Category: music

After offering free downloads for a number of years, chromedecay digital has finally been formally created. chromedecay digital is the free digital-download section of the chromedecay label, and to kick off the new effort and re-organization of free music offered, we present the first official chromedecay digital release: bill van loo + j. schnable: switchback EP (cdigital008).

All previously available downloads are still available, complete with new catalog numbers and cover art. We’re going to be working hard to keep adding more material to the chromedecay digital catalog, so stay tuned.

In conjunction with the Thinkbox: Archive show that is opening at the Art Gallery of Windsor (AGW) on Saturday, May 13, I have released a new set of 5 tracks entitled “5 sketches for thinkbox” as a free mp3 release on the thinkbox mp3 label. Each track is named for and dedicated to one of the other 5 members of thinkbox, and seeks to evoke the sound and themes of that person, as well as my own personal feelings for and about the person. I am honored to be involved in such a talented group of artists.

This set of music, along with a large selection from my back catalogue of thinkbox contributions and live recordings, can also be heard on the listening stations at the AGW show – each thinkbox member has an iPod set up with their tracks loaded onto it for people to listen to.

You can find the free mp3 downloads of “5 sketches for thinkbox” here: think_008MP3

The new Bill Van Loo record, “6 strings for a winter’s day”, is now officially released. It features 8 tracks of layered, delicate ambient guitar work that should appeal to fans of Steve Reich, Daniel Lanois, Robert Fripp or Sigur Ros.

bill van loo: 6 strings for a winter’s day

“6 strings for a winter’s day” is currently available for order via PayPal. To order in the US, please send $9 via PayPal to [email protected]. If you’re outside the US, please contact chromedecay before ordering.

Also available on the record detail page are 2 unreleased excerpts and outtakes from the pre-production and recording process, with one or two more to be added soon. 2 downloadable tracks from the record will also be added in the next day or two.

A quick update on the recently recorded “winter guitar record”:

1. There’s now an official title for the record. It’s going to be called ‘6 strings for a winter’s day’, to reflect the two important pieces of the record’s inspiration (winter) and sound source (guitar).

2. It will be officially released on Tuesday, January 31 – just one short week from today. The final editing, mixing, and mastering is being finished tonight and possibly Thursday. Once that’s finished, the packaging can be finalized, printed, cut, stamped, and jewel cases stuffed.

There will be an official release announcement posted once the record is available for sale. Check back Tuesday, January 31 for that.

The winter guitar recording session finished well on Tuesday. I’ve added some more photos to the photoset at flickr.

Overall, I was very pleased with how the recording session went. I ended up playing and recording all the pieces on Monday, then doing some critical listening and editing on Tuesday. I believe the record will consist of 8 or 9 pieces, although I have to make the final decision still.

One thing that’s affecting me a bit in terms of getting the record finished is a much-needed equipment repair. The second hinge on my 3-year-old Powerbook finally failed a couple months ago (the first hinge had broken over a year ago), so it’s off to PBParts in Arizona for repair. In anticipation of this, I’d bought a 200GB drive a little while back and got everything backed up, so it’s got a completely clean install of Mac OS X on it, and will be ready to do the other software installs once I get it back. Should feel like a new machine!

There’s still a lot of work left to do before the guitar record is out, however – I have to: come up with a final name for it, get the vellum inserts cut, then stamp them, finish designing the insert, get it printed, cut and folded, as well as finishing the actual audio editing and mastering. Whew!

I’ll post some more pictures of the rest of the process as it happens.

The recording process for the as-yet-untitled record of wintery guitar songs in now in full swing. Last night, all the gear was loaded in, and today the recording sessions started in earnest.

Check out the photos via flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chromedecay/sets/1733833/

If you have no idea what this is referring to, check out the year-end update for more info:

goodbye 2005, hello 2006

It’s that time again, when we look back at the past year and look forward to the new one. chromedecay has a lot of projects going on right now, and a number of things in the works for 2006. Here’s an update:

recording guitars in the winter

One project that’s just come together in the last month or so is a set of improvisational guitar-based recordings. I’m actually going to be heading to my parents’ house tomorrow, New Year’s Day, and holing up there for a couple of days, recording a bunch of quiet, ambient guitar pieces. I’ve wanted to do a record like this for several years, especially during the winter – there’s something about the quiet and peace of winter that pulls me toward the more contemplative guitar-based material that I often perform in intimate concert settings.

I’m planning to take some photos and possibly offer some snippets of audio over the course of the time recording the project, so check the chromedecay blog in the next few days to see that as it unfolds.

This record, which is as yet untitled, will be available via chromedecay at the end of January or beginning of February. I’ve been working on the packaging over the last few weeks, and I’m pretty excited about it; it will be a very handmade piece of art. The cover will be hand-stamped on a piece of translucent vellum paper, along with a printed paper insert. I’ll be selling these via my site and at shows, so definitely e-mail me if you’re interested and I’ll reserve one for you.

chromedecay tracks pt2: 2001-2005

Another music project coming up is the second chapter in the “chromedecay tracks” series. I’m finishing the mixing and mastering now, and so in about 2 months (I hope!) I’ll have copies ready to purchase. This record is a set of my instrumental electronic music from 2001-2005, and it’s all culled from various projects that never saw the light of day, for whatever reason.

Once it’s a little closer to being released, I’ll be putting up a free, downloadable mix set based on tracks from it, so look for that in the coming weeks. For now, you can check out one track from it, entitled “rain at the airport”, via the Bill Van Loo MySpace site:

http://www.myspace.com/bvl

songs in the night

I’m still working on my collaborative project entitled “songs in the night”. This is a record I’m really excited about, as it’s the first of mine both to feature other musicians (particularly singers and rappers) and to deal with my Christian faith. The contributions from artists like Listener, Double Helix, re:flex the architect, and others have really inspired me, so expect to hear more about this as it gets closer to being done.

In the meantime, you can check out one of the instrumental tracks from it here:

as she sleeps [mp3 from the forthcoming “songs in the night”]