iTunes and You

I hope there is an "iTunes and you". Otherwise, I'm wasting my time. A great challenge has been presented to me: getting my music into the iTunes Store.

While I still remain adversely stated in the vein of turning expression into profit... I feel more and more defeated with each ounce of strength spent on stocking shelves with milk, educating customers on alpine trekking, or sweeping up popcorn from beneath theatre seats. My life is meant to be spent on something much more impactful. I wish to overcome the dread of rental fees and see beyond the wallet, back to my childhood dreams. My voice can't be heard unless there are people willing to listen. People aren't willing to listen unless I have done a good job of enticing their ears. I cannot do a good job of entertaining and engaging people's hearts and minds unless I have a heart and a mind of my own left to salvage. The menial tasks of what jobs I get offered drain the life out of me and make me feel worthless. And yet, the rent must be paid.

So my challenge is to keep up with everything, rise above the torment of still waiting, do more and more with my spirit, and get noticed on a higher level... once and for all. I want to get in the door and make myself known. Then, I can spread what I have that's been labeled "unique". 'cuz I want to share.

But, first things first... "Wiggle your big toe.".

Revelations Make My Face Look Concerned

My music has turned out to be predominantly binaural, almost exclusively armchair listening, and would need to be remastered a third (and, in some cases, fourth) time in order to satisfy the needs of a diverse market. To remaster my music with this new "requirement" in mind, I would have to find myself with some new studio speakers... = money I don't have. One of the brighter tones is that my extensive research has narrowed my musical style down to being something rather cutting edge. How sharp of an edge I provide is subjective, but the overall objectively-defined style is desirable among audiophiles.

So, the question(s) remain(s):

Do I want to make music for the masses? Should I only embrace the fans who love my music for what it bears inherently?

I understand much better now the snobby nature of certain painters, actors, and other artists & performers. When one manifests something made of one's self, one knows this truth and reality. However... any observer, unaware of how it came to be, may be ignorant to the deeper meaning and innocent of the understanding of any delicate craft's solicitation. They should not be cast aside. My hope is that there is some connection still. And I hope a greater number of people may be able to connect with my manifestations than seems practical to be expected at this time.

A Shade of Green

Wow! What a difference some days can make. As has turned out to be the case for the last seven years, my music production utilities have all been installed incorrectly. Now, having reinstalled them with full functionality, I am pleasantly surprised to have found more to the sample library than had previously been revealed. My sound cache has tripled to nearly 24,000 samples! Quite a difference. Most of these sounds are also the airy and expansive layers, keys, and synths I have been longing for. Some of these sounds, I don't remember having ever heard before. Very exciting. Speed is almost go, with a couple of minor things to take care of before I am finally completely prepared to make of myself my own product.

I am back to exercising my vocal range on a daily basis. My headphones are with me. The technology is at my command.

DJ epH: The New Frontier

It has been many years now since I first began taking a serious interest in producing my own original music. Way back in the summer of 1998, I could never have dreamt I would be feeling this close to making music professionally and being recognised globally. But I tinkered and toyed with hip-hop, dance, rave and techno compositions with a passion. Eight years ago, I had friends dipping & diving to the sounds of "TimeBomb" (unreleased), a skippy and relentless hip-hop instrumental with house undertones. Five years ago, I wrote love songs for a friend who said my lyrics made more sense than anything on the radio. Three years ago, a guy from London commented on "The Panda" (posted on NewGrounds.com, under the alias 'JPhoenix84'): "Cracking ch-une. Just had it blasting out of my student house in sunny England. Put it on loop and kicked the football around with some mates. 10/10 from us lot here! Just enough sound, not too cranky, not too whiney, not too tinny... just right. Keep up the good work! Maybe send this to Giles Peterson at Radio 1. His Worldwide DNB show loves this kinda stuff...". Around the same time, I also started a petition (included with my demo). This petition was for simply giving my relatively unconventional and uneasy creations a chance at airplay. One supporter wrote, "Dave is a GREAT artist. I've played some of his music for some of my friends, and they were completely hooked. epH, if you make it, you'll have groupies in no time!". My music has been used in a highly-rated "Counter-Strike" parody, a sleek-looking shooter game reminiscent of "Galaga", and an additional short parody animation (all found on NewGrounds.com).

My inspiration has come from many different sources. What I want is to share something out of the ordinary, from my heart & soul...

Stay tuned for news, release dates, and an inside look at my creative process!