Yesterday I released my third album called 'OceanoGraphy'. My inspiration for this album came from the Earth's Oceans and the creatures living in them. While listening to this album you will be taken on a journey through the deep waters of our Oceans. You will travel together with whales, dolphins, sharks and sea turtles. Most of these animals are endangered or even threatened with extinction by the way! We should really care more about the life in our Oceans. I hope to get your attention for this mysterious world in this way. I would be a real shame to loose it for ever. This album is officially endorsed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for this reason. A part of the revenue of this album will also be donated to the WWF to help preserve these beautiful animals. I sampled a lot of sounds again myself as well above as under water. This album was released during the E-live festival on the 17th of October 2009. The CD holds 12 tracks on it and is 73 minutes long.

You can find more information about the album and also where to buy it on this URL:

http://www.synth.nl/OceanoGraphy

Michel, Synth.nl

And more good news. Yet another track from my new album was played today on the Dreamscape Radio Show #70 from Groove Unlimited. Actually the title track 'Oceanography'. I hope you like it. Please keep in mind that Dreamscape has no archive of old shows so be sure to download this one right away even if you don't have time to listen now. This show will be only available online for about a week from today. You can find the radio show on this URL -> http://dreamscape.groove.nl/. If you like what you heard you can also pre-order it from Groove here -> http://www.groove.nl/jump2.php?attnum=6001. Have fun :)

Usually after the CD is finished people start asking me what synthesizers I used and most of the time I have to say that I don't remember. Personally I don't think it is very important information since it is the end result that counts, but apparently for a lot of you it does matter. So I tried to remember a little harder this time and also could recollect some information from the notes that I kept with my project this time. So here is the list:

Moog Minimoog Model-D, Moog Voyager RME, Roland Jupiter 8, Elka Synthex, DSI Prophet '08, Alesis Andromeda, Roland SH-09, Roland SH-5, Access Virus TI Polar, Roland V-Synth GT, Korg M3, Clavia Nord Wave, Anywhere Instruments Semtex XL, Cwejman S1 MKII, Analogue Solutions Red Square and maybe some more that I don't remember. If I think of something more I'll add it to this list. Good luck spotting them on the album later on :)

I expect to add some music from this album soon btw so keep track :)

Michel, Synth.nl

Yesterday I visited the Grill Fest that the German music club Schallwende organizes every year. Traditionally they also release a yearly sampler CD there. This year it was already the 11th version of that so it is called Schallplatte XI. Last year I was on it as well with a cover of a classical tune. This year they invited all the price winners and nominees from the Electronic Music price they organized last year to send in a track. I was nominated in two categories last year, best newcomer and best CD, but unfortunately I didn't win both. But I'm still very proud to be on this CD with some great other artists. This year there was no theme or assigned so I just made a track out of the blue with no specific theme in my mind either

I listened to the entire CD yesterday evening and I must say it is very pleasant. When you click on the picture on the right you can see the track list. Unfortunately this CD is not for sale. Only the members of Schallwende get this one. So if you want it I guess you can become a member. More information is on their website -> http://www.schallwen.de/. They have a nice magazine and also organize very nice event throughout the year to keep the Electronic Music scene alive. Well I did put my track on my website so that you can listen to it. You can find it here:

http://www.synth.nl/SchallPlatteXI

I hope you like it :) I think it is a nice warm up for my upcoming album. Do enjoy!

Michel, Synth.nl

I just uploaded a new version of the cover of my upcoming OceanoGraphy album. Unfortunately the logo of the World Wildlife Fund had to go from the front because they only allow front cover logo's on their own productions. And well this is obviously my production ;) Well at least the cover even looks more peaceful now. There is still a reference to my cooperation on this project with the WWF on the back fortunately. I have clearance now to use the logo in this way. My designer Bart is now working hard on the rest of the artwork like the booklet and the CD itself. I myself still have to create text as well for the booklet etc Kees Aerts from Groove Unlimited will make the final artwork then. It is always a job that comes all the way in the back since it is depending on some information that isn't always clear until the very end of the production.

One of those things is the final track listing and the length of all the tracks. While the track order is final now I still don't know all the exact lengths since I'm still working on some on the tracks. You can see the final track names and the order that they will appear in the picture on the right. This will be on the back of the CD, so on the final version you will see the lengths as well. On my website there is already a very short explanation what the tracks are about. You will better understand the track names when you read that. I will add more text later on, but now I first need to work on the music. On this URL you will find more information as well as the pre-order link from Groove Unlimited:

http://www.synth.nl/OceanoGraphy

I'd like to inform you about a very nice Electronic Music Festival that is taking place soon. It is called 'Electronic Circus' and it is organized in Bielefeld in Germany. It will take place on the 12th of September. There will be several concerts there and I will be present there as well with a stall. On this stall you can buy my current CD's directly from me and I will also bring a special preview version of my upcoming 'OceanoGraphy' album. It will be almost finished by then so you can get a real sneak preview. I have visited this event last year and I must say it is very professionally organized and the concerts where great. The concert hall is in the middle of the town so there is plenty to eat just outside. You can find more information on this event on this URL:

http://www.electronic-circus.net/


I hope to see you there! It would be nice to meet in person of course.

Last week I signed a new record contract with Groove Unlimited for my upcoming 'OceanoGraphy' album. I'm still working hard on it as we speak by the way. It is nice that Groove Unlimited is going to release my music again. (thank you Ron and Kees). The release date is set final now to October 17th 2009. It will be launched during the E-live festival in Oirshot in The Netherlands. So the album is coming real soon now. Groove Unlimited has already put the album up for pre-order in their web shop. You can be with the first persons to get it when it is release when you pre-order it. The first period it is usually only for sale directly from them anyway and only later other places will follow. Ordering from them is safe and they do deliver World Wide so don't worry about that. You can find the album on this URL:

http://www.groove.nl/jump2.php?attnum=6001

Thanks for your support! I'll do my best to make it even better than the previous ones :)