most with his comments. This is a gentlemen who is a musician himself (like most of the people there) and listens to quite a lot of metal. With this in mind I expected him to comment on some of the heavier or more complex moments of the record but instead the first thing out of his mouth was how much he could feel the story and the characters in the music, and how much the emotion and the events came through in each song. And this was from a metal guy! Wonderful!
And so went the theme of the rest of the comments that night. People telling me how they felt sucked right into the world we had created and were taken on a journey through the emotions of the characters. I have to say this was the most amazing thing I could have heard, as creating a tangible emotive landscape that could convey a full story was my ultimate goal. It sincerely blew me away, and I'm truly thankful for everyone's overwhelming support and positive reactions.
Vadim added, honestly, "I didn't think you guys were capable of something like this."
Below are a few photos from the event taken by John's girlfriend Bailey.
Waiting for everyone's arrival
Bryan and John discussing something using "evil" gestures. Probably ponies.
Myself, my sister and others talk in a jovial manner (as people do).
Making my speech before the premier.
Listening commences.
Eric plays air guitar, or banjo, or ukulele, or bag pipe, or a pair of glasses. Who knows.
"How long did it take you to learn that?"
Bryan, Michael and John listening, because I made them.
Eric playing the air zipper part note for note.
Josh whispering sweet nothings into John's ears.
Josh talking about how "jazzy-fraz" Bryan's bass parts are.
Pleased with the results, and mostly inebriated (John that is).
In attendance were some old friends and former band mates who I'd known since I was 15, namely Michael (who also played guitar on Empyreal Progeny with John) and Jud (who used to play bass in bands with Michael and I when we were young and stupid). Also there were friends of the band like Josh Wombeck of the band Fell, and a group of musician housemates, who, obviously, live in the same building as me.
I can tell you that this was both an exciting and also quite nerve racking event, as no one besides the band members themselves had yet to hear the new monstrosity I had been concocting over the last several years, and I felt I needed to justify myself. I'm sure my so-far faithful musicians could use a pat on the back too after putting up with me and performing beyond their previous level.
I began the presentation with a short speech about the trials and tribulations it took to get to this point, about the new musical and stylistic approach of this album, about origin of the story, and some background on the premise, and underlying concepts of the narrative. With an album so focused on delivering a full, tangible experience, I had to do at least some preamble to put things in context.
Since the story and the music are so closely related, Bryan suggested the idea of printing out a short synopsis of each chapter, so that everyone could follow along with the main ideas of each song, as the events happen. In the end this proved to be a great strategy for bringing people into the complicated world of these fictional characters and events.
With synopses handed out and beer in hand, I nervously pressed play and stood back.
The first few minutes were quite hard to bare, as it was challenging to glean what people's early impressions were. But soon people began commenting to one another, and to myself about specific melodies, rhythms, vocal lines and moods. So far it seemed positive, but we had a long journey ahead of us.
A long time friend and supporter of mine, Jud, had pulled me aside several times during the course of the album to tell me that "This is really good, man". Later he would confess, "I honestly expected another Empyreal Progeny, but this is completely differnet." He meant this in a good way, even though he is still a fan of the last album.
One of my fellow housemates turned to Eric during a particularly strange odd time signature passage in one song and asked with wide eyes, "how long did it take you to learn that?" Eric's answer was, of course, "a long time".
Eric and John's parts are especially easy to call attention to, due to their very up-front musicianship and technicality in many of the parts, but Bryan also got his fair share of positive comments, including several "air bass shredding" parodies by Josh Wombeck after hearing certain stand out bass lines and runs. I am quite biased, but the bass lines on this album are pretty damn cool, and Bryan deserves all the air bass parodies he can get for his drastically improved performance.
The end reaction from everyone who attended was beyond what I had expected. Vadim, a friend of John's who had been a bit critical of my previous work, surprised me most with his comments. This is a gentlemen who is a musician himself (like most of the people there) and listens to quite a lot of metal. With this in mind I expected him to comment on some of the heavier or more complex moments of the record but instead the first thing out of his mouth was how much he could feel the story and the characters in the music, and how much the emotion and the events came through in each song. And this was from a metal guy! Wonderful!
And so went the theme of the rest of the comments that night. People telling me how they felt sucked right into the world we had created and were taken on a journey through the emotions of the characters. I have to say this was the most amazing thing I could have heard, as creating a tangible emotive landscape that could convey a full story was my ultimate goal. It sincerely blew me away, and I'm truly thankful for everyone's overwhelming support and positive reactions.
Vadim added, honestly, "I didn't think you guys were capable of something like this."
Below are a few photos from the event taken by John's girlfriend Bailey.
Waiting for everyone's arrival
Bryan and John discussing something using "evil" gestures. Probably ponies.
Myself, my sister and others talk in a jovial manner (as people do).
Making my speech before the premier.
Listening commences.
Eric plays air guitar, or banjo, or ukulele, or bag pipe, or a pair of glasses. Who knows.
"How long did it take you to learn that?"
Bryan, Michael and John listening, because I made them.
Eric playing the air zipper part note for note.
Josh whispering sweet nothings into John's ears.
Josh talking about how "jazzy-fraz" Bryan's bass parts are.
Pleased with the results, and mostly inebriated (John that is).
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Profile updates (a right good spiffing)
Well looky here. Two updates in a day. It's like I actually do. . . things. . .
I went ahead and gussied-up our page a bit, since it had not been touched in a while. Obviously you see the new header photo, which was taken a while back, and some smaller updates to the way the page looks (nicer links to CdBaby.com, I know, not that interesting) and new blog color scheme.
Hopefully it looks a bit snazzier and more professional then before. But that's up to you.
Let me know what you think, comments or suggestions.
More interesting news later.
NIKO
I went ahead and gussied-up our page a bit, since it had not been touched in a while. Obviously you see the new header photo, which was taken a while back, and some smaller updates to the way the page looks (nicer links to CdBaby.com, I know, not that interesting) and new blog color scheme.
Hopefully it looks a bit snazzier and more professional then before. But that's up to you.
Let me know what you think, comments or suggestions.
More interesting news later.
NIKO
Monday, March 2, 2009
Finally fixed the broken songs on our profile
Hello friends,
I've finally re-uploaded the songs Divine Affinity and Endure to our main playlist, as I noticed they have been somehow non functioning for a while. My apologies for my laziness on getting that done.
MySpace somehow fucked them up, not sure how, but it's a shame since Divine Affinity had over 18,000 plays and Endure had 10,000. Not too shabby.
If you want to add one of those to your profile again, by all means. And thanks by the way!
Also, if you want another song from the last two albums uploaded, let me know, and if I get enough requests I'll put that up instead. Maybe New Light Of Ascendency? Spire? Raining Unlike Water?
Thats it for now. More news later.
NIKO
I've finally re-uploaded the songs Divine Affinity and Endure to our main playlist, as I noticed they have been somehow non functioning for a while. My apologies for my laziness on getting that done.
MySpace somehow fucked them up, not sure how, but it's a shame since Divine Affinity had over 18,000 plays and Endure had 10,000. Not too shabby.
If you want to add one of those to your profile again, by all means. And thanks by the way!
Also, if you want another song from the last two albums uploaded, let me know, and if I get enough requests I'll put that up instead. Maybe New Light Of Ascendency? Spire? Raining Unlike Water?
Thats it for now. More news later.
NIKO
Friday, January 2, 2009
ALL ALBUMS $5! SELLING ALL REMAINING MERCHANDISE!
In preparation for releasing a new album this year, I am selling through all the remaining stock of my two previous albums, "Empyreal Progeny", and "Sweet Painful Reality".
The prices for each album at CDBaby.com is now only $5 - thats a 50% discount my friends!
Why discount? As you've no doubt realized, we've changed the name for the project from 'Envy' to 'Envinity' for numerous reasons, and therefore I want to get rid of all of the merchandise that still uses our old name. Hence, $5 albums!
Remember: once we sell out, these versions will NEVER BE PRINTED AGAIN.
So, if you only have a few songs on your iPod, or you burned one of the records from a friend, please, take advantage of this sell-through and get yourself a shiny, physical album you can cuddle and make out with. Hell, maybe they could be worth something eventually.
Again. Once these are gone, they are GONE FOREVER!
To take advantage of this sell-though goto:
http://cdbaby.com/all/envinity
The prices for each album at CDBaby.com is now only $5 - thats a 50% discount my friends!
Why discount? As you've no doubt realized, we've changed the name for the project from 'Envy' to 'Envinity' for numerous reasons, and therefore I want to get rid of all of the merchandise that still uses our old name. Hence, $5 albums!
Remember: once we sell out, these versions will NEVER BE PRINTED AGAIN.
So, if you only have a few songs on your iPod, or you burned one of the records from a friend, please, take advantage of this sell-through and get yourself a shiny, physical album you can cuddle and make out with. Hell, maybe they could be worth something eventually.
Again. Once these are gone, they are GONE FOREVER!
To take advantage of this sell-though goto:
http://cdbaby.com/all/envinity
Friday, October 24, 2008
3rd album update: 1st pass mix
So, let's see. . . what's the good word. . .
(That's assuming the word is good).
Well me thinks it be time for another update.
For the three of you who have been following my little progress updates this year, you will know that I've been working on finally mixing the new album. You may be interested to know (meaning there is nothing better to read at the moment), that the first pass mix has been done for a few weeks now.
Exciting eh?!
(You don't care).
I see, well then.
All of my trusty (not dependable) musicians have been listening to the first version almost non stop, and I've "premiered" it to some family members as well.
All of the reactions to this record have been overwhelmingly positive so far, even though this album is quite a bit different from what I've done before. . . not that I want you to build up your expectations.
I really want to go into detail talking about the style and direction of this album, but it would be better for me to wait on that still. So I shall. Wait that is.
I've been taking an extended break from life after working so intensely on getting the album to this state for the last several months, but soon begins mix pass numero zwei.
One thing I wanted on this album was to bring in another set of ears to the mix phase as to get as much input and alternate impressions/ideas to make this record sound as good as possible. I've worked on this album for over four years and it would be stupid of me to rush the mix just to get it out there.
So, interestingly enough (and it's really interesting), I flew in Tommy Drinnen from Texas to help me on my mixing journey. You may know Tommy from Sweet Painful Reality when he was kind enough to play the guitars for me. Tommy has his own band, Urizen (www.urizenonline.com) who is quite popular in the Lone Star state.
Although we only worked for a few days, Tommy brought some great subtle changes and tweaks to what I had done so far, to make the mixes clearer and more defined, which is exactly what I wanted from him. Now I'm left to gather my strength for the second crack at mixing to fix the remaining issues, which is not fun in the slightest in case you were wondering.
So that's where I am at the moment. A few of you have asked me, "So when do I get to hear it", or, "do you have any change, man?". Well I can tell you that you are unlikely to hear or see anything until the new year. Yes, it's a ways away, but the important thing is that it is finally being realized. And to answer the other question, sorry man, I don't carry change anymore. . . not since. . . the crash. . . *begins sobbing*.
Well, I think that about does it. Feel free to email me every once in a while with comments or questions. Yes, I actually like knowing that there is support out there.
Take care,
NIKO
(That's assuming the word is good).
Well me thinks it be time for another update.
For the three of you who have been following my little progress updates this year, you will know that I've been working on finally mixing the new album. You may be interested to know (meaning there is nothing better to read at the moment), that the first pass mix has been done for a few weeks now.
Exciting eh?!
(You don't care).
I see, well then.
All of my trusty (not dependable) musicians have been listening to the first version almost non stop, and I've "premiered" it to some family members as well.
All of the reactions to this record have been overwhelmingly positive so far, even though this album is quite a bit different from what I've done before. . . not that I want you to build up your expectations.
I really want to go into detail talking about the style and direction of this album, but it would be better for me to wait on that still. So I shall. Wait that is.
I've been taking an extended break from life after working so intensely on getting the album to this state for the last several months, but soon begins mix pass numero zwei.
One thing I wanted on this album was to bring in another set of ears to the mix phase as to get as much input and alternate impressions/ideas to make this record sound as good as possible. I've worked on this album for over four years and it would be stupid of me to rush the mix just to get it out there.
So, interestingly enough (and it's really interesting), I flew in Tommy Drinnen from Texas to help me on my mixing journey. You may know Tommy from Sweet Painful Reality when he was kind enough to play the guitars for me. Tommy has his own band, Urizen (www.urizenonline.com) who is quite popular in the Lone Star state.
Although we only worked for a few days, Tommy brought some great subtle changes and tweaks to what I had done so far, to make the mixes clearer and more defined, which is exactly what I wanted from him. Now I'm left to gather my strength for the second crack at mixing to fix the remaining issues, which is not fun in the slightest in case you were wondering.
So that's where I am at the moment. A few of you have asked me, "So when do I get to hear it", or, "do you have any change, man?". Well I can tell you that you are unlikely to hear or see anything until the new year. Yes, it's a ways away, but the important thing is that it is finally being realized. And to answer the other question, sorry man, I don't carry change anymore. . . not since. . . the crash. . . *begins sobbing*.
Well, I think that about does it. Feel free to email me every once in a while with comments or questions. Yes, I actually like knowing that there is support out there.
Take care,
NIKO
Saturday, September 27, 2008
3rd album update: Here we are.
Well here we are, or rather, here I am.
I'm finally at the home stretch, after four long years. Yes, over four years of having a vision, a story, a musical direction that no one has been able to hear but me. Something that has pushed me out of my comfort zone, and challenged me to do things in a way I have not done them before. A musical vision that has pushed each of my musicians to their limit, only to demand even more from them.
It's almost surreal being at this stage now. For the longest time it seemed as if being this close to finally hearing something the way it's been in my mind would never come. In fact, all of my musicians thought the same. Oh ye of little faith.
With some relief, I can tell you that the vocals are all finished, which concludes any and all recording needed for this album.
I've been working almost constantly, prepping every song, sound, and tone across the journey. And it looks like I may begin mixing as early as . . . . today. I'm both apprehensive and excited. It's going to be a major undertaking and I'm predicting my brain hurting by the end.
The down side for you ladies and gentlemen, is that you still may not be able to hear the album for quite sometime. Even once it's finished, I have a lot of work to do to ensure that this album does not end up like the other two, due to my reluctance and apathy.
So with that I bid you farewell, and disappear into the magical realm of listening fatigue .
You'll hear from me again soon.
NIKO
I'm finally at the home stretch, after four long years. Yes, over four years of having a vision, a story, a musical direction that no one has been able to hear but me. Something that has pushed me out of my comfort zone, and challenged me to do things in a way I have not done them before. A musical vision that has pushed each of my musicians to their limit, only to demand even more from them.
It's almost surreal being at this stage now. For the longest time it seemed as if being this close to finally hearing something the way it's been in my mind would never come. In fact, all of my musicians thought the same. Oh ye of little faith.
With some relief, I can tell you that the vocals are all finished, which concludes any and all recording needed for this album.
I've been working almost constantly, prepping every song, sound, and tone across the journey. And it looks like I may begin mixing as early as . . . . today. I'm both apprehensive and excited. It's going to be a major undertaking and I'm predicting my brain hurting by the end.
The down side for you ladies and gentlemen, is that you still may not be able to hear the album for quite sometime. Even once it's finished, I have a lot of work to do to ensure that this album does not end up like the other two, due to my reluctance and apathy.
So with that I bid you farewell, and disappear into the magical realm of listening fatigue .
You'll hear from me again soon.
NIKO
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