My personal “Eurobeat ‘n More” release is finally available on Bandcamp! Buy your copy (or songs) before all the iTunes-only folks get it in a couple months!

This album contains some old-school favorites from the previous release/5 song sampler on iTunes, as well as some new releases and revamps! Also included is “Magnetic Love”, a non-Eurobeat tune on which I collab’d with friend and acoustic guitar player Cameron Miller!

http://odysseymusic.bandcamp.com/

I was going to post this on a forum under my name. Then I actually thought about what that would do. So, instead, I’ll post it on my own blog, so anyone caring to hear it will know to go here. Just know, I type it using “you” for speed. I’m a Eurobeat artist, not an English Major. P:

*ahem*…

I think people who want to hear music should hear good music. However, I also think that artists, writers, producers and publishers should be compensated for their work. So, the big thing is this: How can both sides be satisfied? Once a generation is used to getting something for free, it’s hard to say to them, “you really should pay for that”. Who’s holding them responsible?

There are those who will pirate because it is there to be pirated; I know people like this offline. These people… I can do nothing about.
Then there are those who will pirate because they may not have options in their area to buy it. The solution, here, is to tap into the (increasing) options to buy the album on places like Musico, iTunes Japan (as posted in a local guide), etc. It’s a little daunting (Musico’s kinda scary for me!), but there are guides out there that will guide you through the process. After all, the prices are usually close to 1 USD per track… slightly above pocket change each one. (My bank is totally compliant with every international purchase I’ve made for individual tracks, it’s a thing of beauty really.)

Some may be ready to present the “quality” argument to me at this point; to this, I say… unfortunately, until options increase, there’s little that can be done about that. Yes, many of the purchase options are not perfect audio quality, and rips from the CD really do sound pristine. Well, what then? Why steal from the creators and artists for a decision the stores have made? I suppose it becomes, on an ethical level, a battle between quality and price— if you really want that high-quality sound so strongly, it really does work better to buy the album. Yes, it’s a great deal pricier than track-by-track, but… that is no fault of the creators. Alternatively, if you’re drawn more to the song of it than the audio quality of it, purchasing track-by-track isn’t so bad after all. The question is this: “How badly do you want the song, vs. how badly do you want it in HQ”? If you’re truly wanting to hear the song very quickly, it may be more rewarding to hear it in a slightly lower quality. If you’re patient enough to save up for a higher-quality version of the track (or, better, the album as a whole), then your patience shall be rewarded.

Eurobeat music does not have some of the sources of revenue other genres have; due to a drop in popularity in contrast to rap/hip hop or electro or whathaveyou (not a bad thing— I freaking LOVE 3Oh!3 and Owl City), there are few live shows, and infinitely less merchandising (Dave Rodgers bedsheets???). The point is, the creators of Eurobeat are paid by the purchase of albums or individual tracks, and little more. There’s little radio play to speak of, an occasional club night, and that’s it. By someone not purchasing the songs, everyone involved in each track is DIRECTLY affected. Thus “exposure” does not work as well with Eurobeat; it all points back to the track and album sales. Showing someone new tracks is less likely to produce the response “Hey, this is good, where can I buy it?” as it is to produce “Hey, this is good, where can I download it?”.

I know it’s not an ideal situation for audiophiles OR for those with less money. But it should not come out of the pockets of the artists/creators, either. Not all of us drive Porsches y’know. (I’m hardly rich off this either— I’m still struggling to find scholarships to attend university next semester!!)

(…for the record, I’ve got a pretty sweet 2000 Nissan Sentra. It’s nice for a college kid like me, but hardly ‘rock star’ status.)

(…and I’d totally buy Dave Rodgers bedsheets.)

Alright. I can imagine that some people think I’m a singer from Italy who’s doing some rock side-project and this Eurobeat thing is my day job or side job. In reality, I only get Italian from my Dad’s side (I’m slightly more Norwegian… the least I could’ve gotten is the part that TANS, but noooOOoo… >:U ), I’m relatively poor (I bag groceries every other day as my job) and I live in a beautiful part of the Monterey Bay Area in California. I do quite a bit offline, but I imagine many of you are here to know what I do for/with the Eurobeat world, so I’ll explain what I do to keep my finger on the pulse of the community.

I’ll usually start by checking on Eurobeat forums that discuss upcoming/current releases, so I can see how fans liked certain songs from certain labels. (Moreso since 201, for obvious reasons~!) After that, I bust open Youtube and run a search for the most recent videos uploaded that are tagged as “Eurobeat”, so I can see (and hear!) what’s new from other creative minds… I can catch up on Touhou music circles, DJ Command, newly uploaded Parapara routines, and so on. It’s one thing to keep an eye on avex; another, to keep an eye on independents. I hold DJ Command, for instance, in about as high of regard as I do, say, Neo of ABeatC.

After this, I’ll whip out Garageband and either finish an older tune or start sketching out a new one. In most cases I have the riff and other musical parts already in my head and the lyrics come later, but the one that I’m procrastinating on right now (by blogging) has the lyrical concept first…

And that’s it, really! I say I spend less time making my own material, and more time checking on the Eurobeat world. And, for my money, I can’t imagine doing it any other way; how can you know what fans like without seeing what they’re listening to/creating themselves? It’s the sign of a successful community, no matter its focus (be it a genre, a specific movie/artist/character/etc), when its fanbase GIVES BACK to it. Think about how many Mario fan-games there are, or the sheer number of Touhou THINGS there are in the world (the amount of material that comes from fans ALONE is astonishing)! Think about any show, song, anything of that sort that has fanfiction or fan-art (in which case we must, unfortunately, consider quantity over quality). You can tell how well something is doing when its fanbase and community are not just enjoying it, but using it as a muse for their own creativity, as a catalyst for their own creations.

…of course, I’m just sensationalizing by now. But you get the point; I create Eurobeat by knowing what Eurobeat fans want/like. “When The Sun Goes Down”, while a great track in every respect (barring lead vocals :\ ), is a great deal ‘old’ in terms of what I’ve been writing lately. Perhaps the Eurobeat world will enjoy what next I have in store for them.

Ken Blast and Odyssey are one and the same person! (Meaning, it’s me!)

I am the very same Ken Blast that appears on “When The Sun Goes Down”, on track 12 on Super Eurobeat 201! Here’s hoping that you all enjoy the song, and I invite any constructive questions and criticisms you may have.
I think Newfield, Vince and Clara did fantastic jobs in their own right. I was just along for the ride, is all. P:

…more on this when I’m not looking up scholarships.