Thursday, June 28, 2018

Excelsior: Volume Two On YouTube Now

I've uploaded the full EP version of Excelsior: Volume Two to my YouTube channel. I hope you'll support me by downloading or streaming from the following sites.





More coming soon.


Excelsior: Volume Two On The Way

Just released!
I've uploaded Excelsior: Volume Two. It's now officially making its way through the release process via DistroKid. I'm planning to put together a YouTube album cover video shortly. In the meantime, if you'd like to be the first on your block to hear it on Spotify, go to this link:


You can also access the pre-save link now from my home page.

Sunday, June 24, 2018

What's Happening: Week of June 25, 2018

After a lot of consideration, I've decided to limit my upcoming EP release Excelsior: Volume Two to just three tracks, and these will be:

Ascending
Hyper Efficient
For The Win

My planned release date is this Friday, June 29, 2018. Don't be surprised, though, if I debut some sort of preview on YouTube before then.

Meanwhile, I'm also beginning to plan for the release of my second full-length album, Extasis, near the end of the year (probably sometime in November). The style of this release will be more like my first album Circadia. If anything it will be more ambient and less rhythmic in its approach. I'm still mulling over track lists for the album and I may create new tracks in the run-up to the release. I also plan to release Extasis through CDBaby rather than Distrokid. Please stay tuned.

Meanwhile, there's nothing new in the stock music pipeline, but my featured item this week is Heroic Intro (30 Second). This is a stirring 30 second piece for full orchestra with percussion that's perfect for dramatic or patriotic podcasts (especially in the US with Independence Day upon us). I hope you'll check it out.

And that's it for now. I may decide to drop some music from EV2 before the "official" release date, so stay sharp for a chance to be the first on your block (or country or planet) to hear it. Take care.

B~)

Sunday, June 17, 2018

What's Happening: Week of June 18, 2018

Happy Father's Day to all dads (including me)!

I'm "officially" rolling out my two new podcast intro music collections tomorrow, but you can get a sneak peek at them right now.



As I mentioned last week, these are subsets of my larger podcast intro music collection, focused on these specific styles so you don't have to hunt through the bigger collection (which now has dozens of items with different lengths and loop options).

Meanwhile, I think I'll be releasing Excelsior: Volume Two a week from Friday, June 29, 2018. I still haven't decided whether it will be three or four tracks, but it will definitely be at least three. Keep an eye on the blog, as I may decide to announce the track list mid-week.
Finally, look for me to up my social media presence, especially on Twitter, starting next week. I'm going to pony up some of my hard earned funds to get a paid plan with Buffer, so I can schedule more posts and try to manage my social media presence better. By the way, if you have suggestions for the kind of content you would like me to share, please leave a comment or contact me through the form on this blog. You can also send me a line if you just want me to shut up (but I won't).

Until next week then . . .B~)

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

In The Pipeline, June 13, 2018: New Intros and Collections

I have two new items (with variations) in my Pond5 pipeline as of today.The first is another corporate podcast intro. This one is a little more uptempo and has a higher energy level than the others (in my opinion, anyway), and can be a terrific opener for your motivational projects, too. It has four versions: a :30, :15. bumper/stinger and loop. Here's a preview of the 30-second version:



The second candidate is a blues rock intro (really just a riff) that's down and dirty and based on the old Bo Diddley beat. It has three versions -- a :30, a :15 and a bumper/stinger (no loop for this one). Here's a sample:



That's not all . . .
Assuming all goes well and these items are approved, I plan to include them in two new collections I'm rolling out. I now have so many items in my podcast intro music collection (over 200 now) that it's probably unwieldy for prospective clients (like you, I hope!) to browse through them all. So, I'm planning to group similar intros into their own collections to make it easier, starting with rock podcast intros,
and corporate podcast intros.
I plan to support the rollout with YouTube video samplers of both collections. Keep an eye here and on my Twitter for updates as we go.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

What's Happening: Week of June 11, 2018

I've been enjoying seeing pictures of my new granddaughter. I hope you've had a great week and are getting psyched for the one to come.

I'm thinking about a new "Excelsior series" EP. I know I had written earlier that I was going to let my DistroKid account go, but I think I want to give DistroKid one more year to see if I can generate any interest. I've even come up with cover art.
I'm thinking this will be another EP with four tracks. I'm pretty settled on three of them, but still thinking about the fourth. As with the first one, "Volume Two" will feature some of my upbeat motivational music tracks from my production music portfolio. I'll provide more information as I finalize my plans. I'm thinking of a release date in the very near future, maybe a couple weeks.

My featured stock music item this week is Hybrid Action. The title is pretty self-explanatory: pounding drums, orchestral and electronic elements make a great background for your frenetic chase and fight scenes. Please check it out.

And that's pretty much it. Thanks for stopping by, and keep an eye on my Twitter feed and here in case I put some new material in the pipeline.

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

In The Pipeline: June 6, 2018 - City Shadows

I'm pleased to announce a new stock music item in the pipeline at Pond5. It's a blend of smooth jazz/R&B with a noir atmosphere I call "City Shadows." Here's a 30-second sample:



This track will (pending approval) become part of a new curated collection I've created at Pond5. I call the collection "Subdued," and it includes music with atmospheric vibes suitable to sit behind subdued moods in your videos or podcasts. You can access the collection from this link.

Meanwhile, several items that were in the pipeline are now online at Pond5. You can sample them all, plus other recent stock music items, at this Pond5 collection.

Check back here and on my Twitter feed for the latest updates, and don't forget my weekly updates every Sunday evening (US Eastern Time).

Sunday, June 3, 2018

What's Happening: Week of June 4, 2018

I'm running very late on my updates today, and here's the reason why:
That is Eleanor Grace Smith, my first grandchild. She was born this morning. Ellie was 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and 20 inches long. Both she and her mom, my daughter-in-law Leah, are doing fine. My son, Alex, is out of country on military service, but was able to witness the delivery via Skype. Obviously, I'm over the moon, and I decided to spend the day working on something musical for Ellie. And here's that, via YouTube:
If you happen to watch (and listen) to the video, you'll see that I poke a little fun at Alex. I felt a sense of entitlement in this regard, since he sent an email this morning to tell me Ellie was born (which I already knew), opening it thus:

"Dad,

Your journey to oldness is complete."

Thanks, son.

Anyway, between being unable to contain my joy and pouring it into "Ellie Bean," I got out of my usual weekly update routine.

That's O. K., I guess, since the only real update I have at the moment is a new featured stock music item for the week. That is Simply Business Positive (Full Version). It's a nice, simple straight-forward background track for explainers and other corporate media content. It's available in multiple versions, including 60 second, 30 second, 15 second, 6 second bumper-stinger, and a loop. Please check it out.

And with that, I'm beat. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my joy.