=================
______News______
=================

7-21-08: The news section is getting pretty tall, I'll have to clear it again soon... :O

FlamingFirebolt's been out of motivation to work on the collab since I last chatted with him on Saturday. Dunno what the deal is now... :\

No news on the Unleashed Single.

I'm going to submit a new song that I made with a friend of mine sometime today or tomorrow after I finish polishing it.

Progress will be picking up on Time for Morning, the deadline is still reachable.

No keyboard yet. >:(

...and that's about it for now.

--

7-16-08: Lots of news today:

First off, my collab with FlamingFirebolt is coming along nicely, you can expect to hear that as soon as it's finished, which should definitely be by the weekend of the 27th. I'm not setting any deadlines or release dates, as it's a collab, and we don't need to anyway. But look forward to it around or before that time. ;)

Time for Morning has come to a halt, I haven't had the time or motivation to sit down and concentrate on the notes to the lyrics. I'll figure things out sooner or later, the release date is still feasible.

Everyone check out xKore's song View, which made Weekly 5th this week... it deserved more! ;D Give it a review if you haven't already.

As for the Single of Unleashed:

- xKore said he'd make a new remix, if he doesn't mind I plan to include both the old and new ones! :D
- Nav said he'd help in the final mastering of the CD...
- Mataro said he'd give a remix a shot, though he never really finishes anything, so we'll see about that. :P
- No news from FlamingFirebolt (>:() or Mrmilkcarton.

I'll be out of summer school this Wednesday, which means tons of extra time to finish Time for Morning and also to work on other projects. However, I'll be seriously crammed for time until then. D:

Last but definitely not least, my X-Station 61 keyboard STILL hasn't come in! >:(

--

7-12-08: Great news! :D Sometime in the near future, probably in August or September, whenever everything's finished, I plan to sell a Single of Unleashed! Here's the tracklist so far:

1. Unleashed (Original Mix)
2. Unleashed (xKore Remix)
3. Unleashed (FlamingFirebolt's 8-Bit Remake) (You'd BETTER finish it, FlamingFirebolt, or I'm going to use the version you gave me >:( )
4. Unleashed (MilkMix)

There was going to be an Extended Mix, but that didn't work out, I basically took the Original and built on top of it. :\

Any of the remixers reading this, please don't submit (or resubmit) your songs here, so it'll sell. ;D The original's only here so people can hear ONE of the tracks and have an idea of what they're buying.

Anyone who might want to join the fun and remix it, let me know and I'll send to you the .flp. :P Keep in mind that I'd really like your remix to be in a different style from the other versions - that way I can have a greater diversity of genres and in turn, the ability to appeal to a wider audience.

As for profits, I won't be making any - in the selling of this Single, I plan to break even. This helps in a few ways:
- The more people that ask for a CD, the less it costs, so people are encouraged to ask other people to ask for a copy
- I won't have to bother with figuring out how to send the money out to each remixer

And that's about everything about it so far. Thoughts? :D

--

7-10-08: Well, I've got good news and bad news today. Since I can't ask everyone at once which to start with and expect an immediate response, I'll start with the good news. :P

Good news is, I just now finished the lyrics to Time for Morning. I'm still iffy about having vocals in there but I'm going to go through with it and see how it turns out. ;D

Bad news is, I've decided to hold back the submission of Time for Morning until Saturday, August 15th, mostly for my own reasons. Though you can expect to hear a more polished version by then. :P You can always ask me for the Instrumental version (which I'll be submitting on August 8th) privately - however, I won't be giving out the vocal version to anyone until I have the Instrumental version submitted.

--

7-9-08: I'm having second thoughts about adding vocals to Time For Morning... there are too many reasons to list here, but it would be a lot easier for me if I didn't. :\ Unless I get some kind of HUGE demand for them, I might drop the idea for now and wait to add vocals for another song, perhaps that hard trance song I have planned for sometime in the future.

Thoughts?

--

7-8-08: Form is now named Time for Morning. Yesterday I ended up coming with a really good idea for lyrics. This is really a song to look forward to... ;D

--

7-7-08: Shoooot, writing lyrics is harder than I thought. XD I've got no idea at all what to write about... I'll think of something, though. ;)

On a side note, the instrumental version of my untitled song (formerly Form) is just about ready, though I'll be polishing it from time to time until I finish the vocal version as well - so if you ask for the instrumental version now it may not be the same as the one that'll show up here later. ;)

--

7-4-08: All right... back to this news post. Also note I've cleared out the news section, it was getting a bit big. :P

Next up will be the untitled song (formerly Form), you can expect that sometime soon... I'm going to aim for next weekend (not tomorrow, but a week from then), or perhaps the Wednesday after that. I've got an essay to write this weekend, but after that I'll be able to work on the lyrics, and then get them sung! ;D

After that, I'm not sure what I'll do. By then my keyboard should have come in, so I might be making some nice piano trance... this is going to be a good summer. :D

=================
______WIPs______
=================

Time For Morning
- Progress: 82% done, currently working on the notes to the lyrics.
- Length: 4:10
- Submission Date: Instrumental Version: Friday, August 8th. Vocal Version: Friday, August 15th.
- Info: You might have guessed by the length - I'm going for a fast-progressing, addictive song, like with Unleashed. Though the style's completely different. ;D It'll also be my first time working with vocals - special thanks to my singer, firebanesword! Also note the instrumental version's ready, but I'll be polishing it from time to time until I finish the vocal version - so if you ask for it, you probably won't be getting the same one as the version that'll go on NG. ;)
- Demo: Find it here! ;D You can also ask me privately for the latest render of the instrumental version.

--

Untitled (Collab with FlamingFirebolt)
- Progress: 60% done, Currently 2:20 long.
- Length: Anywhere between 2 to 4 minutes by completion.
- Submission Date: Whenever it's finished. :P Anywhere from a few days to a week or two from now.
- Info: Yeah, I'm actually collabing with someone. :O It'll be my first in a year and a half... so far, so good! ;D
- Demo: None yet, I can clip you on MSN if you want it. :P

--

One (Piano Trance)
- Progress: 5% Done
- Length: Not sure at this point, hopefully it'll be another full-length trance song. ;D
- Submission Date: Probably not sometime this summer, my guess (stress on the word guess) is that it'll be on NG in September or October.
- Demo: None yet, not even a voice clip on MSN.

=================
___Side Projects___
=================

Mech
- Progress: 20% done, currently 1:00 long.
- Length: Not sure at this point.
- Submission Date: Not sure about this either, I'm not sure I'm going to finish it to begin with. If I do finish it, though, it'll be sometime this summer.
- Info: The idea for this started when I found a nice, thick bass synth, as well as a loop that went with it really well. I was originally going for a brutal industrial feel, but it went electro on me. XD
- Demo: IM me to get it for now, maybe I'll upload it somewhere later.

=================
______Ideas______
=================

I made this section so people could see ideas that I've got for future songs, that I haven't really started yet - this way they could suggest for me which songs to work on first. Check back here now and then, I add ideas as soon as I come up with them. ;)

- Remix of Forever, Floating Museum, Synthetic Melody Part 4, or Complexity of Life - They're all songs by Aeden.
- Deep, Maor-Levi style Trance
- Sequel to Contrast - Hard Trance, inspired by DJ Space Raven and Aurisgale
- Remix of Steel Frames - not endlessnumber's Sky Breaks style/genre, but trance. It's just got huge remix potential for me in its melodies. :P
- Rewind (Extended Mix)
- Unleashed (Extended Mix)

Updated: 07/21/08 9:06 PM 23 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 6-18-08: A SECOND update?! On the SAME day?! I must be crazy. D:

PoE is really coming together quickly, I've just finished the first peak and now I'm onto the second breakdown! :D I've got five and a half minutes of music so far... hopefully it'll be longer than eight minutes. :O

Like I said a while ago, I'm going for the best remix of PoE on Newgrounds. :D

And I might - might - actually have it all done before Monday.

--

UPDATE 6-18-08: Ok, a few things to address this time. First, I'm working on the first peak in the Paradise on E Remix - I'm estimating it's about 40% done, and I've got 4 minutes and 9 seconds of finished music (and about a minute more that I still have to finish working on) at this point. :P I expect to have it (the first peak, not the song XD) finished by the end of tomorrow.

Second thing, I've got until Monday to finish the Paradise on E Remix entirely - starting Monday I have summer school for a month (which is just to make my next school year easier). It'll be taking up most of my time, too, which means less time for music... :\

Third, I'll be choosing my vocalist tomorrow, regardless of who sent in their samples and who didn't. ;)

Last thing, inspiration struck and now I've got this weird blend of industrial, electro, and house. XD It was originally intended to be a sequel to Stained Chrome but it went electro/house on me. I don't know if I'll be finishing it, for now call it a side project. :P

--

UPDATE 6-15-08: xKore remixed my song Unleashed! Listen to it here (pssst - 5 it), it completely blew me away. :D

Ha, in my Favorite Audio section, it looks like I favorited my own song (except for the CD art, which xKore didn't use). XD

--

UPDATE 6-14-08: The PoE remix is coming along nicely. Slowly, but nicely. :D If anyone's interested in a demo of what I've got so far, just let me know - to those of you who've heard the last one, it's not all that different. XD

--

UPDATE 6-11-08: I won't be taking any more people who might be interested (not that it matters, this post's off the front page anyway :D). I'll also be sending out reminder PMs to those who have shown interest but haven't responded.

In other news, I'm making minimal progress with my remix of Paradise on E.

--

Hey all,

I have vocals planned for one of my latest songs in the works, Form (a short demo can be found here). Thing is, I need a singer. :D What I need you to do is tell me here, via PM, or at karcotechno@yahoo.com if you're interested. If you know someone who might be interested, let them know and have them do the same thing. ;)

I'm pretty open at this point, right now what I'm looking for is someone with a voice that'll fit in the mix well and sounds good - singing experience will definitely help you, the more the better, and some trance knowledge and being good with lyrics are optional, but definitely bonuses for your case.

Thanks a lot! :D

Karco

Updated: 06/19/08 1:24 AM 17 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 5-30-08: First, I'll be putting off my front paged news post until later, so it doesn't get buried under what may be an extra number of news posts due to the NG Tank Awards. ;)

Second, I'm making a bit of progress on the Paradise on E Remix, though I'm not going to continue updating the daily updated section of the page until I start making some decent progress. On that same note, I'll be releasing a demo (though not on NG) as soon as I have one...

By the way, I'm aiming for best Paradise on E remix on NG. :O If you haven't heard the original, scroll down to find a link. ;)

--

UPDATE 5-28-08: It's been forever since I updated, I know. (Or at least it feels like it. :P) But this is just a short update to make it known I'm looking for someone to sing in Form! If you're interested, let me know here, or via PM. I'll be making a frontpaged news post about it on the weekend, when more people will read it. ;)

--

UPDATE 5-18-08: Never mind about the frontpaged news post, I'll be waiting a little while, I'll post it later this week for a different reason... ;)

As for WIPs, I haven't touched Form in a while though I'm going to come back to it later, and the Paradise on E Remix has started slow, but it'll pick up, especially considering I'm going to salvage a good amount of it that was done already the last time I tried to remix this song. I'm going to blow you all away with this, you watch. :D

That being said I've got various collabs (or attempts at collabs :P) going on with various people, so I've really got four, five, maybe even six different WIPs going on right now and progress on any one of them might end up being a bit slower than I'd have hoped... we'll see. :\

--

UPDATE 5-14-08: New song! :D I'll be making a news post about it this weekend, when I can put it on the front page...

--

UPDATE 5-10-08: I decided I'll remix Paradise on E - I tried it once and I didn't finish it but I came up with something really awesome. I could salvage it and start there. All the melodywork would be done, making it that much easier to make. :P (That's how it works for all remixes, you say? You'll see what I mean if I finish it. :P)

I'll be starting it on the 16th, after my last final. Hopefully I'll have it done before the end of the summer. >:)

--

This is my first time making a post on the front page, awesome. :D

So I feel like making a trance remix. I don't really know yet what I want to remix, so here are a few potential songs I COULD remix:

Nav - Space Sequence
Dj-Immune - Swift (Original Mix)
joshhunsaker - I'm Fine For Now
Chopin - Prelude No. 20 in C Minor
Aeden - Forever
Karco - Miracle - This one definitely deserves a remix - the concept was nice, the execution was crap. XD
Karco - Cycles - This one, too - the first half had this amazing chord progression, in my opinion. If only I had built on it better. D:
B0UNC3 - Paradise on E[Final?] - Don't go expecting the wrong thing, now, I could potentially blow you all away with this. :O

If anyone knows a trance (or otherwise) song like one of these (concrete though very melodic chord progression/melody, nothing else really matters), though, feel free to suggest your own. Why else would this be here on the front page? ;)

Updated: 05/31/08 1:20 AM 11 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 5-2-08: Anyone know a good place to get podcasts? I'm looking for Daniel Kandi's Always Alive podcast, iTunes only has one episode. :P

--

UPDATE 5-1-08: A pinch and a punch for the first of the month! ;D
- Renamed Iteration to Form
- Updated the info for Form, added Estimated Length and Submission Date
- Form could really use a singer, now that I think about it... I'll make it my first song to use vocals. And I'll probably end up renaming it, AGAIN, based on the lyrics. XD
- I have finals next week and the week after that, but after that music will really pick up for a while
- I'm making a promo CD to get known, but it's only for people I know in real life. Sorry NG. :(

That's all for now.

--

UPDATE 4-26-08: Let's see. I'm feeling like a zombie today, I'm going to start sinking in homework before the end of the weekend, and I'm on the computer, making music. I'm going to try to enjoy this while I can... :P I've started a new WIP, see below for details. It's coming along nicely and might get submitted in the near future. :D

Hang on to your demos of Beginnings, though - I'm probably not going to do much more with it. Work's slowing down to a stop again and I get the feeling it's not going to pick up again. :\ I might render a better version for submission but I seriously doubt I'm going to finish it in the near future.

What we've got coming in terms of remixes, now, is a different thing. You'll notice I've taken off all of the remix projects on that list. That's because, sometime in the near future, I'll be making a news post on the front page, giving examples of songs I COULD remix, and asking for other suggestions. I can't remix all of these songs, so I'll just choose one or two by "asking the audience." :P That's all for now.

--

UPDATE 4-20-08: Everyone click here! This is awesome!! XD XD XD If you like it, thank Nav, who showed it to me. :P

--

How'd I forget to do this yesterday? D: I said I'd have it up then, but oh well. Hope nobody minds this being a day late. :P

Beginnings (60%)
Progress: I'm up to the first peak (having just finished the breakdown and buildup, though I'm still touching up on them). I doubt I'm going to get much more work done, though. :\
Estimated Length: More than seven minutes, possibly over eight. Currently, the song's nearly five minutes long, and I know the second breakdown will be at least a minute long. Making room for the second buildup, second peak, and the outro, there's still at least a minute and a half of the song left for me to make. ;) If things don't pick up, though, I might just submit a better version of the demo I've linked to below, as everything past that point isn't nearly as good.
Submission Date: I changed this. Instead of June 1st, you can expect to hear it sometime in late May/early June. I'm not going to promise a specific submission date and run the risk of missing it like I did with Contrast. ;)

Form (formerly Iteration) (N/A%)
Progress: A neat raw-sounding (though in a good way ;D) trance song with a fast progression. Not sure what I want to do with this one, so I don't really know how much of it is finished. I'm just making whatever as it comes to me, and it's sounding really cool so far. :D Maybe I could make this my first song with singing in it, too? It could definitely work...
Estimated Length:Two to four minutes. It's got a fast progression - 4 measures instead of the usual 8 or 16 - so it'll be shorter than usual. ;)
Submission Date: Sometime over the summer...? Probably sometime in June, maybe July if time runs thin, though it shouldn't. No demos this time, the only demo I'm making is exclusive to a promo CD I'm giving out. :P

Rush (30%)
Progress: See that demo I submitted a few months ago? It's basically that, plus a minute and a half or so (just guessing, I'm not actually looking at the .flp right now XD) of epic sawpads. Not too much yet. :P
Estimated Length: Around the four or five minute area.
Submission Date: Not sure yet. I really want to do something with this - finish it, let someone else have a look at it, or put it out of the way for good, I don't know right now.

Electro Side Project (5%)
Progress: Not sure what I want to do with this one. It could become a collab, or I could finish it on my own. I've got a few key concepts down, I just need to figure out what to do with it. ;)

Got something to say? Go right ahead. ;D

Updated: 05/02/08 6:47 PM 0 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 4-15-08: FINALLY! :D :D :D I figured out where the song's going now, and school is being a lot lighter than expected, so expect a lot of progress this week! >:) I might make the submission date a few weeks sooner, too. We'll see. :D Anyone want a demo? Contact me personally. I posted the one public demo, after that, everything's private. ;)

Progress reports will be up on Friday.

--

UPDATE 4-13-08: I'll be making a progress report on my various WIPs, Beginnings and otherwise, sometime this week, so keep an eye out for it. ;) You'll be hearing (possibly literally, no guarantees) again from the likes of Rush and possibly a few others. :O

Also know that from this week until late May, school and stuff will be seriously brutal - so I'm not expecting to get much work done on much for that reason. It sucks, because it's times like those when I get the most inspiration. D:

--

UPDATE 4-12-08: It's times like these I'm really thankful I made the RAM upgrade from half a GB to 2 GB a while back... Beginnings is pushing my computer to its limits and I shudder to think of how a computer with a quarter of the RAM I'm going on right now would take it. XD

I finished the second low point of Beginnings the other day. Why the second? It was easy to do, more of the song's finished that way, and I've been waiting to do it for forever anyway. :P I also did it hoping it'll help me figure out what I want to do for the first low point, which I'm about halfway done with, by the way. All I need to do is come up with the full melody (which I used to have, but am not going to use, as it doesn't fit) and the song's as good as finished. :O

And nobody I know in real life is sending me any e-mails... seriously? I wasn't expecting this, somebody I know has got to be visiting my page now and then. >:(

--

UPDATE 4-11-08: So it's come to my attention that more people that I know in real life than I thought - friends, family, etc. - are viewing my page and listening to my songs. :O Thanks to those of you who let them know, and to those of you who I know who listen - e-mail me at karcotechno@yahoo.com sometime, it'll be cool. :D

And, augh - if I could just get past this first low point of Beginnings, the rest of the song would practically make itself... >:( Progress is being made, though at a ridiculously slow pace...

--

UPDATE 4-4-08: I think Beginnings is officially on hold now. :\ Again, I'm on the first low point of the song, and right here I need some new composition... thing is, melodies and chord progressions come on their own with me, not when I want them to. I guess I'll just be patient...

--

UPDATE 4-3-08: So I've been insanely backed up with school all week... the weekend might be a bit better, not sure about it yet. :\ Inspiration has also been extremely inconsistent lately, so things aren't looking good for Beginnings... D:

I'll just be making whatever, and updating the left area of my page if I make any progress on Beginnings/any new WIPs, as always.

--

UPDATE 4-1-08: First off, none of what I say in this update is an April Fools' joke. I promise. XD

I've decided to rename Memory to "Time Will Tell." A lot more fitting, in my opinion. ;) Though sadly, I've still been making very little progress with it...

Also, has anyone noticed that I update the bottom of this newspost as progress is made/I have more to say there?

EDIT: Renamed it, again, to Beginnings. :P

--

UPDATE 3-31-08: I said progress on Memory would pick up... thing is, it looks like I'm going to be crazy busy with school stuff... I'm also still lacking in inspiration. :\ We'll see how it goes, but don't expect too much progress in the near future...

I'm also considering a title change. The source of inspiration changed midway through production (like it seems to be doing with all of my songs XD) and now I'm thinking of changing to a title more... forward-thinking, and less nostalgic? Any ideas?

Lastly, endlessnumber showed me the trance artist Mike Foyles the other day... I have a new favorite artist now. :D Check him out now (mainly his song Shipwrecked), I found him on iTunes, though he's probably on a few other online stores, too.

EDIT: It's Foyle, not Foyles. :P

--

First off, something struck me as I was taking an English test on Friday: trance music is a lot like poetry... though I'm not going to give my opinions here on why it is. Figure it out yourself. ;)

Second, sorry for being late in posting this (as I promised to those who read my page that I'd have it up yesterday)! D:

I'll get right to the point: Beginnings is my current and biggest Trance WIP, which surpasses in quality my latest two songs Temple and Contrast, which recently made the 1st and 5th, respectively, of the Weekly Top 5 on the Audio Portal, as well as my less recent song Falling Farther (Trance Remix), which was put on the front page. Following are the estimated length and submission date, as well as a three-minute demo and a few other thoughts.

(Those of you who knew all that already, I was originally going to put this on the front page, but I decided I'd do it later, as I can only put a news post of mine on the front page once every two weeks.)

Length: Around 8-10 minutes. This is less of an estimate and more of a goal, however - I can only have an influence on the progression of a song for so long, and after that, it takes off and it's the least I can do to keep up with the inspiration. XD It will be long, though, at a 6-minute minimum.

Submission Date: No later than sometime in late May. This is partially an inspiration thing, though mostly due to the fact that school takes priority over music, and I only get so much time a day to work on it. And if I want this to be my very best song yet, and a huge jump in quality, I'm going to have to take a lot of time making this song. ;) It could come earlier, but I'm guaranteeing a submission by June 1st, regardless of whether or not I've finished the song (though I should have it finished before then) - if it's not finished by then, though, I'll submit what I have.

Demo: Find it here! :D Ignore the little fade-in in the beginning, though, I don't know what happened there. o_O It's basically a teaser; it gives you a good idea of what most, though not all, of the song will be like. And to make up for the lateness in posting this news post, I extended it from 2 minutes, which I said I would give, to 3 minutes - practically all that I have right now! XD And I realize the sound quality's a bit weird, it's some Audacity thing - it'll sound a LOT better in the full version. ;) I know it says the title is Memory there, but remember, I changed the title to Beginnings. ;)

Other Points of Interest:
- The progression hopefully will be something along the lines of Intro-Breakdown-Build-Peak-Breakdown-B uild-Peak-Outro (so that makes the demo just the intro section)
- The second breakdown of the song will be the most powerful part of the whole song (and possibly my most powerful composition ever)
- A week or two ago I had a plan for what the peak would be like, in terms of melody/bassline/chord progression... now, the song's going in a different direction than I originally expected... though it seems to be a better one than what I had hoped. :D
- It's not really major or minor. Sure, you could go, "it's in F minor," or "it's in Ab Major," but, tonewise, is it really more one than the other? ;)
- This is one of my songs least influenced by other music, though it still is - Cordis's songs Lust and Grief both have their influence on this song. Which one it'll end up being the most like is yet to be seen... even I don't know. :O

Expectations: I originally said this song would fully live up to my expectations, though I'm already finding flaws in it that pretty much cannot be fixed. :\ I'm beginning to realize that for a song to fully live up to my expectations, it would have to be perfect, which just isn't realistic considering that I can find flaws even in Cordis's songs (though extremely minor ones XD). I'm still guaranteeing, though, that this song's going to be my best one yet, by far! ;D

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Please don't hesitate if you have anything to say. ;)

Updated: 04/15/08 11:19 PM 2 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 3-28-08: FL STUDIO 8. IS. AWESOME. :D

Though I'm going to continue using FL Studio 7 until I finish Memory, for convenience's sake.

Making the news post for Memory later today... ;) Edit: Expect it around 10 PM EST (Newgrounds time), more or less.

Edit Edit: Sorry everyone, I ended up being busy today. :\ I'll post it tomorrow morning (once again, NG time).

--

UPDATE 3-27-08: A couple things:
1) The news post and demo for Memory are both going to be posted tomorrow.
2) The demo will be the first 64 measures of the song - basically, the introduction. It'll be about two minutes long, and will give you a good idea of what parts of the full song will be like (though the full version will still have you all blown away, you watch >:D). There won't be any real melodic progression, melodies, etc. beyond the simple intro bassline, though, as it's the intro. So, basically, it's a teaser. XD

--

UPDATE 3-26-08: So I showed my friend our part of CTSG3 today, and he said it sounded pretty good. So as of yesterday, it's been finished - I'm on a school computer now but I'll upload it and post it at the Team Awesome page once I get home. ;) Any work that I do from now on will be if someone else on Team Awesome requests it.

As for Memory, I've got a demo nearly ready - I just have to decide whether or not to include an extra sixteen measures (when I finish them, as I'm still working them out) or not. I'll then have it fade out for the ending (as it's a demo), and I'll post it as a link on this news post. Expect it no later than sometime this weekend... I'll post it in the big news post I was talking about in the last update. ;)

--

UPDATE 3-24-08: So Memory is beginning to pick up... sadly, I can't give it my full attention yet! D: I've got to finish me and my friend's part for the CTSG3... once I do that, though, I'll make a full news post with details (including length, estimated submission date, possibly a demo, and other things!) about Memory, and keep it updated as progress continues. ;)

--

UPDATE 3-21-08: So I'm going out of town, starting later today, ending Sunday. And for some reason I can't bring my laptop, and in turn, FL Studio, Memory (I've finally been making some progress on that one, too), other WIPs, and most frustratingly, my part of CTSG3 - once again, I have people waiting for me to finish. Seriously? >:(

I guess that's it until Sunday, then. And just a note here: the left side of my page might not be updated daily, as I might not be able to get to a computer to do it. We'll see.

--

UPDATE 3-20-08: Well, I've got more homework than ever right now. I'm going out of town this weekend, which means I'll have even less time to do the homework that I have (which is above average for a weekend workload, as it's a long weekend).

At the same time, I'm getting more ideas for music than ever, and it's frustrating that whenever I do, the most I can do is keep them in my head, as I don't have the time to get them down on FL Studio. I want to work on the WIPs that I have, including my part for the CTSG3 (and I've got people waiting for me to finish it) but by the time I finish everything else, whoops! It's 9 PM, time to get off the computer for the night.

Don't you just love life? >:(

--

UPDATE 3-19-08: Looks like Temple made it up to the 30 All-Time Top Scoring list this week, so its attention, while slowing down, won't disappear yet! >:) Sadly, that is the case for Contrast, which didn't get anything this week after leaving the Weekly Top 5... oh well. :P

Still backed up with homework and real life stuff. >:( Today might be a bit easier, we'll see.

Edit: I just realized I typed 3-18-08 for the date for this update, instead of 3-19-08. Weird... I've been thinking a day behind all the time lately. o_O

--

UPDATE 3-17-08: Augh, my last day up on the Weekly Top 5. :( At least Temple and Contrast have a shot at the 30 All-Time Top Scoring... I hope. Hopefully those of you that enjoyed my songs (as of right now, exactly 100 people have favorited Temple, 68 people have favorited Contrast, and 94 people have favorited me as an artist - a shame, I was hoping to reach 100 :P) will stop by now and then for updates, and the occasional submission! ;D It felt pretty short, too... I guess that's why they call it your "fifteen minutes" of fame, rather than an hour, or a day, or something. ;D I'll stop rambling now.

Something you all should know is that I've made... a Facebook page? :O Look for Karco under the musicians category, of course... :P I still have to get a bunch of stuff up but I'll do that all later, I've been pretty caught up with homework and school stuff lately. D:

So thanks for reading, and thanks again to those of you who voted for getting two of my songs up on the Weekly Top 5! :D

--

UPDATE 3-16-08: Looks like they changed it (see previous update) back, which is good. :D On another note, I've been playing Audiosurf (search for it on Google and YouTube) a lot lately, which means less time spent making music... :( Ah well, no use making music if I'm not going to make my best stuff. My standards are still increasing, and I can still meet them, but it'll take all the effort I've got if I want to. ;)

--

UPDATE 3-15-08: Seriously? The license that we submit music under was just changed, apparently now flash authors can make money from flashes using Audio Portal music (even music submitted under the previous license before the change, which allowed only noncommercial use unless the audio artist says otherwise) and artists get nothing for their work. >:( I may stop submitting to NG, or even remove my music, if this lasts. Quotes from the thread I linked to above show that it might not all be bad, but we'll see... :\

--

UPDATE 3-14-08: So I've decided I'm not going to do or not do anything, I'm just going to play it by ear and see what happens. (To those who followed the link in my songs' descriptions where I asked for an answer to a question, don't worry about it, I made up my mind, though comments are still welcome. :P)

I've also decided I'm going to take another break from music for a while (funny that this happens right after I get all the publicity I could ask for, huh? :P). By this, I mean that I'm not going to work seriously on any song for a while. If I get an idea, I might get it down on FL Studio, but I'm not going to put too much time into music. I guess I'm just wiped out after making both Contrast and Temple in the same week. That, and pretty much every single WIP I've got is making no progress at all, and if I try to start something new, I get nowhere. D: I don't want to rush anything, especially since many of the WIPs I have now could be my best if done right.

By no means have I stopped submitting, this just means it's going to be a little bit longer until I submit something new. ;) Hopefully this won't turn too many people away from visiting my page now and then, though, as now and then I'll make updates, and I'm still updating the left part of my page daily. ;)

My first day of school after my two-week break off is this coming Monday. This means less time on the computer, though I'll try to respond to reviews/comments/PMs/etc. just as fast. ;) Due to my break from music mentioned above, it shouldn't affect my time on FL Studio too much, in fact, this break will actually ease me into the usual amount of time I'll get on FL Studio, so no problems there. XD

Last, I rendered a one-minute demo of Memory for those who want to hear it, though it's not ready for the public yet. You'll have to contact me personally. ;) It's a positive, uplifting tune picking up where Message left off when the file corrupted... we'll have to see where it goes! ;D

Crap, this update was as long as the original news post. D:

--

First off, thanks again to everyone who voted high/reviewed my songs so they could make the Weekly Top 5, thanks to everyone who's listening to and reviewing them now that they're there, and congrats again to those who I know that made it on the Weekly Top 5/All-Time Top Scoring, etc. ;D

For those who remember, after my song Falling Farther (Trance Remix) was put on the front page, I decided I should act on that publicity boost and submit a new song, and fast. That song was Contrast (which I failed to submit before Falling Farther (Trance Remix) left the front page), and while I don't think it got too much extra attention compared to submissions before Falling Farther (Trance Remix) was put on the front page, it eventually made 5th place on the Weekly Top 5 and is pretty much reviewing itself now (though, as far as I know, no thanks to Falling Farther (Trance Remix), unfortunately).

Question is, what do I do now? Now that both Temple and Contrast have made the Weekly Top 5, do I work like crazy on a new song with daily updates to my news post and everything, like I did with Contrast (though I doubt I'll have something finished by next Wednesday, unless it's another ambient song... actually, I think I might try to start one now)? Do I keep the updates to the WIP Progress area on the left of my page? Or do I do nothing at all and hope that the people who listened to and enjoyed Temple and/or Contrast will remember to check by my page for something new?

And of course, in the end, I want as many people as possible who enjoyed these songs to check by my page for more now and then, as sooner or later I will be submitting more music. Thoughts? :\

Updated: 03/29/08 12:30 AM 11 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 3-11-08: I'VE GOT TWO SPOTS ON THE WEEKLY TOP 5! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

...I really should make more ambient stuff.

--

UPDATE 3-10-08: Not really an update, but just a reminder... you can see my latest WIP progress to the upper left of my page. ;) Want details? Contact me. ;D

Seriously, though, check out the songs I've listed further below, they're awesome!

--

UPDATE 3-7-08: You know what's my favorite thing about being good (at least in my opinion :P) at making music?

If my favorite artist doesn't make any new songs, who cares? I can just make one for them. XD

--

So the past news post, which lasted for about a month, was all about my stuff, so I'm going to make a news post about other peoples' music for a change (though if you want news on my stuff, just look to the left ;D). Like the last time I did this, I'm going to list music not on Newgrounds, though unlike last time, I'm not going to restrict myself to trance (though there's still going to be a lot of it!). ;D

Some of the songs on this list will be on a website in a foreign language, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the play and download buttons, and if you can't for some reason, there's a drop-down menu on the upper-right corner of one of them (Mikseri) for changing parts of the page to English. ;)

Be sure to comment here and tell me what you think! ;D

1. Sulauma - Nietos
This song is a great ambient/house-ish mix, submitted by Sulauma into the genre Deep House. I don't listen to it much anymore, but the reason it deserves its place on this list is because it seems to go on for so long. Just hit play, close the window, and whatever you do, don't look at the timer or anything that can give you an indication of how long the song's been playing. Sometimes it feels to me it's been playing for several times - six, seven? - its actual length. :D Also worth checking out, on the same page, is Shine Fish's (who is actually an alternate account of Cordis, who I gave a mention last time) remix, just as awesome in its own way.

2. Axolus - Avalon
Dream trance, and quite a ride! :D It's energetic, and has everything from sawtooths to vox to guitar (electric and acoustic, both masterfully used!). The FX and atmosphere are both amazing - the whole song is! :D Give it a listen to see what I mean, you won't regret it. ;)

3. Aurisgale - Phantom Train
An awesome song, which sets up an awesome atmosphere - the one reason you'll never be able to take this song seriously is that Aurisgale uses a train sample that sounds like it came out of a children's toy set. XD That aside, though, everything about this song is awesome, and it's one of the few breakbeat songs (though it does have some trance influences) that I listen to, often. Anyone know any other songs like this? I'd download them in a heartbeat. >:)

4. Aeden - Floating Museum (short version)
To get to this song, click the link and wait for the website to load, choose Aeden, click Download, and then download the song by clicking its name. ;) You'll download it as a .opm file, which will make listening to this song a bit of a hassle unless you have certain programs already that can play or convert it, namely Switch and Any Audio Converter to convert it, or Winamp (not sure if there are any others) to play it as is. Anyway, it's another great song, very well-produced, making liberal use of sidechaining and amazing melodywork. :D

5. Aeden - Forever
Another .opm file (4-8 are all .opm files), see number 4. To find this song, load the page, choose Aeden, click download, and then find the "Page 2" button on the right side of the page. Click it, and Forever will be on the right column, fifth from the top. More trance, very melodic/emotional, and pure awesome. Not as well-produced as I'd like it to be, but that's what remixes are for! ;D As soon as I learn to speak French (or get around to asking someone who can, as that's the language the website's in and I don't know if Aeden speaks English or not) I'll get permission and give it a shot. Who knows, maybe he'll put it up on his page. ;)

6. Open-Mind - Back biter
To get to this song, choose Open-Mind, then click download... ;) I'm not completely sure, but I'm guessing that Open-Mind and Aeden are the same person. I don't see any reason why two artists would share a website, unless they were collaborating, and I only see one song that could be one. Anyway, this song's pretty - no, really weird. Wait for the lyrics, and listen closely... they sound foreign at first, but somehow they flip into English, then back, and then become English again. Don't ask me why or what they mean, I have no idea! D: It also switches time signatures - to 3/4, I think? - but other than crazy lyrics/rhythms it's awesome.

7. Open-Mind - Banana Split
This song cracks me up. XD It's a techno song, in French, about banana splits. What's not to love? ;D The only word I understand is banana, but it doesn't make the slightest difference to me! :P

8. Open-Mind - Run fa cover (Hard mix)
XD XD XD XD XD

Updated: 03/12/08 12:11 AM 2 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 3-5-08: Just submitted Contrast, listen to it here! :D Be sure to comment on this news post if you don't feel like leaving a full review.

Enjoy! ;D

--

UPDATE 3-4-08: Contrast is almost finished! :D I've just about finished the second peak though I'm still polishing a few parts before that. Then I've got the ending, which is always easy to do. ;) I plan to have it submitted today (or tomorrow if things don't go according to plan).

Also, question - should I continue these daily updates once I submit Contrast? Comment here with your answers, and keep in mind that I won't decide based on majority, but rather on how many people answer to begin with. ;D

Don't get how that works? Think about it...

--

UPDATE 3-3-08: Aww, look at that. Falling Farther (Trance Remix) was taken off the front page. :( Ah well, I know that SOMEBODY'S got to be reading these updates, so I'll keep them up anyway. ;)

I'm making decent, though slow, progress with Contrast, mostly because I'm polishing each section as I make it, rather than polishing everything at once at the end. Demo renders are available, but you'll have to contact me privately - PM, IM, e-mail - as I don't have an actual preview to show right now, like with the last one. ;)

Also, I've decided on two breakdowns and two peaks for sure, now, so the song will take longer to make, but should be at least 5, but probably 6 (or maybe even 7 :P) minutes long. Just be patient, this is going to be awesome... >:)

--

UPDATE 3-2-08: Today's update, unfortunately, isn't going to be a good one. :\ I've really been in no state to make music yesterday, and probably won't be today (sick), so I'm going to have to delay the submission of my song Contrast. :\ I'm still trying to work on it, and hopefully I'll have it submitted within a week from today,

Hopefully this delay won't turn too many people away from checking by my page for my next submission. I'm still going to submit it sooner or later, after all. ;D

EDIT EDIT EDIT! :D Never mind, I'm getting a surprising amount of work done. Still, I'm not guaranteeing a submission date, but take a look at the message on the left side of my page to see how overall progress is going. ;) There's also a fair chance that this song will be my first with two breakdowns and two peaks, which would mean it would be around two minutes longer. It also means I'd be spending more time making it, but we'll have to see. ;)

--

UPDATE 3-1-08: Finally, the two-week break I've been waiting for! >:) Not much to say now, except that I'm working harder than ever on this song... if anyone wants a demo render, contact me and I'll send you one privately. The demo down in one of the earlier edits is enough for the public to see until I submit the finished song. ;D

Also, it looks like the song's going to be submitted on either Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, but hopefully no later than that. ;) I'm trying to get a new expansion for Nexus, which will hopefully make making this song ten times easier. ;)

Thanks for your patience! :)

--

UPDATE 2-29-08: Leap day edit! :D

Like I said, progress is picking up with music overall, and I plan to have the hard trance song finished by Sunday, maybe Monday if it takes too long.

Here are the details I promised:
Title - Contrast
Length - 4-6 minutes
Days to Completion - Hopefully two or three
Awesome - Yes! ;D

Just a few more days... ;)

--

UPDATE 2-28-08: So yesterday was the big "hump" of the week, and now that I'm past that, work on these WIPs is finally going to pick up again! :D I'll be posting the details for the hard trance WIP on Friday, though, I don't have time to do it right now. :P

Also, just a thought... anyone else think it's odd that more people have favorited my song Falling Farther (Trance Remix) than me as an artist? o_O

Anyway, thanks for your patience, everyone, it's going to pay off soon enough! ;D

--

UPDATE 2-27-08: Third daily update! :) A few things:
1) Renamed the reversed version of the Rush demo to Rewind, just because it fits more. :P
2) I didn't make any real progress on my hard trance WIP or Rush, sadly, and I probably won't make any today, either. :\
3) If anyone knows a song or two that reminds them of Rush, send it to me! It just might help me get it done faster. ;)
4) The review count on Falling Farther (Trance Remix) has broken 30 reviews! :D Right now it's at 35... thanks, everyone! :)

Thanks for reading, details on the hard trance WIP are coming either tomorrow or the day after that! :D

--

UPDATE 2-26-08: Huge progress was made last night, not structurewise but compositionwise. Now, I can guarantee that this song will get finished, and soon! :D Also stay tuned for the details - name, length, etc. - which I'll post on Thursday or Friday, after a bit more work and once my homework clears up. ;)

--

UPDATE 2-25-08: First daily update, thanks for reading! :) So far, I've got an idea of where I want to go with my hard trance WIP, and there's a demo (note the word DEMO, it's not final and is only going to get better!) further down this news post if you're interested. ;) This week's going to be full of homework, so I won't have time to work on it, so Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday if I need it, are when most of the work will get done. ;) Hopefully it'll get done soon, thanks for your patience!

--

UPDATE 2-24-08: My song Faling Farther (Trance Remix) made it to the front page!! :D

--

UPDATE 2-22-08: Just thought I'd make an update on what to expect over the next few weeks.

First off, homework's coming on a bit heavy these days, so don't expect too much until next weekend (not tomorrow, but a week from then).

Starting that Saturday, I'll have two weeks off from school! :D I'll have tons of time on the computer, as I'm not traveling anywhere, so major progress on all sorts of stuff will be made over those two weeks, though very little before then.

That's all for now. The public demo in the last update is still the latest render, take a listen sometime and give me some feedback, any feedback from anyone is appreciated! ;D

--

UPDATE 2-18-08: PUBLIC DEMO! :D It's been a while since I posted a link to one of my demos on my page, usually I would just send them to people over IM, or submit them here. But since it feels extremely likely that this song's going to get finished, and I want the extra advice, I'll host it somewhere else for now until I submit whatever I finish with. :P

It's the hard trance WIP, and you can listen to it here. And before you say anything, yes, I know there's crackling in the beginning, so don't worry about that. Thoughts, comments, criticism, etc. are appreciated! ;D

--

UPDATE 2-13-08: Gotta love these daily updates, eh? ;D Started ANOTHER new WIP (and dropped Strobe in the process, it's really not going anywhere unfortunately), this time it's hard trance. Look for a demo in the latest Continue the Song Game thread on the BBS. ;D

--

UPDATE 2-12-08: Submitted the demo, and a little surprise. ;) Reviews are appreciated! :D

Augh, I should be studying for a test right now... D:

--

UPDATE 2-11-08: I've got a demo of Rush coming soon - I've got homework to do but I should have it done by today or tomorrow. I'll be submitting it directly to Newgrounds, so keep an eye out for it! ;)

--

UPDATE 2-9-08: Ok, I've chosen, even though I haven't gotten any suggestions - Blackout is the one I'll give the most attention, though there's still hope for Strobe and/or Rush. We'll see. ;D

--

Ok, it appears leaving my list on the front of my page isn't going to make much of a difference, so here's a new news post! :D

I haven't gone in depth with my works in progress lately, so here's an update. Currently, I have lots of different ones, but three big ones:

Blackout: The original idea for this one came from its distorted bass synth, which I discovered one day and found that it reminded me quite a bit of Stained Chrome, which I submitted back in March. I then tweaked with it until I liked how it sounded. I didn't do much work on it after that, though later on I started on a separate WIP based on some trancebreaks, inspired mostly by a song which I might share with you sometime. ;) The idea occurred to me to merge the two, and I gave it a shot, and it worked - and that's where it's at now.

The idea for the original Blackout (before I added the trancebreaks), like I said before, came from Stained Chrome - and the overall idea is that what was there in Stained Chrome was shut down, though functioning just fine, and tossed aside, where it was bent, twisted, burnt, and broken... somehow it survived, and this is what it has become. This is by no means a remix or remake of Stained Chrome, however... it's a separate song.

Strobe: I posted a loop of this one already, so you can read most of the description for this one. I doubt this is going to become a full song, though it's definitely possible. IM me for a more recent demo, as I'm not posting any more here until the finished version. ;) The general idea of this one is a booming, high-energy, "pump it" sort of trance song, which is made obvious by the loop demo posted here.

Rush: With this one, I'm attempting a very new style to me - much slower trance, at around 110 BPM. Thing is... if it's that slow, where's the rush? You'll find out if you ask me for a demo, or if I finish this song. ;)

I'm aiming for the melodic, powerful, busy feel, with a heavy drumbeat and an amazing melody. What's more, this one's practically finished, patternwise - I just need to figure out what I want to do with the structure of the song. :\

Right now my motivation for these three is about equal, so what I want is a few opinions on which one to give extra attention to. Because I think I can finish one or two of these, it's just a matter of choosing which. ;D For my own reasons, I'm not posting any demos, though you can always contact me privately (PM, IM, e-mail) if you want one.

Thanks for your time! :)

Updated: 03/05/08 1:31 PM 5 comments | Log in to comment! | Share this!

UPDATE 4-16-08: >:( >:(

--

UPDATE 2-22-08: >:(

--

UPDATE 2-1-08: Well, I understand that this list has just started... but still, it's small! So, anyone who could contribute to this list, contribute - and anyone who knows anyone who can contribute, spread the word! ;D This list isn't going to be very much use if it covers only nine products, with only one comment each. ;)

--

Here it is, at last! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this list! :D We're starting out small, but hopefully it'll grow. >:)

For anyone new to this list, the basic point of it is to give quick and easy insight into any sort of product related to music, to anyone deciding whether or not it's worth buying. Each product will have anywhere from one to several short summaries, each accompanied by a rating out of 5 and any other important information, all written by users of that product themselves! :D If the short summaries, ratings, and other information listed here aren't enough, a good idea would be to PM one of the users of that product for more details. Categories, products, users, etc. are all sorted alphabetically.

If you want to contribute to this list, just send me a PM, or leave a comment here, with five things:

1) The actual comment - try to keep the length to around two or three sentences of reasonable length.
2) A rating - out of 5, decimals allowed.
3) The price of whatever your comment is about.
4) Any other important information, which will be listed next to the price.
5) A link or URL to the product's website.

Any and all contributions will be very appreciated! ;D If anyone wants to edit a comment of theirs, all they have to do is PM me/comment here with what they want to be changed, and what they want me to change it to. ;)

First off, the missing list, then the actual list itself.

MISSING LIST:

- Currently, nothing's missing! :D

==

--HARDWARE--

EMU 0404-USB - $229
Rig: "If you're going to get th