Lots has happened in the past week or so.
The Love Symphony is just about complete but I've continued to tinker. I extended the "Sonata For Self-Pitying Piano" to good effect. I also spent a long time adding more feeling to that track, adding a degree of random amplitude variation to the lead piano and lots of tempo slides, which is easy in my software (hard only because I need an 8ghz PC to run it at full speed; and, unlike my prediction from 2002, they don't exist at this date!)
I'm pleased with the album, although the emotion on the first track isn't as evident as it could be, working best on the simpler melody. I like the ending though. I've added a better ending to "Loneliness And Divine Love" too, and re-rendered that a few times to eliminate digital click, a problem with Noise Station II until recently when I added a new plug-in to fix it, which fades in and out instruments by a fixed degree, amazingly it takes a huge 6-8ms to fix this.
Here's the final track listing.
1. There Is No Love, And The More I Search The Less I Find (9:52)
2. Sunset (1:50)
3. The Dream (5:54)
4. Sonata For Self-Pitying Piano (5:21)
5. Encounter With The Believers (0:37)
6. Loneliness And Divine Love (6:37)
7. Stroking The Harp (0:59)
8. Awakening Sonata For Oneristic Harp (1:39)
9. The Eventual Attainment Of Love (9:40)
Here's the final cover...
I've ordered 20 copies to be printed, which is costing nearly £3 a print from a company called Noisegate Studios. I've ordered from Noisegate before and the quality is very good, and for me a higher price top quality product is more important than cutting budgets. People could buy the FLAC version and print their own if they wanted to save money, but those who like and want a CD jewel case with good full colour printing will be willing to pay for it. I've already sold one copy.
In other news I've completed a few programming updates, including a major revision of my game Flatspace, to make a new release; FlatspaceIIk.
The main reason I did this is lack of support from by current publisher Impulse, so I wrestled control back and decided to release an upgraded version of my most popular game myself. I took the opportunity to update a few other games too; Taskforce and Gunstorm II. I like Taskforce a lot but perhaps liked it too much to tweak it as much as it needed.
Finally my, yes! my reliquary is just about finished. It looks rather ropey on the outside. The veneer became stained with PVA glue, a curse which reveals itself only when varnished (yet epoxy soaks through, leaving a gloss finish, the wood glue problem must be solved). I painted the leading edges with ink spots, which hides the worst of this and adds artistic content. The veneering is also uneven, and the gold wrinkled and blotchy. In fact there's lots wrong with it, most of which I'm sure I could fix if I made another box, which of course I'm itching to do! I've made two pieces of silverwork, the first was just too awful. The second half-awful but passable. It's held in place with a powerful magnet to keep it in place but easily removable if needed. I covered the hinges with acrylic moulding paste and then gilded them, which looks like the hinges are scones (yes, scones not stones).
Golden reliquary secrets and lessons will be shared later. This post is long enough!
Next; to finish my book of poetry. I'm to host and arrange a poetry night in April. Everything at the moment is exciting. Never let obscurity limit your expression. Assume greatness. Assume brilliance. Keep working and assume success because to work is to succeed. As an artist everything you do is art, everything, and the more you do the better artist you are. Try everything and you will succeed at everything!
Qapla!
