Progress Report Number 84

Another month has come and gone.  So many things to report on!

First of all, my grandma had the shunt inserted.  She’s doing well.  Now it’s a matter of watching the process reverse itself so she’s back to as close to normal as possible.  It’s been a long and bumpy ride, to be sure.  Some days are filled with absolute insanity, while others are so close to normal, you really couldn’t tell the difference.  As for what I’ve been doing musically, here comes the rundown.

When I last wrote, my work centered around music for the Sonic Remixed 2008 project.  “Collision Chaos Past” was finished and sent off.  The next track I recorded is a combination of two versions of “Sandopolis”.  The first part is the music similar to how it sounds on the Virtual Sonic CD.  It’s slow moving with heavy Percussion and has Electric Guitar thrown in.  The second half of the track is very much like the music from Sonic & Knuckles.  One of the problems plaguing the track was distortion.  While arranging and mixing, some of the layers were taken out simply because they really added nothing to the track as a whole.  A lot of correction went into the Drums and Cymbals for the same reason.  Magically, the distortion issues disappeared.  This allowed me to tweak a few Guitar parts and one of the Basses, allowing for a louder level.  In the end, the track works great pieced together with an Electric Guitar fade.  Unfortunately, unless the project later requires additional tracks, “Sandopolis” will not be on the Sonic Remixed 2008 release.  Seems like a lot of work for nothing right?  Not really.  It’s all in the learning process.  ;-)

The next Sonic track sequenced was “Volcano Valley”.  The beauty of this piece of music is the many layers of instruments.  With so many, the creation of a Classical hybrid arrangement became possible.  In doing so, the music transforms and transcends.  Video game music seems to be lumped into some sort of disposable category for the most part.  When anyone can go in and take the music to a whole new level, the depth and creativity not only become more apparent, the true talent of the writers emerges more clearly.

For example, switching a Synthesizer to Strings created a Neo-Classical base to launch from.  Adding a lowered Guitar part as a layer of Cellos sealed the deal.  “Volcano Valley”, in this newly created setting, sounds more like movie soundtrack music while retaining its identity.  Look for it later this year on the Sonic Remixed 2008 release.

The last track prepared for that album is another incredibly fun piece of music, “Panic Puppet”.  It’s wild to begin with.  When passing my way, it became five times more so.  The ending was restructured to have a pause before launching back into the main part of the music.  This effect makes the tune more aggressive.  Using Electric Guitars for the main instrument backed by a throbbing Rubber Band Bass sound set the music on fire!  It’s my plan to try to create a video around this one in the near future.  For several days, searches have been conducted to find good Sonic video clips.  If you know of any, feel free to send links.

From Sonic back to tidying up loose ends.  Some of the leftovers from “Technosaur” went through transformations of their own in preparation for use in the World Record track being created at the Electromagnetic Impulses network site.  What happened to the music was a matter of coming up with varying sounds to add texture.  So, the same piece was recorded in several ways; Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Cello Pizzicato, Violin Pizzicato, Tremolophone, and Xylophone.  Those all sounded the best to me.

At this point in time, I once again, foolishly, thought all the music I wanted to create was finished.  My sights were turned on setting up a page at SoundSugar.net where I still need to add music.  Trouble is, every time I try to upload a track, my browser crashes.  MusicForte continued to be my best outlet for physical CD sales.  I took a few days to make up another batch of my XENOPHOBIA album to send off to them.

By this time, creative urges began nagging me once again.  For a few days, I kept hearing “On The Beautiful Blue Danube” in my mind.  The urge was for me to record this to fit on AD ASTRA.  As I pondered the notion, I realized the urge was so strong because of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.  This music plays in the scene where the space shuttle is docking with a space station above the Earth.

As I went off in search of the music, another thought occurred to me.  Nothing on AD ASTRA, either by Holst or anyone else, was written for the Moon.  Earth’s Moon has a very powerful effect in astrology, leaving an obvious hole for me to fill in some way.  Remember, Holst wrote his “Planets Suite” about the astrological meanings attached to the planets.

While seeking out the music for “On The Beautiful Blue Danube”, I also went out in search of songs about the Moon.  One I had hoped to find was “Fly Me To The Moon”.  However, this song didn’t have the right feel.  The more I searched, the more frustrated I became until ideas of my own began to bloom.  My original composition to plop with the others down alongside of Holst’s “Planets Suite” was named “Luna - Mirror Of The Soul”.  The title comes from astrology where the Moon is a reflection of the inner self.

As I searched for songs about the Moon, I came across a song written sometime in the 1600s by John Playford entitled “Goddesses”.  I thought I’d also give this one a try since its sound and arrangement were very similar to “Hymn To The Sun” and “First Delphic Hymn”.  With three more tracks to work on, my recording sessions really weren’t finished after all.

With a renewed sense of energy, I dove into the beauty of “On The Beautiful Blue Danube”.  The first alteration I made to my version was to create a dreamy Keyboard opening leading into Guitars and Orchestra.  Some of the other tricks used included using a Harpsichord in the Horn Section, and an Electric Bass with the Bass Section.  This created a wonderful play of Electric to Strings and back throughout while, at the same time, lending power to the underlying waltz rhythm.  With rare good fortune, this piece of music came together far more easily than I had expected.

Where “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” once again serves as an orbital docking point for AD ASTRA, “Luna - Mirror Of The Soul” combines lower pitched spots to contrast the light and dark and eventually lead into the powerful juggernaut of “Mars - The Bringer Of War”.

“Luna” had a few issues for me to work though, the first being Tempo.  It changed a few times before I liked the mood.  The second was length.  The track ran back and forth between light and dark, to the point of too much repetition.  The music took a good editing , leaving only the very best parts in.  The first idea I had was to close the music on a punctuated note.  But, the more artistic side of me won out in the end.  The track closes with a sustained fade that sounds like stardust trailing off in the distance.

Opening with deep Strings, “Luna” flows into New Age Synth layers and Electric Guitars.  The music majestically sweeps along like a ship across the ocean, combining sound textures with atmospheric moods.  Much like a full moon, beauty is the order of the day.  Several days’ worth of work went into getting just the right sound and keeping the track on level with Holst’s music.

The last planned track at this point in time was the John Playford composition “Goddesses”.  For the sake of length, I rearranged the structure slightly.  Only one problem part came up.  Part of the Percussion reminded me of the sound of clopping horses.  Removing that part worked really well because the music sounded better there with Acoustic Guitar and Flute.  Once again, I had reached the end of my recording sessions.

For those of you keeping track, here’s the new final track listing for AD ASTRA:

Disc 1

Tiamat (by Rob Astor)

The Planet Krypton (by John Williams)

Hymn To The Sun (by Mesomedes, c.130 A.D.)

Mercury - The Winged Messenger (by Gustov Holst)

Venus - The Bringer Of Peace (by Gustov Holst)

Transit Of Venus (by John Philip Sousa)

First Delphic Hymn (from 130 B.C.)

Goddesses (by John Playford)

Earth - The Home Planet (by Rob Astor)

On The Beautiful Blue Danube (by Johann Strauss)

Luna - Mirror Of The Soul (by Rob Astor)

Mars - The Bringer Of War (by Gustov Holst)

The Asteroid Field (by John Williams)

Disc 2

Jupiter - The Bringer Of Jollity (by Gustov Holst)

Galilean Satellites (by Rob Astor)

Saturn - The Bringer Of Old Age (by Gustov Holst)

Uranus - The Magician (by Gustov Holst)

Oberon Undoes The Spells (by Mendolssohn)

Neptune - The Mystic (by Gustov Holst)

Pluto - Bringer Of Change (by Rob Astor)

Hydra (by Rob Astor)

Eris - Bringer Of Discord (by Rob Astor)

Sedna - Inuit Mother (by Rob Astor)

Nibiru - Planet Of The Crossing (by Rob Astor)

Orpheus In The Underworld (by Jacques Offenbach)

The rest of what I have to tell you is all about the busy work.  ;-)  You MySpace readers probably saw that I put six new tracks up in my MySpace player.  Be sure to leave your comments!  The rest of this past week, I’ve been working on getting the rights to legally release cover material.  It’s an involved process, and it entails some expense.  But, I think it will all be well worth the effort when I can release some of my favorite music, made over in my musical image.  I just know you’re going to love it as much as I do!

We’ve reach the end of another blog.  Funny how a month’s worth of time can be summed up in a few pages of text.  I’ve been really discouraged lately with my grandma’s health and this grind to try and get things on the right track to release cover music this year.  If you can find it within your means to send some good vibes my way, I’d really appreciate it.  I’ll try to post another blog soon.  Until then, I hope the world is treating you far better than it treats me.  :-)

Rob

Progress Report Number 83

Fortunately, the last few weeks have been much easier in the department of my being able to create.  Chalk it up to luck that some music came together through the ups and downs.  As for grandma’s health issues, it will be several weeks before the shunt is inserted.

At the moment, there are eighteen pages where blogs are maintained.  An additional one was canceled when I discovered the code for video formats wasn’t going to work out.  On every page compatible with what gets used, the videos for “Tropic Of Antarctica” and “Flight In Ursa Minor” were uploaded.  It was an all day project, even with a DSL connection.  (Posting blogs on that many pages requires about ninety minutes of work.)

Right after finishing that task, work resumed on the new track “Technosaur” for BELLATRIX’S MUSIC BOX.  A lot of time went into getting the instrument sounds just right.  This came to a point where I realized there was simply too much music.  The first parts removed either added nothing to the existing piece or where cluttering things up.  When that happened, the Percussion went through a serious transformation as well.  The idea in mind was to go with a jungle sound; a mix of Tribal Drums and wooden Percussion.  They all came out.

Getting the textures was my next focus.  I rotated many Guitar sounds for a layer I’d written for an Acoustic Guitar.  None of the adjustments worked.  That part came out, all except a small part used as an Intro.  From there, the Percussion went through another transformation to bring up the volume.  Count-ins were created to lend the live feel of the other tracks in the BELLATRIX collection.

The last part giving me problems was a twelve bar section toward the middle where I felt slowing the track down to create a change in mood would be a good idea.  The part was classically orchestrated and did nothing except bog down the overall flow.  Removing that section cured everything.  “Technosaur” works much better as a straight Rock & Roll track.  Proof again that music can come to life through cosmetic surgery.

After months of waiting, I heard the decision about my story “Persephone”.  The publisher passed on it.  The funny thing was, I kind of suspected they would, however, the reason they gave had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on the content of the story.  It was quite comical, considering this was a romance publisher.  Remember, “quality editorial is paramount”!  “Persephone” will find a home somewhere.  I’ll keep shopping it around.

The next piece of music in my queue is also intended for BELLATRIX’S MUSIC BOX.  It’s an Oriental flavored piece entitled “Mystic Temple”.

The track actually started out as two separate pieces of music.  But, I found a way to make them compliment each other in a single track.  The first half relies mainly on Acoustic Guitar.  There is a spot where a Keyboard comes in.  The music pauses, changes Key, and takes on Percussion and Flute.  In fact, I could hear the Flute in the music before even deciding to have one.  In this second part, the Acoustic Guitars crosses four channels, adding dimension not present during the first part.  It’s very mellow, almost magical.  The setting might be the inside of a temple filled with fine linens decorated with Japanese writing flowing in the breeze.  It’s very tranquil, very serene.

Once again, the next track is the last planned track for BELLATRIX’S MUSIC BOX.  (You’ve heard me say that before, right?  ;-)  )  The track is called “Draco”, named after the northern constellation wrapped around Ursa Minor, the star pattern with Polaris, or the North Star.  In Greek Myth, Draco was one of the Titans.  While battling for control of the world, the dragon very foolishly tried to attack Athena, goddess of strategic warfare and wisdom.  Athena grabbed Draco by the tail and hurled him up into the sky.  Draco was caught around the North Star and became knotted and entangled as the Earth rotated, leaving the dragon forever imprisoned.  When star maps were drawn with lavish illustrations a few hundred years ago, Draco was often depicted as twisted or coiled.

When beginning work on “Draco”, I wanted to use some of the leftover parts from “Technosaur”.  This was an idea that sounded very good in theory, but, didn’t work so well in practice.  The music went through a transformation, none the less.  The Percussion was drastically altered to fit the mood the track took on.  In fact, at that point, it reminded me a lot of “Xenomorphic” (another track for BELLATRIX).  “Xenomorphic” has a very distinct march going for it.  “Draco” picked up some of that feel, but in a different way.  (To make sure I wasn’t rewriting a track, I kept comparing the two to make sure “Draco” was working on its own without borrowing too much from “Xenomorphic”.)

Gaining texture, however, did borrow an idea from another track.  A trick I used in “Kutulu” from XENOPHOBIA, except in reverse.  Part of the Percussion line was placed into a Keyboard and into an Electric Guitar.  The effect created is a low, growling pulse.  This brought the second part of the track to life in a much better way than the Guitar parts I left out of “Technosaur”.  “Draco” evolved into a sort of dragon march, building up from the first half of the track, reaching full potential by the second half.  Taking the minimalist approach once again did the trick.

At this point in time, all of my original musical work is finished.  Unlike before, this felt much more anti-climatic.  Maybe it’s because I know, deep down, the music will never be over.  Ideas will present themselves again.

The next thing getting attention was a track released by Duran Duran in 2004 entitled “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise”.  I’d wanted to do some Duran Duran for my INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION.  Unfortunately, as you’ll recall, none of those worked.  This time was different!

“(Reach Up For The) Sunrise” came together very quickly and very easily in comparison to most of my work.  It was as if this track was the one meant to be for my project.  The only part that took any length of time was the shimmering opening Keyboards.  The rest of the mixing and instrument placement went off without a hitch.

With one final idea in mind for the INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION, I started working on a track from the Vangelis soundtrack of “Antarctica”, the title theme.  Right after I started getting things going, I realized about half of the music was missing.  Unwilling to settle for just part of such a great piece of music, I scrapped the idea for that obvious reason.

Second project finished within a week’s time.  The creative juices were flowing, so much so, an idea for a cover graphic for INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION finally came to mind.  Using the upside down RA rune symbol, I’m going to draw it into a Guitar, possibly as a stand alone picture, or possibly using a drawing of myself holding it.  It will be red, my favorite color, and will look great!

My writing teacher, Mary Rosenblum, writes a weekly newsletter for the Long Ridge Writers Group.  Last week, she included a link to an organization that provides grant money for performance arts projects called Creative Capital.  I went over and checked out the site and then decided AD ASTRA would be my target project.  I spent a few days working exclusively on the proposal.  In many questions, you’re only allowed about one hundred words (Me?!  Only one hundred words?!  You have to be kidding, right?  LOL).  While answering the questions and outlining my vision for the recording, I had to be very careful about what I wanted to say in terms of how to say it in the very best way possible.  These things are good exercise, always.  The deadline is March 4th.  I don’t know how log after that I might hear any kind of decision.  Any financial effort I could get launching something a special as AD ASTRA would really be welcomed!

At this point, only four tracks of music required my attention, music for the Sonic Remixed 2008 project.  The one I chose to work on first is a bouncy, incredibly fun track for the level “Collision Chaos Past” from the Sonic The Hedgehog CD.  That’s the only title I’ve ever known the music by, so, that’s what I’m calling it unless I find out otherwise.  The track was part of the original Japanese score penned by Naofumi Hataya & Masafumi Ogata.  Like all the music used in the “Past” levels of the game, the music is very different than the Spencer Nilsen & David Young tracks.  This one has always been one of my favorites.  I really can’t tell you how fun it is. You want to get up and dance, that’s for sure!

Because I don’t do Vocals, I used a trick with the Basses to double for the really low Vocal parts.  One of the Basses pans back and fourth through the channels, just like the original recording.  The second Bass has a built in undulating sound.  The combination of the two filled in very nicely for deep voices.

The main Melody in the original is played by Flute.  In mine, the Flute is a gorgeous Synth sound combined with Electric Guitar.  The Rhythm section also became an Electric Guitar, bringing out more of the track’s underlying texture.  At the very end, I close with Percussion, creating a live feel, much like the BELLATRIX body of work.  In the final mix, my track is every bit as fun as the original.  I’ll have to keep you posted as to when the Sonic Remix 2008 project is ready so you can hear it for yourselves.  At the moment, I’ve run out of space on my albums.

Well, here we are.  We’ve reached the end of another two weeks of progress.  I’m hoping the next few keep going well.  Once again, I can’t promise a weekly blog at the minute.  I will try, though.

What’s happening in your life?  Share your thoughts with me.  See you back here soon!

Rob

Progress Report Number 82

Hello once again!  I have missed you all.  There’s so many things going on and it’s time for me to catch you up.

First off, let me tell you about the personal issues causing the delays in my work.  Last year, My grandma started having issues with memory and communicating.  This set off a battery of tests to see if she had had a stroke, or if something else was happening, either related to age, or possibly not.  Right around the end of last year, the doctors discovered she has water on the brain.  It’s causing pressure which is affecting her memory, her balance, and her communicating.  She’s undergone many scans to be sure that nothing else was creating this problem, namely some blockage or another.  After everything was ruled out, the neurologist recommended a spinal tap with the possibility of a shunt.  Almost two weeks ago, she had the spinal tap and came through with flying colors.  That day, you would never have guessed she’d had one.  No lingering pain from it, and certainly no slowing her down.  She’ll be having the shunt inserted soon.  Thank goodness, this procedure isn’t a major brain surgery issue as I’d originally feared.  A tube is inserted to drain excess fluid from the brain down to the belly where the fluid is absorbed into her system.  It’s under the skin so she can’t knock it out combing her hair or anything like that.  At any rate, as far as her health issues go, things are looking much brighter and a lot more optimistic than they have for many long months.  The day after the spinal tap, she was having memory flashes, so, I know things are going to be okay.  This has been the reason for my being unable to keep up as well as before.  Not only was I preoccupied, I just didn’t have a lot of time.

However, I did managed to accomplish several things in the month and a half since my last progress report.  Now, I’d like to share all those details with you.  Hope you don’t mind!

2008 began with my doing a lot of behind the scenes busy work.  A page was created at iLike.  The Sonic Remixed Project will now be a yearly thing, so, I started hunting down music I thought I might like to do for the 2008 project.  There’s so much great music and so many games to choose from.  The tracks I narrowed down to are “Sandopolis” from Sonic & Knuckles (either that or Sonic 3), “Volcano Valley” and “Panic Puppet” from Sonic 3D Blast.  And the last track is from the Sonic The Hedgehog CD entitled “Collision Chaos Past”.

iCompositions added a new feature to their website making it possible for artists to sell their music on site.  Of course, I went over and added my store complete with all my CDs.

Early in January, I continued working on my AD ASTRA project by tackling “Saturn - The Bringer Of Old Age” (fitting considering my grandma’s health issues), and it took about a full month to complete.  The track opens with natural radio signals of the planet itself followed by a slightly extended Intro.  I went for a New Age and Classical feel for the overall track, using Electric Guitars sparingly.  Putting in a Bass Guitar helped give the lower sounds more power.

Periodically, I had to set “Saturn” aside as other things came up.  The first of these is something many of you might want to be a part of.  There’s a community of musicians at Electromagnetic Impulses (myself included) who are going to try to put together some music with a world record number of musicians.  I haven’t had time to create anything as of the moment, however, I did express my interest in being a part of this project.

The second distraction came in the form of more musical ideas for BELLATRIX’S MUSIC BOX.  Three ideas presented themselves to me.  One is going to be called “Technosaur”.  The second is a fusion of two variant ideas I’m calling “Mystic Temple”.  The third didn’t get a name until later, but will be entitled “Draco”, after the north circumpolar constellation.

You may also have noticed I’ve been talking about music videos recently.  For the longest time, I’ve wanted to set some of my music to video.  One track I felt would be perfect is “Tropic Of Antarctica”.  It’s one of my favorites.  The title evokes images all by itself.  I started looking around for images and video.  Drafting a letter to Tom Dempsey at Photoseek.com, I asked for his permission to include some of his work in a video.  He agreed as long as I credited him properly.  From there, creating the video came very easily.  The ability to do this has been at my fingertips for four years.  (When I got my computer system, I knew I was getting it for multi-media projects.)  I’m still learning all the capabilities of this wonderful machine.

Over the course of a weekend, “Tropic Of Antarctica” in video format was born.  At the minute, the video is only up on YouTube, MySpace, and Last.FM.  Today, while I’m posting this blog, I’ll ad it (and “Flight In Ursa Minor”) to any pages where video is permitted.

One of my friends will be posting it on SingingFool.com in the near future as well.  (I guess it’s time to send out the second DVD, right?)  Speaking of DVDs, when I burned the video to DVD, I tested it on my oldest player, to be sure it would work.  And, WOW, did it ever look gorgeous on the 32” TV screen!

With “Tropic Of Antarctica” completed, I had ideas for “Flight In Ursa Minor” next.  Again, using images of stunning skyscapes and artwork, the process fused beautifully.  Be sure to check them out and let me know what you think.

The next video I wanted to do is for “Northern Lights”.  I ran into the issue of time where MySpace is concerned.  Recently, they’ve limited the length videos can be to ten minutes.  “Northern Lights” is over eleven minutes long.  I don’t know if this restriction is an issue at MySpace, but, I’m unsure as to whether or not I want to create an edited version of the track.  (I’m nowhere near ready to create the video at this point, so there’s plenty of time to mull it over.)

With these pleasant distractions out of the way, “Saturn” was completed at the end of January.  I thought I’d have a few more months ahead of me to finish the rest of the AD ASTRA album.  Fortunately, the process didn’t take that long at all!

“Uranus - The Magician” comes next in the line-up.  Again, I opened the track with some natural sounds, those of the planet’s magnetosphere captured by Voyager 2 in January of 1986.  The evolution of the music went from Rock & Roll to a fusion of Rock and Classical.  I remember telling Harry the sound put me in mind of the movie TRON for some reason.  If there had been a carnival scene in TRON, the version of “Uranus” I created would be the soundtrack, although not quite David Copperfield.

The next track I worked on was an ancient Greek hymn called “Ouranos”.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough for me to work with.  The music was only in two parts and very short.  Doing a full repeat added nothing.  My attempts to offset the Key did nothing, and neither did my trying a wide variety of instruments.  Lacking the feel and the vitality of the previous AD ASTRA tracks, I had to let this one go.

“Ariel’s Song” suffered the same problems.  This gave me cause to worry.  I wanted to have a bit more than my recreations of Holst’s material with some of my originals and a few covers tossed in.  I tried “Ariel’s Song” in differing ways, including playing it at half speed.  Nothing helped.  Reluctantly, I abandoned it as well.

Facing “Oberon Undoes The Spells”, I feared I’d have three strike outs in a row.  With more parts to work with, my optimism returned.  I slowed the tempo to lend length as well as extending the beginning.  Then, I went in and changed the structure.  There’s a long section in the middle that’s supposed to sound magical.  After the full track runs, I repeated the opening and the ending at the conclusion of the track.  It worked, renewing my confidence in being able to continue the project with only one lingering worry, “Orpheus In The Underworld”, the track I wanted to close the project with to give it an optimistic and upbeat feeling.

Before that point, there was more for me to do.  The next track, the last of Holst’s, “Neptune - The Mystic”, came first.  Without any sounds from Neptune (I couldn’t find any recordings anywhere), the track opens with a slight sound effect, a sort of computerized blipping, as if Voyager 2 was transmitting data back to Earth.  My idea for the track was to follow the template of “Venus - The Bringer Of Peace”; go for straight Classical Orchestration combined with New Age elements.  Those turned out beautifully.

In an act of sheer brilliance, I came up with an idea to make the Choir parts at the end sound even more ethereal.  Part of the layer uses the Synth Choir while a duplicated line was run through a flange effect to create Dolphin-like sounds.  Mystical and otherworldly is the only way I can describe the beauty of this arrangement.  The idea was born of the idea of Neptune being the Roman god of the seas.  Placing Dolphin-like sounds into this piece of music sort of brings the mythological and astrological together, I think.  All I can tell you is that “Neptune”, much like “Venus”, is stunningly gorgeous.  I can’t wait for you to hear it!

Leaving Holst’s work behind, completely finished, my musical journey deeper into the solar system now would be a reflection of mostly ideas of my own.  From Neptune on to Pluto I went, right to “Pluto - Bringer Of Change”.  This one was always intended to be a dark, brooding combination of New Age, Classical, and Electric Guitar parts.  There’s a sense of coming into the Greek Underworld, while at the same time, facing off the dangers and the unknown at the frigid edges of our solar system.  The music builds up to the overpowering, as I suspect discoveries out there will be in the future.

While visiting Pluto, the next piece of music takes a look at one of Pluto’s recently discovered satellites, “Hydra”.  In Greek Mythology, Hercules had to sly the Hydra as on of his twelve labors.  The Hydra was a huge snake-like creature.  When Hercules cut off its head, two more grew in its place.  A very dangerous beast indeed!

The music I came up with is a combination of Classical and Rock.  I get the sense of seeing the Hydra at rest, laying in wait.  It looks tame, but, the danger is very much there.  There’s a certain undulation in the Guitars and the Bass to help carry that ominous presence while Keyboards carry the fantastic, or the dreamy unreality.  I’m looking forward to 2015, the year the New Horizons space probe arrives at Pluto and we will know so much more about the minor planet and its host of moons.

My next stop was “Eris - Bringer Of Discord”.  For this minor planet, I was relying on the events leading up to the Trojan War to come up with the music.  Years ago, I had a discussion with someone who felt Homer blamed the entire event on Helen.  I said that was untrue.  Eris wasn’t invited to a wedding.  So, she shows up with a golden apple marked with the words ‘to the prettiest one’ and deliberately tossed it between the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena who all thought it belonged to them.  Zeus declined making any such ruling between the three and had Paris judge the contest where each goddess offered him a prize; Hera wealth, Athena glory in battle, and Aphrodite the most beautiful woman in the world.  Naturally, Paris chose Helen, thus sparking the war.

The music I created builds up from dark tones toward a sort of march.  It’s a dark march, to be sure.  The Percussion borrows from “Mars - The Bringer Of War” on some levels, slowly propelling the music along.  The flow builds up into an otherworldly climax where all seems to stop, hold its breath, and wait for the outcome before a punctuated ending.

Smack in the middle of “Eris”, another idea came up for a track to include on AD ASTRA called “Nibiru”, which I’ll talk about more very shortly.

I also found some Duran Duran music for my INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION.  Remember, I couldn’t get any of their tracks to work for me before.  Well, I’m willing to give it another try for a track they released in 2004 called “(Reach Up For The) Sunrise”.  Another I thought I’d like to do is a Vangelis track from the Antarctica soundtrack entitled “Antarctica Echoes”.  We’ll see how well they work.  (The latter sounded like a great idea while doing the video for “Tropic Of Antarctica”.)

After completing “Eris”, I moved to some of the most distant places in the solar system, to a minor planet that might very well reach the inner edges of the Oort Cloud, “Sedna - Inuit Mother”.

There are two versions of Sedna’s story in myth.  Both start with she and her father going out in a boat.  They get caught in a rough storm and the father, fearing for his life, throws Sedna overboard.  She holds onto the side and he cuts off her fingers.  They fall into the seas and transform into Whales and other sea life.  Sedna sinks down to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.  In the other version, Sedna is pulled up by a fisherman’s net.  He takes her to his home and nurses her back to health.  In both cases, she became the mother goddess figure of the Inuit peoples (those native to areas around the Arctic Circle).

I wasn’t able to get an opening Wind Harp to sound right for “Sedna”.  Borrowing on my idea for “Neptune”, Dolphin-like sounds weave through the opening music, eventually melding with Strings and a Choir layer.  Bass Guitar with low-toned Strings gives the track added depth.  At the center is a Keyboard sound I used to repeat at the end, making for a more dramatic closing.  Once again, I was relying on the mythological story to create the tapestry of the track.  I think I have captured the overall tone very well.

Depending on what you’ve heard, either as a belief, or in mythology, there’s a possibility that another large body exists in our solar system.  This large body may orbit the Sun in a very elongated orbit, or may orbit a brown dwarf companion of our Sun in a very elongated orbit.  Approximately every 3,600 years, this body swings in through our part of space creating havoc.  Derived from Ancient Sumerian beliefs, the object bears the name Nibiru, which translates to ‘Planet of the Crossing’, describing how it moves through our solar system.

From Sedna’s story to a realm of possibly complete myth or fact, my next stop was at “Nibiru - Planet Of The Crossing”.  Given that this object may very well pose a great danger to the order of the solar system and to life here on Earth didn’t figure into how I created the music for this track.  What I set out to create was a track based in wonderment and awe.  If Nibiru actually exists, I would be in complete awe learning all its facts upon its discovery.  This was the basis for launching into a track.

The tones are primarily New Age with some Keyboard effects sprinkled throughout to lend a sense of movement and disruption, but, not in some significant way; in the way of magical wonderment.  In fact, I tried the track in several ways, mainly with Strings and other layers that were peeled away because they were too distracting.  The music is soothing, calming, perfect to meditate by.  Toward the end, I did put in a short String layer to add to the cumulative sense of the music, just enough to give it a touch of something even more wonderful.  The final product is a straight New Age composition reflecting some of my earliest recordings.

Now that all the stops I wanted to make in the solar system were finished, I wanted to close AD ASTRA with a track of optimism.  Something to leave the listener with a good feeling.  My choice from nearly the star has always been “Orpheus In The Underworld”.  I thought this was a perfect choice, considering how much the outer solar system is associated with the Underworld of the Ancient Greeks.  My only fear was that the ideas I had for the track wouldn’t sound as good in practice as they did in theory.

When I began working on the music, everything fell together as if it was meant to be.  I had no trouble fusing Classical with Electric Guitars.  With a slightly extended Intro, “Orpheus In the Underworld” flows naturally out of “Nibiru” without subtracting from the calm of “Nibiru”.  I guess it really was meant to be.  And so, my musical journey through the solar system came to an end (unless I find some other track to include between now and later this year when I plan to release the project).  For those of you keeping score, here’s the complete AD ASTRA track listing with composers notated:

Tiamat (by Rob Astor)

<>The Planet Krypton (by John Williams)

<>Hymn To The Sun (Ancient Greek Hymn)

<>Mercury - The Winged Messenger (by Gustov Holst)

<>Venus - The Bringer Of Peace (by Gustov Holst)

<>Transit Of Venus (by John Philip Sousa)

<>First Delphic Hymn (Ancient Greek Hymn)

<>Earth - The Home Planet (by Rob Astor)

<><>Mars - The Bringer Of War (by Gustov Holst)

<><>The Asteroid Field (by John Williams)

<><>Jupiter - The Bringer Of Jollity (by Gustov Holst)

<><>Galilean Satellites (by Rob Astor)

<><>Saturn - The Bringer Of Old Age (by Gustov Holst)

<><>Uranus - The Magician (by Gustov Holst)

<><>Oberon Undoes The Spells (by Mendelssohn)

<><>Neptune - The Mystic (by Gustov Holst)

<><>Pluto - Bringer Of Change (by Rob Astor)

<><>Hydra (by Rob Astor)

<><>Eris - Bringer Of Discord (by Rob Astor)

<><>Sedna - Inuit Mother (by Rob Astor)

<><>Nibiru - Planet Of The Crossing (by Rob Astor)

<><>Orpheus In The Underworld (by Jacques Offenbach)

<><>The final thing I’ve managed to do, other than writing this long delayed blog entry, was start working on “Technosaur” for BELLATRIX’S MUSIC BOX.  At the minute, it sounds really different, in a very good way!  The music is more up-beat and will have a lot of Rock & Roll elements, fitting with what I already have finished for that set of tracks.

<><>No guarantees, but, I will try to post a blog much sooner next time.  Until my grandma’s procedures are all taken care of, I’m sort of in a limbo myself.  Work continues, although not at the pace I would have liked.  Keep watching.  You know the details will come eventually.

<><>I hope all of you are doing very well!  See you back here very soon!

<><>Rob

Progress Report Number 81

First off, let me apologize for not posting a blog before now.  There are some things happening in my personal life right now that have demanded way more time than I thought they would.  By the time a day was over, I didn’t have the energy, mental or physical, to try and tackle anything else.  I did manage to get some things accomplished and hopefully, I can resume regular updates.

Way back at the beginning of the month, I took a break to read a book a friend of mine wrote.  It’s entitled “Reality Therapy: The Influence Of Rollercoasters, Religion, And Rock & Roll” written by Mr. Jeffrey STONEking, President of Stoneking’s Island.  It’s my intent to write a complete review, just that I haven’t had much time.

As for Mr. STONEking’s autobiography, the details he shares of his life follow in a pattern of memories remembered, where often there is no logic or reason to the order, except events in our lives trigger these things, sending us backward in time with whiplash speed.  In a very Native American belief of circular time, you get details out of sequence, leading into a completely engaging story the more it progresses.  You share in his discoveries, humiliations, and gain insights into this crazy, mixed-up world we all live in.  You’re expected to know things beforehand.  Otherwise, you might not catch some of the undertones.  I have been present at a few of these events and heard some of them right after they happened.  In fact, some of his events have spilled over to my own life.  For example, there’s a story about a t-shirt with an eye which happened at the time I had Harry drawing my XENOPHOBIA cover.  Or the ending chapter “Equinox” which happened just as I had recorded a track of the same name.  We can all relate to being fans of certain musicians and have our own stories to tell.  Read some of his adventures involving some of the biggest names in popular music.  Ultimately, the story ends on notes of forgiveness.  The journey from being hurt and confused, to being angry, and finally reaching that goal, this is the thread holding everything together.

You can purchase “Reality Therapy: The Influence Of Rollercoasters, Religion, And Rock & Roll” by visiting the following link:

http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/ItemDetail~bookid~48226.aspx

At the time, I was also hammering out Olivia Newton-John’s “Twist Of Fate” for my INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION.  With a little tweaking, the final version came out very well.  Right after that, “Xanadu” by Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra fell into place.

Early on in the month, I set up a page at BETA Records to help further promote myself.  Some of the tracks that have appeared on other pages wound up in the player over there.

Next came the part where I worked on additional music for INFLUENCES, however, the tracks ended up not being completed for one reason or another.  “When Doves Cry” by Prince & The Revolution was one of these.  After a certain point, the Guitars stopped sounding just right.  I was also frustrated that I couldn’t find music for the full track, only the radio edit version.  The Percussion didn’t want to cooperate either.

Without starting, I decided against “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones.  It sounded fun in theory, but, it just wasn’t for me after all.  Then, as I thought might ultimately happen, I decided against doing “Snoopy Vs. The Red Barron”.

Joined another website, Electrogarden, setting up the same basic page I did for BETA.  The tracks were virtually the same, or things that can be heard on any of the other numerous sites currently being maintained.

Went to work on getting the track orders for YESTERYEAR CLASSICS and INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION reorganized.  In the case of YESTERYEAR CLASSICS, the only change made was the traditional version of John Philip Sousa’s “Transit Of Venus March” being placed as the first track on the disc.  The previous track order remained intact.

It was another matter entirely for INFLUENCES TRIBUTE COLLECTION.  This collection is divided now into three discs, all independent of one another, but bearing the same title.  What happened was, each set has it’s own subtitle.  When I release them, they’ll all have a different barcode.  (That way, I won’t get completely killed paying the royalties to the writers.  ;-)  )

Disc three was easiest for me to organize because I had a specific vision for it while working on the Xanadu music.  It’s subtitle is DREAMS OF FUTURE PAST with the following track list:

Twilight (Originally by Electric Light Orchestra)

I’m Alive (Originally by Electric Light Orchestra)

Your Wildest Dreams (Originally by The Moody Blues)

Sirius/Eye In The Sky (Originally by Alan Parsons Project)

Dolphin’s Intrigue (From Ecco: Defender Of The Future - Written by Tim Follin and Attila Heger)

Quartz Quadrant (From Sonic The Hedgehog - Written by Spencer Nilsen and David Young)

Stardust Speedway (From Sonic The Hedgehog - Written by Spencer Nilsen and David Young)

Speedway To Good Future (From Sonic The Hedgehog - Written by Spencer Nilsen and David Young)

Stardust Speedway Bad Future (From Sonic The Hedgehog - Written by Spencer Nilsen and David Young)

Rusty Ruins Of Metropolis (From Sonic 3D Blast & Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Written by Richard Jacques and Masatu Nakamura)

All Over The World (Originally by Electric Light Orchestra)

Xanadu (Originally by Olivia Newton-John & Electric Light Orchestra)

Magic (Originally by Olivia Newton-John)

21st. Century Man (Originally by Electric Light Orchestra)

Song Of The Whale, Pt. 1 (From Dawn) (Originally by Tangerine Dream)

Disc two has the subtitle “Let’s RAWK!” with the following track list:

The Rover (Originally by Led Zeppelin)

Rhiannon (Originally by Fleetwood Mac)

While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Originally by The Beatles)

I Hate Myself For Loving You (By Joan Jett & The Blackhearts)

The Metro (Originally by Berlin)

Magic Man (Originally by Heart)

Sisters Of The Moon (Originally by Fleetwood Mac)

What Is And What Should Never Be (Originally by Led Zeppelin)

Another Brick In The Wall (Originally by Pink Floyd)

Magic Carpet Ride (Originally by Steppenwolf)

For What It’s Worth (Originally by Buffalo Springfield)

You’re The Voice (Originally by John Farnham)

Love, Reign O’er Me (Originally by The Who)

Barracuda (Originally by Heart)

Helter Skelter (Originally by The Beatles)

Whole Lotta Love (Originally by Led Zeppelin)

Black Dog (Originally by Led Zeppelin)

Misty Mountain Hop (Originally by Led Zeppelin)

Disc one is mostly a pop music mix I’m calling MIX IT UP with all the following tracks:

Alive And Kicking (Originally by Simple Minds)

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Originally by The Beatles)

Magical Mystery Tour (Originally by The Beatles)

I Think I Love You (Originally by David Cassidy & The Partridge Family)

Rain (Originally by Seat Belts)

What About Love (Acoustic Version based on the Heart version)

For Your Eyes Only (Originally by Sheena Easton)

<>Alone (Originally by i-Ten, based on Heart’s 2003 live version)

Dog & Butterfly (Originally by Heart)

Puff The Magic Dragon (Originally by Peter, Paul & Mary)

Tangerine (Originally by Led Zeppelin)

All I Ask Of You (Written by Andrew Lloyd Webber)

Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You (Originally by Stevie Nicks)

Soul Kiss (Originally by Olivia Newton-John)

Twist Of Fate (Originally by Olivia Newton-John)

Obsession (Originally by Animotion)

Baby, You’re A Rich Man (Originally by The Beatles)

Self Control (Originally by Laura Branigan)

Don’t You (Forget About Me) (Originally by Simple Minds)

All exciting, don’t you think?  I really can’t wait to be able to share them with you.  (I still have all the letter writing ahead of me to do so legally.)

Having organized those discs, I also went ahead and came up with a tentative tracking for BELLATRIX’S MUSIC BOX.  At the minute, it looks like this:

Bellatrix

Neurogenic Cyberspace

Pathfinder

Diokolis

Flying Stallion

Olympiad

Ishtar

Music Box

Yearning

Just Because

Universal Paradox

Singularity

Calabi-Yau

Stairway To The Fifth Dimension

Summerland

K-Minor

Nile

The Velt

Equinox

Faces In Firelight

Xenomorphic

Lunar Rainbow

Kullat Nunu

Zodiac

Parallax

Tesseract (Hypercube Labyrinth)

Seduction Of The Minotaur

Conquest

Bellatrix (Acoustic Version)

Tycho Says, “Good Morning, I Love You”

Two more albums came out where you can find me.  One of them is the 2007 Christmas album from T. S. Klugh Studio entitled “Expressions Of The Season” featuring three tracks.  The album came so close to Christmas, I had no time to devote to trying to promote it.  It can be picked up from any of the artists on the discs with all proceeds being donated to charities.

The other is a net release, also featuring three of my tracks, called Sonic Remixed Deluxe.  All of it is very good!  Here’s the link to download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?dmtz0l1z0d1

Because there was such a good response, the project will happen again in the coming years!  More music for me to work on!

Went back to working on AD ASTRA, finally.  LOL  Gustov Holst’s “Jupiter - The Bringer Of Jollity” came together fairly well, except those personal issues made for a week’s worth of work in what I might have had finished in just a few days.  New Age ideas melded well with slight touches of Rock & Roll.

When I went to do Mozart’s “Jupiter”, interesting facts came to light while doing the research for it.  The first was, Mozart’s music is a full five movement symphonic track.  Not something I had originally intended to undertake.  Plus, the title was given to the track much later.  With that bit of  information, I no longer felt I needed to include this work with the Holst music.  If Mozart didn’t call this piece of music “Jupiter” himself, then I didn’t feel right going by a title given to it by someone else.

From Jupiter to the planet’s largest moons, the next track completed is one of my own for AD ASTRA, “Galilean Satellites”.  Basically, I wanted to create a mood, a sense of discovery and danger for two reasons.  The discovery part would be Galileo himself looking through his telescope at the planets, seeing those four points of light and realizing they were moons.  As for the danger, Galileo suffered at the hands of the Church until he recanted his findings.  Also, being in such close proximity to Jupiter is deadly; powerful radiation belts, comet and asteroid bombardments, volcanic eruptions on Io.  The music I was going for reflects all those temperaments, intertwining Classical instrumentation with New Age elements and some Electric and Acoustic Guitar.

And, that’s where I am in this summary of December 2007.  I wish all of you the very best in 2008!  With a little luck, I’ll see you back here next weekend.<><>

<><>Rob