Inner Light Spectrum

so it’s been almost 3 months since I’ve made an update here. The summer has come and gone. We had great weather here in Montreal.

I’ve managed to enjoy it as much as I can. Biking, jogging, walking. Enjoying the BBq, and hanging out on the back porch, family, friends, beers, etc. Some serious landscaping, and of course some busy times in the studio.

WLove album is all but finished, meeting up one last time for mix touch ups.

The Sevens The Alain Caron Sessions album I started at the beginning of June has com along nicely. I managed to write 5 or 6 original pieces of music and incorporated his material in it. A hybrid of his work and my work. And I managed to remix 3 or 4 tracks of his. Overall I’m really happy how it’s turned out. Considering the handful of nights I had to squeeze in here and there, along with all my other obligations, to get it done.

There are some cool tracks on this record. With the limited setup I have going at the moment (Cubase, Reason & some vst plugins). It’s forced me to step out of my routine, keep things simple. I didn’t layer things to much, kept the arrangements sparse, let the music breathe. My main objective, was to keep things vibey, and chill. I think I’ve achieved what I set out to do.

Have a week left to add some vocals and then mixing and deliver it.

good times…

There is something to be said for work flow. Last night was both good fun and frustrating at the same time. It’s been a while since I’ve sat down just to write some music. Easily over a year at this point. That’s enough time to develop some serious rust issues, and to top it off I’ve upgraded my main writing/producing computer. Haven’t had enough down time between projects to get all my software & libraries installed and organized etc. So it’s a little challenging at the moment to get my writing groove and work flow happening again. It’s a challenge & I like challenges. I’ve been wanting to change up the way I work when I write for a while now, just to spice things up a little bit. A new method of writing as well as a different perspective i figure will give me some new fresh ideas. Remains to be seen I guess… I even have some new ideas for the next Inner Light Spectrum album on the old pc that uses specific software, plug ins, and settings. Oh well tis the era in which we live in. I have to admit I love the flexibility of the new ways of working with the pc, ex automation, editing, processing, and probably best of all total recall of your songs and sessions etc.

Last night a few attempts were made at writing with some of Alain Caron’s materials. Becoming more familiar with the material I have at hand. Seriously it’s a gold mine of insane jazz players and performances. Sax, trumpet, piano, keyboard and last but not least bass solo’s. The challenge right now is to incorporate all that into some cool grooves and tunes, and still like them. My biggest problem right now is myself and my mind getting in the way. An hour into an idea that seemed so cool, leaves me feeling confused and annoyed. I need to simplify things as much as possible. Sometimes you have to go really far to realize where you needed to be all along.

me out…

Just wanted to give Electric Bliss Podcast a big shout out! They’ve supported Inner Light Spectrum at least 4 or 5 times in their podcast. Big Ups to them!

Check out Afternoon in the Park on Electric Bliss Podcast Episode 44

peace…

Inner Light Spectrum – Afternoon in the Park (Orbiting Dream) Ft Dan Prudian by Inner Light Spectrum

Took this photo yesterday while chilling in the Park. It fits perfectly I think with my song Afternoon in the Park below. Really brings out the Inner Light

A few nights ago, my awesome wife surprised me with tickets to the latest Cirque du Soleil show, Totem. I was a huge Cirque fan, went to all the shows, bought all the music CD’s. A few years back, I’d lost touch with the Cirque. I was pleasantly surprised by Totem. The show was what we’ve come to expect from the Cirque. This time around the difference (at least for myself) was Robert Lepage’s absolutely magic touch. At times mythical, spiritual, scientific, even some quantum science. I really enjoyed the wink to Darwin’s theory of evolution. From the start you’re really taken for a ride, seamless weaving of legends, myths, cultures, and ideologies. It demonstrates our uniqueness & connectivity to our planet. A visual treat. Costumes and colors are vibrant, and original. The guys with the Tony the Tiger shirts… I don’t know…

The Music.

The amazing thing about the music in Totem & The Cirque in general is the way they blend so many different styles. Way to many to remember, but here is a try. Native American, flutes, drums & chants, oriental themes, some didgeridoo, mix in some ambient electronica, to flamenco, even some bollywood. All flawlessy mixed together. I also really dug the surround sound aspect during the show, not over done, but used at just the right moments.

Do yourself or someone (as in my case) a favor go see the show.

Thanks to Needlelies for this video.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be – Douglas Adams

Inner Light Spectrum Links

Pink Floyd are The Kings (according to me) I absolutely love them and always have. Notably Pink Floyd’s Keep Talking for a special reason. Released in 1994, it was the groups 3 #1 hit on Billboards Album Rock Tracks Chart. Surprising for such an influential band. Then again Billboard measure radio play and not album sales. I mean they sell out stadiums. Also this songs has the famous Stephen Hawking sample talking throughout

This is one of those songs that I had such an amazing experience with when I played in a band. At the time we played Progressive Rock and i think we were all afraid to play this song at first because it was slow, and slow songs are the toughest to pull off. The 1st time we played it, we were amazed at how much fun it was and how it came together. Fun Times.

David Gilmour is definitely my biggest influence, but for little me Pink Floyd was never about the individuals as much as the songs, vibe, and ideals. I remember hearing Pink Floyd as early as childhood, the baby sitters son was always playing those records. Pink Floyd is probably the single reason why I write Ambient Chillout music today.

Hope you enjoy! and Keep Talking!

Hey, great news  we have a new supporter.  Inner light Spectrum has just been added to the Astreaux World playlist.
Astreaux World has been up and running since 1999, and is a great resource for discovering Ambient artists.

Be sure to check them out and help support Indie Artists like yours truly and this great station.

Astreaux on Twitter

Astreaux on Podbean

I know I was a little upset with HMV in my last post, but I decided to go check it out anyway.  Sonia, Andie and I went downtown to checkout  the Mega store.  Apparently an employee of the Electronica section dug the CD enough to order or more copies, and offered a free listening post. Cool !!!

My brother called me last Saturday, he was at a HMV store to purchase my cd (thanks for the support!).  Happy to see that they had my CD on the shelf.  Great !, but at $21.99.  I was shocked, no one in their right mind would by a CD these days for $21.99. I mean c’mon when will these people wake up!?  Then they bitch that Cd’s aren’t selling anymore.  I personally think Cd’s should be no more that $10 to $12 tops.  With the exception of double cd’s and imports.  I quickly emailed my displeasure to the distributor who investigated and fixed the scenario, among other things HMV hadn’t done.   So if you go to the HMV Mega store Downtown Montreal, you should find it at a reasonable $15.99.  But who knows for how long. Apparently the other stores will still be $21.99 Go Figure. Or just go to Archambault as they have it for $14.99.

On another good note, anyone outside of Quebec can order a copy through Amazon.ca They have it for 15.99, and I’ve always had excellent servie from amazon over the years.

That’s it for now, thanks to all who have already purchased the CD,  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did making it.

Peace