THE PAST:
I recorded dozens of songs between 1996 and 1998 (between the ages 16-19), in either my bedroom or my brother's bedroom back in Ohio, with a handful more recorded between 2000-2001. I used to sneak in at night and on the weekends when my brother wasn't home, use all his equipment (he had a lot of stuff as he was in a band and his bandmates would leave all their gear in his room all week) and record songs on his Tascam cassette 4-track, then sneak out. On rare occassions when he was gone for a day or more I would take a bunch of his gear into my room and record for a bit. He found out pretty early on because I plugged everything back in incorrectly, but he didn't seem to mind as long as I did it when he wasn't home, so I thank him and his bandmates for letting me use all their stuff for so long. I did have my own Jazzmaster guitar which was used on a few tracks, but mainly I used a Jaguar, a Mustang, and a Gretch. I also had a nylon-string acoustic which was used on many tracks, but I used my brother's steel-string a lot as well. Most of the songs I recorded were usually done so in an hour or less with no time for more than one or two takes per track.
I completed an electro-ambient EP in 2000 called "Japanese heterophony" and a full length LP in 2001 (essentially professionally mastering 8 tracks that were recorded between 96-98) called 'Souvenir from a dream'. These have never been released on a record label, even though both garnered positive reviews from the likes of Opuszine and the few other places I sent a CD to. SFAD was independently released in late 2001 and about 30 copies in total were pressed and sold. I have an additional 2-3 album's worth of finished songs from this time period which have never been heard.
THE PRESENT:
After a long hiatus perpetuated by graduate school, living abroad, and other things that pop up in life, in the summer of 2006 I purchased some new equipment and I've set on the task of recording a new album. So far I have about five demos to show for it (you can hear four of them here), about 5 more in the works, and I hope to release something before the end of the century. Thanks for stopping by.
It's almost time for Christmas in gloomstown! (haha) Perhaps you can burn me a copy of some of your songs while we're home (or I'll wait until they're properly released, if I must). I hope you have a safe flight and see you this weekend.
I really like the new songs! My favorite is probably "Alone in the Waves," and I'm eager to hear the original version whenever you have a chance to post it. "Keke" and "Green Sand Beach" are quite nice as well... Your new music reminds me a little bit of Ulrich Schnauss, especially if he lived in Hawaii :). Let me know when you post any more music.
Thanks for the myspace birthday greetings and the card, Mr. Brother!! I will try and write you an email soon... Taipei is very nice and I really enjoying living here, although my job can be stressful. I'm looking forward to going to the Philippines for Christmas with James to visit his family. Hopefully we can chat a bit on Christmas! Hope you're doing well, as always. Talk to you soon.
You realize if you make any money on those songs above you are going to have to pay me and your bro an equipment lease fee! Looking forward to hearing some new stuff.
Best,
CS
Hey Hawaii!! We would love for you to hear Public Radio. We'll come over, stay a few weeks in return we'll give you the record. How does that sound? Thanks for getting in touch and if you ever come to Sweden we'll hang out and have a few beers. Its not as cool as Hawaii though...
