Andrew Apollos: Songs In Preparation For The Shift

The Last Post

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:34:00 +0000

It was just over 2 years ago that I completed this little project to record an album of the last documented creative output of my 20's. I set out to make a record within the last 30 days before my birthday between July 22 and August 22. What happened during that period was an incredible creative learning experience and it produced for my feeling a great work of art. Although I have had my strange up and down relationship with this recording since it's completion and release it is undeniably honest and represents who I was, am a what I had to say during that period.

So much has happened since I made this record and in this short amount time I have seen much and changed a lot. I am grateful for that time period and feel good in realizing that this part of my creative output has come to an end. What I mean is that this blog has had it's life span and now it really is time to move on. That is exciting.. I have much more to say and have a lot of music running through me and it is a struggle finding ways that suit me to express it.

Thank you to those of you who have read this blog and I hope you will be around to check out the next output.

In regards to this project that gave birth to this blog, my plan is to have Songs in Preparation for the shift vol.1 pressed to 10 inch vinyl and have the blog post up until it's completion and some of the ones after its completion put into the liner notes. I don't have the cash for that right now but when I do I will re-release it.

Songs in Prep vol.2 is and has been on my mind and I am eager to create it as well as a collection I wrote while still in New York called Ode to Finality. I do not know when these or any of the other music brewing in my universe will be sounded and released as for me it's all about the right time and the right place.

A new website is coming. Yes, I know I have been saying that all year long but yes when the time is right it will be up.

I will leave this blog up as andrewapollos.com for a while and then it will take it's original blog spot url when I put up my new site.

Thanks again to those of you who have read this blog and listened to this music.. I hope you have taken something of value from it and I hope to see in the next creative incarnation..

Peace,

Andrew

Some recommended Listenings

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:16:00 +0000

Hey everyone, I wanted to share with you today some things that I have been listening to lately. So much has changed since I first put this blog up and my mind is brimming with new ideas for the new site one of which includes a periodic mixtape of music I am listening during a given period. But we are not there yet.

I have been on a LP buying fringe lately and have really only been listening to music in that format. It is one of the best choices I have made in a long time in regards to listening to music.

I recently went looking to purchase the core Joni records on LP and have been pretty successful. The core for me are Court and Spark,Hijera,Hissing of Summer lawns and Daun Juans Reckless Daughter. I will eventually pick For the Roses and Blue and even Miles of Ailses but these first ones are the core for me.

I managed to find them over the course of a few weeks and the tune for me at the moment is refuge of the roads which is the last track of side 2 on Hijera. I love the unorthodox harmony organization of this song and the bass parts of Jaco are so inventive.

I also picked up Marvin Gaye Here My Dear... I am not going to go into a critique of this album because music critic is not a position I want to add to my CV but I want to share that this record is making me crazy right now. I would suggest that you listen to the album in one sitting in it's entirety and then perhaps a few more times and then start living with one or two songs for a period. That's all I will say about it.

And....... this is all I have to say for now... No long compositions on the matter. A shift for me I know but I am trying some new things.. Until next time.....

Andrew

Sites and Singing

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:51:00 +0000

It's has been some time since I have written. My last post was a sort of update and plan to get this blog moved over to another platform and instead we ended up building a new website for another artist which was a very interesting and rewarding experience. You can check out the site and the artist her name is Amy Black and she makes a country/blues hybrid style of southern music that she calls americana. http://www.amyblack.com

I have been brimming with lot's of musical thoughts and am eager to share them with anyone willing to listen in regards to what I have been working on. So what have I been thinking about and working on? The short list is comprised of composition and vocal improvement. Singing is in my opinion is the most difficult of all of the performance arts. Mainly because it is very subjective while incorporating a demanding kind of technique in order to shape you vocal sound the way you envision it. Lastly, it is difficult because it is an extremely personal way to communicate to another person and you as the communicator cannot know exactly how the listener is interpreting what you are trying to communicate with you vocal performance. I suppose that is the subjectivity issue. For example, is Bob Dylan a good singer? He does not have an angelic glossy pop stars sound or much traditional technique either but does that mean he is bad singer? It depends on what listener you ask. It also depends on what the listener perceives to justify a good vocal performance or not.

So as you can see singing is a tricky subject. Personally I am not interested in sounding in a certain standard way actually I despise that more than anything in a "singer" when their voice has no clear character because they are trying to sing like some pop star. What I hear a lot these days are tons of Beyonce and John Legend rip-offs. No fun..

What I am interested in personally is learning how to insure that I make the best attempt possible to convey what I really mean in a vocal performance and that stems from a balance of clear intent and technique.

So I figured it is taking to long to get this new site up so I would just get back to writing here. I will let you know when I have finished building the new one.

That's all for now.

Peace,
Andrew

New Website coming early 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:12:00 +0000

Hello everyone. It has indeed been awhile since I have made a post here but I felt inspired to give some sort of an update as to what is going on in my world as it pertains to music and other things..

First, I would like for you to know that I am studying some very specific composition techniques that I am aiming to incorporate in the next project although there is no scheduled date for when I am going to set out to make this new music. But I am going to be putting up a new website that will house my blog post, all of the my music and eventually some insight into what it is I am working on right now.

In the event that you are new here I would recommend reading all of the post up till now and listen to Songs IN Preparation For The Shift Vol.1 along with the "pilot version" of Songs From The Vault that is available on Last.FM for free download. I will be revamping Songs From The Vault with added material and be selling it via iTunes and Bandcamp in the new year so grab those tracks for free while you still can.

So to sum it all up, I am in the Shed right now and am looking forward to sharing with you when it's time to harvest. I will be making some efforts to make easier for us to communicate in the meantime.

Thanks for stopping by and consider adding me to your RSS feed to be updated when the new site is up.

Peace,
Andrew

Music: A Meditation on Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 21 May 2010 09:15:00 +0000

Hey there everyone. So today I want to switch gears and speak a bit about some thoughts that I have about music. In all honesty I have quite a lot to say about this and I have been mentally pacing for about a week as to where to begin. But I have decided to just come here and let it flow very much in line with the process of how I create my music.

Our 12 Notes:

I love our 12 notes and my heart in some way mourns their creative relationship amongst themselves in most of our modern music that is available to us today. But what are these relationships I speak of? For me the beauty of notes breathes a reflection of the very human experience that you and I live everyday. 12 notes each with there own distinct color and frequency. Unique in every way from each other yet bound together through a shared experience if we are sensitive enough to tap into that individual yet collective experience.
Yet therein lies the challenge and the struggle. It is to be aware of this experience this is what it is to create music in the purest sense. It is how we individually as artist play with the dimensions of these relationships that makes music special and a musician truly unique.

To listen to music is to constantly be refining our own perspectives so we may be open to share in this experience on our own various levels.

Let us us continue to evolve unhindered and find new and honest ways and re-establish and develop our relationship to the notes on all levels. Listening an creating.

Peace,

Andrew

Stop the Wandering Mind:An Exercise In Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 07 May 2010 07:25:00 +0000

Hi everyone, I took a small break last week but now it's time to move forward on our journey towards experiencing more creativity. This will be the last preparation exercise before we move into the area of practical application.

Today I want to discuss the importance of calming our wandering minds. This subject is often touchy for many because it brings up many philosophical questions in regards to self/soul, ego/spirit etc... The primary problem arises in one choosing to accept this concept: You are not your mind. Your mind is an element of the human body from which we use to experience life through. You can sit with that and I am sure over time, as I have in previous post, continue to elaborate on this as an understanding of this will help you in your creative endeavors and beyond.

You ask, what does this have to do with me being creative right now? A wandering mind is the enemy of creative thought and experience. Have you ever tried to study something or read a book etc.. and found that while you were engaged in the activity you reached a point where you no longer knew what you were reading about or where you were in the book for that matter? This is wandering mind. Perhaps you were trying to listen to something and then you realized that you had no idea what was going on. Perhaps you blamed the book or the music for not engaging you but the real issue is your wandering mind.

I have discussed this problem with many people who feel as if their mind is trying to keep them from doing what they want to do. The root of this problem lies in a misunderstanding about the mind. This misunderstanding is that your mind must be trained and tamed to work with you towards your goals. Your mind is merely a tool, a VERY powerful tool, but just a tool that must be brought into proper negotiation with you. You must be able to focus on things clearly for an extended period of time. You must be able to recognize when your mind is generating unwanted thoughts and let them go. It is from this space that we can really begin to develop our natural habits of creativity.

AN EXERCISE: 100-0 visualization

Try this exercise to experience for yourself this space I am talking about. Take a deep breath. Close your eyes and visualize the number 100 in your minds eye. Next count backwards towards 0 watching the numbers change from 100,99,98,97 etc... Now here is the catch, Do Not Sub-vocalize meaning don't hear the voice in your head say 100,99,98,97 etc... only see the numbers going backwards towards 0. Lastly, when you notice that your focus has drifted to a passing thought or that you are sub-vocalizing go back to 100 and start again.

You will experience that this is indeed difficult in the beginning but I encourage you to stick with it until you get quite comfortable with this. You will notice results.

Let me say this to close, Hard work in service of yourself is the most valuable work one can do because it is through this labor that over time we will come to a richer self-knowledge that will lead us towards our creative contribution that shall consciously serve the whole, our planetary family.

Peace,
Andrew

Expansion Of Imagination: The Next Step Towards Creative Living

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:15:00 +0000

HI There everyone. I hope this week has been going well for you all and that you are beginning to take steps towards a more creative life. Today I would like to add another element to the quest towards creative living. There has been a lot of talk lately about the imagination, what it is and how to use it. Perhaps you have read a quote from someone you admire mentioning it or you have come across one of the movies or e-books online about manifestation and they all emphasize the importance of using the imagination to create what you want.

Although I agree with all of these perspectives about the importance of using the imagination I think what is lacking is a clear way of explaining to people what exactly it is since I feel that so many people actually have forgotten what it is and it's basic usage.

Imagination is the ability to consciously dream. This is quite different from the dreaming that we do at night because unless we are lucid dreaming(A discussion for another time) then your night dreaming is a go along for the ride kind of experience. To imagine is to consciously direct what it is you do, where you go and what you see and feel from within your mind. Imagination is the root of all creation because the order of operations are as follows: Imagination leads to intent which creates opportunity which leads to action which leads to manifestation. This is the creative process simplified and it can apply to all activities.

So seeing that imagination is the foundation of all creation we better build a pretty good foundation. So how do we do that? Yes, that is a good question because I think many people find imagining anything to be rather difficult and let me add that a wandering mind is not imagination remember that I stated that imagination is a conscious process but I digress but for good reason :o) So yes, many people find imagining anything to be hard because it is not an accepted part of our western culture and way of operating, in fact it is looked down upon and stamped out of most people when they are young. But all is not lost as your imagination and the use of it can never be taken away from you we just need to remember how to use it.

Exercise: Simple Visualization

Basic visualization is where we will begin towards getting our imagination back. Visualization is the root of imagination. The ability to sense things within our mind. We start with the sense of vision. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. I want for you to try and see a rose within your mind and hold that rose there for a long as you can. You will know when you have fallen off when some other passing thought takes over and you are no longer looking at your rose. This is ok as this is normal in the beginning. Just try again. Close your eyes and take another breath and then see the rose in your mind.

If you take a few minutes everyday to work on this you will advance and you will already begin to experience results such as a quieter mind over time.

That's it. Try this and we will go further into this next time. Be well and be creative.

Peace,

Andrew

Freedom Through Detachment: An Exercise in Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 09:02:00 +0000

Good day.. I hope that this week finds everyone feeling positive. Today I would like to expand more on the subject of creativity and how it relates to growth and self awareness. At last we spoke of the matter, I laid out the premise that we are creative beings and that everything we do is a an act of creativity and the desired outcome, at this level was to become more conscious of the process of being creative.

Becoming a more conscious creative being requires that we practice the act of detachment. Why? Because we need the space to be more aware. This is where the the virtue of detachment comes in.

What is detachment as it pertains to being and living more creatively? Detachment is the practice of not allowing what you know or think you know to interfere with the act of being.

Here is an exercise to help experience what I am talking about. Take a piece of paper and a pencil and take seat at a table. Take a few deep breaths and then just let your hand with the pencil just write all over the paper be it words, scribbles it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you do not think about what you are doing just let it happen.

Difficult isn't it? For most people in the beginning it is. If you are a musician try this:
Go to your instrument I'll say piano for now since that what I use for this exercise. Sit at the piano and raise your arms in the air. Count to 3 and then let you hands just fall on the piano. Most likely one of two things happened, either you freaked on the way down and forced your hands to land on some sort of chord you already know or you allowed yourself to do it and you landed on some combination of notes that sounds really strange to your ears at least for now.

Once your hands have landed allow your fingers to just play. Forget that you know any chords,scales, songs.. Just let your fingers move around the piano without allowing the intellectual mind and it's memory to interfere.

This is a beautiful exercise because what you will experience with practice is that the inner you will begin to guide you towards new sounds and organizations that you never knew existed in your instrument. Also what will happen is you will become your own best teacher because through this exercise your physical and intellectual limitations will naturally make themselves visible but this time without the judgment that we normally bring to the table.

The ultimate goal shall be that through learning how to detach from the mind, eventually this detachment along with your intellectual knowledge of whatever it is you do will gradually become balanced and begin to work together and it is from this space that your truest work will come from and you will begin to know what creative freedom really is.

Be Well,

Andrew Apollos

Songs IN Prep 1.1

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:21:00 +0000

Hey Everyone I hope you are well! OK I am about to do something really different and a bit crazy and I would like all of you to be a part of it..

I was listening to Songs IN Prep the other night and I got to thinking, How come when a company or software programmer makes a piece of software they get to keep updating that software until it functions exactly as they want it to be? Yet it is assumed that when an artist makes a recording or painting etc.. then that's it? I thought to myself are there things that I could do with the elements of this recording that would from my perspective make it more efficient in having the effect that I would like? Hmm.. interesting.....

Well I have decided to just that... Songs IN Preparation For The Shift vol. 1.1 The Update

Furthermore, I want all of you to take part so here is what I am doing. If look in the tracks tab above you will find the entire Songs IN Preparation For The Shift Vol. 1 record for you to listen to. Listen to it a lot. Read my past blog entries to to catch up on the ideas behind this work and then let me know what things you think should be "updated" in the current version..

I will read all of the comments and take all them into consideration to create the Songs IN Prep vol. 1.1 update

This is plum lunancy I know but that's the fun of it!!! Art born of Destructed Art....

So listen to the record and and remember to suggest this page to all of your facebook friends...
as all will be rewarded :0)

Thanks for reading and I look forward to creating the Songs IN prep 1.1 update...

Peace,

Andrew

Self-Knowledge Through Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:57:00 +0000

Hey Everyone it has indeed been a while. In all honestly I grossly underestimated the time it would take to become adjusted to changes that come with parenthood in addition to my own creative endeavors. Yet as it is I am back and feeling quite good about what's going on.

I want to talk today about another perspective on the purpose of creativity. I feel that creativity is perhaps one of the most misunderstood human activities there is. Mainly because most people do not understand that being creative is about all we humans actually do. Yet if you ask most people if they consider themselves creative they will tell you No on the grounds that " i don't play an instrument" or " I have no artistic ability at all!" Woah! There lies the problem in thinking right there. Being creative and being artistic are NOT the same things. They are closely related but it takes one to lead to the other in a specific order. Creativity leads to Art if the creatively aware so desires it.

Let me explain further.. Every step we take, every word we utter, every single action we take is a creative one. This is so because every action we make leads to the manifestation of something weather we are aware of it or not. The manifestation may be the satisfying of a simple need or want but whatever it may be all of our actions lead to the manifestation of something here on Earth. We are, as humans, nothing but creative beings hence everything you see around you is a creative manifestation of your own and the collective energy of all of us around throughout all of time.

That sounds heavy and to some degree it is but it is also rather simple once we grasp that this is all we are doing. Now comes the shift... Once we are aware that everything we do is a creative act wouldn't we want to begin to create more consciously? Think about that.. Wouldn't we want to try to create more of what we want now that we know that we are indeed quite powerful, that all of our actions matter. Perhaps you don't have grand ideas of changing the world. Maybe you just want to change your immediate environment, That's cool because you know what? Even by creating a better environment for yourself and those close around you, you are helping to create a better environment for all. This may sound at first glance a bit idealistic or simplistic but I encourage you to take the time to think about that even from an purely intellectual perspective.

What we want to do now is begin to exercise this new creative consciousness we have. Here lies where the Art begins to come in. Since every action we take is a creative one this means that in everything we do we have an opportunity to create Art. Really, you say? Yes, really...

Art is an expression of self through linear means, that reflects it self back on to it's creator to deepen their experience to themselves and the art they create...

When art is created from a place of pure integrity then it has the energy to influence those who partake in it. Yet my point is not that we all have to be composers,painters,acrobats etc... Applying this understanding to anything we do works.. You can cook dinner for your loved ones from this perspective. You can drive from this perspective. You can clean your house from this perspective. It does not matter..

I encourage you to try this and see how it affects your mood and energy and those around you as well as how you see your world around you...

What I see will begin to happen is that by deepening this experience you will begin to gather more self knowledge about yourself thus giving you more energy to further your self knowledge by consciously creating even more....

That's beautiful........

Thanks for reading and I will try to come around more often now that I am getting accustomed to my new perspective :o)

Peace,

Andrew

Intergrity,Purpose and Process:An Explanation Of Songs IN Preparation For The Shift

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:37:00 +0000

Ok we are back.. It has been a while but I am ready to get back to work on all fronts. This would include the obvious, writing and making new music.

In having released Songs IN Prep less than two months ago I noticed that I have yet to say anything about what I think about the work I created. The experience and relationship that one has to their own creations in my experience can be tricky. I am one of those artist that has always been very critical of my own work. There have been times where I have been terrified to let anyone hear what I was making. Yet when I did let someone hear it I would preface the listening with all kinds of disclaimers and wait in utter nervousness while they listened in fear of what the feedback would be. It is almost crazy to me now to think that I was that way but it is true.

Now that I have released my first recording to the world I suppose for all to scrutinize, love, talk about, ignore, embrace and everything else someone could do with someones output it's funny to think that I chose to release my first record as something that I made in 29 days writing, recording and all and that I didn't decide to pour over every single detail and try to say everything that I could ever possibly say through music as a means of stating my arrival to the world. But why not... Why such a simple and basic statement about a very dense subject(Self-Knowledge for those of you who haven't figured that out yet) without all the musical back flip attempts at trying to impress everyone around? The answer is: An Exercise In Integrity.

Integrity:
My basic definition of integrity is I don't care what you (think). I don't make art because I want people to (think) it's cool or think it sounds nice or think it sounds like etc.... I make art because I see and feel certain things and when those ideas rumble to a point that they need to be expressed and sounded it is my role to allow it to take shape through me as it must. One must not allow the linear mind to overly dictate what comes through them because we make art through the mind not with the mind.

It is that as a human deeply connected to all other humans on this earth, that I accept that whatever it is I see and feel from my perspective it is possible that this can on some level be experienced by others because of this connection. The problem lies in that we can feel and we can think, but when our thoughts and feelings are out of balance then our powers of communication, meaning our ability to understand and express ourselves, becomes corrupted thus bringing us to our current state of affairs here on Earth.(Think about this before reading on)

Integrity is an extremely important element in the designing of of ones art as well as ones life but let us stay focused for now on the art. Integrity is the element that distinguishes our output from all other peoples output past and present. This is because one persons search for a truth may eventually bring them to the same understanding but the search and it developments(output) is by spacial and mathematical default always going to be unique. Even without integrity it will still be unique but if the output is the result of non-truth then it will be misguided and less potent.

But this brings us back to the communication problem. What if everyone around you accepts and understands non-truth, actually likes non-truth and has been convinced that non-truth is truth? Remember it is not the message that is the problem, it is the root medium that is the problem. By that I mean the imbalance previously mentioned that leads to corruption in our ability to communicate with each other on all possible levels.

So why do I say all this and what do I have to say about Songs in Preparation For The Shift Vol.1?

It is only through integrity that an artist can ever find real purpose and having found this purpose, the purpose will be the dictator of the artist' creative process.

What I hear and see in Songs IN preparation For the Shift:

I have had to learn to listen to this album from many different perspectives which has been very difficult and honestly still is. But what I see in this album is that it is an extended meditation. The entire album is one long meditation(Not too long about 25 minutes) It follows the process of a proper meditation in that we have the preparation(the intention) track 1. In track 2. we begin the the work in earnest. It is here that I point blank give the listener the instructions of how to enter the desired state. track 3 deals with the final resolution of wandering mind this is why you will notice that the track(pre-lesson) is only on the left channel. This represents the left side of the brain the part of our brain the is responsible for linear thinking. Having calmed this part of the mind down we enter into our first level of meditation and our first statement of truth in track 4 The Lesson.

The Lesson deals with the individual aspects of self realization pointing out a singular truth that if meditated on will bring you self-knowledge.

From here we enter into a transition of the nature of our meditation from which we move on to the collective aspect of our existence. Track 6 Discourse on Freedom(Further Thoughts) is a meditation of accepting and learning how to live as one(yourself) amongst all of the other people in a balanced manner, since balance is the real goal of life on earth, while acknowledging the truth that because we all have naturally different perspectives(more on this later) that we also have different ideals about how life on earth shall work. I give voice to what I see as a way in a very basic statement that shall be elaborated on more in the future(request the 2 earlier versions of Discourse on Freedom via email version 2 is on youtube)

This brings us to the peak and descent of our meditation. A final statement of truth required to prepare for what lies ahead.(In Preparation For The Next Step).

Dream no.4(closer to you) is just that call it the peaceful state one can feel after a meditation and a statement of commitment to our desired place.

I wanna be closer to you because when I am near you I feel no pain.

So herein lies the answer to the question of repetition within this work. A meditation is just that the repeating of an action that deepens as you commit and continue. Just like life on earth. The sun rises and falls, gives way to night and the appearance of the moon only to rise again and give life to all on earth.

And they say art imitates life.......................

How I wish I lived in a world where most listeners were prepared to listen to this, go into my world and look around, feel, see it from their own open perspective, show me things that I myself don't see. yet I am also a practitioner of practicality(the search for balance hahahaha!!!) so I understand that this is not so but I know you are out there but I must find you and share with you.

Until Next Time,

Andrew

Redefining The Art of Listening: Part:1

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:40:00 +0000

We have deceived ourselves! We have deceived ourselves into believing that we know how to listen because we were blessed with the gift of hearing. Many of us are guilty of confusing the two and this deceit has lead us to our current state of listening ignorance.

Heavy way to start don’t you think? I agree. I pondered for quite sometime as to how to open this post perhaps in some PC kind of way but have come to realize that Political Correctness eventually leads to chronic lying but that is a subject for another post back to the task at hand. Listening, Listening is something that is in short supply in our current culture and times. Everyday this statement is proven more and more by the low-quality music that we the people accept through the mainstream. It is proven in the low quality and low standards that many artist hold themselves to. What I see as the primary reason for this is that our culture is lead to be more focused on what something represents instead of focusing on trying to understand what something actually is. You can test this theory by looking around and considering why the concept of branding is so important in getting someone to listen to what you have to say or how you go about selecting what messages you are willing to consider and accept. If you give this idea even a modest amount of thought you will see that you most likely are more concerned with representations than with actual content. This is not to say that the content doesn’t matter at all to most people but I will argue that there is an imbalance in our culture between the two. You see this imbalance in politics,in commerce and the economy but how does this really apply to art and in this case music?

Hip Hop is most recent example of representational music. The first being nationalistic folk song. Hip Hop minus the MC is a totally representational music in that through the fragmentation and reconstruction of sound elements (sampling) the end result becomes the artists representation of a past/present experience or desired emotional state.

Let that silence anyone out there who still questions the artistic validity of Hip Hop in it's purest form. Yet this artistic development created a monster that has yet to be contained in present times.

What happened after the commercialization of Hip Hop and it’s success was a full fledged representational fragmentation of our culture due to the many factors but it’s root being economic. Fast Forward to the present. Now what we have is a culture of music consumers who don’t listen to music. They buy music for what it represents within there fragmented reality. It’s not the notes, melody, harmony,emotional result, or the total message. Instead the experience becomes: this “artist” is popular with my demographic therefore it must be good so I will “hear” it although I tell myself I am “listening” to it.

Representation is not the problem though. The representational aspect of ones art should be one of the final attributes in the collection of elements in deciding if “I like this” after the musical attributes have been taken into consideration such as melody, Harmony,beat, color. Then there is the performance, and then the message. All of this should add up to an experience that should at the end leave you with some sort of emotional impression.

This is what it is to listen to music.

Naturally I can expect some people to say,”Yes but you are a musician so you are more likely to take those things in to consideration.”I am just a person who likes to listen to music and I don’t understand that stuff nor do I care to understand that stuff.”

Or you may be another musician saying”Yeah whatever I just make what the people want and the people want simple music to dance or something not to heavy that makes them feel good.”

Very well. I hear these arguments and I will handle them in the order they were received.

Lay Listener: Listening to music for enjoyment does not need to be an intellectual exercise but to organize your listening and to have and be aware of your listening principles only serves to make your listening experience over time a more enriching one.the end result of melody, harmony etc.. is to create a feeling experience of which in our case, brings the lyrical content more into view and allow you the listener the space to consider all the aspects from your own perspective. (See later essay on Organizing your listening)

Musician: Perhaps you are saying what you are saying because you either have not taken the opportunity to consider your own musical principles and purpose. Or maybe your musical values are out of place here is an example: You say you make music because it’s your life. Everyone says that, yet you are more concerned about being famous and making money, Those are not musical values. Yes, all things eventually get monetized in our world but that must not be confused with truly creating music.

Simply put a artist must have principles and live and create by them. If you don’t understand what I am saying then figure out what I am saying. By doing that you will have set yourself on a path to finding your true artistic voice which will do a huge service to the world.

OK, Let us sum up and disclaim. We need to learn how to listen to our music properly by organizing our listening and having listening principles. No, all music does not have to be heavy to be good or enjoyable but there does need to be a agreement between the artist and the listener that previously unspoken goes like this:

I the artist have set out to define my artistic principles that will be refined over my artistic life. I will create from these principals in order to express what it is I have to express and share it with you. I will not take your sensitivities and intelligence for granted. I will challenge myself to challenge you in hopes that we shall come to if not a similar vision a vision that can be reflected back to me to help me clarify my own artistic vision.

I in return need you the listener to only listen. But understand that listening is an effort as much as creating is and requires the refining of your listening skills so that you may grow with the art you love and gain from that experience personally. It is only by doing this can you show us artist your world in relation to the art which in return helps us achieve our vision.

In the end what you see is a balanced relationship between the artist and listener from which we all learn, we all gain, we all live, and we all share.

Peace,

Andrew

Next up: Organizing your listening.

Songs In Preparation For The Shift Available 11.11.09

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:41:00 +0000

http://www.soulpowerpoprecords.com

Statement of Artistic Intent

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Hey there invisible audience. I hope life is going well for you all. I have been quite busy with some things in regards to my last post. Tonight I wanted to discuss artistic intent. I have been known to have a pretty strong perspective on the state of music and art as they exist in the current period and I have had many discussions about this with people over the years. The root of my argument is on a basic level the following: Most of the things that I hear and see today lack integrity and clear artistic intent.

What is artistic intent? Here is a question, what are you doing to change the world? We often complain about the way things are yet we often are making no steps towards contributing to the larger conversation in any constructive way that may inspire someone to consider things they had not or reconsider stances and perspectives they already may hold. So again what is artistic intent? Artistic intent is the personal commitment one makes to strive to exemplify certain qualities and meet certain challenges within the creative process head on. Solely wanting to be a rock star is not an artistic intent. That is a selfish human desire which is not wrong. In fact it is quite needed as a stimulant to endure in the quest to live. But let us not confuse the two. Yes, they will at some point work together but one cannot cancel the other out.

The reason for this is that art is communicative form which comes endowed with much more than it's sequential elements meaning in the case of music, the notes, their combinations,rhythms and so forth.Anyone reading this can confess to the emotive power of music as we have all experienced this at some point in time. This fact alone makes the responsibility of being an artist much heavier because of the potential results of our creative actions. I would argue that the primary fault of many modern artist is the failure to respect this and accept this challenge to enrich and challenge their audiences.

But this aspect only pertains to the responsibility to your audience. What about your responsibility to the craft itself. This craft that so many stake their lives for, quit their day jobs, annoy their friends and relatives to listen to their music for. What about the artists who came before us and gave their lives to enrich us with their art, who met the task and challenges head on, accepted when people didn't understand what they were trying to say only to be lionized as heroes and masters after they were dead? Don't we as artists have a responsibility to take the art further not only technically but intellectually, spiritually(although I know that makes some of you cringe but deal with it it will make your life easier) and in craftsmanship? I believe so.

I am going to help you get started. What is music? The organization of emotions in time and space. What is my statement of artistic intent?

Andrew Apollos: Statement of Artistic Intent

My art strives to bring together the order and structure within the craft of linear composition and balance it with the vibe and energy of the improvisatory arts in a modern way as to be totally relevant and new to the current times. Through the success of this endeavor it is my intent that I will stimulate the intellectual, emotional and spiritual qualities within my listeners with the hope that this experience will stimulate and/or awaken the light within of which is all of us.

Get it? Don't get it? Curious? Annoyed? Good.....

Thank you to those of you who have listened to the first draft of Songs in Preparations For The Shift. A note to those of you who know some of my other music. You need not worry the fun, power-pop, piano driven part of me is still intact. The soul-singing well structured pop songwriter is also still intact as well as the other parts of The Andrew Apollos Musical Universe. Keep listening.... Also just to let you know The First Draft of Songs in Preparations For The Shift was short 3 songs...... So..... :0)

Ok gotta go,

Andrew

What's going on..

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:35:00 +0000

Hey there early songs in prep adapters. It's been a while since I posted. Things are changing quite a bit and things will be changing here on Songs in preparations for the shift blog soon as well. It is my hope that we will have this space looking great within the next month as well as getting things moving in the social networking world soon.

We(meaning myself and some dear friends I have) are going to really push for this project to get heard by those who really can benefit from this music but that is going to require a lot of work on the parts of myself and those who are already signed on to help with the effort. I started this blog to share in the process in how I was to make the music and now I ask that you all come along to watch us get this heard and create some new opportunities and friends along the way. As of now in the process we are working on some design ideas and I am busy cleaning some things on the technical side of the record. We are receiving some amazing feedback from the first draft and second drafts of the record so that is really inspiring me to push hard on the "getting it heard" side of things.

I have some plans for some changes to the this blogs format and I will update you on that as things develop more but take note of this date August 21. This was the day that songs in prep draft one was completed. Let us take note of where we are on that day in the next year. Thanks again to those of you who have checked this out from the beginning. We are still in a baby stage but slowly and surely growing.

Peace,

Andrew

Turn On: Thoughts on getting into the Creative Space

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Songs In Preparations For The Shift The EP is complete. Before putting it out there shall be some minor edits and some minor changes in the mix of some things.(yes I know that this is different from the post below in regards to how it will be released but that is a another topic)

Those issues are technical but the meat of this project was completed within the month that I initially set out for when starting this blog. What I have failed to share with you is how I did that. I have received quite a lot of compliments on this project so far with many of the people saying "wow you did all of that in one month". I hadn't thought about but yes I did and to tell you the full story, I recorded all of it in the last week. So how did I do that?

Turn ON

To turn on means to get oneself into a space where ones entire being shifts and focuses towards one target (if I may). The creative space is something that has interested psychologist and artist for many,many years myself included I have read books about it from many different perspectives and regardless of the perspective weather it be scientific or spiritual the end result is the same, an all encompassing focus on the desired result. Now the path to this desired result will and does differ from project to project and between different people but the other somewhat consistent experience is that allowing the work to take shape as it must is a requirement. Let me put this in another way.

My experience as you can see from reading the post leading up to completion was that of structure that turned into a non structure that re-aligned itself to result in completion yet it is very important to notice that this chain of events was collectively it's own (organized) structure. But here we are talking about the resulting structure. But again how did we get there? Herein lies the Line/Circle Balance that you have heard me speak of and will continue to hear me speak of but allow to translate it in much simpler terms for now. the balance between intellectually organizing an intention with the freedom of allowing moments to unfold, develop and join as they may.

You must have both in order to really get there.....

What do you think about that? Let me know.....

Andrew

A Notion Of Success

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:28:00 +0000

This week my energy has been very erratic. For the most part I do not have much. This could be impart to two factors one is that my diet this week has been very bad and the other is that there are some changes going on with me on the energetic level.

I sat down here to write to make note of something I had just thought about which is that I feel that I am at a stage where I need to think more long term about certain projects and goals that I want to accomplish. I feel that one of the flaws of immaturity in ones teens and twenties in my case is that I failed to see the complexity of success and completion. I have learned that there are some guidelines or principles that one must have when setting out to achieve something. Perhaps the first thing is to have principles. I think we may all have them in some way but the being aware of them is quite important.

My primary principle from here on out shall be if you start it finish it. Set deadlines for certain aspects of the project in order to get it moving and to stimulate success on a smaller level which in result gives one the energy and the confidence to take on the next part. I suppose I can call this step “creating the new standard”. Once you have achieved something, doing anything less than the last is not acceptable.Begin with some sort of notion as to how you are going to achieve what you want. This one is important and tricky because this does not mean that how you foresee it is how it’s going to happen but having this notion sets you on a track towards it and it is what you learn and the small successes along the way from solving the problems that arise that will create your success. Also, find a balance of input and output. This one is new to me as I used to think of it differently but I see that it is good to have input while you are outputting creatively. This is because the input part keeps you sharp and helps push the standard of your output higher than if you were to allow yourself to be trapped by your own singular ideal. Herein lies an example of the line/circle balance required in order to create things. There exist this camp of artist who believe that if we have too much input while we are trying to output our output risk being a copy of the input. I am guilty of believing this myth. Yet the thing that guards against this is first, your personal principles. If you decide that you are not interested in trying to sound like someone you like you won’t. Secondly, you will never sound just like the person you admire. I don’t need to go into why I think we all get it. But the first part is the most important. Decide that you are not interested in trying to be someone else and you won’t . Being inspired and challenged by someone else is a great gift that we humans can offer each other.

This is what I have just thought about perhaps you can relate or not.

Peace,

Andrew

BTW, I may just break this post into some sort of list because I feel that in may be very valuable to someone.

Return From Paris and The Music

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Hey, so some of you have receive your Songs In Preparations For The Shift EP by email as I had not the time to mess around with posting a stream of the music from this site before I left for Paris which was very early on Saturday... Anyhow the question is what now... Well, I am going to send out a few more Ep's personally and if there is anyone else who has the interest to hear this that didn't receive it well you are going to have to wait as I am going to build a Last FM and/or a Myspace page soon to handle the streaming of the music.

I am really wanting to officially release this as well as the work that is to follow this and I will keep you posted on how that is going but for right now I am just wanting this to be heard by those of you who have followed me during this period and for you to have the first edition as it is sure to change in regards to the technicalities as the days and weeks move on towards an official release.. Thanks again and if you are reading this and want to have a copy and didn't get one please comment or contact me and I will send it to you via email.... Next up Pictures From Paris!!

Peace,

Andrew

STOP THE PRESS!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:37:00 +0000

I LIED!!!!!! I am going to get this all of the music that I made during this period posted somewhere before tomorrow... It's to dope not to be heard!!!!!! Check back for details of where the (till now) finished result can be found......... Seriously this sh*t is crazy...

OK until later,

Andrew

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:16:00 +0000

Seriously this has been an amazing week in regards to this project. I have been putting in minimum 12 hour days on the recording front and the hours just fly by! With that there is going to be a change a plans. This music is too good to rush through the mixes etc.. just to post them online for maybe 10 people to listen to. But, I will post one of the tracks before I leave for Paris tomorrow.. Oh yeah, that's right I am going to Paris to celebrate my birthday!!! This is great...

Songs in Preparations for the Shift is truly turning into so much more than I had imagined. Having pushed myself to try and make a record of sorts in one month basically from the ground up was and is ambitious yet what happened was more than I bargained for. Once the creative muse kicked in it really kicked in. It has been hard for me to stop writing and make the recordings and there is still much to do.

I really do feel that this collection is a true representation of where I am in my music and thinking and this platform I am building feels right. So with that I am going to work some more today and then call it quits later on in the afternoon to decide which track to post and then just start chilling and getting ready for tomorrow.

Thanks to those of you who have been reading and also know that Songs in Preparations for the Shift will continue and we will see where it leads us and how it develops.

Ok maybe I will post 2 tracks.......... hahahaha!!! Enough! I will be back up here later and when I return there will be music.

BTW, I will post them here on the blog NOT AndrewApollos.com because I don't want to take the time to deal with the technicalities of that page right now...

Peace,

Andrew

The Last Stretch.. AndrewApollos.com Saturday!!

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:23:00 +0000

Here we are at the last week. this has gone very differently than I could of expected although I didn't expect anything. But with that the focus is on what things shall be like this Saturday August 22. I will post a widget on AndrewApollos.com with what came out of this period. Now that I think about it I am really glad that I decided not to post what I have been making while it was happening but just share my thoughts etc.. via this blog. It was too short of a time to post fragments and it would not be the same as just getting the "final" output at the finish line. Although I can not say that it is really finished but that is not the point. Let us remember the idea was to create what I could from the start date until the finish date and whatever came out was that. So what came of this period? Saturday you shall hear.....

Thanks for checking this out my invisible audience......

With Love,

Andrew

The Message is The Medium????

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:57:00 +0000

So much to say..... I hope everyone in invisible land is doing well today. I am feeling much better perhaps the best I have felt in almost 2 weeks. As I was deciding to come here and write today I realized how much conventional ways and wisdom do not resonate with me. Perhaps I am naturally suspect of the "ways" of the world and if this is the case I must accept it. I say this in regards to blogging, twittering and all of the these things that 'everybody" is doing be it for fun and keeping up with friends which is not entirely a bad thing but I think chatting, email, telephone and face to face contact work just fine. Or it may be to get ones message across which tends to be the rage these days. I will be honest with you. This project is the second time I have engaged in what I will call an internet experiment. I did one of these last summer as well when I decided to join a social networking website to test my self marketing skills. I had quite a bit of success last time and learned a number of valuable lessons. this time I decided to try another one hence songs in preparations for the shift.

What I noticed between last summer and this one is that information is shrinking. Yes, that is what I said information is shrinking. We as communicating beings are being forced to express less within these new mediums. I see and hear it in music, the visual mediums and how we interact with each other during this twitter revolution.

Us creatives ones are being told that we need to social network,tweet, blog and all this other stuff in order to get heard. When in all actuality, we are going through a major communication shift as a species (humans) and no one knows what the hell is going on. I understand enough to see that most people don't care about what you have to say and why should they? We are all busy trying to understand our own spaces. Next, no amount of blogging, tweeting, myspacing, whatever is going to get your idea out unless you have money and and a clear notion as to how you want to get your message out. This is just the truth. I would recommend (myself included) that if you have something to say focus on refining it to the point that it is so sharp NO ONE can deny its potency and then learn all you can about they ways in which you can deliver your ideas to people. Get that notion tight. It may not be right but own it. Do everything you can to feel firm in that notion. THEN figure out how to raise the capital to get the job done.

Like it or not this is the truth. Without capital and a firm notion of what the playing field is ACTUALLY like your message will not travel very far. So how does one raise capital to play the communications game? Well this question is also something being tested over and over on the internet. I propose real artist communities. Something like a artist mutual fund. Curious?? Check back later or tell me what you think an artist community mutual fund would work like. Keep in mind that some of the main objectives of the community is to self finance projects on a large scale (not just putting something out on itunes etc.. only to not have anything sold.) Also having a build in test market that you can trust. WE have been lied to. This is not the twitter age etc... this is the DIY age. We need to break these old ways of thinking in regards to how we develop and distribute our work. As information is shrinking what should happen is that we as people move closer to each other. What we are witnessing right now is a resistance to this result but do not be deceived. Everything is possible but it's going to require really new ways of doing things not just B.S. being packaged as new. I have much more to say about this and will. If you have something to say my dear invisible audience please let it be known. I see where things are going. If you want to know where and come you are welcome but we are all going to have to accept the shift.

Songs In preparation for the shift.....

Peace,

Andrew

The Flu And The Lesson Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:36:00 +0000

I think it's safe to say that I have recovered from my bout with this Flu I had last week though it took more time than I would like to admit to. I can read these past post and see a pattern of me wanting to believe that I could just work and be creative through all of it as my last post said something about me making the mix podcast with the progress thus far. The truth of the matter is that I still didn't have the energy over the weekend and my energy is still inconsistent up until today. Needless to say this all very frustrating but not the end of the world. I am one to accept that all things happen for a reason even if I don't fully understand why and don't like it.

I can't make any promises for what the coming days will hold for me in regards to this project as I have to accept that I was quite sick in truth, this has been the sickest I have become in many many years. I am still working on things but very slowly because my energy comes and goes and my nerves are fragile at the moment. But, I am not willing to quit but I do have to be reasonable and not make unhealthy demands on myself.

So that's it for now. Perhaps I have started something more than a months project and that is good as doing this has taken me to places that I had not anticipated but we will see it to the end point, I just don't know where the end is right now.

Peace,

Andrew

The Big Setback (Enough Already!)

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 07:33:00 +0000

Yes, I am still sick although feeling a bit better today as my temperature is not as high as it has been for the past 2 days but the coughing has mutated into some other kind of annoying existence and it has all forced me to accept that I am going to have try and RE- enter the space I was in before getting ill. But that's just how it goes..

The most annoying thing about getting sick like this, and let me add that I don't think I have ever become sick in the summer before so this is some B*&^*&S^(*&^*..., I digress.
As it is, the part of this that is perhaps the most annoying is that getting thrown off of your flow can make one feel a bit confused in regards to how ones ideas were organized and conceptualized but that's ok. Sometimes it's best to just sit still and not give any attention as the action is what will allow the disorientation to succeed.

Either way, I have decided to just accept this and go ahead and post a podcast of sorts with the development of things as they are now and some discussion about the music, concepts etc... I will begin this production today albeit slowly and will aim to have it up by the weekend. I think I may go lay down now as the moments of energy coming and going is doing it's thing right now...

Peace,

Andrew

Still Sick But Trying

noreply@blogger.com (Songs in Preparation For The Shift) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:25:00 +0000

So after a long night of constantly waking up and fluctuating body temperature, it has been basically the same story today. I am trying to resist the desire to really work but it is hard because I don't really feel like just lying around. I had a few things that I needed to do today like send some emails etc.. but for the most part that is all I have been able to do( although those emails required that I make a bit of music) This was a day that I wished I had a small midi controller to make music while I was lying in bed but I don't so I just watched a bit of Youtube on my phone and slept.

I am really hoping that whatever this is it passes soon. I may be back on here later we shall see...