blog report: back in action once again

well dang, it's been a wild weekend. football and walking in boston in chilling temperatures and music. at the current moment (12:13 AM EST 1/24/2012) here's how Confessions After Dark stands right now:

*Impulsive is getting close. Some tweaking here and there needs to be done to get to a certain level it needs to be.
*Critical is DONE. it's perfect right now.
*Same for The Wild and House of Illusions (Deception's Afoot)
*Silencia is now Fatal Ambiance. Close to done as well.

*Sketching out the lyrics right now with timecodes so I know when to start, stop, break, change, everything. Details city chick, det-details city.

*Planning possible people to collab with for this. Maybe 1 or 2, but I'm feeling 1 collab will be appropriate.

Onto the other two EPs, which are part of a trilogy now (the Imperfect Trilogy):

*Revised Feels Like. Again.
*Everything else remains static.

*Unplugged EP is being re-written to better suit the trilogy. Once it started as a story about a breakup, now it's the penultimate chapter of the story I'm trying to tell.

On the Nightmare front:
*Project Nightmare 365 is under work right now.
*Planning the next game-related Project Nightmare release. It may be Metroid (complete with Jazztroid 2: Return of The Groove Hunter) or it may be Zelda. Or it may be Sonic.

Finally the other projects:
*SWEETDICULOUS has a huge project up-coming that ties into something else.

*And I'm getting a band together....wait, did I just say that?

-mc larny

7 Years Doing This: Observations

1.  Genres are stupid: I remember starting out trying to play in the rules of hip-hop. Kept on doing that for years, then after so much of living in the same 16 bars-hook-16 bars-hook-16 bars-hook-end structure, it got boring. I got bored. And that's something that never should happen with music, you get bored with what you do. It's tragic. 
2. Lower Your Expectations: When it comes to being famous, slap yourself if you think you'll be the next big thing. Instead, be realistic and you'll surprise yourself. It's always the ones who don't expect fame that get it in the end.
3. Please, get off your knees: If you're that desperate for fame, that you have to "assume the position" to get somewhere, it may be time to reassess a few things. Specifically, if you have pride to achieve your goals and not succumb to desperation.
4. Study Business: Great musicians also have great business sense. Not Gene Simmons style (sue-everyone-and-act-like-a-mizer) but a reasonable, in tune with the audience, sense. Don't give everything away, set a floor and stay with it.
5. Be Your Own Artist: You don't need to remix every hot single, appear on every mixtape, collab on everything. Stand on your own two.
6. Don't Fake It: Lana Del Rey is example of why you need to be great live and in the booth. Bad live shows can KILL your career. Ashlee Simpson....nuff said.
7. Respect: Make some friends, but do help them too, because surprise surprise...they may help you when you need it, only because you helped them first.
8. Be Original: Cookie-cutter musicians die out fast. Don't believe me, then look at any artist who came up doing the same style of the top act in '93, '99, '03, '06 and so on so forth. The original people last longer and while they will go unrecognized for years...they get the fame and adoration that lasts.
   
   That's all I got. It's not a set of rules, rather, a few guidelines.
   

Project Nightmare Post-Mortem: What It Looks Like Now

Man.

That was a fun, long, exhaustive process there. 3-4 months of work and it paid off with a great new Project Nightmare installment.

So yeah, with that done, it's time to look forward. Obviously, I'm considering Nightmare V and this time around, the gameplan is a 1 year development schedule. More elaborate, but not a reason for excess. We'll see how it goes.

Also, there's a good chance alternate versions of Nightmare IV arise. Good chance, but it may or may not happen. Here's hoping it does.

So now, we turn the attention to Confessions After Dark. The first of 3 in a trilogy, yes, we are doing an EP trilogy, because they all have a common thread that they all deviate from. One of them is aggressive, the other is  brooding, the other is reflective. Take that to mean what you like. Impulsive will drop by mid-February, with the follow-up single 2 weeks later. And then...the full EP some time after.

That's my goal. Let's see what happens.

-mc larny

the winds of change

Wow.

I'm stunned. The news broke last night and I still can't believe it. Things are going to change, as I'm now the new member of SWEETDICULOUS.

Yeah, this is very exciting and I am very hyped up for this. Dan's been the one guy who's helped MC Larny re-emerge from years of inactivity to being a guy people notice. Figures that I'm now returning the favor.

When he asked to work with me, I didn't think twice, this was an automatic yes. Even though I have a small clue towards the role this entails, I know that I'm behind the sound this time around, and I'm knowing full well I'm going to have a fun time working with the guy who's become my musical brother.

Now, this does leaves a lot of questions. Specifically, what's the fate of MC Larny, the collab project with Mojo Kick, and a few other things?

To be brutally honest, I want MC Larny to live on and this is the best chance to do this. Not only do I make music in a new capacity, but it totally opens up MC Larny to a new audience. It's a win-win scenario.

Also, I'm going to do all that I can to keep MC Larny and all that goes with it alive and well, as hard as I can. So expect to hear/see the MC Larny/Mojo Kick collab project in a few. We're working out a few kinks here and there, but it's potentially on the way. Def stay tuned for that.

I'm ready for perhaps the craziest phase of my career. And I hope that if you read this, YOU BETTER BE THERE FOR THE FIRST SHOW! I want to see people from nearly every phase of my life in the audience for this...I'm dead serious too.

So brace yourself, MC Larny is going to get Sweet-flipping-diculous.


-MC Larny

And Here We Are...

Things are getting wild. Very. And I could not be happier. Big collab projects with friends, a possible new twist in my music career, and other things.

Be aware, it's time to get wild.

-mc larny

PS. Nightmare IV is almost ready to roll. And the untitled stop-gap EP is too.

Nightmare X: postmortem

What a long, strange, almost forgotten trip it has been.

For those who aren't in the know, it's Project Nightmare X I'm speaking of.




Sunday night, it was completed. After 4-5 months of sessions, mixing, busted laptop, and gradual leaking of the project via bandcamp.com, it was done.

Now with that, here's a little running commentary track-by-track, so refer to the player atop and follow along (sorry facebook viewers).

Dr. Light's Warning: The lead-off track for this whole project, I remember composing before the announcement dropped that Nightmare X was out. Right with the write-up, it was being tweaked on FL Studio. Then, it was done, after a quickie tweak mix session.

Abandoned Highway: In a nod to Mega Man's NES roots, the opening was done with mostly NES/Game Boy soundfonts, then for the second part, the other instruments came roaring in to emphasize how this was indeed a new Mega Man.

Zero's Theme: This one was unique, because instead of going all guitar and bass and heavy,  took it more of a Asian/Jazz fusion route. Very different, and that was what I was trying to do, make it different from everything else, you know?

Short Circuit Breakdown: Ouch. This was rough to mix because the synths and guitars didn't like each other in terms of mixing, and the drums were either too soft or too loud. A compromised was reached and it worked out. I would hope so.

The glitch breaks were a fun thing to add. I love glitch, and the glitch drum breakdown was so rewarding. It just worked perfectly.

Ice Planet: This track right here...I liked it, but it's a decent attempt at emulating Mega Man X's Chill Penguin stage. Notice the end, the nod to Blizzard Buffalo? There's a lot of nods towards the other tracks of the series.

Sting Chameleon: In the vein of the Zero theme, I took it to a more chilled, more unplugged, more Asian feeling with a mix of acoustic guitar. A left turn from the bound-to-be-expected guitar heavy tracks on here.

Jazzy Kuranger: Now THIS was where this whole project clicked. But here's some background for you:

2 years ago, I saw this version of the theme.

Dope, isn't it? So 2 years later, I gave it a try, only throwing in my hip-hop teachings and crafting a crazy re-imagining of a great BGM.

Funky Flame Mammoth: This one turned out fine, a mix of NES and funk organs and live guitars lead to this. I enjoyed it, but in looking back, I would believe there's more that can be done with this theme.

Rolling Base Drops: I tried dubstep...? Yes. Feel like I'm adding to the problem but whatever. Enjoy the experiment.

Submerged: Hard with the bassline, heavy with the drums, great turnout, and listen for the X2 nod near the end. Guess what track I borrowed from?

Airspace Rock: Face it, you HAVE to rock hard with Storm Eagle, it's a federal offense if you don't. And seeing as how much I dislike felonies...I did, just not off the bat.

Boss Battle: The one theme I went all out with. I held nothing back and executed every idea I could muster. Bassline and xylaphones? Check. Halftime drums? Check. Guitar chugging? Check PLUS!

Sigma Stage I: Personal favorite track of the entire project, because it was the rare moment where my crazy ideas paid off and in grand fashion! You can see things begin to loosen up here and there and the freedom begin to shine through.

Sigma Stage II: Very jazzy. That's been me as of late, jazzing it out with my remixes. I just play off vibes and make music like that. Fun fun fun.

Sigma Stage III: One more full on reinvention. Totally different structure basis and a more ambient, film vibe, that may remind you of the soundtrack from Dirty Harry. Or at least, that was my reaction....

Sigma Stage IV: Revisiting a similar theme I did on Nightmare 2.0 only longer. This time, short and to the point, quick build, quick exit.

Sigma Boss Battle: 3 into 1. Barely got it to work but I did.

Ending/closing: the end of it all, and at this point I was tired. Really tired, and so this was lacking a sense of innovation, but the closing of the entire project in summary was so important to me. So it was a combination of two themes into one and it worked as a nice calm down from it all.

Final thoughts: Project Nightmare X was made to take a peek back into my childhood and this game. I believe that it was successful and worked out really well. I'd love to tackle X2....in the future, not now, too much to do man :)

Thanks for reading, we'll be back in effect for Nightmare IV.

-mc larny

Musical Manifesto

For about 2 years now, I've been in a phase of sonic experimentation, a phase that has been one of the more eye-opening experiences in my career.

Since I started making music, I've been in this bubble of what music should sound like, trying to stay within the right "genre". As I've met more and more people, been involved in more and more projects, and heard more and more songs, I realized something about 1 year ago.

The entire notion of musical genres is stupid. It's stupid to believe that one artist cannot expand their barriers to encompass multiple genres and do it right. It's stupid to close yourself to one genre in an attempt to galvanize fans into saying "i'll never sell out". it's stupid to allow conventions to kill ideas that you come up with.

I learned this when over the past year, I met so many different musicians and saw an abundance of styles that I felt as if, being closed off to genres that are outside the "hip-hop" comfort zone no longer works.

I personally, want to work outside of the genre I'm in, I want to make music with the rockers,  the indie acoustic people, anyone.

In a way, I'm still a hip-hop artist, and I always will be, I won't ever become something I'm not (a straight singer, per se), but when it comes to music I make, anything's fair game, genre wise.

I feel as if the way hip-hop is no longer as awesome as it once was is because it's become the same cycle of MCs, producers, DJs that work in the industry that innovation no longer exists. Collab verse by Drake, hook by Skylar Grey, beat by Alex da Kid, cut, copy, print.

[bleep] that!

For me, I'm always wanting to work with the people that I admire, the friends who I know will go just as hard as I will in regards to music.

So with that said, get ready. It's time to get with the outside world.

-mc larny