I'm an Invisible Bright Man...

Another update here, this year I have met wonderful people and met new awesome people in my life, and have been dedicating a lot of my time to them. I have reconnected with some lost friendships of the past and have been very social oriented in my life really. One of my flaws as an artist is that I'm very introverted and solitary. Well, artists tend to do this and work on isolation they say.

Well but this update is not something about my personal life and all that stuff, let's talk about music feats right? A lot of people ask me about my music, what I'm doing, what I'm preparing, and I told them the same thing everytime: "Music is slow" and they know why, I'm not in musical moods lately because I have been focusing on others priorities in my life now.

Of course, I have a lot of projects in mind and my Songwriter thing is coming out great, which is the only musical thing that I'm keeping alive. Why? b/c is very easy to do it, I just pick up my guitar and that's it, the difficult part is to produce this music and sit in my studio and record/mix/produce these songs. I will in the future yes, but what I'm talking really is on those ambitious big projects that I had in mind, I think, not for sure, that I'm throwing the towel with those pompous projects, I really don't feel inspired enough and fueled to do it anymore.

But I will tell you this, I can surprise you all one day, just one day, b/c I'm working more and more in isolation and not making the same mistake of telling everyone what I'm doing before releasing something. But people think that I'm doing this songwriting thing searching for a more mainstream or music success, and it is not the case, this is something for me to embrace new boundaries, new grounds, practice my singing, focus on real songs, and not riffs, focus on my expression and feelings more and more, music for me is like a healing potion or a magical healing pill, a drug that I always need.

In other words, I'm an isolated, solitaire, invisible bright man in music really, an unsung hero I should say really, I'm not looking for money in all of this, nor success, nor fame, I really don't care. So don't think I'd stopped or I'm doing something more "mainstream" for the sake of commercial success or money. But life, life is passing by, it is getting harder and harder everyday it passes, and I'm just concentrating on that good things that life give you to embrace and lift up your spirit. That's all.

I should write more I think, writing tends to heal a little bit too!

IRR

Settled musical plans and projects 2015

Hi all!

Haven't touched my guitar or keyboards in quite some time, in fact, I still want to record some songs out of the "Songsmith" project that I worked on this passed months. But now I got in a cooldown state right now to settled some things up in the music department of my life. I'm still going through the motions of some other things with my daily life, like business, project plans, meetings, clients, entrepreneurship and so on.

As you can see, I have lots of projects on hold and a lot of unfinished musical things going on, so I have decided to sit up straight and organize the matter. At the start of this year, I went through the constant motion of this "Harp of David" thing, by writing songs with a different lyrical approach and ways of work. But now, thinking it straight, I have too many unfinished projects to rely on new things, and embracing new projects without finishing others, is a sickness that I suffer so much, which I have to take measures on and set things down once and for all.

Right now, as I organizing and preparing gaming events through my company, I will introduce gaming music to the formula and create a musical platform by itself doing gaming music covers as concerts in my events. Just for the fun really, it will fun to play and perform gaming music, in fact right now I'm gathering musicians for the job, which is the most difficult part of it.

Aside from events and gaming, my normal musical duties will resume in this Skies of Mars reboot, which, will be my main musical project for everything I'll write. Gathering musicians here is more difficult, because some musicians don't want to compromise that much, in fact, I contacted a long time friend keyboard player and he told me that he will be only supporting me in the gaming music thing, not my real band, I understood why.

The only thing keeping me out is the musicians, some of them don't want to compromise, some others don't want to play my music and just want to write stuff, some others are unreachable, etc. It's hard, that's why is a solo project because I don't want to depend on others to write music.

So, this is the summary of all the musical things that I will be doing in the future: 2 gaming music cover bands and my main band Skies of Mars. Stay tune for more details!

2015 musical projects/bands

The Songsmith Project: Down This Rain

This was one of the first song written for this project, and here it is! again, just me and my guitar in a big live take!

Music and lyrics by Iros Rodriguez

Molten drops cast out from rivers
Eyes upon this rain
Cleaning with a cloth my fears
Down this rain

I must close the space down here
Eyes upon the rain
I just have to open my ears
Down this rain

Wish I could be there tonight
Hearing from the drops behind
Grey and blue defines the trail

Covered in a dark blue light
We got our eyelids down and drown
Centered in a cold grey blight
We fall into our arms and try
to touch our souls and be just one


Down This Rain por Iros Rodriguez se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivar 4.0 Internacional.
Basada en una obra en http://irosmultiverse.blogspot.com/.

The Songsmith Project: Unsung Hero

A couple of songs were recorded including this one, Unsung Hero, and yeah after a couple of takes, voice screw ups (yeah I hate my voice), gayish hype shouts lol it is done I think, just guitar and voice in one big take, no fancy editing nor any more instruments! I hope you enjoy it!

Music and lyrics by Iros Rodriguez

I try in the light of the moon
I fight indoors
And cry with my soul
And die with the sun

Unsung hero
I fight indoors
I beg for my soul
Unsung hero
I praise in the sun
and cry with the moon

I try in the light of the moon
I fight indoors
And die with the sun
And cry with my soul

Unsung hero
I fight indoors
And cry with the sun
Unsung hero
Just you and me
Sun and glory

I try, I fight, I cry
I fight, I try
I fight, unsung hero
I try, unsung hero
I cry, unsung hero
There's no fame, unsung hero
There's no pain, unsung hero
There's no gain, unsung hero

I fight, unsung hero
I cry, unsung hero
I fight, unsung hero


Unsung Hero por Iros Rodriguez se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivar 4.0 Internacional.
Basada en una obra en http://irosmultiverse.blogspot.com/.

The Songsmith Project: Angel White Wings

I recorded this one out of the "Songsmith Project" sorry for the background noise I'm trying to get rid of it! Maybe I will try to record some others! We will see!

Music and lyrics by Iros Rodriguez

I've never tried to forgive now
of what I can see
I've never tried to be gone now
I want to break free
I see angel white wings

I've never tried to get close now
of what I must see
I've never thought on this for now
of art and beauty
I see angel white wings

Flying withdrew higher
Run to be true
It flies, black and white
Just to try

Wandering through
Clean and refresh to my eyes
Feel like a fool
Art-form required to move

Angel white wings
Clean and refresh to my eyes
Angel white wings
Art-form required to break free



Angel White Wings por Iros Rodriguez se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.
Basada en una obra en https://soundcloud.com/irosrod/iros-rodriguez-angel-white-wings.

The Songsmith Songwriter Challenge!

Hi all!

As some of you may know, I was immersed into this crazy thing, which is write 7 songs in 7 days, each day!, I know is a crazy thing to do, but it was a real challenge and pushed me in every way. No matter the consequences, the work, the stress, the routine of everyday, I was able to pull everything just in time! It was hard, yes, but, life is hard isn't it?

I have every song recorded in my smartphone, for demo and lyrics purposes, I'm planning now to record them live in a video form with a friend in my home studio, just guitar and voice, a couple of GoPros and that's it! Here is the list of the final take of the 7 songs!

1- Angel White Wings
2- Here Is You
3- I Can Be Inspired
4- Unsung Hero
5- Down This Rain
6- Eccentric Poet
7- Pieces in Seven and Seven Other Pieces

I have to polish a few lyrics on some of the songs though, but the hard work is finished! They are short songs as you can see, and it is just guitar/voice thing in a songwriter inspired way. Hope you like the songs! I'll keep you posted!

IRR

Your ear is everything

In music your ear is the most important thing, I have a lot of friends that ask me for tips or tricks in music for them to write better music or better solos, I just tell them one thing, TRAIN YOUR EAR.

For me, is your business card presentation as a musician, not only how well you play your instrument. Developing your ear will make you a better musician in no time, you will be able to hear things in your head, translate them to your instrument or writing, you will transcribe more easily, you will appreciate production more, you will be able to recognize things in music that you can grab.

However, How do you develop your ear? In my case I took solfege classes with a personal instructor, that helped me a lot, plus the years and years I have been involved in music, hearing it, embracing it, and playing it, years and years pass and I understand music more and more everyday.

So, in what stage are you? Ask yourself, do you recognize a riff in a song and translate it to your instruments?, Can you define notes? Can you hear the chords in one song and name them? Can you translate a choir of 4 voices listening to it like 3 or 4 times?  try to focus on this, this will be my most humblest and recommended musical advise that I can give!

Att:

Iros RR

A Time For Everything Demo Montage

This is the song I'm working on right now, it is called "A Time For Everything" based on the book of Ecclesiastes, seeing it just a book and the theme it portraits about a time for everything in life and all that was inspiring. Is a work in progress I just want to get my ideas sounding, that's it!

This album is coming pretty varied in terms of music styles, I don't know I'm just writing music, what comes out comes out!

and we keep it going...lot of work ahead...*sigh




A Time For Everything Demo por Iros Rodriguez Rodriguez se distribuye bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0 Internacional.
Basada en una obra en http://irosmultiverse.blogspot.com/2015/02/a-time-for-everything-demo-montage.html.

Pseudo Production

This is the thing that I'm embracing the most these days, something I call "Pseudo Production", it is my way of thinking I'm a real producer in a real studio and learn in the process, (where I'm actually a bedroom producer in fact), I'm in the process of writing an entire album for this year, I don't really know where I can go with it but I'm trying to do something with the things I have, no more no less.

So let me explain what I'm doing, simply I am writing and demoing music in a real DAW with my Computer in my bedroom and I always learn and try new things, for example, as overdubbing myself everything, What is the best thing to do? Record everything?, in what order? what methods? Recording drums and bass first? or not? how to record a complex bass riff with a midi keyboard? recording with a click or not? and tons and tons of other questions... I'm demoing some tunes and creating an arrangement as I write and record, is a total pain, lot of edits, programing, recording takes, recording on time, doubling guitar riffs with the midi keyboard, and believe me my music is not conventional, is not 4/4 the whole time, is complex stuff and this really compensates in the production.

My goal is not to record an award winning sounding record, but to demo the songs, create the vibe for them and the arrangement, luckily... I'm all alone in this process so it can be very time consuming and stressful, in fact I think that today I have to re-record almost everything in a song that I wrote and record the finals overdubs, something yet is not right to me, and yes, you have to be perfectionist in all of this, something that is not my forte so to speak.

I'm trying to complete a progress sheet, as I write/record the demo for each individual song. I use my smartphone to capture lots of ideas also, but the sheet is based on the whole process of writing and demoing, just marking X's where some process is complete for each song, it can be the writing itself or some recordings, for example: electric guitars, drums, bass, vocals, overdubs, etc. It keep things organize and tidy, I never use it myself and it is a very common practice for real record producers nowadays, is fun and you can see the whole progress going, I will later post a picture of it!

I'm not a very psychorigid person, not a very organized one either, but this like this helps me a lot in complete the workflow, I'm using tools like "Trello" which is a app for the Google Chrome browser to keep track of everything as a whole: Writing, Demoing, Recording, Mixing, Mastering etc. I will release the whole thing in demo version, pass it down to musicians and be able to recorded well in a proper conditioned studio. I hope I don't break the bank with this last one!

From Dust To Dust Demo

The writing for the 2015 is intense! new tunes and musical ideas are coming out fast! this is a new demo of a song called "From Dust To Dust", hey don't kill me, it's a demo! anything could change and nothing is "perfect".

This is recorded using digital plugins for guitars and lots of virtual instruments, I will eventually replace everything in the future with real instruments! Only the voice and the acoustic guitars were captured with a microphone.




From Dust To Dust by Iros Rodriguez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://soundcloud.com/irosrod/harp-of-david-from-dust-to-dust-demo.