VELOCITY - Retro Electro

Hello, my friends.

As many of you know, I am a restless guy. I have always had more interests, hobbies and ideas than time to pursue them. Some people call it having ants in your pants. Whatever it is, sitting around doing nothing has never been one of my strengths.

A few years ago, I decided it was finally time to make my own music. Truth be told, I had wanted to do it for a very long time.

Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s was something special when it came to music. You would switch on the radio and hear one great song after another. Rock, synth-pop, disco, new wave, punk, heavy metal, classical music—it was all there. The melodies stayed with you long after the song ended. Many of those artists are still around today, but somehow they don't get nearly as much radio play as they deserve.

​

Music has always been part of my life. My brother played keyboards in a band, while I spent my teenage years making questionable noises on a bass guitar and playing French horn in my hometown orchestra. Not exactly rock-star credentials, but it was a start.

Over the years, I found myself wanting to create the kind of music I enjoy listening to. My musical taste covers a pretty wide spectrum—from heavy metal, glitter rock, disco, synth-pop, NDW and new wave to the classical masters Schubert, Beethoven, Bruckner and von Sauer, and just about everything in between.

​

The idea of recording my own music really took shape while occasionally visiting the studio of my good friend Kevin, an accomplished recording artist and one of Canada's finest drummers.  I started writing lyrics, often adapting poems I had written years earlier. Then came melodies hummed into a recorder, played back on keyboards and synthesizers, and gradually turned into songs.

Since building a professional recording studio was well beyond my budget, I spent years experimenting with programs such as BandLab, Cakewalk and Reaper, connecting keyboards, microphones and MIDI controllers, and learning as I went. Thanks to modern technology, even a guy like me can produce an album from a modest home studio.

​

When I released Velocity a few years ago, I had no idea how many people would enjoy it. Most of the downloads seemed to come from people who grew up in the same era I did—people who still remember fixing a cassette tape with a pencil and recording songs from the radio. That encouragement inspired me to continue.

Now I am pleased to introduce my second album, Beyond Velocity.

Musically, it follows a similar path, drawing inspiration from the synth-pop, NDW and new wave sounds that have remained favourites of mine for decades. Artists such as The Twins, Ideal, Alphaville and Hubert Kah still find their way onto my playlist far more often than most contemporary music.

Unlike Velocity, however, this project became much more personal.

As the songs developed, I realized many of them were connected to different moments in my life. Some began as poems written years ago. Others were inspired by people I have known, dreams I have had, places I have lived, and questions that still occupy my mind today. Without ever planning it, Beyond Velocity became a collection of memories set to music.

For those curious about how the album was created, I should mention that I am not a professional musician, nor do I claim to be. I created this project simply because I enjoyed the challenge.

​

I wrote all of the lyrics*, composed the melodies, played keyboards and synthesizers, added a little trumpet, attempted some singing, and mixed everything together in our humble home studio. My teenage daughter deserves special credit for helping me navigate the technical side of the process. Without her assistance, some of these songs would probably still be trapped somewhere inside my computer.

The songs explore themes of immigration, friendship, love, loss, dreams, art, growing older and, occasionally, aliens. In other words, they tell the story of a life.

I had a great deal of fun creating this album, and I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Both Velocity and Beyond Velocity are available as free downloads. If you would like to support future projects, donations are always appreciated—but most importantly, I hope the music brings a smile to your face.