To be continued soon

——————–

For better audio quality:
One Year (September is coming soon) by amberhaze

The city never ceases to amaze me, too. There definitely is a lot to take in, but the reward is priceless. I can’t really imagine living anywhere else now, for a number of reasons. Maybe I should write about them (I know I keep having ideas about regular posts but I end up actually enjoying my days a bit too much, and they don’t really get written…)

On the other hand though, there hasn’t been much music lately. Not that there should be a correlation between being happy and being unable to make music, but I hadn’t felt so simply content with the life I had in a long while. There is a long tradition of art born out of pain, frustration and angst, and I can relate to that. That’s where I was when I recorded Then We Saw the Stars Again.
But right now? to the risk of sounding boring, I’ve been rather happy lately. It’s a good feeling. The calm that comes from thoroughly living in the moment and enjoying every minute of it.

I’m not suggesting that we should all go back to being miserable in order to make good art, or lock ourselves in a cabin in Wisconsin to record next year’s masterpiece. If anything, this lull in making music is something I had not experienced in years: simple happiness. I’m not sure it comes around that often. And at the same time, I’m looking at music differently right now, feeling like I should try out new things, and let go of some of the rules I’ve been too comfortable playing by. Whether it’s amberhaze v2.0 or a completely different beast I’m not sure yet, but change seems like a logical step here.

Let’s see what the summer brings.

—————-
A few months ago, Matt Kleiner approached us for a collaboration on the soundtrack of his project, Way of the Ocean. The movie is almost ready it seems, and should feature some tunes off the first album. Judging by the looks of the trailer, it looks gorgeous. Truly recommended stuff if you like the sea and nature photography.

WAY OF THE OCEAN – Official Trailer 1 from Matt Kleiner on Vimeo.

When the kids are away, the machines come out and play.

This is my favourite song from one of my all-time favourite bands. Mogwai came twice in Singapore, and my label brought them the second time around. They played ‘Hunted by a freak’ on both occasions if I remember correctly, but I would never tire of that tune. I hope this cover does it justice.

If I could afford it, I’d love to make a covers record. Who knows…

Some late night tweaking and looping, based on elements from ‘Pumpkinseed’. The video and the music are unedited, and what you hear is what you get (right hand playing, left hand filming, Launchpad looping…)
A lot more things can happen with 2 hands on deck, so I’ll ditch the camera for the show, don’t worry!

My first showcase for Canadian Music Week is one week away.
I’ll be playing at the Painted Lady, 218 Ossington Avenue.

And by the way, thank you all for downloading the new record. If you still haven’t here’s the link:
http://amberhaze.bandcamp.com/album/raleigh

See you at the show!

Artist: Amberhaze
Album Title: Raleigh EP
Catalog No.: KWR010
Format: Digital only
Street Date: 11 January 2011
Label: KittyWu Records

On the record
This is my first winter in a while. After living on the equator for so long, you forget what makes cold seasons so special: the light changes, the nights grow longer, things become still and then it starts snowing..
I hadn’t seen snow in a while, either. Or leaves falling.
These are some of the landscapes that you will find here. Places play a major part in the way I see music, and this new EP is a collection of sketches about this new life in Toronto. For a big city, it sure is quiet and contemplative.
It really feels like home now.

This is a collection of songs recorded at home, at night, on the brink of winter. There’s a railroad track right across the street.
I hadn’t seen trains in a while, now that I think about it.

New beginnings. New horizons. New soundscapes.
I hope you will enjoy them. They are for you.
- Giuliano (Amberhaze) , 11.1.11

track by track

I took pictures around my neighbourhood as the primary source of inspiration for my EP. The drawing for ‘Igloos and Forts’ was made by Luca. The photo for ‘Vermont Square (first snow)’ was taken by Joanne.
The art direction was lovingly rendered by Errol, once again. I thank him and the KittyWu family for the support and friendship, which goes well beyond this EP.

1 pumpkinseed

Halloween night
Annex mansions and dinosaur kids
The first chill of the year
Empty streets and skulls swung from the branches
under sodium lights
way past bedtime.

2 Howland

The streets were meant for bicycles here. This is what an early morning ride feels like.

3 From Foxpoint to Vermont Square

December is about falling in love. It’s about meeting when you know you have to leave. It’s about walking to Fox Point (then) in the snow and adjusting your pace to hers. It’s about remembering why you fell in love ten years ago, why you fell in love with a lock of hair on her neck or the position of her hands on a table, and feel it even more so now.
It becomes too easy to take for granted, and it never should.
And as the leaves fall on Vermont Square (now), we know this much.

4 Igloos and Forts

I remember the first snowballs I made with my father. And the red sled they bought me to slide down the park slope. We started an igloo but didn’t finish it.
The slope was not that steep, and the igloo would have melted away, but that’s now how I remember it.
I wish I were still a child sometimes.

This is for Luca and Dante.

5 The C.P.R

What is it with trains? Why are we so fascinated by their inexorable machinery, their relentless progress as the tracks endlessly unfold?
The Canadian Pacific Railway goes on for 20000 kilometers.
And it stops right across the house.

6 The C.P.R (beyond Christie)

And at night, it sounds like this.

7 Vermont Square (fresh snow) – bonus track

(coda)

———–
We don’t make music in a vacuum. Our works exist and our pleasure lies in sharing them with you, wherever you are. Thank you for listening. Really. Share this if you think it would make someone else happy.
I can’t thank my parents, and Lisa and Thom, enough. For everything.
Once again, this is for J and the kids, and this love we share.

But this is the reality that most musicians face, one way or another.
1: You have a dayjob, you hate the fact that it takes time away from music, you can quit and do music full time. Not necessarily wise, but an option all the same.
2: You have kids, and it’s a different ball game. You can’t quit your kids, and you should never shortchange them either.
3: You are Coldplay, or Pink, or Gwen Stefani, and all is good in the world for you.

As much as I would like to put the finishing touches for the EP to be ready by next Friday, I have to be realistic here and concede that the next few days will probably mostly be about games, cartoons, walks in the snow and streetcar rides to the library. And there is nothing wrong with that actually. Childhood is a fleeting thing, it’s gone before you know it. I don’t want to miss theirs for a self-imposed deadline. And I don’t want to rush something I feel quite happy about when I know I could make it sound better with a little more time. And time, these days, is relative.

Sorry if you were expecting it on 1.1.11, but it will have to be on 11.1.11

I’ve been trying to finish up this new batch of songs for a few weeks now, and it turns out that being a full-time father is way more taxing and demanding than most jobs I can think of… It’s probably also the most satisfying and rewarding experience I’ve ever had, and now what we are spending Christmas and most of next week without J, it feels even more special.

But as much as I love the kids, and I love them more than I could express, there is still this urge to make music, make something that is personal. It’s not without its challenges, and it boils down to making the most of their time at kindergarten, or the quiet lull of the late evenings, where I usually have to remind myself that I still need to get up in the morning and try to get 6 hours of sleep…at least…

It’s been an eventful year. It started with a wonderful project I was lucky enough to collaborate on, after which most of our energies have been focused on preparing for the move, packing, leaving and settling down here. After almost four months it looks like home now, and our neighbourhood is great. One of my friends gave me one of his old bikes, and this has been the best way to discover the city, along with the street cars (take that, new mayor!). And more than anything else, the feeling of happiness on the boys’ faces for the smallest things (fresh snow, falling leaves, trips to the libraries) is all I should ever ask for to be really content. Unconditionally.

The Raleigh EP was inspired by these walks and bike rides, by autumn and colder nights, and by the train line that runs in front of our house. Here is the tracklist:

1 pumpkinseed
2 howland
3 vermont square
4 the C.P.R
5 igloos and forts

Recording is almost done, give or take a few audio tracks on the later tracks. I would consider them works in progress but not just simple demos, because I’ve been trying to give them a sound as close to what I have in mind as possible, but they come at a point where I feel like going somewhere else with my music. Hopefully I’ll be able to take them further in a second album later next year, but for now this seems to be an accurate document of how things are. And i would love to share this with you.

Wait for the new year. Thank you for listening, always.

———————-

I’ve been recording more of late, and a lot of the music seems to be inspired by the time i spend walking and cycling in Toronto. The Fall is also affecting me in ways that I had forgotten, and while I tend to get more introverted this time of year, it does give me more time to explore new material and try new directions. It must be the long nights and the steady drop in temperature.
Or maybe just the fact that I seem to be focusing more on making new songs rather than finding gigs around town at the moment…

2010 started with a collaboration with Sonicbrat and a full hour of music devised and composed for the show.
It might very well end with an EP informed by where I now call home.

This is the first track that I’ve managed to complete since I’ve arrived. There are a few more in the works, but for some reason, this one seemed to almost record itself. It’s still mostly a demo, but I think I got the kind of sound I was imagining from the start. The title refers to the story below, or at least, the period during which it was recorded…

———————-

Last week was our first Halloween in North America in 8 years. Not that this delightfully pagan ritual didn’t reach the Singaporean shores (anything that can move merchandise based on creed or fabricated myths is celebrated with the same enthusiasm) but there is something inherently Gothic in walking down old streets lined with Edwardian homes and flickering pumpkins on a chilly night that is missed outside of America.

There is also something wickedly enjoyable in seeing your 5-year old ring some random doorbell and hand out a loot bag dressed in a puffy dragon costume. And apparently, Toronto happens to be one of the best places to be spending an evening trick-or-treating.

We started from the kids’ daycare in the Annex and walked back home, methodically stopping by every house that would have more than one carved pumpkin or an interesting decoration or light display. And some people are serious about their front porches: half-eaten skeletons popping out of freshly dug soil, psychedelic strobes and LED skulls, ubiquitous sound effects and TONS of candy.

It’s a 2.5 kilometer walk from the daycare, and it was not a particularly warm evening, but I’d never seen the kids more focused on the task at hand. By the time we reached our neighborhood it was already past the official trick-or-treating time (or 9PM, it seems) and we made the last couple of streets completely by ourselves, with only zombies and ghosts for company.

Now that we get the hang of it, we can’t wait to unleash our demons again next year…

I was looking at some pictures I took over the past 2 months. I can’t believe it’s already been that long, and at the same time, it still feels like I’ve just landed here. The city is huge, I’m not sure I’ve even scraped the surface, and even though there are plenty of bars and clubs for gigs, I am still taking my bearings. It’s somewhat the opposite in Singapore: after a while you tend to know just about everyone in the scene, which is a good thing for familiarity. The downside of course is its limitation: there are only so many people you can play your music to, and so many times, in so many places, before it becomes redundant. So in a way, this is a new challenge, starting afresh with a new perspective in a completely different part of the world. I suppose the only way is up if you look at it this way.

A couple of weeks ago we wanted to go to the Beaches, but the regular bus route that goes from Main to Queen was interrupted because of the Marathon. So we had to cover the remaining stops on foot, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As I was walking I noticed a plaque outside a pretty cottage with blue accents, one of those houses you can’t help but try to mentally picture as your own. On the plaque it said that Glenn Gould used to live there.

It’s always strange to visit a place of significant importance. This is the pianist who inspired a whole generation to take up Bach, who revolutionised studio recording techniques and radio programs, an utterly idiosyncratic genius who did not imitate anybody, and whom no one could possibly replicate. And this was his house.

You have to appreciate the irony that I discovered the house of a man whose recordings have been sent to Space by the NASA thanks to an interrupted bus service…

—————–