Well it's finally done - mixed, mastered, duplicated, barcoded and shrinkwrapped!

After a couple of namechanges, a new logo and a complete rework of the front cover graphics, Shadow is finally ready!

I have it available here on CD Baby. ^_^

It's been a long six years in the making and I'm really proud of this release as I've taken my time and tried to address every little detail. Many songs had to be remixed numerous times so as to fit better within the "character" of the CD and some had to be saved for another release entirely as they didn't mesh well with the other pieces, most notable amongst these were my weird Serge Modular pieces - they'll be getting their own CD later this year, probably this Fall.

Mastering Shadow turned out to be a fairly hairy business that I eventually accepted was beyond a mere "mix engineer" like myself. After many days spent mastering, re-mastering and starting from scratch again, again and again, I decided to have a professional do it. I've discovered that mastering is very different than the kind of engineering I'm used to on the "frontend" of a piece of music. I called in George Mattson for the task and he has exceeded my highest expectations.

The cover was originally a black and white image designed specifically to be well-suited for silkscreening, a technique that turned out to be too expensive this time around, so I decided to create a brand new cover image to take advantage of the full-color standard CD cover:

Here's a few of the pieces featured on Shadow:

Arrival 5:27

A contemplative tune grounded by Nord Stage E-piano. Lead synth is by Nord Wave, "rhythm" by Juno 60 and weird ambiences by NI Reaktor & NI Absynth 4.

Bicycle 7:42

The SCI Six-Track takes up rhythmic bass duties while two pianos courtesy of the Nord Stage and NI's Massive weave complimentary lines. Oasys provides the FM pad and Absynth provides some ambiance.

Crows for Marie 5:25

A "piano-ambient-thing". The piano is "Marie", my old Baldwin spinet, the background is Nord Modular percussion, Nord Modular insects, Nord Modular FM pad and a Prophet'08 triangle pad.

Here's a complete gearlist-per-track:

ARRIVAL
E-piano - Nord Stage
Lead - Nord Wave
Rhythmic Arp - Roland Juno 60
Ambience - NI Reaktor, NI Absynth 4

AZATHOTH DREAMS
Everything - Nord Wave

DEAD LEAVES
Lead - Yamaha VL1
Bass - DSI Prophet '08
FM Bell - OASYS
Ambience - Waldorf Microwave XT
Drums - Korg Electribes ER-1, ES-1

BICYCLE
Bass Sequence - SCI 6-Trak
Mellow Piano - Nord Stage
Bright Piano - NI Massive
FM Pad - OASYS
Seagulls - Waldorf Microwave XT
Ambience - NI Absynth 4

PERMANENT SUNRISE
All Synth Sounds - John Bowen Solaris Prototype
Drums - Korg Electribe ES-1

RED TOWERS
E-Piano - Nord Stage
FM Bell - Nord Stage
Electric Grand - Nord Wave
Voxy Lead - Nord Wave
FM Whistle - OASYS
Bass1 - OASYS
Bass2 - Roland Juno 60
Bright Arp - OASYS
Drums - OASYS

LONG SHADOWS
Synth Sax - Yamaha VL1
Woodwind - Yamaha VL1
Growl Pad - Roland V-Synth
Smooth Pad - DSI Polyevolver Keyboard
Drums - Korg Electribe ES-1

CROWS FOR MARIE
Piano - Marie (Baldwin "Acrosonic" Spinet)
Percussion - Nord Modular
FM Pad - Nord Modular
Triangle Pad - DSI Prophet '08
Insects - Nord Modular

INLAND SEA
Piano - Marie (Baldwin "Acrosonic" Spinet)
Pad1 - Korg Lambda
Pad2 - Korg Lambda
Syn Choir - Korg Lambda
Ambience - Waldorf Microwave XT
Drums - Korg Electribe ER-1

SOLSTICE ON MARS
E-Piano - Kurzweil K2600
Percussion - Nord Modular
Ambience - Nord Modular

If weird, experimental, modular excursions are more to your interest, I've also re-released my dark ambient album Touch.