Written and recorded during a series of collaborations between J, Kristine and Rick Steel. This was supposed to be fleshed out into a full song for J's album, but we could never get the verses to be as good as this chorus. I'm still mad about it after all these years. 

J. Cabrera + Kristine Sa - Believe (instr w chorus only)

This is the last song Kristine and I recorded together. We were very close and our friendship unraveled along with my life and the label. We both knew it was her swan song. I engineered this as she sang her goodbye while I faced a ProTools screen 4 feet away from her. It was heart wrenching.

She has since re-recorded the song with more fluent Vietnamese, but this version has all the weight of broken dreams in it. It is still hard for me to listen to without feeling like a failure.

Kristine Sa - My Last Goodbye (original recording)

One of Dave Liang's tracks that I begged him to record with Kristine because Kristine and I loved it so much, but we never released it because it was so different from the rest of the songs on "Hopeless Romantic".

Kristine Sa - God On The Radio

One of the first songs recorded for "Hopeless Romantic". Ironically we ended up not including it even though it was the title track.

Kristine Sa - Hopeless Romantic (demo)

Kristine's tribute to a very popular game. Bonus points if you know which one.

Kristine Sa - The Truth Is (unofficial)

This was one of the songs Kristine wrote for "Hopeless Romantic" before it took a more Asian-centric vibe. At this point, we were going for a more pop/r&b sound. This was in 2004 around the time "reBIRTH" was released.

Kristine Sa - Chemistry (demo)

I don't know why we never released this. It's dope. I'm a fool. Recorded in 2006 right before the release of "Hopeless Romantic".

Kristine Sa - There's Nothing Like (Falling In Love)

Anecdote: At some point during the week Tokona was in NYC, we went to a nightclub. I don't remember much from that evening, but I do remember a number of high rollers randomly bought Tokona drinks cuz they liked his vibe. He had an incredible presence and everyone within a 20 foot radius could feel it. He also picked up a couple of girls despite the fact that he spoke almost zero English. 

Note: At the beginning of this demo, Tokona gives myself and Rick Steel a shoutout by calling out our company "Kingmin Steel & Associates". One of the highlights of my life! We're also in the backing track screaming "Ohhhh!" during the chorus. The end tag was recorded by Kristine Sa - that's definitely not on the official release!

This is the never released original recording produced, recorded and mixed in NYC by Rick Steel. Guided and supervised by Daisuke Miyachi. The sample used could not be cleared within the budget so the backing track was re-recorded for the official release. Why do I have it? Because Rick and I were partners and I made the deal with Dais. Tokona flew out to NYC for a week to write and record 2 songs with us. Even though he already had the tracks sent to him in Japan, he wanted to make his writing authentic and be inspired by his first visit to NYC.

Tokai X Teio

Tokona-X - I'm In Charge [Demo Version]

This is the never released original recording produced, recorded and mixed in NYC by Rick Steel in 2003. Guided and supervised by Daisuke Miyachi. The sample used could not be cleared within the budget so the backing track was re-recorded for the official release. Why do I have it? Because Rick and I were partners and I made the deal with Dais. Tokona flew out to NYC for a week to write and record 2 songs with us. Even though he already had the tracks sent to him in Japan, he wanted to make his writing authentic and be inspired by his first visit to NYC. He wrote the entire song the same day we recorded it. His energy was crazy and infectious. 

Anecdote 1: We went out to a Taisho place (Oh Taisho! on St. Mark's) for dinner the next evening and some fool made the mistake of repeatedly bumping into Tokona in the crowded restaurant. Tokona stood up, turned around and told the guy to watch himself or else. The guy moved away. We almost got into a brawl in a restaurant. Good times.

Anecdote 2: Even though Tokona's English was minimal, he was still able to express himself well and shared with me all his favorite songs about New York City. At the top of this list? "Caught Between The Moon and NYC" by Christopher Cross! I was surprised he was such a romantic at heart. His dream was to contribute to the Pantheon of NYC songs.

Tokona-X - New York NY [Demo Version]

I signed DJ Jinnai based on this track. 9 minutes of remix genius!

DJ Jinnai / Maaya Sakamoto - Hemisphere

The official Nemesis Records Soundcloud. Demos, beats, outtakes and B-sides. All the stuff we never officially released. Visit the Nemesis Tumblr link below for album & promotional art.

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