Dear all,
My name is Johannes and I'm 19. I'm Norwegian, but currently studying at Durham University, UK.
I've been dabbling in music-making ever since I picked up the guitar, which is around 4 years ago now. For a while I made instrumental music (that actually seemed to get some attention online), but the last year I've been exploring my singer-songwriter side. I would categorise my music as folk, perhaps with a hint of alternative, indie, lo-fi, etc. My biggest inspirations are Iron & Wine, William Fitzsimmons, John Frusciante, Ben Howard, Elliot Smith, Dot Hacker, Bon Iver... (the list goes on!) I would say that lyrics are my strongest point, and vocals the weakest. Still, I love every part of the process! I'm quite active online with my music, and would love to get some feedback from other singer-songwriters. I'm very shy about my music and therefore sometimes struggle with asking close friends and family for their opinions...
I have named my music project
empyreantic. A bit of background history: The word came to me a few years ago. I love John Frusicante's solo work (as in his work outside the RHCP). Perhaps my favourite album of his, "The Empyrean", has meant a lot to me over the years. It has the absolute best cover art I have ever seen. The Empyrean means "the highest part of heaven, thought by the ancients to be the realm of pure fire" (Google's definition). So, the name "empyreantic" is derived from this. It's a name that I have come to associate my music with, so I've continued to use it.
Where you can find me & my music:
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http://facebook.com/empyreantic -- I recently created this FB page and would love to get some more likes! At this point most of the 'likes' on the page are friends and family, which kind of makes the page counterintuitive. On the page I post updates on new music and the music-making process as well as other music related things.
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http://soundcloud.com/empyreantic -- SoundCloud is currently my 'main' music platform where I will post all my new music. A year or two ago, when I made instrumentals, I felt like a had a certain following, however I was absent from SC for a while and it seems to have died down a bit. Still, I recently reached 300 followers which for me is a very good number!
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http://empyreantic.bandcamp.com -- Last year I decided to create an album with my best instrumental tracks and but it on BandCamp, where it can be downloaded for free (technically 'Name Your Price', but I don't expect anyone to pay at all). It's not the best technically, but I loved making it and each of the tracks still has a room in my heart. Some of the songs were made without basic scale/key knowledge.
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-- I haven't been very active on YouTube lately, however I plan to create more videos, do more covers and upload my newer music this summer! I'm excited
Most of my songs are recorded in my dorm room or wherever convenient at the time, using GarageBand and a Blue Snowball or Zoom H4N mic and a Taylor GS Mini acoustic guitar. Nothing fancy, in other words, but for now it gets the job done!
I find it hard to keep up with my ideas sometimes - in other words, what's recorded is only the tip of the iceberg; I have much more material just waiting to be recorded!
I'm looking forward to get to know people on this forum, and of course to give and receive feedback. As an end note, I would like to say that I really, really love the whole process of making music, and I hope it shows in at least some of my tracks.
Any constructive feedback (or any comment at all, really) is greatly appreciated. Have a lovely day, everyone!
Feel Your Lines,
empyreantic