Xarnax42

I just posted in a thread by a vocalist who wants to share his voice with the community, but doesn't create music of his own, and figured this discussion was worth moving to a more active forum. While I've dabbled in mixing a bit, I've got a long ways to go, and I'm no lyricist anyway. The biggest hurdle, in my experience, is expanding the pool of demo tracks to show off my range and versatility. With some friends, persistence, and luck, I've managed to score a few cameos in others' compo tracks, and now have a couple pretty big collabs in the pipeline. Still, I'd love to get some advice on this: What can an up-and-coming vocalist do to build a portfolio and get his/her name out there? What resources are available to give a good example of my voice without singing on top of another vocalist? The one thing I've considered, thanks in large part to the NiGHTS album, is karaoke versions of vocal mixes. I can think of a whole host of reasons why some people might be opposed to this, so I'm also really curious about what the community thinks about that idea. Really any advice, anecdotes, and resources that budding singers could find useful, please post it here!

Yeah, I've seen a couple threads like this, and unfortunately, they don't seem to ever amount to much. I totally get where you're coming from, because I've had the exact same issue: you have a talent you want to share and, more importantly, develop, but you're really the second part of a two-step process, and can't reach those goals without some help. Getting started is absolutely the hardest part because you don't have any demos to convince artists you're worth their time. I am very slowly breaking out of that. I basically took Nonamer's advice. Keep your eyes peeled for any and every request for a vocalist. Here's the PM that led to my first collab: I think the lines I put in bold were the most important part of my being considered: be honest and upfront about what you have to offer, and make it clear that you're fine if your vocals don't match their vision. This collab is now slated to appear on the upcoming Final Fantasy 6 album, so be persistent, be vigilant, and continue brainstorming ways to get your voice out there.

I've been a fan of organizations that routinely pull out all the stops every year for April 1 for year. It's actually amusing to me that people can read nonsense without the "holiday" even occurring to them....guess our minds all just work a little differently. Also, saw someone the day before on irc mentioning an announcement of the project release and an album filled with Rick Rolls in varying genres. Pretty darned close. If only they'd seen your post, countless souls could have been spared the torment of their wasted donations. And that's no fun.

i just watched the trailer and wow. wow wow wowyou guys really outdid yourselves and yeah its just nonnegotiable i'm going to need lossless files at the very least for that gritty coin step. and the spinach rag mix. i mean I don't know you jazz up jazz but you guys are just so incredible and found a way how much money will it take to get flac for those songs and how do I get it to the right person?

There are a lot of things going on here that I endorse completely.

I'm not sure if I'm reading this the way you mean it. Chrono Symphonic is probably my favorite album BECAUSE it is so unified, which was achieved by some pretty strict limitations.

One time, when I was in Los Angeles, I randomly came across a couple young hipsters who needed a ride to Santa Monica and were craving nachos. Don't remember what convinced me to oblige, but it turns out, the guy was on his way up. http://thewelchbrothers.bandcamp.com/ "Southern Moon" is excellent, and "Here for You" is quite catchy.

You mean barbershop with growls? Seriously, though. It is literally IMPOSSIBLE to make an album in which every track pleases every listener. The options are basically either to go the route of Chrono Symphonic - a consistent style throughout all tracks - so you're appealing to a niche of fans who will dig the whole thing, or let everyone come in and offer whatever they have to the project. Instead of decrying one song you think could have been better, how about we just be thankful that a project gives us at least one song we want to listen to over and over again? [/topic derailment] Also, in case you missed the edit, I would love to contribute vocals to any track that's looking for them. My range extends a bit beyond what I've ever had time to record; if you're considering vocals, hit me up, I'll send you some stuff, and then you can tell me it sucks/not what you're looking for/you're gonna find somebody else, and we'll still be cool. But I love this game and this OST and really would love to help out.

I'm probably not the only one who could spam this thread forever. I'm not opposed to it, either. Wish I knew who to credit for this one. Currently my wallpaper on my laptop. Megan Lara - http://www.redbubble.com/people/meganlara/collections/170499-art-prints EDIT: Why on earth is this in the competitions sub-forum?

This is a fantastic concept, and I appreciate the narrative behind its creation. I've seen the idea of OCR playlists come up once or twice; those threads seem to fizzle quickly, and that baffles me. I'll be checking some of these out soon. Thanks for sharing!

Ah, capella. OCR needs more of that. EDIT: Also, with SoundCloud's auto-recommend-and-play, your track went straight into this one: https://soundcloud.com/willpjohnson/touch-the-sky-shire-theme Better than expected. Followed by this, https://soundcloud.com/jhlodin/oppa-spacejam-style - which I think anyone who's ever been on the internet will appreciate.

ocre, I choose you!

Just in case you've missed it.

So, I just beat Battletoads.

I've played a few seasons of Fantasy Football, and would be down for that next season. I don't follow anything else enough to be interested in a managing a team for it. I suppose, if you NEED to fill out a spot in your league, I could do it, but I probably wouldn't be trying very hard.

I Wish I'd Spent Valentine's Day Eating A Prix Fixe Dinner, But I Was Too Busy Getting Beheaded by St. Valentine

I kind of expected someone to drop this link sooner, but there's a nice little interview with zircon about the album on Destructoid that came out a few days ago. (It also has a preview of the music.) http://www.destructoid.com/exclusive-final-fantasy-vi-balance-and-ruin-preview-242840.phtml

theshaggyfreak posted a link about the wheelharp on facebook the other day: http://antiquitymusic.com/

Okay, yeah. I don't know why I didn't order this earlier, but I've corrected the problem.

Nothing is confirmed yet. Most articles I found sounded cautiously optimistic.

I'm really enjoying the simple, but elegant treatment of the source. If you're looking to sub, I think the vocals could use a bit of polish. The primary issue, as timaeus said, is that it's a bit strained. They're a bit on the nasal side, which may bother some more than others. There are a couple of pitch issues and some awkward annunciations, too. Great concept, looking forward to see where this goes.

I've never played Minecraft, but there are a few videos of sites from Final Fantasy 6 that someone constructed that look pretty impressive. I did a quick search in the thread and find anything, so hopefully these are new. My favorite is Narshe, and you can find his other stuff from this video:

I remember in the old Nintendo Power issues when they'd give you some info on the staff, and one of the items was "Greatest NES Achievement". The one I saw most often that I always wanted to say I did was getting to Ganon in the original Zelda without a sword. It really isn't any more challenging, but it is definitely a lesson in patience and tedium.

I left Anchorage with my copy of Legacy of the Wizard to get signed by Yuzo Koshiro. Over the last 3 weeks, I've found 2 more in used game shops, and Thursday, found a copy in box. Managed to find people in line today to help, and got 'em all. The highlight was when I handed him the box. It was clearly a blast from the past for him, turning it over, pointing something out to Kinuyo Yamashita, and laughing. This game and OST are so good. I'm happy now. Bonus: NES sleeves signed by Kinuyo Yamashita.