has it been a year already? really?
I could have sworn it's been four or maybe five.

fudge fudge cuss fudge.

(graphic is a composite of home-made bread and ramen, because that's what you do in a pandemic quarantine, I guess).

2021 project

twelve months

if you believe me when I say that this is an optimistic track, then we might stand a chance at being friends.

onwards and upwards, even when at times you can barely tell it's happening.

/ mikael

made, as always, with Reason 11, nektar panorama p6, mixed on sennheiser hd-650 calibrated with the excellent sonarworks plugin, and mastered with ozone 9.

progress

this hasn't been a great year for me to make music.

by which I mean it hasn't been a great year for me to share music I've made.

so. yeah. 

here it is. a thing I've made.

bramble

when you build a thing to elevate yourself and it ends up being a place to burrow deep below.

when you do a thing to do a thing, but it ends up being another thing.

when you decide not to do a thing because you already know what will happen.

when nothing and then nothing.

treehouse

this is the third in a series, of sorts, about my family. you might have one too.

this one is about my brother, who I think the world of.

2022 project

brothers

chances are you are already familiar with the good people over at LOA (https://soundcloud.com/leavesofabsense)
if not, then I suggest that this would be a good time to acquaint yourself with their music. 

this is a thing that started as a thing that I commented on, and which then led to them letting me have a go at it, and here we are.

Colaborations

52 (with Leaves of Absense)

an elefant is never late. nor is she early. she arrives precisely when she means to.

that said: yeah, this one is overdue.

but so are a lot of things these days.

elefant

this started with an instrumental track by Masaya Ozaki (@masayaozaki), submitted as part of the 100th @disquiet challenge (http://soundcloud.com/disquiet/sets/disquiet0100-vaporwave). you can listen to the original here - https://soundcloud.com/masayaozaki/submersion-disquiet-vaporwave

I liked it very much and was inspired to make a few additions. I added a yamaha grand and a light pad. hope you like the result.

mikael

masaya ozaki - submersion (clb piano version)

what's that thing when you haven't been able to do a thing for a long time because the thing that once made you so happy to do the thing all of a sudden did the precise opposite, and instead you end up mucking about trying a bunch of things to catch that one thing, but instead end up digging you deeper and deeper into that other thing?

I did that for most of 2022. and in the end it's just nonsense.

so here's to moving forward. for better and for worse.


made with Reason (VST 3 beta), mixed with Sennheiser HD-650, mastered with Ozone

2023 project

reboot

I don't have much to say about this one except that it spoke to me, and I am trying really hard to follow that instinct more than anything else.

I brought you here for a reason

so here's the thing. I like this track very much and am quite pleased with it.
also: there's a story behind this track. because of course there is. 
if there wasn't a story behind it, then what's the point?

2085

this is a dance track, of sorts. the beat is there, hiding, awaiting its time.

decline

here's something I've been working on over the weekend. 
started out as a bit of an experiment and quickly turned into something more.

all beats and instruments played by hand. 


flutter

this track came to me in a roundabout way. I had pursued it down entirely the wrong sorts of alleyways for much too long before I realized we should switch roles for a bit and let it chase me around instead.

and here we are. running around in circles, laughing our heads off.

(I took the photo at the ROM in Toronto)

the messenger

I made an earlier version of this, but it came out all wrong. 

this one is much closer to the truth.


when I was your age

as much as I pretend otherwise, this is the sort of thing I really like to make as the days begin to shorten, and the darkness begins to set in.


haugust

this is a track for doing less, rather than more.
music for those few days right between late summer and early fall.


sept.ember

because not every track can be made out of blips and ticks and things that go bump in the night.



december

sometimes things travel in twos. I made a version (https://soundcloud.com/colab/pop) of this track which was more of the things that this one has less of, and vice versa. 

so to speak.

2017 project

non-pop

When I finished my previous version of "Butterfly effect" I knew I wanted to make another version - a more upbeat club version, so here it is. A bit of nostalgia for a time long gone by.

Lamb - Butterfly effect (Stockholm 1994 remix)

one of my favourite musicians here is https://soundcloud.com/strange-meatttttt - he's got a heck of a knack for putting together dense, vibrant soundscapes. 
I had an opportunity to play around with one of his synth lines, and this is what came out after I put it through the grinder.

stranger meat

many years ago I saw an interview of Thom Yorke where the interviewer asked "are you an optimist or a pessimist", and Thom immediate answer "an optimist".

I thought about that this week when my wife listened to this track and exclaimed that it's so sad. but to me it's deeply hopeful in its core.

maybe it's a Scandinavian thing. 

/ mikael

made, as always, with propellerhead reason, nektar panorama p6, apogee duet, sennheiser HD-650, ozone 8, alcohol (beer, wine)

2018 project

under the bridge

here's a funny thing that happened to me: I came across this musician who I have the utmost respect for, and he asked if I wanted to collaborate on a thing. 

what do you say when that happens? yes please, and also thank you.

go here for more. I think you will be happy you did. https://soundcloud.com/temperate-regen

mikael

(I would say the work was ~50/50 - Miles did the synths and beat in the first third, which set the tone for my additions. I finished my parts - as always - with propellerhead reason, panorama nektar p6, apogee duet, isotope ozone 8.
mixed on sennheiser hd-650 because: late-night mixing + family)

sul (with temperate regen)

this is the second track in what very hopefully will be a series of collaborations with @temperate-regen.

this went through a few starts and stops before finally settling in on this. and now it's going to have a nap for a bit.

mikael

(propellerhead reason, panorama nektar p6, sennheiser hd650, izotope ozone)

syll (with temperate regen)

old life passes and new life takes its place. and so the world turns.

photo from old family album.

2019 project

generations

so there's this kid that comes and goes with aliases that never stay the same. yet the one constant thing is that when I hear a new thing it acts as an instant trigger for me, and I know I have to do something with it.
like kick it in the gut. 
the original is here - https://soundcloud.com/fangestreet/borealis 

(oh, and he did it again. here one moment, gone the next. but when he comes up for air again I'll capture him. even if only for a moment.)

/ mikael

strange meat - borealis (clb.rmx)

kids grow up. and if you're incredibly lucky, you get to grow up right there alongside them.

2020 project

boyo

these two guys @leavesofabsense were kind enough to let me take one of their tracks out for a bit. it was awesome. we went for a walk in the park, looked at the trees and such. we're seeing each other again next week.

and I will too (with leaves of absense)

I really wanted to say something about 2020, but there's nothing I could say that you haven't heard or thought yourselves already.

thanks for listening. you're good kids.

/ mikael

(made, as always, on Reason Suite 11 with Nektar Panorama P6. mixed on sennheiser HD-650 with the excellent Sonarworks plug-in. mastered on ozone 9.)

half life

when the boys at @leavesofabsense sent me this, it was a pop song that would have stood tall with the very best of the 80s. after I had a go at it, it became this thing - hardly fit in any decade.

/ mikael

the 80s (with leaves of absense)

here's a thing to say good riddance. this year almost - but not quite - broke me.

fracture

I tinker with musical toys. sometimes they behave and sometimes they don't. sometimes they run and tell lies to their mom about what I called them. in the end we always make up and laugh about it.

I release music as colab; through collaborations; and by remixing/producing other artists’ music from my home studio in Toronto, Canada.

if you like what you hear, send me a message and perhaps we'll be able to collaborate on something. assuming I'm not too busy drinking. 

which has been known to happen.

colab

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