The Game Change

Today began my first semester as a music composition major at Columbia. I decided to go into music instead of sound for a number of reasons. I think it was mainly because it made the most sense to pursue my plan A rather than my plan B. My passion in life, of course, is to make music. Fooling myself into thinking I ought to do anything else is really just a distraction at best.

When I hear well composed, intricate music… I become incredibly jealous and envious of whoever it was that composed it. Having spent a great deal of my younger years idolizing Danny Elfman and being convinced that, at the time, it wasn’t music if it wasn’t Oingo Boingo, works of art in music have always dominated my outlook and my expectations. I’m sure you might find that kind of funny, considering I’ve mostly made simplistic rock-electronic music and the occasional experimental field-recording tracks.

I’m curious to see how I’ll hold up this semester… to see if I’ll really stick with it. Whether or not I’ll decide that “it isn’t for me” based solely on the fact that I will likely become rather frustrated with all of it rather quickly. Regardless, I’d like to see how it goes and, most importantly, how it affects the music I make in the future.

I really felt like going into sound wasn’t the best idea. While it was fascinating to consider all of the possibilities, it wasn’t going to secure the idea that I would be more suited to create music instead of just producing it… or just audio for that matter.

We’ll see how it goes.

In the meantime, I figured it was about time for an update as to how the live aspect of things is going and what measures have been taken recently to take some steps forward in changing the way it’s all done.

A few months ago I compulsively picked up an Akai APC40. I read about it on accident in a newsletter email I received from Ableton. After having watched a video of someone using it… I knew I had to get it. Just a few days later, I took it out of the box and started using Ableton. Until now, I had understood why Ableton was such a great program, but it didn’t seem like it was for me at the time. Now that I have it, it’s completely changed the way that the live show will be performed.

After a few weeks of having it, Braydon got to see me use it. He initially felt threatened that it was somehow going to replace him, but of course this isn’t the case. Within a few weeks, maybe a month, I had convinced him to get one as well as a PC. He did so without hesitation, and now we both have APC40′s.

The live set is no longer going to consist of me sending Braydon some finished tracks based off of a setlist… covering one track at a time. Instead, it’s going to be a massive amalgamation of distinct elements of different tracks spanned over a long set… consisting of external samples, breaks, extra sequences and synth lines either created specifically for the live set or from unfinished tracks that simply collect dust in my disturbingly expansive projects folder which is made up primarily of these unfinished pieces.

The live internet show I had done on Rathole Radio was exclusively on the APC40, sitting in Dan’s apartment with the console on my lap and my computer sitting in front of me on a chair. While I’m still pretty new to the application, Ableton has proven to be the most powerful DAW I’ve ever used, seamlessly integrating every piece of composition software I have into a giant and convenient arsenal instead of hopping from one application to the other, piecing things together that were composed usually knowing only the key and tempo the current project was at. I’m still figuring things out as far as how to use it… but I know that it’s going to be the main program I use for music making from here on out, and the APC will be the console that I use to control it for both producing and playing live. It also makes things very nice for using Reason with Ableton in a live setting… since I can use Reason as a single audio track in Ableton, I can make little corrections between that and the samples and tracks I’m using in the program, not to mention that it’ll be processed live by the various VST plugins I’m using. Needless to say, this has completely changed the game for good… and obviously for the better.

This also opens a lot of doors for our side project, “The Dad Machine”, which is a Steinski and Double Dee-esque break-fest (not breakfast) with absurd numbers of layers and percussive elements, both sampled and composed… I’m trying to convince Braydon that we should record a live set of The Dad Machine and post it here on the site.

This Saturday we have a show with a band we’re friends with called “Bad With Names”, a funk/reggae group from our home town. We’re playing a well known but rather small bar on the north end of town called O’Neill’s Pub that I’ve seen all of the other local bands play at. I’ve always wanted to play there just out of principal, since we’re the only ones who have yet to legitimately play there. Since Braydon is so new to the APC40, I wanted a really sincere reason for him to get attached to it and dive into it head first. I told him that the set was up to him, to record his breaks from his records through Serato and begin taking bits and pieces of his never-ending collection of funk, boogie, hip-hop and disco tracks and compile it into one cohesive format. I’ve been putting together a set myself to play along with him of additional breaks, not to mention composing huge drum patterns to drop over what he’s doing. In order to keep it simple, I decided that this set would be done exclusively on the APC’s so Braydon could really feel comfortable with it not only in preparing for but also playing a live set. I’m going to do my best to ensure that the set is recorded… Also, I’ll be playing keys and samples/beats with the band… it should be interesting!

The following weekend we have a show at Reggie’s Rock Club again in Chicago, opening for The Glide (who do kick ass, bt the way) at their upcoming CD release show… which I have recently completed a rather epic remix of… I had much more time to work on theirs than Aktar Aktar‘s, so hopefully this brings the fire as much as the other remix did (if not more). We’ll be dropping both remixes, as well as a few other tracks (all complete and seamlessly) from the APC’s. Joining us on stage will be Whitney Millikan, the girl who played drums on that live jam track I uploaded several months ago. This is easily the most preparing I’ve ever done for one show, considering I worked for a few months on this remix, bought the APC40, convinced Braydon to do the same, and engineering the set so that we could fit Whitney in without much trouble. Again, I have every intent on having this recorded as well.

All in all, things are going really well. School should be interesting and music has been absolutely flying… so fast that I’m not sure what to do with it. After these two shows, It’ll be back to the lab to work on an EP to release on rec72 which will feature a new style… I don’t want to go into much detail since I’d like it to be somewhat of a surprise (even though I just told you that I was making it).

Well, it’s almost 2:00am… I’ve got class at 11:00. I should get going. Thanks for reading, and I’ll keep you folks updated on the recordings of these next shows.

I can’t believe I’m doing any of this.

Also, be sure to check out my newest track on the Rec72/Audiovisual Theorem compilation “Of Men And Machines”, of course free for download under the CC license.

Alright, that’s all you get for now. Goodnight, world.

Creative Commons

I know I haven’t made a post in a while… there’s actually a lot that’s happened since my last, but I’ll save that for next post.

I’m sitting here on the train out to Bartlett, IL to practice with a dear friend, Whitney, who will be playing with Braydon and I at our next big show opening for The Glide at Reggie’s Rock Club… It’s an hour long train-ride so I usually get some time to think. And I’m thinking about Creative Commons.

My dream, for as long as I can remember, was to become engulfed in a music career, to get signed to a label and sell records… to work with other artists in a huge, never-ending world of creativity, of newcomers and legendary masters alike. I thought that’s what the record industry held for someone like me, or for so many others. However, as time has gone on, there is a harsh, brutish reality that I have to face: that none of this is true. The record industry has and always will be one thing: an industry. Whether it’s blossoming or failing, it’s always an industry. Industries are made up of businesses whose primary goal and function is to generate profit. Suddenly this world of creativity is cruelly narrowed down to a bottom line and I can’t tell you how frustrating and horrifying this was to me and for so long…

But then I found out about Creative Commons.

It fits the perfect description of everything I hoped the record industry was: a huge, vast, and never-ending world of creativity, full of people just like me – people who invested themselves in their art for arts’ sake. I’m sure there are many artists out there who can indentify when I say we do what we do not because we feel like it’s going to get us any closer to anything… not because we want to be “famous” or on a label and become rich or end up on MTV Cribs… but we do what we do because we have to. Because we just have no other choice, because there is a completely unique peace of mind that comes with the trial and error, the tireless effort, the rigorous practice and wild, untamed lust for perfection of your art – and for no one’s satisfaction but your own.

I feel like that’s what Creative Commons is all about, and after having made an agonizing but eye-opening reappraisal of what to do with this passion, I feel irrevocably lucky to be alive in this time, even though I sometimes feel like it isn’t the right place.

Long live Creative Commons.

Live Internet Show on August 23rd

Thanks to some collaborative effort with Dan Lynch of Rathole Radio, Professor Kliq will be playing a live broadcast immediately
following Rathole Radio on August 23rd, 2009. Rathole Radio will begin at 8PM UTC (1PM US-Pacific, 3PM US-Central, 9PM UK), and Professor Kliq is expected to start around 9PM UTC.

You can tune in to Rathole Radio live at http://www.ratholeradio.org/live

Tune into the live video feed at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/professor-kliq,
or listen to the high quality audio feed available thanks to Rathole Radio. (alternative high quality audio feed formats available at http://www.ratholeradio.org/live

This is probably a little redundant…

…and stupid. But if you’ve got Facebook, become a fan of Professor Kliq? I mean. I dunno. It’s fun. So please. I’ll love you, not that I don’t already.

The Reappraisal

Perhaps it’s a tad obvious, but sometimes it seems like an agonizing step back to look at the big picture is in order. Sometimes something will catalyze it, sometimes it will just boil over and catch up… such has been the last few weeks. However, with a new look comes a new walk.

So here’s the deal. To deliberately stay true to CC and to play by its (and everyone else’s) rules, I’m going to make a CC-exclusive compilation of all my clean tracks (that is, tracks that have no traceable samples). There are plenty, some of which had to be slightly retouched. There will also be an unreleased “Guns Blazin” b-side attached to it as well as new album artwork and a whole new delivery. I’ll start from scratch with all of the original mastered tracks and then mix them in a cohesive, digestable fashion to make it so that the album can be listened to front to back in a story-telling manner like “Scientific Method, Vol.2″.

Otherwise, things are going well, albeit a tad stressful. Still working on that Glide remix and also started a new track. My buddy Patrick hooked us up with a gig playing at Kingpin in West Chicago on August 1st at 7pm. $7.00 at the door, 21+… if only this were in the city! It’s a great club, though. It should be good, we just need a lot of people to come.

We’ll be perfecting the set, dropping some new stuff and in new ways. Come check it out if you… live… in the area.

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It Finally Caught Up

To anyone looking at this who was curious as to why all of my work is down from Jamendo, here’s why:

You all know that I use samples… I don’t really try to hide it. It’s not as shameless as a lot of hip-hop artists can be today, but they’re still there – about as shameless as Fatboy Slim, The Dust Brothers, Beck, any one of my heroes. This music wasn’t made with the idea that it was going to be sold or put on a mass market. However, that seems to have changed. I’m going to have to start being very careful now, especially with the success I’ve garnered from Jamendo, the success that Jamendo has garnered for itself, and how quickly things can happen over the internet these days. The full albums will be made available through other sources and not under the CC license. I’ll be putting together a compilation of “clean” tracks, that is, without obvious samples, and then put it back up on Jamendo with a description explaining why this happened.

Patrick Haour from Jamendo brought it to my attention today, and while it was a tad upsetting at first, I’d much rather hear it from him than someone at a massive label or a lawyer.

So don’t panic. Everything should be alright. I’ll keep you folks updated. Thanks again for the all the support.

Summer Begins

A lot has happened since my last desperate post. I do appreciate the support from all of you folks, I was surprised at how many comments I got. All very kind and thoughtful words, and it did make me feel better. It’s easy to lose sight when you’re so heavily embedded in it. For those who were interested, school turned out just fine. Let’s be shameful about it!

College Algebra: C

Intro To Audio: B -

Production I: B+ (Are you fucking kidding me!? I destroyed that class…)

Arabic I: B+ (Are you fucking kidding me!? I failed every test…)

So there are my grades. Funny how that worked out! I’m really glad it went as well as it did considering how truly rocky it was in the midst of all of it. Now that summer is here, there’s going to be some shows but hopefully working on more tracks. I’m in the process of working on a remix for one of the bands from my home town called “The Glide”. I’ll post that once I’m finished with it… the song itself, “Ashes”, has a pretty profound meaning to Darius the lead singer… and if it means what I think it does, it’s profound to me as well.

Since my last post I had a trip to Las Vegas with my new girlfriend and her friends. Holy crap that was a blast. I won’t go too much into that, but I’ll just say I wish I was still there and with the same people.

So anyway. If you look me up on Vimeo.com you’ll find a lot of what I’ve been used in lately. I was astonished to find all of it today… sometimes I’ll search for myself to get an indication as to the traffic I see (as that’s really the payment when you’re a CC artist) and I was pleasently surprised. You’ll also find a fantastic music video done by Harald Walker of one of the deeper album cuts off “The Scientific Method: Vol. 2″ called “Trip Home”.

Oh yeah. Here it is.

Professor Kliq – Trip Home from Harald Walker on Vimeo.

This might be the best video so far, but Bruno’s work on “Dream Sequence” still blows me away.

Let me take a moment to tell you how incredibly honored I am that anyone puts in the time and energy into making videos of these tracks:

I am incredibly honored that anyone puts in the time and energy into make videos for these tracks. There. It’s been said. I never thought in a million years that I would ever make it even this far or that anyone would value what I do enough to inspire them. Having been connected with the world the way I have over the last year, thanks to my manager Dan Costalis, I’ve gotten results and made connections that will permanently affect the outcome of my pursuit to… well… “make it”. That anyone even reads this blog just melts my heart completely, and I thank you personally as you read this.

Playing shows has been good too. We’ve played… man… since that Reggie’s post? Braydon and I have done 4 shows… Oasis Cafe (total joke), The Cobra Lounge, Rednofive, and North Beach back home. The last three went really well. Rednofive was a result of playing at Reggie’s. The right guy happened to be there at the right time and we got to play for Hairborn Fashion’s Hair Wars victory party. Dave Ragona, thank you. Great fuckin’ guy. We then opened for The Glide at Cobra Lounge, Fantastic Mammals at Oasis Cafe and Bad With Names at North Beach. All great bands, all great guys. We’ve been pretty lucky with the groups we’ve been playing with.

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Anyway, I’ll cut this off here I suppose. Things are going pretty well for now… licensing deals left and right and yet ANOTHER music video on it’s way from France… I’m not sure how long it will take, but hopefully French Guy Lucas will hook it up. I’ll keep you folks updated, but I’ll tell you now it’s for “Plastic & Flashing Lights” and it looks and sounds like it’s going to be absolutely bad ass.

Thanks for reading. All of you out there are a huge reason as to why I stick to what I do in here.

Reggie’s

Well, while I don’t have many photos to show of that… show… I’ll at least tell the story.

We played between bands for some local groups in the area, particularly Aktar Aktar, good buddies and a very fine band. I had been working a remix of one of their tracks for a solid month between our Elbow Room show and Reggie’s.

Aktar Aktar – Lost In Transit (Professor Kliq Remix)

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That seemed to go over well, but the overall rhythm of how we were injected into the show was very abrupt and unnatural. We’re a band. Plain and simple. Braydon and I don’t just “spin” from one track to the next… if you watch any of the available YouTube videos of the Elbow Room show, you’ll see what I mean.

Braydon and I learned an awful lot that night. Some things didn’t go as well as they could have, but I still feel pretty confident about how we did if from no other indication than how we were received by the crowd.

I’m writing this post from a hospital bed. That’s a whole nother story I’ll probably elaborate on later today. In the meantime, check out Aktar Aktar’s myspace page and listen to that remix. I’ll have some more stuff for you guys later on. Thanks for readin’ and stay up.

Thanks to PDC Photography for the GQ Shots!

Things happen. Again.

So, a few little bits and pieces of news…

Not too often do I act on this, but what the hell: You can find one of my tracks on a compilation that’s being put out from Cologne, Germany. Boy, they really eat it up over there. Fantastic.

Check this shit out.

Also, Bruno Vellutini finished the video he’s been working on of “Dream Sequence” off the last album. He’s a marine biologist studying for his PhD… just to give you an idea what the video is.

Dream Sequence / NeLaS & Professor Kliq from rec72 on Vimeo.

THANKS BRUNO! THANKS MARCO!

Mint Royale – Dancehall Places

Recently ordered from Taiwan, I picked up a copy of Mint Royale’s “Dancehall Places”, the follow-up to their amazing first record “On The Ropes”. This motherfucker is packed with some seriously heavy disco shit, as well as some slow jams for the ladies. This isn’t a music review blog, I’m aware, but just know that I’m recommending this because I can’t stop listening to it myself. Good luck pirating it, nobody has it or gives a shit (at least I think), so do us all a favor and just buy the motherfucker! Trust me, it’s worth it.

I managed to pick up the Japanese import of the album, so there are a couple of awesome b-sides. Check out “Floor Basics”, “54″, “I Don’t Know”, or “Sexiest Man In Jamaica”.

All mad heaters.

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