I discovered that Avaendil had an artist page on Last.fm. Of course I immediately claimed it as mine (since it is), and decided to upload the tracks from Meditations. I uploaded the cover art also, but for some reason it didn't work. I'll try again later.
So now you have another option for listening to the music! Click on the link to go to my artist page. Then you can select the "Albums" tab (or the "Tracks" tab) on the left and listen to the full songs.
You can also "shout" about it!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Kind of quiet around here
I haven't posted in a while.
The download and listener statistics for Meditations are pretty impressive (to me at least...). As of today at 0835 CST on Jamendo there have been 8,517 "listens" and 773 downloads. (I think a "listen" is any time a single track plays, so if someone listened to the whole album online once there would be 9 listens.) Additionally, there have been 880 downloads (from 73 countries!) of the FLAC version torrent from mininova.org.
In total, the album has been downloaded over 1,600 times. I hope people have enjoyed it and shared it. My whole intent in creating Meditations was to provide the album for free, so it could help brighten the day of those who spend some time listening.
Since I published it, a client has paid me with some better orchestral samples than the ones I used on the album. I may go back and revisit a few of the tracks with the better samples...
In other news, I have been working on a new album but progress is slow. Life and work and other composing jobs have taken time away from the project. Look for updates, and perhaps a sneak peak of new pieces from time to time!
The download and listener statistics for Meditations are pretty impressive (to me at least...). As of today at 0835 CST on Jamendo there have been 8,517 "listens" and 773 downloads. (I think a "listen" is any time a single track plays, so if someone listened to the whole album online once there would be 9 listens.) Additionally, there have been 880 downloads (from 73 countries!) of the FLAC version torrent from mininova.org.
In total, the album has been downloaded over 1,600 times. I hope people have enjoyed it and shared it. My whole intent in creating Meditations was to provide the album for free, so it could help brighten the day of those who spend some time listening.
Since I published it, a client has paid me with some better orchestral samples than the ones I used on the album. I may go back and revisit a few of the tracks with the better samples...
In other news, I have been working on a new album but progress is slow. Life and work and other composing jobs have taken time away from the project. Look for updates, and perhaps a sneak peak of new pieces from time to time!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
"Meditations" FLAC version now available
A new, higher quality version of the album is now available! I have posted a FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) torrent on mininova and I'm seeding it as often as I can. So go download it, and seed it, and spread it around!
Why should you care about a FLAC version? If you prefer your music/audio to be at least CD quality, then this is for you. Other audio compression algorithms (mp3, aac, ogg vorbis) throw away audio data in order to make the files smaller. FLAC does not. The decoded FLAC file is identical to the original. In the case of Meditations, that means CD quality: 44.1 kHz, 16 bit. How do they do it? I don't exactly know, but the codec is free and open source. So if you're really interested, you could find out for yourself!
Why should you care about a FLAC version? If you prefer your music/audio to be at least CD quality, then this is for you. Other audio compression algorithms (mp3, aac, ogg vorbis) throw away audio data in order to make the files smaller. FLAC does not. The decoded FLAC file is identical to the original. In the case of Meditations, that means CD quality: 44.1 kHz, 16 bit. How do they do it? I don't exactly know, but the codec is free and open source. So if you're really interested, you could find out for yourself!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Meditations Track List and Notes
Perhaps those of you have heard the album have wondered about the the background of each song. (I like to read liner notes to learn more about what I listen to, also!) In this post I'll put up the notes (brief as they are) for each song on the album:
1. Introduction: This track was originally written to accompany a short video clip of my then-three-month-old son.
2. Reverie: A calm piano improvisation, that was later tweaked a bit to make it a little more coherent. Simple piano figures accompanied by a sustained synthesizer.
3. Farewell: Guitar and piano interlock with string and light percussion accompaniment. If you have ever said farewell to a loved one, perhaps this song feels similar.
4. Remembrances: Memories of happy times accompanied by a calming background of nature.
5. Anniversary: This was written for my spouse on the occasion of our 11th wedding anniversary.
6. In Motion: The oldest song on the album, this was written when my middle son was 3-4 years old, and is a reflection on his seemingly never-ending supply of energy.
7. Elegy: A thinly textured bittersweet reminder of the past, with a hint of optimism.
8. Homecoming: started as an improvisation, which I later cleaned up, and made more coherent. The joyful return of a loved one who has been gone a long time. Quiet joy.
9. Happily Ever After: Who knows what the future will bring? Perhaps the joyful mood of this song will help us face it with less trepidation.
Track listing:
01 Introduction 0:55
02 Reverie 3:06
03 Farewell 3:25
04 Remembrances 2:55
05 Anniversary 3:46
06 In Motion 4:28
07 Elegy 4:29
08 Homecoming 5:41
09 Happily Ever After 3:26
total duration 32:11
1. Introduction: This track was originally written to accompany a short video clip of my then-three-month-old son.
2. Reverie: A calm piano improvisation, that was later tweaked a bit to make it a little more coherent. Simple piano figures accompanied by a sustained synthesizer.
3. Farewell: Guitar and piano interlock with string and light percussion accompaniment. If you have ever said farewell to a loved one, perhaps this song feels similar.
4. Remembrances: Memories of happy times accompanied by a calming background of nature.
5. Anniversary: This was written for my spouse on the occasion of our 11th wedding anniversary.
6. In Motion: The oldest song on the album, this was written when my middle son was 3-4 years old, and is a reflection on his seemingly never-ending supply of energy.
7. Elegy: A thinly textured bittersweet reminder of the past, with a hint of optimism.
8. Homecoming: started as an improvisation, which I later cleaned up, and made more coherent. The joyful return of a loved one who has been gone a long time. Quiet joy.
9. Happily Ever After: Who knows what the future will bring? Perhaps the joyful mood of this song will help us face it with less trepidation.
Track listing:
01 Introduction 0:55
02 Reverie 3:06
03 Farewell 3:25
04 Remembrances 2:55
05 Anniversary 3:46
06 In Motion 4:28
07 Elegy 4:29
08 Homecoming 5:41
09 Happily Ever After 3:26
total duration 32:11
Monday, September 1, 2008
"Meditations" now officially released!
Jamendo has officially released the album "Meditations" now. It is available here.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Meditations License
Full official license text: 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
In short, I have chosen to distribute this album free of charge. That means you can stream and/or download it from Jamendo.com (see previous post), and distribute and make copies it as long as it remains free. You may not, however: 1. Make derivative works, or alter the original in any way; 2. Use the work for commercial purposes. If you would like to use part or all of the work in a non-commercial project (e.g. as the sountrack to a film, or as background music on your website, etc.), I must be attributed as the author.
If you would like to use part or all of the work in a commercial project you must contact me first, and we will negotiate the terms of use.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
In short, I have chosen to distribute this album free of charge. That means you can stream and/or download it from Jamendo.com (see previous post), and distribute and make copies it as long as it remains free. You may not, however: 1. Make derivative works, or alter the original in any way; 2. Use the work for commercial purposes. If you would like to use part or all of the work in a non-commercial project (e.g. as the sountrack to a film, or as background music on your website, etc.), I must be attributed as the author.
If you would like to use part or all of the work in a commercial project you must contact me first, and we will negotiate the terms of use.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Release of "Meditations"
The album "Meditations" is going to be released on Jamendo.com. Nine tracks of relaxing, stress-free listening. Check it out! 
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
