Wow, the last two weeks have been crazy! I am pleased to announce that the recording of the new album is officially complete!! It has been a long 14 months, and the music is now ready for post-production. Bryan and I will be heading down to Los Angeles at the end of November for final audio mastering. We will also be making a big announcement while on location in Hollywood so stay tuned!

Meanwhile in the studio...Bryan and I are finishing up the final layout of the album artwork. Once that is complete, we'll head over to our replication facility that will assemble a mock-up of the album. I am also currently preparing another sheet music release, which will be available in just a couple of weeks! I'll keep you posted -

-Kevin

We all have moments in our lives of dramatic impact. Violent disturbances to our personal atmosphere can come in and threaten the very essence of what we know, who we are, and what we think. Just when we thought we were most resilient, winds can change and we can find ourselves caught fighting to keep our greatest hopes, dreams and wishes alive.

As a determined musician, there were moments growing up that felt like living in a fairytale. The high that you reach when you finally learn to play a difficult piece, write a new great song or reach mile markers that were often so far away, you never really thought you'd actually see them is indescribable. I've found that even after growing up, the nature of following your dreams still feels very much the same. The problem with trying to follow a dream, is the very nature of dreams is against many rules of reality. It requires a lot of work along with the seemingly impossible alignment of situational circumstances to even get close to having a dream materialize. 

There have been many moments along the way that I've had questions...I have wondered if the amount of work, sacrifice and devotion were worth the slim chance at playing live with a symphony orchestra and hearing my own music come together with live musicians in powerful concert venues. Thoughts of risk, fear and failure enter everyone's mind, it's how we know we're human. The hope of being able to achieve something great many times feels naive. It's easy to wonder if your bar is set too high, if maybe you should lower it to something more attainable. Many people would have you think that you're crazy for even thinking or hoping you can achieve something so far out of reach. I have learned from experience that it is only through being naive that I have reached some of my goals. Believing you can do something, even if you can't, will always get you farther than saying it's impossible and giving up.    

Why all the introspection? Because it is these very thoughts, commonalities and feelings that urged me to write the last piece of music on this album. It was summer of 2005. I was outside looking up at a tall mountainous skyline. The melody hit me like a train. I'll never forget that instantaneous, full blown orchestral procession when I heard the song materialize for the first time. Fortunately, one of my friends (who also happened to be quite a skilled drummer) was visiting. I hummed the melody and he immediately started pounding out drum rhythms on anything he could get his hands on. A few thousand notes and a couple of hours later, we knew we had something special.

The first recording of this song was done entirely on a single, partial sized keyboard. I spent 2 weeks working out orchestrations and doing overlays of the drums played by my friend. It was during these sessions that I realized just how complex and difficult this song really is. The problem was, I had only started learning how to record and mix music a year previous and didn't have the equipment I needed to fully do the song justice. It wasn't long after that I filed the song into my archive knowing that one day, when the time was right I would record and release it with the instrumentation, recording and sound quality it deserved.

Now, 7 years later, after 2 months of recording with lengthy rehearsals, recording sessions and over 60 hours of post-production, this song is a monster. It's a symphonic firework show with a full orchestra, drums and a piano. It was even a workout for our amazing drummer Joel, who ended up breaking a pair of sticks during the takes.

This past week was spent in the studio, editing drum takes from our last recording session. The final mixes will be completed over the next 2 weeks, marking the end to a long 14 months of recording and welcoming in the final phase of album creation - post production & replication. The end is very close...it won't be long now.

We're getting very close to the end of the behind the music updates, which also means the album is on its way! The final two songs are very closely connected. This one is called Overture.

Although Overture is an independent song on the album, it does play an introductory role to the finale. It's a song with very edgy strings and an almost clock-like piano part. The celli play smooth, transcendent scales peaking in time with violins playing the main melody. Reverb from tubular bells surrounds the strings giving them shiny, glistening feel. A hint of thunder near the end indicates a storm is brewing and something grand awaits. By Overture's close, the stage is set for the orchestral fireworks of the finale.

Work is at full speed in the studio now. This next week, I'll be recording all the final drum tracks in the studio with Joel. The vocals and Uilleann Pipes are also set to be recorded over the next 2 weeks. Once this is complete, I'll be working around the clock mixing the final tracks. Though not here yet, the end is getting very close...it's only a matter of weeks before you'll get to hear the music first hand for yourself!

-Kevin

Imagine you're walking along the scenic cliffs of Ireland. Off in the distance you hear the faint sound of music. A soft but steady, european drum resonates over the low lying hills. As you walk along, the music paints a perfect picture of the landscape. This is the closest visual description I can portray for the next song. The instruments are very lush and emotional, bringing out a lot of color and character. Just as many songs on the album, this one has great deal of mystery in its sound design.

Synthesizers and celtic violin cohesively introduce the song, creating the illusion of time standing still. You feel lost in thought as the melody starts to unfold, revealing a colorful portrait of sound. A mysterious orchestral drum eludes to the idea that something bigger awaits. Perhaps my favorite feature of the song is the color given by the unique instruments. 

Uilleann pipes are the national bagpipe of Ireland. Unlike traditional highland pipes, the uillean pipes aren't blown into by the player. They are powered by a set of bellows strapped around the waist and the right arm that allow the player to keep consistent pressure on the pipes without restricting air supply. Unlike their harsher, kazoo-like cousins, the uilleann pipes have a slightly softer flutey characteristic which doesn't render them quite so hard on the ears during longer listening sessions.

Orchestral Marching Drums are another key feature of this song. Kick drums and toms of traditional drum kits are much too sharp and punchy for this one. The deep tone of the orchestral drums really creates a cinematic feel which adds a lot of character to the piece.

What's happening in the studio now? I have officially finished all the tracking that can be done in my studio. This means the album is mostly complete. In the next 2 weeks I will be rehearsing with our drummer Joel, preparing to record the drum tracks for the last few songs. I will also be recording live uilleann pipes for the song described above. An intro vocal to one of the songs is being recorded in Australia by Louisa John-Krol, a unique celtic/world music vocalist. Once these remaining parts have been recorded, I will start the final mix down phase to mix these parts into the recordings and prepare the album for final mastering. Until then, be on the lookout for the final two behind the music posts!

-Kevin

Welcome to the new and improved KevinBluemel.com! In preparation for all the changes and new music on its way, we decided to start by giving the website a facelift. This is the first of many exciting changes and announcements planned in preparation for the album release. Visit an all new photo gallery containing pictures from a recent Photoshoot as well as completely redesigned about and shop pages.

The album is in the final stretch of recording and only a few weeks away from post production. With only a couple more behind the music posts remaining, new announcements and surprises are on the way including another sheet music release! Stay tuned...


-Kevin