At 10/16/24 10:36 AM, Cyberdevil wrote:True true, I've definitely seen some famous people on stages. XD Very cool... oughta make an effort to meet more artists after shows too, maybe some appreciate it even, some audiences have been pretty small.
Yeah, at the smaller venues it can be very cool and usual (certainly in Brighton) :)
Future-proofing content for formats of the past hmm, sounds a bit odd to say but indeed good to do. :D Hmm come to think of it Eminem has had some recent albums with A and B sides to them too, at least the Music to be Murdered by ones... length-wise not sure they actually match others formats. But the traditional division's there too. Maybe it's coming back.
They do say that vinyl sales are on the rise so always good to plan as such, but in general I feel like the break is good from a narrative point of view anyways, as to keep things interesting and not tire out the listener (from an attention point of view). Depending on the story you want to tell of course!
Ahh bummer the gigs are halting again, seemed like y'all were really starting to warm up to it. Hope you get back to it for sure, maybe all the more relevant after the upcoming release. Interesting to know re:gig guitar setup. :)
Yeah... the drummer injured his ankle around July time so I'm not sure how he's doing drum-wise but hopefully we can get back to it soon. The distance between all the members (mainly me) makes things tricky...
I will see yes. :) Looking forward! Ahaha well as long as the final speed suits the speed of the music I suppose the actual footage duration isn't so important, maybe loopable too somehow. :) I do believe technical limitations actually often boost the experience, both visually and audially so definitely! The grittier and grainier and more saturated and fuzzy possibly the better it gets! XD Been watching some interesting mini-documentaries about how certain older movies can't be replicated particularly because of technical limitations, for example horror movies that were shot in film formats no longer used, that were upscaled, or color-coded differently, and just became vastly more discomforting because of it. The crisper and clearer it gets the less eerie... of course you can emulate visual limitations and artifacts digitally too, but it's hard to get the results the same entirely. It looks emulated more than it does actually old. Not much to do with music that but to conclude: yeah, I do think so! :D Will be fun to see how it turns out anyhow.
Hehe, I know the feeling regarding old formats. Back in the 80s people we super careful about the noise of tape for example, but now things are mostly digitally recorded, it's very usual for people to add tape simulation plugins to get that grit back in XD Same thing for oldschool digital samplers! Funny how things go around :D People want "the sound" rather than pristine sound XD
Mhm! Maybe dates per se aren't as captivating. But numbers that simplify, or multiply, incremental ones. 3 Killer Techniques. Top 10 Plugins. 2 Covers of... stuff like that?
Ah yes... the very clickable titles... makes sense!
Aye, hope you get that proper copy soon too! :) Hmm are Internet cafes a thing over there maybe, public library computers and such? ;) Looking forward to it!
Cheers and while public libraries are a thing over here, I can't really say I've heard much about internet cafes (certainly these days). Not sure how the connection would be for super big files either. Let's hope proper connections get sorted here soon XD
November 2024 Patreon & News Post: Jabun's Nephology Early Access on Patreon, new studio ups and downs, Cyberdevil's Inktober 2024 + an exclusive beat download + YouTube videos and playlists and more!
Hi everyone and hope you had a great October (and Halloween yesterday)! It's the beginning of another month and after the huge disruption last time, things are starting to get back on track though are maybe a few months behind where I wanted to be in some aspects... Taking the good stuff along with the bad though it's been a super busy month of both fun AND pain so let's dive into the details!
First of all some studio updates: After a near (computer) death experience following September's studio move and the hard work and research from some friends, we FINALLY got the computer to boot up again (without a reset or clean install) and things are almost back to normal now! I've even been back to some JabunAudio client work again (which was a big worry this time last month), and cut a first track in the new studio too (more on that later)! The only thing that hasn't seemed to survive the fixes is unfortunately the virtual horns I use for Better Than The Book... They're stuck in demo mode! I've been in touch with Native Instruments tech support to try and figure things out so hopefully something can be done, but if not it might be time to look for some new horns... what crummy luck! As If I didn't need even more stuff to worry about too just earlier this week my main guitar amp for the last 17ish years went BANG a few times then silence... it's currently in pieces under my desk awaiting some new part and hopefully will join the resurrected equipment club later this month. I sure hope so...
Away from problems though, the studio overall is starting to shape up again, sort of... I need to figure out a new design layout eventually but for the moment everything's back in that was in there before while I look out and plan for new furniture etc... The organ rig is back together and thankfully as sturdy as ever too, and I've started on the acoustic treatment but there's still a long way to go which means lots more headphone work than usual. Overall things are getting there though and I finally had the time (and tools) to finish some things off I needed to, so I'm super pleased to finally announce:
Jabun's new Nephology ambient album is fully complete and launching for FULL Early Access to the $10+ supporters on Patreon! I'm giving early access to the artwork package to the rest of the patrons this time too! Downloads include the full artwork package (including album art, album art photo, and alternative art), and if you're a $10 Patron you have the master high quality WAV files, and the Mp3s too! Links to Patreon at the bottom of this post!
I'm sure I've previously said, but Nephology is a long form ambient collection of 3 2 hour tracks which are each remixes of the tracks from my 2nd album 15-4-20 and inspired by cloud watching! They're less something to listen to intently and more something to have on in the background while doing something else, or just to create an ambience for a space. It was a fun experiment and I hope you enjoy the vibes! In terms of the project itself, it's fully complete now and all that's left to do is finish the marketing and promotional materials and literature which will likely take a while so I'm not putting a concrete release date on things just yet, but will be aiming for the end of November, beginning of December time! For those of you waiting on Better Than The Book's new album, I'm making sure to pace myself with all this work so unfortunately that's not looking to be out in full this year anymore, BUT I do hope to have SOMETHING out before 2024 ends to start that hype train rolling again! Plans are being made, so keep watching the usual spaces, and I'll keep you posted when I can! Thanks for your patience!
Next this month, @Cyberdevil has been back to his usual INKtober madness for the 6th year in a row! For those of you not acquainted with the challenge, each October he sits down to write, record and release a new rap EVERY DAY of the month, and in this case, some days even have 2! As usual I took some time to throw a beat his way to see what he'd do with it and for the 2nd year in a row I made it purely on my KORG EM-1 Electribe groovebox with just some mastering in Ableton before I sent it over! Cyberdevil took a dark but thought provoking turn with the lyrics this time so trigger warning, but I hope you appreciate the vibes! Check out the full track below which is free to download at Newgrounds:
And if you're a supporter on Patreon you have the instrumental beat too in this month's download rewards!
Some insider backstory on the title. B35 refers to pattern bank b35 on my Electribe which happens to also be the same as the model number of a bomber aircraft developed shortly after WW2 which which I'm sure inspired Cyberdevil's lyrical take and title. There's a whole bag of different vibes to explore this year though so I highly recommend checking out the full INKtober 2024 playlist below, and a huge well done to Cyberdevil and everyone involved with special mention to @larrynachos who undertook their own "Tunetober" challenge this month as well as being on a tonne of the Inktober beats this year! I hope you enjoy it!
Next and finally this month over to YouTube Videos! I've been keeping up with my 2 a week as usual which is now scheduled up until the end of the year! Not only that but with SO many videos now I decided to make a few playlists for interest groups so that people didn't need to skip through the main one. Check them out below:
Guitar, Organ, Synths & Gear Videos (the usual playlist):
VOX K-ON! Yui Hirasawa amPlug: Pop Punk (blink182 + Fall Out Boy)
VOX K-ON! Yui Hirasawa amPlug: Clean Ska (Goldfinger)
Next month will be a goodbye studio tour along with some piano and organ and more! Hope you enjoy what's to come!
And that about wraps things up for this post! I'll be busy getting the Jabun Nephology album prepped for release along with continuing to set up and repair the studio and with any luck next time you hear from me will be when the new Jabun album drops! Until then, I hope you have a great November to come and thanks as always for supporting my music and projects in all the ways you do! Take care and all the best!
At 11/1/24 09:47 AM, Jabun wrote:https://www.newgrounds.com/playlist/404721/inktober-2024
Many thanks for the promo. :) It was a blast to collab this year too, turned out one of the better ones this year, and indeed that's an accurate assesement of the alternative implication of the track title. :D
Good to hear the PC's operational and all too; hope you get some even better horns going if the Native Instrument ones can't be activated again somehow... good things going on overall it seems!
As for the guitar amp, did something literally explode in it? Fried component? Do you know what happened?
Seems I missed the response above earlier btw, appending...
At 10/17/24 04:48 AM, Jabun wrote:Yeah, at the smaller venues it can be very cool and usual (certainly in Brighton) :)
Sounds cool. :)
They do say that vinyl sales are on the rise so always good to plan as such, but in general I feel like the break is good from a narrative point of view anyways, as to keep things interesting and not tire out the listener (from an attention point of view). Depending on the story you want to tell of course!
Ah I didn't know it was getting more popular still, that's good to hear! Indeed some kind of break's probably good, though you get miniature ones between tracks too, I wonder if a halfway point one specifically is really a requirement. Seems almost like you get two albums in one if there's a clear distinction between sides. Which is cool too, but I reckon you could easily have an hour that feels wholesomely consecutive in itself. Seems more an artistic choice on what kind of - if any - division you'd like to make if it doesn't cater to a specific format...
Yeah... the drummer injured his ankle around July time so I'm not sure how he's doing drum-wise but hopefully we can get back to it soon. The distance between all the members (mainly me) makes things tricky...
Oh dang. :/ Sorry to hear that. Hope his ankle heals up well, and that y'all do manage to make it work somehow.
Hehe, I know the feeling regarding old formats. Back in the 80s people we super careful about the noise of tape for example, but now things are mostly digitally recorded, it's very usual for people to add tape simulation plugins to get that grit back in XD Same thing for oldschool digital samplers! Funny how things go around :D People want "the sound" rather than pristine sound XD
Aha. XD Fascinating how technical limitations become a feature with time... I wonder if it's just nostalgia in cases like this, or if it objectively really does add a desirable audial element even if you didn't grow up with the background noise that's being emulated... yeaaah it's a bit like how the more auto-tuned and pitch perfect vocal performances become, the more you want just an unplugged performance instead, we strive to improve a product till we lose the human element of it it seems, then it becomes soulless, then we strive to find the soul again... fascinating journey and loop fo shizzle. :)
And an interesting balance you always have to get with both sounding as good as possible and... real, I guess, somehow. Whatever that entails.
Ah yes... the very clickable titles... makes sense!
👍✨
Cheers and while public libraries are a thing over here, I can't really say I've heard much about internet cafes (certainly these days). Not sure how the connection would be for super big files either. Let's hope proper connections get sorted here soon XD
Aaand it seems they did! :D Glad they did! Good to know re:libraries and all too. Ours have pretty good Internet backbones, though indeed Internet cafes are pretty much extinct now, if they ever existed over here...
At 11/1/24 12:42 PM, Cyberdevil wrote:Many thanks for the promo. :) It was a blast to collab this year too, turned out one of the better ones this year, and indeed that's an accurate assesement of the alternative implication of the track title. :D
Woot woot and no worries it was a blast to be a part of things :D
Good to hear the PC's operational and all too; hope you get some even better horns going if the Native Instrument ones can't be activated again somehow... good things going on overall it seems! As for the guitar amp, did something literally explode in it? Fried component? Do you know what happened?
FINALLY managed to get those Native Instruments Horns working again using a older version of the software (but not as old as the one I had before). Great to have them back again, and fingers crossed for no future troubles. Re the amp, I'm not sure... there were some loud bangs (and then silence), but it doesn't seem like there's any obvious actually exploded stuff in there. I've got a new cooling fan coming in the post, and some diagnostics suggest potentially some metal fatigue across the FX loops gaps preventing the circuit from closing properly when not plugged in, so I'll be doing some more tests once the new fan is fitted and hopefully it's as simple as that. We'll see...
Ah I didn't know it was getting more popular still, that's good to hear! Indeed some kind of break's probably good, though you get miniature ones between tracks too, I wonder if a halfway point one specifically is really a requirement. Seems almost like you get two albums in one if there's a clear distinction between sides. Which is cool too, but I reckon you could easily have an hour that feels wholesomely consecutive in itself. Seems more an artistic choice on what kind of - if any - division you'd like to make if it doesn't cater to a specific format...
I know that 2 albums in one feeling. Too true on the artistic sentiments too. Depends on what story you'd like to tell :)
Oh dang. :/ Sorry to hear that. Hope his ankle heals up well, and that y'all do manage to make it work somehow.
Me too...
Aha. XD Fascinating how technical limitations become a feature with time... I wonder if it's just nostalgia in cases like this, or if it objectively really does add a desirable audial element even if you didn't grow up with the background noise that's being emulated... yeaaah it's a bit like how the more auto-tuned and pitch perfect vocal performances become, the more you want just an unplugged performance instead, we strive to improve a product till we lose the human element of it it seems, then it becomes soulless, then we strive to find the soul again... fascinating journey and loop fo shizzle. :) And an interesting balance you always have to get with both sounding as good as possible and... real, I guess, somehow. Whatever that entails.
Again I guess it just comes down to artist choice as well. Sometimes it's nice to be pristine, other's dirty, other times super tight, other times a bit more loose :) Nice to have the options though!
Good to know re:libraries and all too. Ours have pretty good Internet backbones, though indeed Internet cafes are pretty much extinct now, if they ever existed over here...
(and various nods). To be honest, I don't really remember internet cafes here either...
Nephology is a 6+ hour collection of 3 long-form ultra ambient remixes of my 2nd album 15-4-20 inspired by cloud gazing. Each track is a 2+ hour long soundscape showcasing a different atmosphere and mood, and the album as a concept aims to be an auditory and musical expression of cloud watching.
You can read all about it on the Nephology Bandcamp page, and I'll be streaming the album track by track on my JabunAudio YouTube channel in the coming weeks too!
Jabun's Nephology album releases this Wednesday on November 27th! Join me for a cloud gazing party at 8pm GMT on YouTube!
Hi again everyone and hope you're having a great February so far! In case you haven't heard already I'll be releasing my latest album as Jabun "Nephology" on Wednesday November 27th at midnight (GMT)! To celebrate I'll be hosting a listening / chillout / cloud watching party "premier" for the first track "Cumulus" on YouTube at 8pm (GMT) on Wednesday! Check out the link below and come hang out, ask questions, and let's enjoy some Nephology together! I look forward to seeing you there:
I'll be holding listening parties for the next tracks on my JabunAudio YouTube channel in the coming week too (on Sunday 1st December and next Wednesday 4th December). Subscribe to the channel to keep in the loop!
Nephology is a 6+ hour collection of 3 long-form ultra ambient remixes of my 2nd album 15-4-20 inspired by cloud gazing. Each track is a 2+ hour long soundscape showcasing a different atmosphere and mood, and the album as a concept aims to be an auditory and musical expression of cloud watching.
Nephology Tracklist:
01 Cumulus
02 Stratus
03 Cirrus
All tracks written, performed, remixed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Album artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]
No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.
You can read all about Nephology on the dedicated Bandcamp page, including the full album credits and special thanks but for now I'd like to extend an immediate thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and a big thanks to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!
And if you really can't wait, the $10 supporters on Patreon already have access to the full album including Mp3s, WAVs, and full sized album art + cover photo + alternative cover! If that sounds good to you then become a $10 patron and experience Nephology in full now (and remember that you'll receive all past rewards for your tier as well when you do):
Until Wednesday 27th and the next post (when I'll be giving out the associated Patreon rewards), I really hope you're hyped for these latest ambient soundscapes from Jabun and thanks as always for supporting my music however you can! Take care, all the best and see you on Wednesday!
Jabun's new "Nephology" album has been released along with download rewards for all subscribers on Patreon! Join me for a cloud watching party at 8pm GMT tonight on YouTube!
Hi everyone! It's finally time to release Jabun's 6th album/EP project "Nephology"! Check it out now on Bandcamp and I hope you enjoy it:
Well... I got distracted again! After I released my 5th and shortest collective Jabun project June22 in March 2023, I was super sure that it’d be my ska-punk project Better Than The Book which would be getting the next album release. Time sure does fly though, and alongside the hard work on that BTTB album I got back to some ambient explorations in some free evenings. An experiment with the first track from my 15-4-20 album turned into an over 2 hour long ultra ambient remix like nothing I’ve ever done before, and after revisiting the results at a later date, I figured I’d do similar remixes for the other 2 tracks from 15-4-20 as well and a new album project (and by far the longest one to date) was formed! For those eager to hear the new Better Than The Book album though, don’t you worry. Audio is actually now 100% complete for my ska-punk project’s next release, but it just so happened that the admin for this Jabun project filled a much smaller to-do list so it’s coming first! Thanks for your patience!
Nephology is a 6+ hour collection of 3 long-form ultra ambient remixes of my 2nd album 15-4-20 inspired by cloud gazing. Each track is a 2+ hour long soundscape showcasing a different atmosphere and mood, and the album as a concept aims to be an auditory and musical expression of cloud watching. All tracks were remixed using Paul’s Extreme Sound Stretch, Ableton Live 8 and Valhalla Supermassive and were mastered in Ableton Live 8.
Nephology isn’t an album to listen to note for note so to speak, more a collection of 3 sonic paintings to have in the background, glance through at your leisure, and just enjoy the vibes for as short or long a time as you want, much like how you’d experience watching clouds in the sky. These 3 tracks and over 6 hours of ambient remix material are all non-looping and never exactly repeating much like how the 15-4-20 album was (and how cloud gazing is) and through the gently evolving sounds I hope you enjoy the sound design, shifting textures, and unexpected moments and have fun with it.
Cumulus shares deep, dense and warm slowly drifting ambiences gradually morphing as time goes by. Meanwhile, Stratus shares a similar vibe to its precursor but with lighter and more dynamically evolving textures. Finally, Cirrus shifts the tone entirely to a colder, mysterious and more out of this world soundscape where you can almost hear the wind and ice crystals swirling into those distinct wispy formations as they pass by. Whether you sit down to listen intently, have them on in the background while doing something else, or simply immerse yourself in the sounds for as long as you’d like to, I hope you enjoy these ambient sonic experiments from 2024 and the overall concept I wanted to share with this album.
Much like the 15-4-20 album, Nephology’s album cover photo is of the sky, in fact the same sky as before, but this time looking up from the ground instead of out of the window. The note paper motif is very typical for me (see Better Than The Book) but hadn’t previously been used in any of the Jabun album covers. I thought it fit well with the literal meaning of Nephology which is the study or contemplation of clouds. Interestingly, the lines of the paper were drawn digitally, but the punched holes were actually photos of paper holes because drawing them in didn’t look quite real? Strange how that goes! I also created visualisers for this album which are slowed down footage looking out of that same window as 15-4-20 at the passing and evolving clouds. I’m really going to miss the view from that studio of 2019-2024 and I wonder what will bring me inspiration and where it’ll take my music in the next few years to come!
Nephology Tracklist:
01 Cumulus
02 Stratus
03 Cirrus
All tracks written, performed, remixed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Album artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]
No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.
You can explore the full Nephology album credits and special thanks on the dedicated Bandcamp page, but for now I'd like to extend an immediate thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and a big thanks to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!
To celebrate the release launch I'll be hosting a listening / chillout / cloud watching party "premier" for the first track "Cumulus" on YouTube at 8pm (GMT) tonight! Check out the link below and come hang out, ask questions, and let's enjoy some Nephology together! I look forward to seeing you there:
And I'll be holding listening parties for the next tracks on my JabunAudio YouTube channel in the coming week too (on Sunday 1st December and next Wednesday 4th December). If you've not done so already, subscribe to the channel to keep in the loop!
Of course my supporters on Patreon are celebrating today with the full download package of Nephology which includes Mp3s (+ WAVs for the $10 patrons) and full sized album art + cover photo + alternative cover! If any of that sounds good to you, then consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 today, and remember you'll be getting the full back-catalogue of rewards for your tier when you join, including the full BTTB, Jabun and Nick Standing discographies, bonus Patreon exclusives and much more! Find out more below:
That about wraps things up for this post! I'll be back on Sunday for a shared monthly news roundup for all Patreon supporters but since the Nephology album has just launched there'll be no extra rewards this time. Having said that, I will be back before the end of the year with something extra special from BTTB before it's time to update the reward archives at the beginning of 2025! Until then, I hope you enjoy the Nephology album, hope to see you at some of the listening parties this week and thanks as always for supporting my music however you can and on Patreon! Take care and enjoy some cloud watching!
December 2024 Patreon & News Post: Jabun's Nephology album has been released, a huge thanks for 500 subscribers on YouTube, listening parties (next one at 8pm GMT today), fixing gear, more videos and more!
This post got a bit long so check out the full version here:
Hi everyone and hope you've had a great November! It's the beginning of another month which means another news roundup to share and since Jabun's Nephology album was released just a few days ago (more on that in a moment), there's no extra rewards this time so I thought I'd just make one news post for all the patrons today. Don't worry though, I'll be sharing something more before the year is out so there's still more rewards to come this month! Until then though, let's get on with the news!
First of all, as you're probably already aware on Wednesday 27th November I released my 6th album/EP project as Jabun - Nephology, a 6+ hour collection of 3 long-form ultra ambient remixes of my 2nd album 15-4-20 inspired by cloud gazing! I've already rambled a lot about it in various posts last month, so I shan't repeat myself here, but you can purchase, read all about and listen to the album over on the Bandcamp page here:
And of course for the appropriate Patreon subscribers you've got the full download package of Nephology in your rewards below which includes Mp3s (+ WAVs for the $10 patrons) and full sized album art + cover photo + alternative cover! If any of that sounds good to you and you're not a Patreon supporter yet then consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 today, and remember you'll be getting the full back-catalogue of rewards for your tier when you join, including the full BTTB, Jabun and Nick Standing discographies, bonus Patreon exclusives and much more! Find out more below:
For the Bandcamp savvy amongst you, it's the final Bandcamp Friday of 2024 on Friday 6th December which means that when you purchase anything on Bandcamp day (not just my music), 100% of your contribution will go straight to the artists you want to support. If you're planning on picking anything up or sending a digital download Christmas present then this coming Friday is the best time to do so. Thanks for supporting independent music however you can!
To celebrate the Nephology release I'll be hosting a number of listening / chillout / cloud watching parties on YouTube! The one for the first track Cumulus was on Wednesday but don't worry if you missed it as I'll be holding listening parties for the next 2 tracks on my JabunAudio YouTube channel today on Sunday 1st December and on Wednesday 4th December. If you've not done so already, subscribe to the channel to keep in the loop via the link below and come hang out, ask questions, and let's enjoy some Nephology together!
And speaking of my YouTube Channel, I want to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who's been watching and supporting the channel since I started this 2-videos-a-week schedule last year (and everyone before that too), as the JabunAudio YouTube Channel has just exceeded 500 subscribers! It's really cool to see that people are enjoying the videos (of me mainly messing around in the studio) and music (hopefully)! I'll be releasing a dedicated thank you video at the start of 2025 to celebrate and show my appreciation and I look forward to seeing how the channel grows in the next 500 subs and more! Thanks so much for watching and listening!
Keeping on the topic of listening, alongside the Jabun Nephology listening parties on YouTube, on Wednesday 27th, I held the first private listening party for Better Than The Book's upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album, just myself, and Eamon and Sam from the BTTB live band. It's always a nerve-racking experience showing these projects to people for the first time, but I can safely say now, that I'm not the only one who thinks this new album is gonna blow some minds, from a performance, writing and production point of view! Get ready for a ska punk journey like no other in the coming months, starting before the year is over! I can't wait to share it!
Onto some studio updates now, after a month long dance with NI tech support, we FINALLY managed to resurrect my beloved Session Horns plugin I use for all my Better Than The Book brass work! A HUGE horray and thanks to Franky from NI tech support for the patience and troubleshooting. On top of that, my main guitar amp of 17 years, a Marshall AVT50x combo has been rescued from a silent grave along with some other useful fixes (see longer post) and if that wasn't enough repairs for the month, I also fired up my Moog just to find out that one of the keys was sticking/ not triggering properly, but thankfully that was just a 5 minute job for some contact cleaner and button mashing, no extra parts needed. Phew!
Finally for this month as usual I've been keeping up with my 2 a week videos on the now 500+ subs strong JabunAudio Channel! This month we said farewell to the old studio along with a tonne of organ related videos, and more. Here's the updated main playlist:
Nektar NP-2 Sustain Pedal Half Damper function with Yamaha Reface CP?!
I'm moving! Goodbye Studio Tour!
Inside my Homemade Spring Reverb Unit (with Yamaha YC-25D Organ)
Vintage String Machine Vibes with the Yamaha YC-25D Combo Organ and MXR Phase 90 Script (Arp Solina)
MXR Phase 90 vs Jim Dunlop Rotovibe vs Phase 45 Clone Shootout with Combo Organ (Yamaha YC-25D)
One last jam before moving house: War Pigs by Black Sabbath on Organ (Yamaha YC-25D)
KORG Volca Keys Synth Challenge: 3 part Techno Drums + Bass LIVE NO OVERDUBS!!!
Uncut Guitar Practice - The stuff YouTube guitarists don't share (at least that's what I hope)...
Next month we're saying hello to the new studio along with some more guitar and organ and a few little insights into setting everything up! Hope you enjoy it and looking forward to seeing you in the comments!
That wraps things up for this time! I'll be back before the end of the year with something extra special from BTTB before it's time to update the reward archives at the beginning of 2025, so the next (usual) beginning of January post will likely be another "no extra rewards" shared news post! Until then, I hope you enjoy the Nephology album, hope to see you at some of the listening parties this week and thanks as always for supporting my music however you can! Take care, happy holidays if I don't speak to you before, and enjoy some cloud watching!
Nephology is a 6+ hour collection of 3 long-form ultra ambient remixes of my 2nd album 15-4-20 inspired by cloud gazing. Each track is a 2+ hour long soundscape showcasing a different atmosphere and mood, and the album as a concept aims to be an auditory and musical expression of cloud watching. I hope you enjoy the chill vibes and it helps you with your study, meditation, or just general relaxation! Thanks for supporting my music however you can and I'll be back later this month with the first real taste of the new Better Than The Book album! Take care!
Announcing Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" with the first single "Plot Holes" coming on December 30th! Pre-orders are now open on Bandcamp!
Hi everyone and hope you're all well and enjoy the holiday season!
It's been a long LONG time in the making, but after 2 home and studio moves, a global pandemic and 2 computer meltdowns (not to mention a tonne of equipment fixes and even restoring a vintage organ), it's finally (almost) time for me to start sharing the follow-up to Better Than The Book's Hopes and Dreams album from 2019 (and man that feels like a lifetime ago now)!
I was determined to share SOMETHING before 2024 was over and although the album's not quite ready to launch yet, I am happy to say that the audio is 100% complete, admin is well on the way, and its mainly just artwork, mp3 conversions, and all the visual good stuff left to sort out!
With that said on December 30th at 8pm GMT I will be launching the first single "Plot Holes" from Better Than The Book's 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life"! If you've not heard it yet, here's a solo live performance demo from earlier this year:
I'm absolutely sure the final recorded version is going to blow your socks off!
Bandcamp pre-orders are now open, and I'll be updating the page with the pre-release singles as they're released, artwork, lyrics and descriptions in due time. Of course the current art is just a placeholder for what's to come, and there is a LOT of new music to come! Check out the track list for the new album below:
(Note that the album release date is a placeholder to be confirmed)
Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life
01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?
02 - Side Character In My Own Life
03 - Mood Swings
04 - Red Kite
05 - Rewrite
06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself
07 - Hold Me Tight
08 - Bump In The Night
09 - Plot Holes
10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This
Bonus Tracks
11 - Hearts Racing Backwards
12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)
13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)
14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)
+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10
Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]
No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.
More album credits and special thanks are to come but for now I'd like to extend an immediate thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and a big thanks to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!
And speaking of them, the $10 supporters on Patreon have just been granted access to the Plot Holes pre-release single download including mp3, WAV and artwork downloads! If that sounds good to you then become a $10 patron and experience Plot Holes before anyone else (and remember that you'll receive all past rewards for your tier as well when you do):
I'll also be giving the $10 patrons full early access to the complete "Side Character In My Own Life" album as soon as the artwork and mp3 files are made which should be in the coming months!
And with that I'll leave you to it for today! Mark your calendars for December 30th at 8pm GMT and I hope you're as excited as I am for this next chapter of Better Than The Book! I hope you have an amazing holiday season until then and I'll be back on Saturday 28th for a reminder before Monday 30th's big premier! Thanks for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can, Happy Holidays and take care!
Better Than The Book's new single "Plot Holes" from the upcoming "Side Character In My Own Life" album releases on Monday 30th December! Mark your calendars and join me for the premier at 8pm GMT on YouTube!
Hi everyone and hope you've been having some amazing holiday celebrations this week!
It's almost time for Better Than The Book to launch the first single "Plot Holes" from its upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life"! Mark your calendars for Monday 30th December at 8pm GMT, pin the link below, and I'll see you at the premier for something that I'm sure will blow you away! I can't wait to share it with you!
Pre-orders for the album are now open on Bandcamp, and Plot Holes (Radio Edit) will be available to download as soon as the premier is complete too! Note that the album release date has yet to be confirmed and of course the current art is just a placeholder for what's to come but I'll be updating the page with the pre-release singles as soon as they're released + artwork, lyrics and descriptions in due time. As you can tell from the track list there is a LOT of new music to come! Check out the Bandcamp page below:
And if you REALLY can't wait then the $10 patrons already have access to the Plot Holes single below! Become a patron to access that and all past rewards for your tier when you so:
The first single "Plot Holes" from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd full-length album "Side Character In My Own Life" has been released! Listen now and pre-order the album on Bandcamp!
Hi everyone and hope you've been having some great festive celebrations this week! I'm super happy to announce that the time has finally come to share the first moment of this next upcoming chapter of Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life! Check out the first pre-release single "Plot Holes"! I hope it blows you away:
Plot Holes was one of the first tracks to be written for the upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album, and like most of the album was written back in 2020 / early 2021 (Track 05 "Rewrite" was rewritten in 2023). With the world in lockdown, some questionable characters pulling the strings, not to mention some horrible things going on on top of that, it was a tense and emotional era and it's no wonder that the world's collective consciousness was at breaking point. Plot Holes was written to help process all that was going on, about how some uncomfortable realities had to be faced, and how at the time (and still now) the world just didn't seem to make sense anymore. I hope you find it enjoyable, relatable and that it brings some much needed catharsis, power and motivation to you however you experienced these past 5 years!
The Side Character In My Own life album is more or less a snapshot of that time in my life with another 5 years of performance, writing, audio engineering and production experience under my belt which I really believe is my best collective release to date! With the album art and many other things still left to sort out, I don't have a concrete release date planned for the album just yet but I'm hoping for the first half of this year without rushing things. I was determined to get something out before 2024 was over though, and Plot Holes seemed like the best foot forward so to speak. The album goes through many style shifts and motions, but I think this set's the overall musical tone nicely!
Bandcamp pre-orders are now open along with the Plot Holes (Radio Edit) single ready to download, and I'll be updating the page with the pre-release singles as they're released + artwork, lyrics and descriptions in due time. Of course the current art is just a placeholder for what's to come, and there is a LOT of new music to come! Check out the track list for the new album below:
Better Than The Book - Side Character In My Own Life
01 - 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?
02 - Side Character In My Own Life
03 - Mood Swings
04 - Red Kite
05 - Rewrite
06 - Don't Be Too Hard On Yourself
07 - Hold Me Tight
08 - Bump In The Night
09 - Plot Holes
10 - You'll Never Be Too Old For This
Bonus Tracks
11 - Hearts Racing Backwards
12 - Plot Holes (Alternative Version)
13 - Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)
14 - Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)
+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10
Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]
No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.
More album credits and special thanks are to come but for now I'd like to extend an immediate thanks to my family and friends (both online and offline) for their support and a big thanks to the current supporters on Patreon with extra mention to $10+ patrons: Nathan Puray, and Michael White! Thank you all so much for your help and support in making my musical dreams a reality! You folks are amazing!
Of course my supporters on Patreon are celebrating today with the full download package of the Plot Holes (Radio Edit) single which includes Mp3s (+ WAVs for the $10 patrons) and full sized placeholder art! If any of that sounds good to you, then consider becoming a patron for as little as $1 today, and remember you'll be getting the full back-catalogue of rewards for your tier when you join, including the full Better Than The Book, Jabun and Nick Standing discographies, bonus Patreon exclusives and much more! Find out more below:
That about wraps things up for this post and I'll be back in a few days for the usual monthly round-up of news! More Better Than The Book is coming soon as I prepare for this biggest album launch yet and after hearing Plot Holes I hope you're a hyped as I am for the rest of the album! Until the next single launch and more I hope you enjoy the new music and thanks as always for supporting Better Than The Book and my music however you can! Take care, happy holidays, and I'll see you in 2025! It's gonna be one heck of a ska punk filled year!
January 2025 Patreon & News Post: Better Than The Book's Plot Holes has been released (album open for pre-orders), Nephology playlisting and thanks, Holiday funtimes and gifts, studio updates (IT'S ALL HERE NOW), YouTube videos + reflecting on 2024, setting goals and more!
This post got a bit long so check out the full thing over here:
Hi everyone and hope you had a great Holiday season! It's been super busy over here! Let's get on with the news for the month!
Firstly, it's been just a few days since the launch but things are already looking great for the first single Plot Holes from Better Than The Book's upcoming 3rd album Side Character In My Own Life! If you've not already heard it check it out on YouTube, or on Bandcamp now:
And a big thanks to everyone who's listened and shared the music so far! Not even a week after launch and Plot Holes has already been streamed well over 1000 times (almost on here on Newgrounds alone) and even received a Front Page Feature Award too! Thanks so much for the love peeps, and I'm sure the rest of the album is going to blow your socks off too! Check out the Plot Holes below:
Onto other recent music releases, Jabun's Nephology album have been playlisted on YouTube and Newgrounds now, as well as going up on Spotify too! With over 6 hours of listening party streaming time for this album it's been the longest release party yet and thanks so much to everyone who joined and made it a memorable launch! Check out the cloudwatching livestream playlist below and the Nephology album on Bandcamp if you've not heard it already:
Onto some Christmas and Holiday funtimes news, my twin Eamon was up to his usual dank mashup madness and made yet another Christmas album this year! It ended up being a 12 days of Christmas countdown of sorts on his YouTube channel and is as messed up as it is heartfelt! Check it out below:
Onto Studio updates, with a few trips back down south in December + my family coming up to visit for Christmas, I FINALLY managed to move the rest of my equipment up into the new studio! Apart from the family piano and my very first Marshall guitar and bass amps which are staying down south, it's the first time EVER that all my instruments and equipment have been under the same roof and in the same room! There's still A LOT of stuff to sort out but it's finally ALL HERE now; for the first time ever! It's a great feeling!
Next it's onto the YouTube videos for the month and although I wasn't able to keep up with my recording, I've still managed to release the usual 2 a week videos on top of the new music! This month we said hello to the new studio with some build updates, and some jams! Here's the updated main playlist:
Hello New Music Studio Part 1: Just about Moved In
The Biggest Guitar Case You've Ever Seen?!
Jazz Funk Guitar Noodles with my homemade Spring Reverb
What goes through my head after watching a great anime
Hello New Music Studio Part 2: Computer Desk Cable Management
Vintage Yamaha Combo Organs are NEAT!
KORG Electribe EM-1 Instrumental Dark Triplet Hip Hop beat "B-35 Bomber"
Dark Phonk Vibes on Vintage Yamaha YC-25D Combo Organ
Jump by Van Halen but on Vintage Combo Organ instead of synth
Next month will feature some amp repairs, some more studio build updates and jams and back to some synth stuff too! Thanks for sticking around and hope you enjoy what's to come!
Finally as it's the first post of the year, I thought it'd be nice to reflect on the year gone by, celebrate the successes, reflect on goals, and set some new ones for 2025! 2024 was my first full calendar year of releasing 2 videos a week on YouTube, and crazy as I thought it was, 104 videos later, I'm still going and the JabunAudio channel has surpassed 500 subscribers too! On top of that, although we unfortunately didn't make it to the stage this year due to injury and busy life stuff (more on that later), the Better Than The Book live band got back together for its first full band practices since January 2020 which was amazing fun! Hoping to get back to it in the new year when we can! And speaking of BTTB, although the album wasn't released just yet, master audio has been finished for BTTB's upcoming 3rd full-length album Side Character In My Own Life and the first single Plot Holes just made it to release before the year was out too! Additionally Jabun released its 6th album/EP project Nephology in November with a tonne of live streaming party fun, and moving onto collaborator news Sif Savery's Tales of Zale: Flicking lights short film reached over a million views on YouTube, I mastered the madness monster of a rap track "Smack a Fish (Motha Sharka)" by eterniTRex, and kept up with my yearly INKtober contribution to Cyberdevil's challenge with the beat for B-35 Bomber on Newgrounds. On top of all this (and likely much to the disruption of the above), as well as a tonne of long overdue or unexpected equipment fixes and maintenance, Eva and I finally managed to buy our own place including my very own studio space! It's not quite set up yet, but it's getting there! To top things off for a year of celebration, I was very pleased to find that my custom NOISE oscillator for the KORG NTS-1 finally made it's way onto the official KORG user oscillator software list! That's pretty darn neat! Phew, what a year it's been! Kinda looks like a lot when it's all piled up like that!
In terms of the goals I actually set, it wasn't super successful from a completion point of view mainly due to logistical and health problems and the other busy life stuff above, but things have been progressing slowly but surely, and technically I did put out a Jabun album, just not the one I was aiming to on the goals list (as usual)! There's still time for all of these though, so with that I think I'll be reprising the same goals for 2025:
1) Release the upcoming Better Than The Book album!
2) Finish recording the next Jabun album
3) Play my first live shows as Better Than The Book or Jabun
And set an additional goal 4) to finish getting the new studio set up. Goal 1) is definitely doable and I can still dream about the rest! Wish me luck and I hope you all have great years to come too!
That about wraps things up for this post! The next thing I'll be doing on Patreon is updating all the Reward Archive posts so expect a post about that before the month is over and hopefully we should be back the usual reward schedule for February! With the hype train started for BTTB's new album it's going to be a busy few months ahead and I've gotta get my paint brush out soon to start on the artwork for that too! SO MANY THINGS TO DO! Until the next post I hope you enjoy all the new music and videos and thanks as always for supporting Jabun, Better Than The Book, and my various projects for another year! Let's make 2025 the best one yet and take care!
Better Than The Book's Plot Holes will be on BBC Introducing Sussex & Surrey Radio this Thursday! Tune in 8-10pm GMT on BBC Sounds!
Amazing news to share: Better Than The Book's new single Plot Holes will be playing on BBC Introducing Sussex & Surrey Radio this Thursday! Thanks so much to host and DJ Melita for choosing the track!
You can tune in to the show live at 8-10pm GMT on BBC Sounds wherever you are in the world and the show will be repeating again on Saturday as well as available to listen to for the following month online. Hope to see you there and here's what Melita has to say about the upcoming show:
BBC Introducing in Sussex & Surrey, 8-10pm Thursdays
BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey, BBC Sounds, smart speaker & DAB
Listen in Brighton on 95.3 FM
Listen in Sussex & Surrey 104-104.8 FM
Listen nationally & internationally online at BBC Sounds here:
At 11/25/24 09:18 AM, Jabun wrote:Hi again everyone and hope you're having a great February so far!
...in... November? XD Thought I might've been away waaaay longer than I thought I had been for a moment here!
That listening / chillout / cloud watching party was great anywho, appreciate the invite! And the latest BBC playlist quite the promo debut for the new single!
Glad you got those horns back again, Congrats on the big 500 and Happy Belated Holidays here too!
At 12/5/24 05:57 AM, Jabun wrote:Jabun's new Nephology album is up on Newgrounds, YouTube, and Spotify!
At 1/10/25 09:17 AM, Cyberdevil wrote:...in... November? XD
Oh haha! that's definitely a mistake! Must've had February on the brain when typing it up for some reason!
That listening / chillout / cloud watching party was great anywho, appreciate the invite! And the latest BBC playlist quite the promo debut for the new single! Glad you got those horns back again, Congrats on the big 500 and Happy Belated Holidays here too! Awesome to hear these here too! ...and this one! :D (new Music) So far the new album's definitely deliverin'! Grand things beginning in!
No worries, it was great you could make it and it was a fun few cloud watching listening parties indeed :D Many thanks on all accounts! Indeed this new album and year is already kicking into overdrive not even 2 weeks in! Hope I can keep up the pace!
Good luck on them new goals too! One of my goals for the new year (as with each year) is to catch up so... here I am. XD Here's hoping 2025's just full of great things! 🙏✨ So far definitely seems that way with the ongoing album unraveling! I do wonder how the cover art's going though hmmmmm... been pending for some time now!
And cheers too! We'll see how it all goes. It seem to have been ALL go for as long as I can remember now so things are definitely busy. Well done on catching up lol XD And hoping you have a great 2025 too! I must confess I've still yet to properly start the album cover. So much stuff and catching up going on, but I WILL get started before the end of the month! I've GOT TO XD
At 1/10/25 11:13 AM, Jabun wrote:Oh haha! that's definitely a mistake! Must've had February on the brain when typing it up for some reason!
I wondered if maybe you were re-using some writing from earlier posts; the last Jabun project might've been out at that time. XD Coincidentally I do think a bit about February myself right now, as the days of the first month start counting away I wonder how rapidly they'll progress; how quickly this first great new slate of the New Year will have expired...
No worries, it was great you could make it and it was a fun few cloud watching listening parties indeed :D Many thanks on all accounts! Indeed this new album and year is already kicking into overdrive not even 2 weeks in! Hope I can keep up the pace!
Fo shizzle! I'm sure you can man, good luck; ganbatte; looking forward to them upcoming new grooves too! 👍🙏✨
And cheers too! We'll see how it all goes. It seem to have been ALL go for as long as I can remember now so things are definitely busy. Well done on catching up lol XD And hoping you have a great 2025 too! I must confess I've still yet to properly start the album cover. So much stuff and catching up going on, but I WILL get started before the end of the month! I've GOT TO XD
You catch up on one thing and fall behind on another though hmm. :) Just need to get more efficient with my time use, I've started getting a pretty good routine going on regular computer breaks; light exercise between sessions, may help keep things moving a bit more smoothly this year!
Ooh do you have the idea ready at least, just not put pen to paper on it yet, or no concept of how it's going to be at all right now? Well good luck with that for starters then, seems a pretty big thing! XD Then again some of the greatest album art through history's been done unreasonably quickly too, the music does speak for itself, looking forward to seeing how it turns out too anywho!
At 1/11/25 02:57 AM, Cyberdevil wrote:I wondered if maybe you were re-using some writing from earlier posts; the last Jabun project might've been out at that time. XD Coincidentally I do think a bit about February myself right now, as the days of the first month start counting away I wonder how rapidly they'll progress; how quickly this first great new slate of the New Year will have expired... Fo shizzle! I'm sure you can man, good luck; ganbatte; looking forward to them upcoming new grooves too! 👍🙏✨
Well the last Jabun album/EP came out March 2023 so maybe? The year does seem to be ticking past fast already doesn't it? Not even 2 weeks in year but it feels like so much has happened (or not happened) already XD Cheers for the well-wishing and to you too :D
You catch up on one thing and fall behind on another though hmm. :) Just need to get more efficient with my time use, I've started getting a pretty good routine going on regular computer breaks; light exercise between sessions, may help keep things moving a bit more smoothly this year!
Too true... I'm still trying to set up the new studio but it's very snowy (for) here so things aren't getting delivered / it's not great driving out so I've been focusing on catching up with recording YouTube videos instead. I definitely need to get back into the exercise game this year. Went lax after the move and haven't picked it up properly again apart from daily stretches and some walks.
Ooh do you have the idea ready at least, just not put pen to paper on it yet, or no concept of how it's going to be at all right now? Well good luck with that for starters then, seems a pretty big thing! XD Then again some of the greatest album art through history's been done unreasonably quickly too, the music does speak for itself, looking forward to seeing how it turns out too anywho!
Yup got a few ideas to experiment with already and some art materials, but I need to write down a big list of lyrical imagery references and then start laying things out etc... and getting started. Too true re artwork and art in general. I hope it doesn't take too long but I'd rather take my time making it good than rush it XD Should be interesting! Cheers!
At 1/11/25 05:50 AM, Jabun wrote:Well the last Jabun album/EP came out March 2023 so maybe? The year does seem to be ticking past fast already doesn't it? Not even 2 weeks in year but it feels like so much has happened (or not happened) already XD Cheers for the well-wishing and to you too :D
Ah that was around that month then... cool to know. Didn't seem like it'd been that long, I thought the last Jabun release was pretty recently too! It definitely is going quick, and the more you think about how quick it goes the less time left for other things; the quicker it ends up going! :D So far going well though, I do like the momentum boost each New Year seems to bring with it, just gotta fan the flame and keep that energy alive the rest of the year too... thank you thank you!
Too true... I'm still trying to set up the new studio but it's very snowy (for) here so things aren't getting delivered / it's not great driving out so I've been focusing on catching up with recording YouTube videos instead. I definitely need to get back into the exercise game this year. Went lax after the move and haven't picked it up properly again apart from daily stretches and some walks.
Daily stretches and walks are good though, seems you have a solid foundation at least. Lots of snow here too at the moment, but we do prepare for this kind of driving all winter! XD Good luck with the rut; discipline(S)!
Yup got a few ideas to experiment with already and some art materials, but I need to write down a big list of lyrical imagery references and then start laying things out etc... and getting started. Too true re artwork and art in general. I hope it doesn't take too long but I'd rather take my time making it good than rush it XD Should be interesting! Cheers!
Cool cool. :) For sure, however long it takes to get it right rather than rush it, but it's nice when things do end up right pretty quickly! Intrigued to see how it turns out! Cheers!
At 1/11/25 08:29 AM, Cyberdevil wrote:Ah that was around that month then... cool to know. Didn't seem like it'd been that long, I thought the last Jabun release was pretty recently too! It definitely is going quick, and the more you think about how quick it goes the less time left for other things; the quicker it ends up going! :D So far going well though, I do like the momentum boost each New Year seems to bring with it, just gotta fan the flame and keep that energy alive the rest of the year too... thank you thank you!
Hehe, feels like AGES to me :) Too true with the momentum boost. Gotta make sure the pressure doesn't get too much at any time though. Keep things realistic in expectation and flexible :)
Daily stretches and walks are good though, seems you have a solid foundation at least. Lots of snow here too at the moment, but we do prepare for this kind of driving all winter! XD Good luck with the rut; discipline(S)!
Yup, kept that up for probably close to a decade now! Ah yes, no specific laws over here for winter tires etc... so when the snow comes it's kind of just chaos... Cheers!
Cool cool. :) For sure, however long it takes to get it right rather than rush it, but it's nice when things do end up right pretty quickly! Intrigued to see how it turns out! Cheers!
At 1/13/25 09:34 AM, Jabun wrote:Hehe, feels like AGES to me :) Too true with the momentum boost. Gotta make sure the pressure doesn't get too much at any time though. Keep things realistic in expectation and flexible :)
Ah for you the perception of time slows down huh? XD For me it flies! But when it flies in regard to personal accomplishments, I suppose paradoxically they seem further back too. On the flipside if you experience external things as the various facets of your own life fly by, then those things are maybe consequentially closer... kinda. Something like that?
Yup, kept that up for probably close to a decade now! Ah yes, no specific laws over here for winter tires etc... so when the snow comes it's kind of just chaos... Cheers!
The simple disciplinary secret to productivity and success hmm... good to know!
At 1/13/25 01:51 PM, Cyberdevil wrote:Ah for you the perception of time slows down huh? XD For me it flies! But when it flies in regard to personal accomplishments, I suppose paradoxically they seem further back too. On the flipside if you experience external things as the various facets of your own life fly by, then those things are maybe consequentially closer... kinda. Something like that?
That seems to make sense to me XD I think a lot comes down to context, like if lots of varied/significant stuff happens in a short space of time, then short times can feel like ages ago? Interesting how that works...
The simple disciplinary secret to productivity and success hmm... good to know! I've heard stories of those roads. XD Cheers!
At 1/14/25 05:04 AM, Jabun wrote:That seems to make sense to me XD I think a lot comes down to context, like if lots of varied/significant stuff happens in a short space of time, then short times can feel like ages ago? Interesting how that works...
Indeed, that makes sense too! Especially when events are varied they seem to stand out, and lengthen a short span of time, in contrast to the more mundane things that - even if prolific or hectic - blend together, and long stretches thereof disappear in a blink...
With short weekend trips for example it easily feels like you're gone a week at least. So much more variation in a day; so many things you're unaccustomed to. So, theoretically, in terms of how you perceive it, you could maybe really live lifetimes longer than the average person, if you spend time in a way that maximizes the potential variation and memorability of it... it really is relative to how you use it...
Unless even variation becomes norm and routine in abundance.
At 1/15/25 12:01 PM, Cyberdevil wrote:Indeed, that makes sense too! Especially when events are varied they seem to stand out, and lengthen a short span of time, in contrast to the more mundane things that - even if prolific or hectic - blend together, and long stretches thereof disappear in a blink... With short weekend trips for example it easily feels like you're gone a week at least. So much more variation in a day; so many things you're unaccustomed to. So, theoretically, in terms of how you perceive it, you could maybe really live lifetimes longer than the average person, if you spend time in a way that maximizes the potential variation and memorability of it... it really is relative to how you use it... Unless even variation becomes norm and routine in abundance.
Makes sense, and interesting paradox there with the abundance of difference becoming the norm XD I wonder if there's any way to objectively measure any of this? Interesting though :D
At 1/16/25 05:24 AM, Jabun wrote:Makes sense, and interesting paradox there with the abundance of difference becoming the norm XD I wonder if there's any way to objectively measure any of this? Interesting though :D
Someone ought properly research this phenomena hmm. :) Though that'd probably take some time!
February 2025 Patreon & News Post: Better Than The Book Artwork updates (+ a sneak peek for $10 Patreon Supporters), updated Patreon Reward Archive, Plot Holes on BBC Radio + press features, more YouTube video + more!
Hi everyone and hope you've had a good start to 2025. It's been an extra busy month over here catching up with stuff I slacked off on at the end of last year, falling behind in some other aspects instead, and prepping the new Better Than The Book album for release as well as continuing to set up the new studio. Regarding the latter, it's getting there slowly but surely! I still need to put up some more shelves and finish off the acoustic treatment so it's still a way off but hopefully it'll be closer to completion by the spring. More updates coming soon and let's get onto the news for this month (there's a lot of stuff)!
Firstly, I've been super busy working on the cover art for Better Than The Book's upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album! As with a lot of my artwork, especially the more complex ones, this one started out as pencil sketches in a pad which were then photographed, rearranged and edited to make a digital collage to experiment with layout and draft out the overall look of the album art, and I'm pretty pleased with the way this one has come so far! As it currently stands I'm in the process of redrawing the whole thing with the new compiled layout with the exception of the album title which I'm not quite 100% sure on the layout for yet. The overall image takes inspiration from the title track of the album, but there's a tonne of references to other tracks of the album in the picture too. It's been so much fun to be back to drawing again. I should do it more often! Next step is to finish the line redrawing, finalise any colour etc... settle on the final logo layout, then a final digital scan, clean-up and compilation. Hoping to get this done before the next update ready to release with the next single which will be the title track Side Character In My Own Life! Hope you're excited for it, and if you're a $10 Patreon supporter, you've got a .ZIP folder full of sketches + the latest digitally complied draft to look forward to! Enjoy!
Onto more news for this month, apart from working on the Better Than The Book artwork (and setting up the studio), I've finally taken the time to update the Patreon Reward Archives! It's been a while since the last update, which I think was when the Jabun - June22 album was released back in March 2023. Read more about the updated archive below and here's a list of all the additions!
Better Than The Book Plot Holes (Radio Edit) single (from the upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album)
$10+ Reward Additions:
A sneak peek demo of Better Than The Book's "Rewrite"!
A sneak peek demo of Better Than The Book's "Red Kite"!
Fully recorded demo of Better Than The Book's "Plot Holes (Alternative Version)"!
Fully recorded demo of Better Than The Book's "Red Kite"!
Fully recorded demo of Better Than The Book's "Rewrite"!
Fully recorded demo of Better Than The Book's "Hold Me Tight"!
Pre-mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)"!
Mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)"!
Mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Red Kite"!
Mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Plot Holes"!
Mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Rewrite"
Mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself"!
Mix demo of Better Than The Book's "Plot Holes (Alternative Version)"!
Final Mix of Better Than The Book's "Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)"!
An exclusive live synth performance demo!
Another exclusive live synth performance demo!
Early access download for Better Than The Book's "2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?"!
Next on the news for this month, some press features to share from Better Than The Book! After the launch of Plot Holes, the first single from the upcoming Side Character In My Own Life album, my inbox has been buzzing with stuff and while some things have yet to be confirmed, here's a few things which have happened so far! First of all, and this is huge, Plot Holes was featured on the BBC Introducing The South show on BBC Radio Sussex in my home county! It was even chosen as the opener for the show! Huge thanks to Melita for sharing the music and while there's not much time left, there's still about a week to catch up on the show on the BBC Sounds App if you've yet to hear it. Some cracking tunes over there!
Next the single and album announcement was featured on The Punk Site! Thanks for the feature peeps and hope to be back on the site again when the next single or album drops in full:
Finally in the confirmed news Plot Holes has been added to The RETWEETER RADIO's tune rotation! Thanks so much! More radio shows and podcasts to confirm the feature on to come hopefully!
Finally this month, more YouTube Videos to share! After recording NOTHING in the month prior to the previous post, it was a super busy few weeks catching up and recording twice as many videos to get back on track, but I (just about) managed it! Phew! In honesty, I may have to reduce the number of videos I put out at some point, but for the moment, I'm keeping up. Anyways! A busy month of videos it's been so here's the updated main playlist and the latest additions:
Testing my repaired Marshall with some Iron Maiden
New Studio Part 3: How to hang foam acoustic panels
Limp Bizkit Re-Arranged live looping guitar cover
AGCFAD tuning heavy extended guitar chord ideas
Ambient combo organ jam
Korg Volca Keys: How to add a kick to your bass line tutorial
Textured beats with synced Bastl Kastle v1.5 and Roland Tr-08
This coming month's videos will be full of me messing around on the big bass amp with not just bass, but guitar and organ too! Hope you enjoy it!
That about wraps things up for this post! Next month's looking to potentially be busy with some trips but I'll be aiming to get the album artwork for Better Than The Book's Side Character In My Own Life finished as well as more YouTube videos recorded and more studio build updates done at least. It's a little later than I'd hoped but I recon the next BTTB single will be coming in March at this rate. We shall see I suppose! Until the next update I hope you enjoy the news and new videos and thanks as always for supporting my music and projects however you can! Take care and all the best!
Strong incentive to join that $10 Patreon supporter tier with this one hmm!
The new studio tour was fun, the BBC show ditto, and a big thing indeed, seems overall buzz is building and momentum going and good things growing on the cover stage too with the new! Good things all over. Hyped for cover reveal and grand launch.
At 2/9/25 09:07 AM, Cyberdevil wrote:Strong incentive to join that $10 Patreon supporter tier with this one hmm!
The new studio tour was fun, the BBC show ditto, and a big thing indeed, seems overall buzz is building and momentum going and good things growing on the cover stage too with the new! Good things all over. Hyped for cover reveal and grand launch.
Cheers CD! I've got some shelves up in the studio now, but there was a missing piece from IKEA so I'm waiting for it to come in the post before I can finally finish things DX Artwork's going well though! Final drawing is all pencilled apart from the background. It's looking to be a busy few weeks though so not sure it'll be 100% done before the end of the month unfortunately. Taking my time with it, but I'm pretty darn pleased so far :D Next single will be with the cover reveal too. Thanks for tagging along :D
At 2/10/25 08:38 AM, Jabun wrote:Cheers CD! I've got some shelves up in the studio now, but there was a missing piece from IKEA so I'm waiting for it to come in the post before I can finally finish things DX Artwork's going well though! Final drawing is all pencilled apart from the background. It's looking to be a busy few weeks though so not sure it'll be 100% done before the end of the month unfortunately. Taking my time with it, but I'm pretty darn pleased so far :D Next single will be with the cover reveal too. Thanks for tagging along :D
Heeey some Swedish furnishing for the studio too! XD Cool to hear; looking forward to seeing that cover!
For sure, tis fun to be along for the ride, to greatness and vibe!
