Finished tracking drums for "Louder Than Words" yesterday, thankfully. My boy Terry brought in a new kit and I'll be working on drums for "The Best It's Gonna Get", "Tainted" & "The Lucky One."

I'll be wrapping up editing & mixing for "Louder Than Words" and then it will be Official - Chapter 1 of "Wish Upon a Blackstar" will be ready to go. I've already got the first round of graphics for album art from Dose Productions and I can't wait til we get the artwork mapped out. I'm "totally stoked" (as Jeff Spicoli might have said.)

I'm getting yelled at, so I need to head into the cutting room and make some noise. Bye.

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Recording Cessions

Labels: Celldweller, FiXT Store, Memorial Day, Sale

Labels: Because I Can

Just a sobering look at just how small we really are. This is The Effin Shiz.

Galactic Center of Milky Way Rises over Texas Star Party from William Castleman on Vimeo.

Labels: The Effin Shiz

I promised you some footage from the studio. This is the best I could do for now (I'm a little short on camera operators and video editors...) Hit me on Twitter. (And yes, I did go see Terminator Salvation last night. I'm a total geek.)



Big up to Terry Lesperance for letting me borrow a much better kit than the ones I own.

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Drums, Louder Than Words, Recording Cessions, Studio

GET YOUR MUG POSTED @ FiXTSTORE.COM

















I think it's time to get some pics uploaded of you guys in Celldweller gear! Jimmy is going to set up an Official Celldweller gallery at FixtStore.com and the pics we choose will get posted. The simplest way to do it is email it directly to: cellm8 (at) celldweller.com. Include your name and a URL (Myspace/Facebook etc) and we'll post with your image. I'll start posting a URL when we have one so you guys can upload pics and check out the gallery. We need some images to get started, so get those cameras out and start snapping.

Still working on drums for "Louder Than Words" - They are currently getting remic-ed so I have a few mins to post this. Back to it...

[Klayton]

[-_-]

2. I found out a few hours ago that my track "Ursa Minor (Neutron Mix)" from Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 01 landed for the trailer. (Yippee Ki Yay!) Between this and "Race to Witch Mountain" I'm beginning to think Disney likes me. If they ask me to score "High School Musical 4", I'll know the deal is sealed.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for it bc there's a pretty good chance I'll find out the trailer has been released when you guys let me know you saw it. (Tweet me if you do, dammit!!) Now I can finally afford to buy that washing machine toilet combo I've wanted soooooo badly.

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Film/TV, Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 01, Ursa Minor

I'm about to play these particular drums for "Louder Than Words." Kinda can't wait til they're done so we'll all be one step closer to hearing Chapter 1 in it's entirety. Any day now, any day...

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Louder Than Words, Recording Cessions, Studio

I made a track for you. Like really, just with you in mind. The only stipulation I had for myself was that I had to do it in under an hour. Let me tell you how this all unfolded:

Yesterday, my brother lvl texted me to tell me to check out a new soft synth. He had already bought it and loves it and I wanted to find some time at the end of the night to mess with it for at least a few minutes. I kinda know myself a little bit, and when I first tweak on a new piece of gear I usually end up creating something with it if that particular piece of gear is inspiring. So I decided that I would wait til the end of the night (when I would normally attempt that fabled Utopia called "sleep") and install and play around with this soft synth. I also decided I would create a piece of music for you guys with the first sound I found that I was inspired by. I knew I wouldn't be writing the next "Bohemian Rhapsody" but that was the idea - short, simple and something some of you might find some use for. ( I suggest using it to travel to that fabled Utopia called "sleep".)

I found and tweaked out an atmospheric patch I liked, recorded a performance in one shot and that was the extent of the creative process. Then I sweetened the sound up a bit to make it a little more atmospheric than it already was, scratched my butt and then decided I needed a light beat. Sifting through my loops, I found one I hadn't listened to in awhile. It was the loop I created for my live show a few years ago. ( If you're not following me on Twitter, you're missing out on some recent posts we've been making back and forth about potential Celldweller touring. GO FOLLOW - OBEY! ) Back then, I wanted a light and filtery loop for my version of "Under My Feet" for my live show, and now you can hear it even if you haven't seen me play live. That little light and filtery loop you're hearing in this Beta Cessions track (Distants) is the actual untouched loop I made for "Under My Feet" live. Wow, trivia central. Don't you wish you could be on "Who wants to be a millionare" and they asked you this question? You'd nail it.

Speaking of "nailing it" I need to go nail out some food and then nail out more "Louder Than Words" editing and programming today. So I'm out - nailing it. If you guys dig these random "Beta Cessions" tracks, then I'll keep throwing them at you. (Tweet me) If not, I'll just write them and loop them for Stutter the studio cat to listen to all.... day..... long.......

Preview:



Download:


[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Beta Cessions

Yep it's time for one of those again. This time instead of bouncing down memory lane on my Hippity-Hop, I will actually give you an up to the minute "Piss Revelation" today. I drank a lot of iced tea, which not only makes me jumpy and more hyper-active than my elementary school principal had already established, but it also makes me have to... pee. A lot.

So today as I was *ahem* "doin' my thang" for the 11th time, it hit me: The bassline to "Louder Than Words" isn't working. The entire chorus of my original demo was based on this Killing Joke-esque 16th note rhythm that drives the whole chorus (in my tiny mind, at least.) Now I've gone and added so many other goodies (like 12-16 layers of guitars and about just as many synths along with all the vocals & drums) that the bassline isn't happening. Here's a screenshot of just a section of guitars:


So that was my depressing *PR* for the day. There, there - don't cry. I know I've had non-depressing *PR*'s too. Like the one I had when I decided on the name "FiXT" for my company and the other one where I invented the cure for cancer.

There will be more, have no fear - and just when you thought it was safe not to think while peeing...

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Piss Revelations

It's that time again - Time for me to answer your questions. Time to find out if this really does smell like chloroform, time to find out if you can make it through this entire Klog without falling asleep. I hope this is enlightening.

--------------

Klayton: Did you see the new "Star Trek" movie? Did you have a Nerdgasm in the theater?

Thanks for the timely and engaging question, Klayton. The answers are simply "yes" and "yeeeeeessssssssss" (both times)

--------------

sMartyPants:
What bands, musicians and/or producers do you think are pushing the envelope in the scene today?

Tough question. I had to cut out some stuff that isn't necessarily 'current' to try to keep it to a list of people I think are making a difference right now. These are in no particilar order. Remember, this is only my opinion and that's what you guys asked for. So, check it:

IAMX - I have been spreading the word about Chris Corner's "new" gig since Sneaker Pimps. His songs blow Sneaker Pimps out of the water IMHO and his live show is energy-central. Run and go buy "The Alternative" at least. (I know a certain Bret Stahli who covered an IAMX track - maybe he will share with you some day if you bug him enough.)

Ctrl-Z - Great sounding energetic breaks. Check out his Computer Music tutorial video. I learned stuff watching him - so can you.

Aaron Spectre - He kinda got lumped into the "Breakcore" genre but he goes way beyond that. Check out his project "Drumcorps" on iTunes. Blew my mind - finally someone approaching metal from a different angle.

Far Too Loud - insane breaks and edits up the arse.

Noisia - these guys fall somewhere between breaks and drum and bass and beyond. Great production and groovy tracks.

Deadmau5 - It feels cheesy to mention him bc he's the hot producer right now, but props must be given where they are due. He's got skills galore. In fact, i think some of the cooler stuff he's done is not even in the House realm where he is king right now. Go find his free older tracks where his edits rival Richard James'. (Project 56)

Moshpit - Bret Stahli told me I must listen and I'm glad he hog tied me and made me. Energetic and raw. I want to start a Cyber-Punk band that does a whole album like this. My manager will kill me if i try to do anything other than work on "Wish Upon a Blackstar", but i can peretend at least...)

Hybrid - Been listening to them for years. Cinematic, clean production, great grooves.

Trifonic - Actually discovered these guys from Hybrid's "Soundsystem 01" disc. I recently edited together a 15 minute version of their song "Transgenic" to fall asleep to. Check them out at the FiXT Store.

Way Out West - I remember a period of time during the making of the debut Celldweller disc where the only album I would listen to in any airport I was in was "Don't Look Now" and that was only because I completely played out "Intensify."

Headroom - The production on "Artelligent" makes me wish i could make Psy Trance tracks that sound this good.

Pendulum - C.mon, You guys have to know who they are. I listened to "Hold Your Color" for a few years and was totally flattered when they approached me to remix "Propane Nightmares" from their new album, In Silico. If you haven't heard them, you absolutely have to.

Trentemoller - Gabe from Growling Machines turned me onto Trentemoller when i was playing with them in Brazil. I had heard his name, but didn't know his music. I won't even try to describe it. Just go listen to his "Moan" remix. I think i looped that track for 2 hours straight the first time i heard it. Other notable tracks "Take me into your skin" from "The Last Resort" and check out his rework of Moby's "Go."

Unkle - James Lavelle just captures something that is hard to describe. Raw and emotional and with some great collaborators. Check out "War Stories"

-----------------

Gman2mn:
What inspired you to make "Outland"?
What inspired you to make "Aurora Borealis"?

Both of these tracks (like many of the songs on "Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol.01) weren't conceived in advance. i didn't sit down and deliberately write these pieces to be something specific. They both have a similar history though. I created the intro 'scraping' beat to Outland years ago along with some of the atmospheric elements i created in Reaktor. Similarly, i was playing with my Izotope Trash plugin and running some drums through it and discovered this parameter i could tweak to give a boring drumbeat i had super wide stereo width. I compressed the hell out of the drums as well and that became the basis for the track. I liked both of these elements (Outland and Aurora Borealis respectively) enough to select these to be completed for SVH Vol 01.

-----------

D (DalanJe).:
What kind of person do you respect?

Funny you should ask that, in light of the song I'm working on RIGHT NOW. The song "Louder Than Words" (coming up on Chapter 1 of "Wish Upon a Blackstar") covers that concept. The chorus is simply "Actions speak louder than words do - I don't want to hear dead words from you - Actions speak louder than words do - I don't want to hear what you will do."

I'm not big into the handjobbing "I love your work - let's do lunch, bro!" thing. If you think I suck, then tell me. You won't hurt my feelings. I'll tell you if I think you suck, I'm pretty sure you could find a few references if you don't believe me. I respect someone who works hard. i respect someone who is honest. i respect someone who is loyal. My father was a shining example of these things to me growing up and i am truly thankful now, though i may not have understood it's importance as a munchkin. This is what shaped me into the dude i've become (not "The Dude" from The Big Lebowski people, c'mon.) It's hard for me to respect the people I've had in my life that complain to me about not "accomplishing their dreams" but are more than willing to spend huge chunks of time smoking bowls while watching Ren & Stimpy reruns. Cool, I love Ren and Stimpy. I don't particularly love smoking bowls or smoking anything for that matter, but that is irrelevant - the point is, if you want something then go get it. You can't complain about failure if you're not actively trying to succeed, IMHO. Nobody is going to come along and wipe your ass, put on a fresh diaper and stick a golden spoon up your nose while they hand you the keys to the kingdom. Congratulations if you're the exception to that rule, but I wasn't that "fortunate." Thusly I can and do respect those who work hard for what they've accomplished.

Huh, what? Where am I... Oh, i guess you can consider that my little tangent/tirade i went off on to encourage those who are truly seeking it. If you want something badly enough, you will only ever get there by trying, and you may quite possibly win the respect of your peers along the way.

--------------

Andy - favorite plugin ever?

Impossible to narrow it down to one. This is a big reason why I want to start doing little video tutorials that show different plugins I use, how I use them and why I dig them. I know I'll find the time any day now...

--------------

If you made it this far into the Klog, then you're awesome.

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Album, Celldweller, Drums, Klayton, Louder Than Words, Recording Cessions, Wish Upon a Blackstar

Wow, that was quick. We had a winner within 15 minutes of posting the Klash-Up! Congrats to Jacob N who said...

Squarehead - "Stop, Drop, and Roll"
Daft Punk - "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
Argyle Park - "Doomsayer"
Morgan Page - "The Longest Road"
Celldweller - "Last Firstborn"

Jacob N wherever you are, Jimmy Rhodes will contact you and co-ordinate getting you the brand new Celldweller shirt.

The text doc in the .zip file has now been updated with the full "setlist," but I'm going to post it here again anyway:

----------
Celldweller - Banger (Unreleased Demo)
Squarehead - Stop, Drop & Roll (FiXT)
Celldweller - The Lucky One (From the upcoming "Wish Upon a Blackstar")
Burufunk, Carbon Community - Community Funk (Deadmau5 Remix)
Slayer - South of Heaven
Argyle Park - Doomsayer
Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Celldweller - So Long Sentiment (From the upcoming "Wish Upon a Blackstar")
SebastiAn - Dog
Morgan Page feat. Lissie - The Longest Road
Celldweller - The Last Firstborn
----------

I also made a full resolution 16 bit .wav file available for anyone who wants a CD quality version of this mix to play on their AM radio. Get it here.


Another reason yesterday was cool was seeing how many of you are eating up the new Blue Stahli track "ULTRAnumb." I think I saw a tear poised at the edge of Bret's eyelid, waiting to jump when he saw your responses to his new track.

I'm out - send as many people as you'd like right here to download the Klash-Up. More later...

Klash-Up (05-05-2009):


[Klayton]

[-_-]

If you've been following me on Twitter, then you may have been privy to my tweets of my recent bouts with insomnia. I'm a perpetual insomniac, but it's been worse the last few weeks. Since I'm one whose philosophies include "Turn that frown upside-down", "Take it from the friend-zone into the end-zone" & "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it and give it someone you don't like" I decided to make the best of it. I've been making half-assed attempts to sleep and just getting back up 15 minutes later to jump back into work. It's just that now I could justify working on something different to clear my head from all the "Wish Upon a Blackstar"-ness.

I gave you guys a 'Klash-Up' a few posts ago that i did just because i couldn't sleep then either and needed something else to waste time on. I also thought Freddy Mercury would sound cool over one of my tracks, although I'm still waiting for him to return my calls to tell me what he thinks... (Keep in mind that these are just things I'm dinking around with to work through some production ideas, so enjoy the dinkery. )

I'm going to drop another Beta Cessions "Klash-Up" right here - tomorrow and I had a brainstorm while working on it. Because I'm self employed and can do any damned thing I want to (as long as that includes dying and paying taxes, of course) I decided to pull out more stops. This time around I decided to dig through some demos, some of my older catalog and throw some "Wish Upon a Blackstar" in there too. As a 'for instance' the first track is a demo I've had sitting around for a year dubbed "Banger." I built some of the elements from some crappy live drums I played into a single microphone and combined that with some guitars and bass from my demo of "The Lucky One" from the ever-upcoming "Wish Upon a Blackstar." I could tell you lots more about it, but i really can't. That's bc this is where the "contest" element comes in:

Above is a pic of a brand new Celldweller shirt, currently in production (I'm calling it "Birthright" bc I'm not creative enough to come up with something new and original.) We're supposed to have actual product in 2 weeks. I thought it would be cool to give you guys the chance to just straight up win one. Want to know how? Simple: My Klash-Up contains at least 7 tracks from me and other artists that I think you'll be able to figure out. (There's other content in there that you haven't heard yet, so that stuff doesn't count.) The first person who correctly lists artist AND song title of at least 5 songs in the Klash-Up gets the shirt. I will include a text doc in the Klash-Up zip that will list everything that's in there, but only after we have a winner.

I'll simplify and repost contest details tomorrow. In fact let's just say right now that I will make the track live at http://celldweller.com tomorrow at Noon, EST. Guess what else goes live tomorrow? Blue Stahli's "ULTRAnumb" - one of the best songs I've heard Bret write yet. I'm proud of this one and there's a preview up RIGHT NOW at the FiXT Blog. Go listen.

I'm completely typed out. I'm going to go practice some drums for "Louder Than Words" bc i don't want to totally suck balls when i attempt to cut them tomorrow. (I can handle "partially" sucking balls, but "totally" is inexcusable.) I'm also going to bounce out a final of my Klash-Up to get ready for you guys tomorrow.

Nite-Nite (kinda.)

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Some of you have asked what keeps me busy in an average day. (well, maybe it was only one person that asked but I'm trying to make it sound like I'm huge.) Well thanks to ALL of you that asked * cough, cough *, but that's a difficult question to answer bc I sleep 18 hours a day and spend the other 6 trying to wake up.

Through the groggy haze i do remember one thing i did last week. Wrapped up the next Blue Stahli song "ULTRAnumb". I tweeted you guys last week to let you know that i set Bret Stahli loose in my main studio while i was at The Method House studios working on Wish Upon a Blackstar. He is an SSL virgin (or was.) I gave him a crash course on which fancy buttons are good to press and which one will actually self destruct the board and annihilate the human race, erasing history forever. (He managed the self control to not push that shiny red button. Win for him and Stimpy both.) He must have been having fun bc he didn't come out of the room for a few days. (and by that, i mean "i didn't let him come out of the room for a few days" but let's not argue semantics.) After Bret escaped, *ahem* left my room on his own accord, I tweaked the mix for awhile and put some finishing touches on it and officially wrapped it. IMHO, this is the best Blue Stahli track yet and guess what? Only days after finishing it, you'll be able to tell me if you agree with me or not. ULTRAnumb will be released exclusively at the FiXT store this coming Tuesday, Cinco De Mayo. (Is that the holiday where you're supposed to dress up like a bunny rabbit and eat jelly donuts? I get them all mixed up.)

So we're releasing the single a few different ways, including an expanded version which includes the original demo of what eventually became ULTRAnumb. BTW, If you guys want consistent updates on what's being released at the FiXT store, subscribe to the FiXT blog that Jimmy Rhodes updates pretty regularly.

8:30 AM already? Yaaaawwwwwnnn.... Well I've been up for 6 hours now typing out this Klog - time for me to hit the sack. (and no, I'm not talking about my testicles, pervs.)

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Blue Stahli

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Beta Cessions, Celldweller, Free Download, Mash-Up, Queen

Labels: Animatronic, Celldweller, Film/TV, More Than A Game, Soundtrack

Celldweller's track Ursa Minor (Non-Atomic Mix) (from Soundtrack For The Voices In My Head Vol. 01) is featured on the Myspace Homepage advertisement today, along with being shown in 5300 theaters before Wolverine in the new X-Men Blu-ray Trailer.

Labels: Celldweller, Film/TV, Ursa Minor, X-Men

I'm totally pretending to play bass so people think I'm actually working on "Wish Upon a Blackstar." This is me pretending to cut bass for "Louder Than Words" from last week. I couldn't find anything terribly exciting to self-photograph today in the studio. I considered taking a pic of myself after I had stuffed as many marshmallows in my mouth as Klaytonly possible, but realized Blue Man Group kind of already did that. So, it's just me and a bass (and Grant's head in the background where it belongs.)

Oh yeah. There's a little graphic in the upper right hand corner for the 3 free tracks I'm giving you guys. They go bye-bye this Friday, so grab 'em if you haven't. I mean c'mon, they're free and you only have to move your mouse like 4 inches to click it. Can't..... reach..... banner..... Must...take...nap --------------->

[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Recording Cessions, Studio, Wish Upon a Blackstar

It's
that time again - time to find out if this really does smell like
chloroform, to find out if you can make it through this entire Klog
without falling asleep. Congratulations again to Isaac(red room punk) who won the contest to name this Klog post. If you're new to my "Klogs" (Klayton's Blogs)
then I'll explain. When i post a "Does This Smell Like Chloroform?"
Klog, this will indicate that I am answering questions you guys are
asking. "Q&A" was too simple and much too obvious as to what the
actual nature of the Klog would be. I mean, why make it easy? Geez...

Thank
you Cellmates worldwide for your questions. I'll keep posting answers
here and will be posting other Klogs asking you for more questions in
the future. For now, bathe in the glorious chloroform.

--------------

Brandon:
What would be your advice for someone who wants to start solo producing their own songs? (not using other pre-recorded samples)


I
would tell you to "go for it!" I have produced almost everything i've
done since the onset of my career. This is why a lot of my early stuff
sucks big donkey balls. The production is awful (IMHO) although there
are people like Bret Stahli who will gladly arm-wrestle me in a bikini to prove me wrong.

The
point is - i produced my own stuff and through my own mistakes learned
how to do what i do now. The great news is that in this day and age you
don't need to go through what i did. You can have a much better product
right out of the box. When i started, there was no such thing as a
softsynth. My first computer had a 40 MB hard drive and 1 MB of system
ram (that's 'megabyte' people, not 'gigabyte'.) There was no internet
to really speak of, and certainly no YouTube. There is a wealth of info
for you to dig into and help you start off far ahead of where I started.

I
plan on doing little tutorials from the studio at some point too. Just
a question of finding someone to shoot and edit the video so i can
concentrate on making music and showing you some of the things i've
learned. (I did manage to fire off this video,
acting as talent, cinematographer and editor. And what will you learn
from this video of my amazingly detuned guitar? Jack-squat, but it's
the thought that counts.)

Now, on the flipside of this, there is
nothing quite like an objective ear. I, for the first time in my
career, am bringing someone on board to co-produce an album with me
(Grant Mohrman.) This is bc I've learned that I am often too close to
the songs to be objective and simple things might hold me back from
making a good song great. I think you need to know what you want and
how to get it close to how you hear it, but having an objective opinion
(friend, producer, mom?) can bring your tracks to another level.


Seth:
From
the abundant amount of music you've been involved with pre-Celldweller,
whether it be writing or producing (Circle of Dust, Chatterbox, both
Argyle Park releases, Criss Angel stuff, and anything else I've
missed), are there any songs that have stood the test of time for you?


Nope.

Ok,
maybe a small handful, but that's really it. There are only a few songs
from my projects - Circle of Dust "Disengage" and Argyle Park
"Misguided" that I still feel I could stomach and wouldn't be too
embarrassed if someone brought it up over sushi dinner, ya know? The
debut Celldweller disc was a defining moment in my career bc that was
the best sounding record i had made up til then. I think if i ever got
to a point and thought "This is it! This is the best it's ever going to
get and I could never do anything better than this." That is the day
you'll get to see me perform at "Bob's Comedy Shack & Laundromat"
(see below.)


Michael:
1. How many songs will be on the new album (Wish Upon a Blackstar)?

I actually answered this one accidentally last week. How about i give you more specific details? Ok, you kinda asked for it:

So Long Sentiment
Louder Than Words
Eon
The Best It's Gonna Get
I Can't Wait
The Lucky One
Blackstar
Tainted
Birthright
Against The Tide



2. When will the final remix files be released on Fixtremix.com?


Not sure right now, but i am planning on releasing raw files for all 10 songs at FiXTRemix.com. Stay tuned.

3.You tell a lot of jokes, do you make them off the top of your head or do think about them? Either way they're very funny.

Thank
you Michael, I'll be here all week. Unfortunately i'm not clever enough
to think out things in advance, so most of what i say gets inhaled from
thin air into my brain and shot right back out my ass. Well, I'm glad
at least i'm not the only one who thinks I'm funny - that's a relief.
(My cat Stutter thinks I'm a pisser too.) When my music career fails,
I'm going into comedy. I think I'm already booked at "Bob's Comedy
Shack & Laundromat" in your town sometime in August. See you there!


[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Does This Smell Like Chloroform?

I just woke up, kinda. This is the time of the morning where the prevalent thought in my head is "I wish I was sleeping." Weird.

In celebration of that thought, I'm sharing a track that I have fallen asleep to for years. Night, Night.



[Klayton]

[-_-]

Labels: Musical Influences

Today is one of those days. Ya know, the ones where you feel like you worked all day but you don't actually know if you accomplished anything? Oh right, that's every day. I can tell you one thing I DID get accomplished: I successfully exported 60 remix stems from "So Long Sentiment" (The only finished song from "Wish Upon a Blackstar" to date.) Why would I prepare remix stems so soon? There are a few reasons, but the most pressing is so I could get them to Toksin so he can get working on a remix. If you haven't heard his stuff, then you need to. He'll be doing the first Official remix for "Remixed Upon a Blackstar."

"Wait, what?!?!"

Oh, right - I haven't told you about that yet. Forget I mentioned it - go check out Toksin.
-- -- -- --
I've been promising for awhile to post details regarding the release of "Wish Upon a Blackstar." I only announced the title of the album last month. I finally decided how I'm going to release the album right around the time I announced the name of album to you, and have just been waiting for some spare time that never came to actually type it all out. Well, today is the day. I don't really have spare time, so I decided to bump some Burial and type for awhile - Sesame Street reruns can wait.

I fully embrace the idea of releasing one song at a time. Waiting years for a full album is cool and all, but times have changed. I can wrap a track in my studio and have it blaring out of your speakers literally the next day if so desired. I had some specific reasons i was planning on releasing WUaB as a full body of work, but I abandoned that a long time ago when i embraced just how much work I've created for myself with this album. I just don't totally feel right about releasing 1 song at a time for this album but I have no intentions of waiting til I'm done with the whole thing either. So, I'm releasing the album in Chapters.

Here's how I'm planning on it going down: I will release 5 chapters for this album. 2 songs per chapter x 5 chapters = 10 songs. What's got me more into this idea is I'm bringing Sam Hayles from Dose Productions on board for the album art. (He gave us the artwork for "Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol 01" and FiXT is manufacturing original clothing designs from Dose Prod)

Sam will be creating an original piece of art for each chapter. The fifth and final chapter will be reserved for the CD, so both the artwork and the 2 remaining songs will be released for the first time on the physical CD. I can say more, but I know I'll just get myself in trouble, so I'll pretend I flapped my gums enough for right now. I'll bring you more details as they unfold though - promise.

For now here are the tracks for Chapter 1 of "Wish Upon a Blackstar"

So Long Sentiment
Louder Than Words

I'm all typed out and this Burial album is almost over so I'm calling it a night. I came up with an idea based around all of your comments and suggestions to name my "Q&A" Klogs. We just need to do a little more sifting and I'll make an announcement here later this week regarding a winner etc.

Here I am: Rock me like a hurricane



[Klayton]

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Labels: Album, Celldweller, Klayton, Production, Release, Studio, Wish Upon a Blackstar

Someone sent me a screenshot of my name and mug on the MTV soundtrack homepage for Real World/Road Rules Challenge. This must mean I am up there with Lil Wayne and Britney - HUGE!!!! I'm gonna hit up Jay-Z and see if I can buy his Yacht from him too. If I get it, you're all invited to my Yacht party.

A big "WOW!" on the replies to the "name my blog" post. Thanks for throwing up your ideas (gross...) We'll go over them and get some results posted for you next week.

It's time for me to get back to big pimpin' -

[Klayton]

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How boring. "Klayton Q&A" is the weak attempt I took at naming this type of post. It's too early in the morning for me to be thinking straight. I will (as often as time permits) be posting answers to some of your questions right here. The problem I'm having right away is the title of this section sucks gonads - so I need your help:

I'll repost this at Myspace for those who don't have accounts here at Celldweller.com. (thanks to all the glorious spammers around, you have to create an account to post or we'd be eyeballs deep in spam.) So in the comments, suggest a name for these posts so I have a consistent, cool and catchy title everytime I throw up more answers to your questions. Well, I won't "throw up" your questions, that would be gross. Myself and management will pick a name that we think is coolest and we'll mail you a "Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 01" CD and digital versions of all 3 Celldweller Remix Competition releases. I already came up with "Time Out with Uncle Klay" and "Klayton takes some questions you asked, answers them and then posts them on his frickin' Klog" but for some reason, those just weren't doing it for me. I'm more into something like the "Klaypril Fools" joke Derick Eisenhardt suggested.


You start getting creative and I'll start by posting a few answers:


Kokonoe: After releasing the second Celldweller album, do you plan on making more electronic tracks under your own name, like Beginning of the End and Kemikal? It would be great if you released a full album of that kind of material as a side project.

"Soundtrack for the Voices in My Head Vol. 01" was a collection of pieces that i pulled from hundreds of demos that fit more in the Film/TV/Video game world, as far as their sound and composition. I suck at math, so let's figure this one out on virtual 'paper':

100's - 20 = 100's

Yep, just as i thought. i have hundreds of crappy demos still sitting around. As it turns out a majority of them fall more into the "electronic" category. I could easily compile 3 albums worth of my version of 'electronic' music from just the demos i have, but they all require work - some a lot more than others. On a base level, i would LOVE to finish some of these up and get them off my back, but on the other hand, i'm still in an arm wrestling match with Father Time and he's kicking my ass. So this was all really just a long drawn out way of saying "Yes, i would love to release an album of electronic music, but not until the time is right." I will probably do it under "Celldweller" and not just Klayton and i may approach it one song at a time instead of a full blown album. No promises, but i certainly desire to make this happen at some point.

Damian: Did you still use the equipments like korg ms2000, nordlead2, access virus on your productions? or you use soft synths and plugins?

Yes, i do still use a fair amount of hardware synths in my tracks. I do love softsynths and effect plugins, but there is no question that hardware has a different sound. There is a low end that I can get out of my Moog Voyager or Virus TI that I cannot seem to get from a plugin. Also, a trick to getting things to sound good and separated in a final mix is variety. Mixing up hardware and software is our friend. This does not mean that if you don't have hardware that you can't make great sounding music. I personally just prefer to use both.

[Klayton]

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Glad you guys liked the pic in my last post. I wanted to show you an updated pic of me wearing my new "Git-R-Done" tee shirt I picked up at a Larry the Cable Guy concert last night. (Does stand up comedy constitute a "concert"? Who knows, but makes me feel all rock-n-roll to say it.)

I'm in the studio right now, working on Wish Upon a Blackstar. (I took a pic of an expensive piece of gear to prove it, bc I'm a prick that way.) If you're bored waiting for updates from me, you can go check out a list of some of my gear right here to help pass the time.

Going to work some basslines for "Louder Than Words". I'll keep you updated...

[Klayton]

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About 10 minutes ago I printed the final mix of my remix of BT's "Suddenly." Bret (Blue Stahli) finalized his mix of BT's "Feed The Monster" earlier today. So it's official - tomorrow we both go back to working on our albums.

I'm thinking up some ways to keep you guys updated from the studio while I'm working on "Wish Upon a Blackstar" so stay tuned here and join my Twitter page if you haven't already. I have a few updates and a bunch of your answered questions waiting to be posted, so I'll get to it as soon as my ass can catch up. Did it just sound like I used the words "ass" and "ketchup" in the same sentence?

G'nite

[Klayton]

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Just had an update come in from Tom Salta (FiXT artist Atlas Plug) and I wanted to pass this vid along. Check out Tom's stuff at the FiXT Store (Including the "Red Steel" soundtrack) and make sure to let him know you can't wait for new Atlas Plug!

Labels: Atlas Plug, FiXT, Tom Salta

Labels: Blue Stahli, Celldweller, Klayton, Movie Trailer, Race to Witch Mountain, Sebastian R. Komor, Squarehead

I need an ear break, so I'll let my typing fingers carry some of the load while my ears take a nap. Today was a good day as far as music is concerned. Had a breakthrough on my remix last night/this morning (which usually just bleeds together with a few hours of something called "attempted sleep" in between.) I think I *may* have my remix of BT's "Suddenly" wrapped as early as tomorrow. Then I get back to wishing upon a blackstar, y'all...

I threw up a screen grab for you of the remix session. It's still a total mess and you're only seeing half the tracks on the screen. I shrunk the track size as small as it would let me, but there is still another 40-50 tracks of "Klaytanic destruction" you can't see. Sorry if any of you get hit with a knarly case of blue balls due to the lack of any real information, but when i get back to "Wish Upon a Blackstar" I'll be doing little tutorial videos and screen grabs galore. There are some really cool companies making some really cool hardware & software and it would be downright selfish for me to invest my entire life into gathering this information and not sharing it. You may be asked to share something in return, but I really have no idea what to ask for. You guys are creative, you decide.

Go join my Twitter page. <---- doesn't that seem random?

Ok, I'm going to go stick my head between some speakers for another 8-10 hours. I hope I don't fall asleep at work again - my drool keeps shorting out my keyboards.

[Klayton]

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Labels: BT, Celldweller, Klayton, Production, Remix, Studio

Ok, I'm officially sorry. Geez, can't a guy get away with pulling a "Klaypril Fools" joke and sending you to the HSM3 page for the new Celldweller album? I really didn't think anyone would fall for it truthfully. I mean, i would give you guys at least 1 day notice if the album was actually ready to drop, after all the time I've been working on it. Ya know, that reminds me that I haven't even told you how I will be releasing the new record - Like MLK Jr. "I have a dream..." I am still wrapping up my BT "Suddenly" remix and will Klog your arteries and the synapses of your cranial nerves with "Wish Upon a Blackstar" release plans as soon as I'm done remixing.

If it's any consolation to you, I completely bought the farm yesterday too when I foolishly headed over to Bret Stahli's "Blog" (wait that doesn't work. BLue stahli blOG = BLOG which really is the same thing as a standard BLOG. You guys will have to suggest something more creative to Bret, so head over there and help him name his "BLOGs") Yeah, i got sucked into the Blue Stahli vortex and clicked the shiny purple link. I cannot bear to tell you what happened next - the only way to know is to do it yourselves. I warn you though, my heart died inside my chest and I peed my pants a little too. Not a pretty sight.


Jimmy Rhodes also wanted me to let you guys know this is the last week to grab almost 40 free tracks from FiXT (This is NOT a Klaypril Fools joke - I swear on a basket of kittens.) Half of them are Blue Stahli tracks and then other goodies from Atlas Plug, Squarehead/Sebastian Komor, Technical Itch, lvl, Kearly, Remorse Code & Subkulture. There are also some free FiXT Wallpapers too, thanks to Travis Ray. "Get 'em while the gettin's good." (I heard that in some movie based in the southern US and knew I just had to quote it somewhere. Finally, I found my chance and took it.)

I'm off to remix and play with these adorable kittens. Yeah, it's all fun and games til they start poopin'.

[Klayton]

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Labels: Album, Blue Stahli, BT, Celldweller, FiXT, Klaypril Fools Bitches, Klayton, Release, Remix

It is finally done - Click here to order!!


[Klayton]

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Thanks to Derick Eisenhardt for officially dubbing it "Klaypril Fools"

Labels: Klaypril Fools Bitches

The FiXT Artist Spotlight Feature I've been rambling on about is finally live. Go here. I've included some answers to some of your questions and even threw together a rough collage of some early construction pics of my new studio.

The only question nobody asked me (and I'm kinda bummed) is how I learned to do all those awesome guitar solos in every single song I write. I just love shredding for 10 minutes per track to really show the world my skills. Since nobody asked, I'm just going to show you how I learned. (Nobody can ever accuse me of not knowing the Satch Boogie. dammit.) Enjoy -



[Klayton]

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Labels: Artist Spotlight, Celldweller, FiXT, Klayton, Musical Influences, Production, Studio

Apparently this is what i was telling the waitress today when I ordered the Peruvian "Inca Kola." I annunciated it like the New Yorker that I am and it came out sounding like I told her that I wanted to "poke her in the butt." I was immediately corrected by a native I was eating with - too bad. This may or may not have even been my true intention bc i can't remember if I liked her butt - i was more concerned at the moment that i had mis-enunciated such an important phrase.

I was also wrong about going to "La Comera" yesterday. I was actually going to "Larco Mar" to visit a mysterious and ancient Incan ruin known as "Starbucks." I shot some video inside this ruin while i sipped on a fantastic Incan green tea with 2 extra pumps of sweetener. I love this culture. I actually did shoot some video live to the web using beta software I discovered. I am planning on shooting live footage right to Celldweller.com from my studio or at The Method House when I'm working on "Wish Upon a Blackstar" - unedited and uncut. 100% live. But that's not for right now - I'll let you know when I'm ready to make it a public party and hopefully the voyeur in you will come watch.

I did have a number of really exciting (to me at least) meetings with clothing manufacturers today here in Lima. They have a fairly formidable garment district and I am working on possibly starting to (slowly) manufacture some FiXT Clothing ideas that have been archived over the last few years. I think there are probably 100 different original clothing ideas sitting in archives waiting to finally be realized. I'll keep you posted if I will pursue this just in case you want to wear some swag on your back (or butt. As an added bonus, I will try *not* to poke you in the butt.)

I just checked my iPhone and I've recorded over 2 GB's of video of my trip so far. It will surface at some point i am sure. I'm actually kinda digging me shooting lo-res iPhone footage from my POV. Now, i just need to figure out how to get it edited together to tell a story...

Ah, I just saw a butt i would like to poke, so I'm out of here. "Inca Kola por favor..."

[Klayton]

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It was a long day yesterday, but I'm alive and moderately well in Lima, Peru. I've already taken some cool video footage of the scurrying roaches on the street outside the hotel and a few of the 'ladyboy' hookers who hang around outside getting chased down the block by a member of the citizens police brigade on a moped. Pretty good stuff for only being here a few hours.

I'm trying to fire off a quick post here while i have internet to tell you that i spent a little over 5 hours of my flight answering a chunk of the questions you guys asked in this Klog. There are far too many to post on the FiXT Artist Spotlight page, so I've decided I will post answers to a few questions every week, right here. I'm still thinking through the details, but I'm pretty sure I said more than I should have in my answers, so I should definitely post them for you all to read. I think Jimmy Rhodes will post my FiXT Artist Spotlight feature on Monday of next week, so write it on your foreheads or in your loose-leaf binders.

I'm off to "La Comera", and I don't even know why. I'm pretty sure it will be awesome bc it's 32 degrees in Detroit and 85 here. Adios amigos -

[Klayton]

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I'm off to South America tomorow morning - Lima, Peru to be exact. I don't completely feel ready to leave my cell (aka "Studio") but so be it. All i know is that it's pretty freakin' warm there (it snowed a little in Detroit yesterday) and that i'll be eating llama, snake and perhaps even monkey (ONLY if they lie to me and tell me it's a bovine-based hamburger. I'm not highly motivated to eat monkey, i have to be honest.)

I know a few spanish words my friends have taught me to prepare me for the trip. they told me it will get me everywhere i need to go while i'm there. "Pinche Pendejo" and "Chinga tu madre, Puto" were the ones they said i should say the most, and that they pretty much work no matter what is said to you. So i'm cool - I have responses ready to go for anything said to me while i'm away and i'm no longer nervous about not speaking the language fluently. Phwew...

Also, I will do my best to snap photos and video as long as i can get my iPhone past customs. I swallowed it a few days ago trying to time it just right and I'm hoping they don't find it during the body cavity search. Oh, speaking of "things to do while being body-cavity searched,"I have to thank you all for the response to the "Have any questions for me?" Klog. I thought maybe you would throw a couple of questions at me, but there are so many of them I don't think I'll be able to answer them all in one shot. Jimmy Rhodes (who will be handling the interview) will have to go through and pick a few that are somewhat relevant to the Spotlight Feature page at FixtOnline. I'm trying to figure out a way to answer more questions over time bc there were a lot of good ones. I may figure out some way to work it into a video Klog.

I'm getting 'my hair did' right now, so I'm kinda multitasking with this downtime and my downtime is almost over. So with that, I say "adios amigos" and "pinche tu madres, putos". See? I've got this Spanish language thing down, no problem. I'm sure i'll Tweet as much as i can too, without going "Tweet-overboard" on your asses. Join my Twitter page if you haven't already, bc i actually use it when i have something random that pops into my head that i should never send mindlessly hurling into the great expanse of the Interweb. These things will haunt me forever, but we only die once, ya know? I'm out for now.

[Klayton]

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A clip from a movie that taught me how to really act like a rock star. I spent many nights, weeks - months studying David & Nigel's techniques and tried to put them into practice. It's hard to do when you're 8, but i was off to a good start at least with incredible role models like these. For those who wish to further understand how I've become the artist I now am, it has to start with this movie.

One day, I will cover this tune.



[Klayton]

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Labels: Celldweller, Klayton, Musical Influences

Labels: BT, Celldweller, Guitar God, Klayton, Production, Remix