New music video for a classic and more!

Yes, currently I really put the pedal to the metal to make all my old works available on YouTube. And since still images are rather boring, as announced, one or the other real music video is created. For example, for the title "Victory Dub" from the debut album "Reggae Xperimental WorX". Yepp, a really old track, which back in the days made the purists go berzerk and also still triggers the WTF? Effect for not just a few. Yes, quite unusual. As "Xperimental Reggae WorX" is none of the free downloadable albums, I've decided to give this track a real music video instead of a still picture of the cover art. I have been experimenting a lot lately with audio visualization and by a friend was made aware of the fact that I already own a great tool for this: With FL Studio ships a plugin with the strange name "ZGame Editor". Yes, some time ago I already came across this thing, have played around with it for a while but then forgot it pretty quickly. Why? It was buggy and that is actually an understatement. Let's rather say it was dysfunctional. Moreover, it swallowed such an amount of CPU time that you could actually only see jerky still pictures... until the thing either froze FL Studio or crashed it. So I was somewhat skeptical when my friend told me that he could well imagine, given my love for experimentation, I could get something good out of it. And indeed, although the ZGame editor is still anything but stable, not just sometimes surprises with difficult to understand behavior and is still quite resource hungry, you can actually work with it quite well. One just needs to save often and from time to think outside the box. With that in mind, it is a fantastic visualization tool with almost unlimited creative possibilities. Well, after all these words, here it is: My latest music video! Have fun!

And since, as I said, I want to get all the old chestnuts up on the alionmind Youtube channel as quickly as possible, I have also uploaded a still picture video for an absolutely dusted creation today. On that occasion, I also want to clarify something: One or the other asked me if it wouldn't be embarrassing for me to present my early works, which of course do not match my current quality standards. My answer is clearly NO! These are my beginnings. This is how everything started and I think not only I have a wide grin on my face when listening to those old tracks. I'm not ashamed that I had to learn a lot. Everybody who wants to get somewhere has to start at some time and also has to learn a lot. Also, there are not just a few, who remember the "good old days" (eg the original Versionist Reggae community) when listening to these old songs. Yeah, nostalgia. So, now that this is also clarified, have fun with a real beginner part of my works. If you want it, it is available on the, now free downloadable, Album "Excursions in Time & Space":

New music video "alionsonny - Message To Planet Earth"!

The song "Message To Planet Earth" is somewhat old ... well ... somewhat is a total understatement. In fact, this work is from the year 2004, ie the year of birth of the alionsonny project. And it was one of my first works published. Therefore, the sound is "somewhat" dusted ;). A few days ago I decided that this song deserves its own music video. After all I have my new, sparsely attended, Youtube channel on which I want to slowly upload my complete repertoire of about 300 songs. I do not mention the video editing software I used, because without compensation, I do not advertise any commercial products ;). However, I like to mention that a large part of the visual effects were created with the help of the free 3D graphics software Blender. The video footage is from my travel reports from 2012 and 2014 about the island of Madeira. The full video footage can be viewed (for those who do not know) on my Youtube channel AlionLive. If you like the music, maybe you should think about purchasing the album "XperiMental Reggae WorX", which is available on the following platforms:

• iTunes
• Amazon
• eMusic
• Routenote

I would be happy. Alternatively, the album is available as a free stream on Spotify:

And now have fun with the video!

Oops! I simply forgot to tell you something! New song "Farm Dub" is here and more!

I know: It went "a bit quiet" around the alionsonny project since the release of the "Continuity" album. And that was now a heavy understatement. Almost three months have passed since here since something new has been reported here... and then I simply forget to write an update here if something happens. I'm sorry for that, but as you can read in the monthly news on the alionmind records blog soon, I was anything but idle.

And while we are on the topic: Quite a few probably have not noticed that news concerning the other projects are no longer mentioned in this blog. I handle that very strict recently. This means, that there will be no longer news reported regarding the projects "Willma Poppen", "Cimelium" and new "AlionLive" videos on Youtube. So if you have thought these projects would be dead by now: No, they are very much alive and have made great progress. It is just, that news regarding to these project are posted only in the dedicated blogs, and of cause also on Twitter and Facebook since quite a time. I want to use the alionsonny blog solely for news concerning this project. And exactly this is why this blog does not get as much updates as back in the days. If you do not yet know the blogs of the other projects, here they are:

Willma Poppen Blog
Cimelium Blog
AlionLive Blog

And if you want to monthly (well , more or less ;) ) read my entire activities in the summary, it is recommended that you check the alionmind records blog.

Ok, and what he told of a new alionsonny song? Yes, actually the first track after the release of the "Continuity" album has been completed as a pre-release version. It is a work in the good old traditional way, ie one that will drive the purists crazy ;) . In fact, it is so traditional that one feels transported back to the early years of the alionsonny project. Of course, it is again not really Reggae. There is so much dubbing going on, that many will get vertigo. Also, I once again implemented a funny collection of rhythm changes. Overall it is, so to say, "colorful". After I - believe or not - have followed a more serious approach with the last tracks, I thought it would be time again for a little sillyness ;). Yeah, and there's are actually not more to say about it. Listen to it and judge for yourself. As with everything I upload to SoundCloud, this is a so-called pre-release version, ie a version that is good for now, but not really finished. The final version is created when the next alionsonny album is to be released... but that is still very far away. But for now, here is "Farm Dub". Have fun!

Album release! "Continuity" is here!

Yes, it has happened: Today, the album for which you have waited so long has been finally released. However, again I have to disappoint you a bit: Currently, it is only available in my Routenote Direct shop. Do not let the awful design of the shop and the fact, that, due to the lack of a playlist, you cannot can not pre-listen the songs, scare you away . Something is not working with the shop currently and the Routenote guys are most probably already on the job to fix it. I have already "complained" about it ;). And don't be puzzled about the fact, that the album is on position 3 of the album list. So if it is not visible on your superduper Smartphone -> please scroll down a little. It is definitely there. I also do not know why this is. You can also click here . This takes you directly to the album page. You can pay conveniently via Paypal or credit card. If you can wait, the album will soon be available on iTunes , Amazon, and many other well known shops. How long will that take? On average, 4 to 6 weeks, but for the album releases in fall of 2012 it took only 2 weeks for iTunes. Yes, so much time has passed already since "Heroes of the Popp-Culture" and "Mesopotamia".

Oh yes: And of course you can, as always, order the album directly from me for 10 Euros. Simply transfer the money via Paypal to alionsonny@alionsonny.com and to be sure, also send an email to the same address. Sending this mail is also a good idea, because otherwise I can not send you the download link. But if you want to transfer me money and get no album, you may also omit the part of sending the mail ;).

So, now that was a long wait full of ups and downs. I have good reasons to hope, that it will not again take three years until the next alionsonny album will be released. Of course, the work at the other projects will ensure that I cannot release another alionsonny album in just a few months, but I have learned some new strategies. Yeah, next is the "Willma Poppen" album "Willma im Wunderland". And next after this is Cimelium's "Madeira" album. But I also have some tracks for the alionsonny project almost done. How will I the next album be titled? Make some suggestions ;).

EDIT: To make up for the missing Routenote playlist, I embed the Soundcloud playlist here. But NOTE: This is NOT the final product. All tracks in this playlist are (some improved) pre-release versions of the tracks and most of them do not match the quality of the album. And please note another thing: On Soundcloud (at least for the free accounts) the audio is compressed to death. So this is just for a slight pre-listening. You have been warned ;)

Status alionsonny "Continuity" album

Since not all listeners of my music are on Facebook, and some are, but for some reason missed to subscribe to my news, I can not be sure that all interested folks are informed about the progress regarding the "Continuity" album. For this reason, and because it is also useful information for the monthly alionmind News Blog, I want to describe which 13 tracks will be on the album, and in which state of completion they are. Here we go:

Greenhills
From the pre-release version of this song is NOTHING left. It is the oldest title destined for the album. The first version was presented in 2010 . Accordingly, I had to improve a lot and it was a pretty intense task to make this old song a worthy part of the new album. But: DONE!
Current version : RELEASE

Nero d ' Avola
Despite the fact that, since the last time I worked on this song plenty of time has passed, quite a bit had to be improved here. A little work on mixing and EQing and a few small adjustments to the structure and everything was DONE!
Current version: RELEASE

Going Bonkers
On this item I am currently working and have just a few minor improvements to do. Again, MUCH has been changed here and the release version differs significantly from the pre-release.
Current Version: pre-release

Bulletproof
To do yet. However, I can not hear much that could be improved on this song. A little EQing and everything should be done. But let's see.
Current Version: pre-release

Drunken Joe In Love
THAT is still a real problem child! There is extremely much to improve here and I think in the end of this, there will be not much left of the pre-release version ;) .
Current Version: pre-release (awful condition!)

Madeira
Do not know what to make of it. Certainly a great song, but somehow something is missing ;) .
Current Version: pre-release

Talking Cat
Nice song, some improvements possible, but absolutely nothing I have to be worried about.
Current Version: pre-release

A Sunny Day
The absolutely exceptional track destined for this album in several aspects: There was ZERO suggestions for improvements or even complaints about this track for half a year the first version is now  on SoundCloud. On the contrary, I got an incredible amount of positive feedback about this song. And I can not find anything to improve at "A Sunny Day". So EXCEPTIONALLY the pre-release version was declared to be the release version. DONE!
Current version: RELEASE

Flight of the Butterfly
Okay. Minor improvements are conceivable, but definitely not a big job.
Current Version: pre-release

The Storm
A few obvious opportunities for improvement, but quite ok. Not much work.
Current Version: pre-release

Pirates of Madeira
I am tempted to declare the pre-release version to be the release version, but let's wait and see. I think it is perfect!
Current Version: pre-release

Ganja In The Jar
Absolutely fine, but I know a few things that can be improved. Not much work to do.
Current Version: pre-release

BrainForest Chapter II
Just finished ... and I think it 's perfect. Nevertheless ... let's see... ;)
Current Version: pre-release

Ok, that's it. I am again at work so that you pretty soon get your album :).

"Brainforest Chapter III" - The last song for the album "Continuity" is here!

It is done! After 3 years, we finally have the, traditionally, 13 alionsonny tracks for a new album. If you now think, the album would be available tomorrow on iTunes & Co., I have to disappoint you. Now comes still a lot of work for me, because by just finishing the songs, only the biggest part of the work is done. What happens next? First I have to get the songs in an order (playlist) of course, so that everything fits together. Then there is the fact that the song versions you can listen to on Soundcloud are just pre-release versions and not really finished. This means that the songs were ok for me at the time they were completed. But as time passes, I hear but more or less minor "imperfections" in them, or listeners tell me about the one or the other thing that sounds not alright. The oldest songs, destined for the "Continuity" album, were completed 3 years ago. You can certainly imagine that one discovers many of such opportunities for improvement during 3 years. In addition, you learn a lot during 3 years and the own standards rise according to that. So I will take each of the 13 items completely under the microscope again and optimize.

Brainforest Chapter III
... is the third part of a song series which was started in 2004 with the first part which can be found on the first alionsonny album "XperiMental Reggae WorX". The series was continued with part 2, which was released on the, now downloadable for free, album "Excursions in Time & Space". When I worked at the first part, it was already clear to me, that this would become a series of songs. For an album, which claims to be a part of a continuity in it's title, a continuation of Brainforest is just a logical step. Again everything sounds "latin american"-ish and also the somewhat mystical and gloomy jungle feeling is back again. The new part, however, is far more complex than its predecessors. There are also no sample loops used it and, the reggae purists will stone me for this statement: There's far more Reggae in "Brainforest Chapter III". But what do I tell all the time? Hear it for yourself:

The sound of the islands: "Ganja in the Jar"!

... and you thought I was joking when I announced on Facebook that I would marry the good old Sleng Teng riddim with THE popular song of Irish folk, "Whiskey in the Jar". Well, those of you who hear alionsonny not just since yesterday, will actually recall some Irish folk / Reggae experiments I did in the past. To the newer listeners, they are probably unknown because none of the tracks is on any album currently available . This will change very soon, as I plan to release another free album with ancient song releases.

Style
But back to "Ganja in the Jar" . When I additionally also announced that this piece of music would include the Christian song "Lord of the Dance" as a "secondary melody", some of the folks thought, this would not be possible. Well, I have truly accomplished already by far more complicated style blends. Both "Whiskey in the Jar", and "Lord of the Dance" are not composed in any exotic time signatures. There are truly difficult candidates in the (Irish) folk music for Reggae interpretations. The difficulty in Reggae interpretations of Irish folk music is, that Reggae is played in 4/4-time. Irish folk often uses quite "exotic" signatures . The only flavor of Irish folk songs which are in 4/4-time I know of are Reels. Jigs, for example, are in 6/8, Slides in 12/8. Besides there are plenty of other time signatures such as 3/4 and extremly funny ones like the Slip Jig in 9/8. In the end it is of course all just mathematics. With a little work one can "convert" any signature to a 4/4. However, it is not done with just pure mathematics. Both, Irish Folk and Reggae is very emotional music. A simple mathematical transformation would be like Kraftwerk performing the "Moldau" by Smetana... well... that would be interesting ;). Another not to be underestimated, factor in making Reggae versions of Irish folk tunes is the emphasized offbeat in Reggae. A melody, which fits well to a 4/4 Rock song, can sound extremely different on a offbeat emphasized Reggae rythm. Finally I would say that a healthy mix of mathematics and feeling always leads to the goal.

History
As mentioned, I have already "married" Irish Folk to Reggae a couple of times in the past. I even messed before with the well-known Sleng Teng riddim. In 2007 I published "Dinner Time for the Cats", a Sleng Teng riddim version with the melody of the famous nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice". Somehow many well-known tunes fit with he Sleng Teng Riddim... well, at least if you mangle it properly. On that cold, gray September morning, I had not really planned to produce music . The plan was actually working on the long overdue videos. And so I announced it on Facebook: Dear people ! No music today. Now I'm working at the videos. I do not remember exactly how I got the idea to do a new version of Sleng Teng, but somehow I was suddenly in the middle of the production of a new track. After some time I had a standard Sleng Teng, but with more "punch" and some (still) small modifications. As so often, I sat down at the keyboard and just improvised along. I have no idea how exactly the melody of "Whiskey in the Jar" sneaked into my mind. I have not heard that song in ages, but it fit quite well. As I noted before, there were some who, after I announced on Facebook, that I would make a Sleng Teng version of "Whiskey in the Jar", thought that now I would finally become permanently insane. They had no idea, what was about to come ;). After "Whiskey in the Jar" fit perfectly, I improvised a bit further and found that the old melody of "Lord of the Dance" also, maybe even better, worked with my version of the riddim. At least one Facebook friend stated that this would NEVER fit . "Well, Sonny, you've already done a lot of crazy stuff, but a Reggae version of 'Whiskey in the Jar' ... and then also a Christian hymn as a second melody? That doesn't work!". Doesn't work? Works! ...as you can hear... ;). Do I need to explain the song title ?

Questionable
In the case of this song, I am a lot more sure that the final album version will sound a lot different than the, now available pre-release version, than for any other song destined for the "Continuity" album. Meanwhile, I have heard some details, I would like to change somehow. At the beginning of the song, the harmonica resonates far too long. I'm not sure if the bass and snare drum should sound that much "in the face" or rather a bit softer. On one side the track has a hell of a punch, but somehow it seems a bit too much for my taste. Maybe I will make two versions: The "In the face version" and the "laid back version". We will see...

Almost there
This is now track 12 of 13 for the album "Continuity". Almost there! And the long announced track number 13, "Brain Forest - Chapter III" is almost finished. This means that I will soon start  transforming all 13 tracks into the final album versions. In this step, I will also ensure that the whole album sounds coherent in itself. This will take some time, but I guess that it can be done in one to two weeks.

Ok, that was a lot of text again . But if I write less, some complain I could tell some more . So now: MUSIC !

New song " Pirates of Madeira"!

Oh, that's complicated to explain ... or not? Well, let's sinply get started:  I guess quite a few of you will think " Oh no, not the island again", when they see the term "Madeira" in the song title, or maybe "will that EVER end?". "No!" is the correct answer to the latter question. However, it doesn't matter very much, how a song is titled. What matters is the sound.

And especially our beloved "genre fascists" will once more break out in weeping , gnash their teeth or will break out in open contempt for my person. I already know that from absolutely sufficient experience. Should I do it? Should I say the song "Pirates of Madeira" has just a minimal similarity or even IS some kind of REGGAE? Should I? No, I do not want to be responsible for deaths. And precisely for this reason, you, dear reader, dear listener, should  follow my example and refrain from a more thorough discussion of the subject of genre localization of this musical piece, if possible . Since "there is no blessing in this" , as a very wise old lady often used to say . And do not think you would escape the judgment of the genre fascists if you simply choose a different genre to locate this musical piece. Well, for example the techno fans (Goa / Trance) will not threaten you with "Fire & Brimstone" because of the genre blasphemy, but you will not make yourself popular either.

With this kind of a piece of music it is like with so many typical foods of different regions : Do not ask what's in it as long as it tastes ;). The song has, during it's extremely long development from a simple loop to the now available prerelease version, undergone some rather turbulent conversions . If you, like a friend of mine , are of the opinion, that this song would have suited the Willma Poppen project more than the alionsonny project, then I can tell you, for the general amusement, that the song was at least once temporarily destined for each of my 3 major projects. Fact is: The song started as a typical alionsonny song idea. One of those "bouncy, funny reggae-ish" thingies, which make the Reggae purists freak out. Then the song transformed so much into the direction of pop techno, that I had to call it a 100% Willma Poppen Project track. In between, albeit in questionable mental constitution on my part, the song was once also a candidate for Cimeliums "Madeira" album.

That the song then still developed to what it is today, is due to the fact, that I once again enjoyed a delicious Madeira wine 3-4 nights ago. And while doing that, I watched the video of the day on the Santa Maria de Colombo in 2011, aswell as the video from 2012. I constantly had this accordion melody and the next day it was clear to me that:

1. I would like to dedicate a song to the Santa Maria de Colombo and the crew.
2. why not this one?

Said and done ! And so I worked the last 3 days almost non-stop to get done what you can listen to now . By the way, is the track 11 of 13 for the new alionsonny album "Continuity". The next song is already pretty much ready for pre release. Especially my "old time fans" will love to read what it will be: Chapter 3 of the the popular "BrainForest" series! Continuity ;)

And now have fun with the Pirates of Madeira!

New song "The Storm" available!

Exactly, the song was actually released already 2 days ago, but I had to do something else meanwhile and no time to write the blog. Yes, that happens too. On the topic: Yes, for the second time within a week a new track for the new alionsonny album was completed. No one would have expected this, after the project has paused for quite a long time, in favor of Willma and Cimelium. Thus we have 10 of the 13 tracks for the album now and this puts the release date of the album into a timespan one can call "foreseeable future". Although I do not suppose that the album will be released before my birthday on July 19th, but at least I can say with certainty that it will be relesed still in 2013.

The current song, titled "The Storm" is, is as "Flight of the Butterfly" was, on the one hand a flashback to the early days of the alionsonny project, on the other hand a big step forward. The sound might remind many of you of the time around 2007, when songs such as "Photosynthesis", "Revolution Now" or "Individuality" shaped the alionsonny sound significantly. I currently enjoy working with old concepts in new "clothing". A few new tricks in conjunction with traditional tastes and favorites can certainly provide a quite nice result. And I think that "The Storm" is a good example. The idea may well come from 2007. It also deals quite rude with the underlying musical genres Reggae and Ska, as it was the case in the days of "This is not really reggae". Parts of the song have rythm patterns fitting the played genre quite well which quickly change to patterns from totally different styles of music. Does this remind any one of the days of Polka- or Waltz-Reggae-Mashups? Well, some things do not change..

Conclusion: "The Storm" is absolutely nothing for Reggae or Ska purists, especially if they understand a mashup of their beloved genres as a sacrilege. Friends of varying experimental musical experiences with a preference for psychotic sound  episodes should be served well.

Finally a new alionsonny Song: Flight of the Butterfly!

Photo: User Beentree Wikipedia

Some thought again, the alionsonny project would be dead and buried, although the release of the last song "A Sunny Day" took place about just 3 months ago. Yes, some of my listeners are still living in those days in which pretty much I everything I created was released as an alionsonny release. And since I do no longer publish information about the releases of the projects Cimelium and Willma Poppen  at this Blog (as announced by the way) since quite a time, some even said I do no longer produce music at all anymore. Updates to the releases of these projects are recently announced in the  Cimelium Blog and the Willma Poppen Blog. The ultimate source for news about all alionmind records releases  will be the, recently not very well served, alionmind records Blog in the future. It is also recommended for Facebook users to "like" the alionsonny, Willma Poppen, Cimelium and alionmind records Facebook pages to immediately get news about the projects.

So much for the long preface. Yes, the alionsonny project is alive and there are already several songs in progress to complete the long-awaited new alionsonny album. The reception of the last  alionsonny release "A Sunny Day" was absolutely stunning. So many listeners wrote me that they like the song, and even more stunned me, that some amongst those people were not really lovers of my music before. Longtime listeners even believed, as a Facebook friend nailed it, that the alionsonny sound "finally grew up".  What a slap in the face must the latest release "Flight of the Butterfly" be for those who thought so? This song once more is a very experimental creation, which certainly allows comparisons with the early early days of the project. Why does he do that? Well, I just was in the mood for a experimenting again. And since I had just completed a rather experimental piece for Willma Poppen shortly before beginning work on "Flight of the Butterfly", I was still in the ultra creative mode, so everything went not just a bit experimental again.

As I said more alionsonny releases and the completion of the new album (still without a name) are planned for the near future. But for now, here is the new song:

The alionsonny project is ALIVE! New Song!

This took some time! The fans of elaborate Dub crazyness had to wait whole 5 months (to the day) for a new release by the alionsonny project. While all my other projects were plentyfully blessed with new releases, the reggae-ish part was completely on halt. This is now changing. ACTUALLY there has been an alionsonny album announced for the turn of the year. In the course of my "2013 - My Year" move it is now time to focus on that task.

The start for this has been made with the release of a new alionsonny track, titled "A Sunny Day". As the name tells, this track was inspired by a sunny day, the first one in Hamburg this year. Like the projects "Willma Poppen" and "Cimelium", the project alionsonny has now also a "roadmap" for a change, which will determine the style of all future releases of the project. At the alionsonny project this change is mainly to focus on the specialities of the typical alionsonny sound. To say it somewhat clear: I dont want to get distracted anmore. I found my sound an now it is time to finetune it. With the new release I think I accomplished that so far.

On one hand "A Sunny Day" is a return to the roots of the project, but also a step into a uncertain future. Many loyal alionsonny listeners bemoaned, that they missed those playfull and sometimes neckbreaking outbursts of Dub in the releases of the past years. "A Sunny Day" answers this with a straight "Here you go! Want more?". On the other hand, the regular alionsonny listener will recognize, that the sound is now much more structured and clean. I can hear the friends of the "old soundmud" scream in pain. Yes, folks who love merciless reverb mud and delay mangled drumloops exist. Well, dear "friends of the mud", that's it. Honestly, when I recorded my first works in 2004/2005 with 30 Euros PC speakers, I released (because those speakers didn't speak BASS) tracks, which make my toenails roll up, if I listen to them today. If one takes a look at the frequency spectrum, one sees the bass frequencies exploding and on the other frequencies is the silence of the lambs. Why do I tell this now? Exactly as I said goodbye to the "monsterbass" in 2007 and even more in 2009, I now say goodbye to the other elements which negatively affected my sound in the past. There were also folks who bemoaned the "monsterbass" when I said goodbye to it. Well, the train goes on.

The style of the alionsonny project is also changing. While I often released tracks and albums in the past like "I don't care what you want! Take this!", I decided - also in the course of the commercialization of the project - to listen more to you, my dear listeners. Actually there is a great deal of feedback comming from my audience, and so I can be pretty sure to know exactly WHAT my audience liked at my past releases. THIS is my roadmap: Excactly what you want. So flood my mailbox and the alionsonny Facebook fanpage with CONSTRUCTIVE comments. Only this way I can produce YOUR music.

A little sidenote/detail. While working at the song, I recognized a pattern in a particular melody when looking at it in the pianoroll (digital music sheet in a sequencer), which looked like DNA. I embed a picture here:

For the curious amongst you: The melody is that synth which sounds like a mix of a female voice and a flute. The "enemies of repetition" will recognize that it repeats the same melody pattern allmost all over the song. This is intended. I didn't want to break the DNA string ;).

Another good news: Since quite a long time no alionsonny music video has been releaased. AlionLive isn't really about music videos ;). Because I like "A Sunny Day" so much, I will soon create a NICE music video for it. And if I say soon, I mean REALLY soon. Ok, and that's really enough text. Here's the music.

AlionLive Return 2 Madeira Day 2 is ready!

You have really waited long enough, but here it is: The report about the second day of my 2012 trip to Madeira. Why is it all taking that long? I had a little creative blocking at the start of the year, which kept me just a bit from getting things done. You know that: Me and the grey winter in Germany will never become friends.

But now the second part is finally here and it features the following:
A quite tired and grumpy Sonny greets you at the beginning and after a little shopping task, he makes his way down to downtown Funchal to the cablecar station. There he takes the cablecar to Monte and ends up there in inferno-ish weather conditions. Despite that the day continues with a heavy hike to the Parque Ecologico do Funchal and after a few surprising twists, it ends with a quite drunk Sonny in Funchal again.

ATTENTION: the video contains extremely much "me talking into the camera" but also some nice images of nature. The music, with the exception of 2 tracks, is from the album "Electronic Spacerock". One of the 2 others is from "Alion - The Original Soundtrack". The song "Secret in the Forest" is currently not available on any album.

Ok, enough words, here's the video:

"Excursions in Time & Space" is a FREE DOWNLOAD NOW!

BOOM! Da bomb has just exploded. After releasing the "Dub Antiquities" album, the mails started to drop in, first slowly then more and more. A big part of the mails were just congratulations and thanks by people who desperately wanted the old tracks during the past 2 years and couldn't find a way to get them. But I allways say "Work causes more work"... and so it was here. Because of the simple fact that "Dub Antiquities" is a selection of the best bits of the alionsonny musical past and in fact one which reflects my very own taste & perspective, it was just a matter of time until some folks told me, that her/his favorite song from the past was not in the selection. So i spent quite some time during the past 2 days, discussing how to handle the left over 26 tracks from the past, which were not selected for "Dub Antiquities". Should I make another "blast from the past" album? "Dub Antiquities Chapter II"? However I planned to solve this, I couldn't, because I simply didn't have enough of the old tracks in suitable quality to get them on an album of a quality which would be accepted by the retailers/shops.

So yesterday evening, over a glass of good red wine I decided to give away the discontinued album "Excursions in Time & Space" from 2006 for FREE. No, not just for a limitited time, no sweepstakes here. FREE means just free. the album is released under a Creative Commons License and so you can just download it and do with it whatever you want. And without any further words, here's a direct download link. Have Fun!

DOWNLOAD "EXCURSIONS IN TIME & SPACE" FOR FREE

So, now we have found a solution for 26 of the 39 tracks of the 3 "problem albums". I'm sure, we'll find a solution for the leftover 13 tracks also, eh? ;)

alionsonny's "Dub Antiquities" - A new old album

A while ago, i told you about a little problem I have with my older albums. Because of different reasons, i do not have MP3 versions of all titles on those albums in a quality suitable for the online shops. For example, my distributor Routenote only accepts MP3s in a quality of 192 kbps or better. To make it short: I cannot distribute my old albums "Early Xperiments in Dub", "This is not really Reggae" and "Excursions in Time & Space" in their current form via Amazon, iTunes etc. Still many people ask where they can buy the old albums. Problem...

Or not a problem at all, because I now made a very easy and logical decision: All tracks from the old albums of which i do not have a sufficient MP3, a wave audio or the original project file will be soon released on a FREE album, which will of cause please all the freeriders. Yes, this will be a absolutely free download. And what about the other tracks? They will be published on one ot two new albums. If i like the sound of the existing versions, they go directly on the new album, otherwise they will get a remix. Some of the old stuff sounds really awfull and needs some work.

And now REAL good news: I allready compiled the traditional 13 tracks for the first "new old album". It is 9 tracks from the album "This is not really Reggae" and 4 from the album "Early Xperiments in Dub". 5 of the tracks have more or less been remixed and got a more or less extensive overhaul.

The album will be out in the shops, depending on how fast the folks at Routenote get the album pushed to the shops this time. If you can't wait at all, you can order allways directly from me.

The album title is "Dub Antiquities" and it will contain the following tracks:

01. Individuality (Original)
02. Terra (Original)
03. Malina Dub (Original)
04. Mountainbiking on Mars (Original)
05. Fyah pon everything (Original)
06. Revolution NOW! (Original)
07. Versionist Dub (Original)
08. Walking Dub (2012 Remix)
09. Drunken Joe in Space (Original)
10. Flying Dutchman dub (2012 Remix)
11. Interstellar Travel (Original)
12. Mandala (Original)
13. Walking Dub (2012 Remix)

What's goin' on?

Well, everthing which is not going off ;) Dunno if that "joke" makes sense in English language in German it does ;) So, there were no news posted on this Blog for quite a time. And because most of you do not read my news on Facebook, Twitter etc., it is most likely, that by now some of you ask themselves if everything is going smooth here at the alions den. Well, it does. Since my last post indeed some stuff happened. Not as much as I would have liked and some stuff happened not the way it was supposed to. Well, here's the story. I try to keep it short...

On New Years Eve a wonderfull friend (and even bigger Willma Poppen Fan) remembered, that she did not give any gifts for Christmas to me this year. You know: I do not give much attention to all that gifting stuff, even tho I like to receive gifts. But gifts aren't a must here. Well and that amazing lady has also a very amazing memory. And so she remembered that recently I answered her question about what I still want for my computer with "SSD and 8 GB of RAM to upgrade it to 16 GB". And so she dragged me to my trusted hardwaredealer and we bought the components. Now the experienced PC builder asks himself what troubles may lay ahead when installing those components... and the PC builder, experienced in trouble knows: "A lot!". And so it happened: After installing the components, my former system disk (which was to be replaced by the SSD) was no longer recognized by the system. This caused a little loss of data, which... well .. complicated some stuff. A rather lengthy data recovery process and some secondary problems with the new system also stole some time from me. Well, so far the decription of that little desaster, which caused quite a slowing down of my work at the start of the year. And still I got some stuff done, of which I simply forgot to report some here in this blog also:

1. Most of you will surely be happy about the fact, that the introduction part of "AlionLive Return 2 Madeira" is finally finnished and online. Ok, it is just an introduction, which consists of 99% me talking into the camera, but a start has been made. Now the rest will go rather smooth. There was not much of an opportunity during the hollidays and new year to turn my small flat into a videostudio and this, amongst a few other things, kept me from getting further with this. For the upcomming parts of ALR2M I must ask for your patience again, because the ammount of raw video material is gigantic and I will put more effort this time in the cutting and postproduction. But here's the introduction part for now. Have fun!


2. The "ghostproject", how friends call it, also did a big step forward. Which "ghostproject"? Well, TUBENWURST of cause! That project, which is, so to say, the sequel of the album "Electronic Spacerock" released it's third track so far. And this one is dedicated to a very special person I met on my next-to-last day in Madeira. And because of that the track is named after that person "Beatrice". Want to hear it? Of cause...


3. Around Christmas the first track of Willma Poppen after the release of the Album "Heroes of the Popp-Culture" was released. So, this is the first track for an upcomming second album by Willma Poppen. You can read more about that in the official Willma Poppen Blog. Wanna hear the track? Here it is:


4. Around New Years Eve I startet a sweepstakes, where you can win one of five free downloads of the Album "Heroes of the Popp-Culture" by Willma Poppen. Due to the IT-desaster described above, the promotion of that event was nearly completely trashed. Because of that, i decided to delay the drawing of the winners to the 30th of January. So you still have the chance to participate. Read the details in the official Willma Poppen Blog.

5. And what about the relaunch of all alionmind websites? Simple answer: Currently nothing! Due to the IT-desaster described above that got...complicated. Once everything is again up and running here, I'll work at it with full force.

So, what did I forget? Of cause something. Once I remember everything I forgot to write here, there will be an update. Until then: Be well and heads up, this winter will also be over one day ;)

Back from Madeira, and now?

Yes, dear friends, I am since 2 days back from Madeira. And with me I brough 16 1/2 hours of raw video material. So, there will be a lot for you to watch on AlionLive soon. If you are on Facebook and are my Facebook friend, you can now watch a quite huge number of nice photos from Madeira there. Of cause I will upload the photos on Google+ too sometimes, but not now.

It will take some time until you can view the video, because i want to create a brandnew intro for "AlionLive Return 2 Madeira" and some new fresh music would also be good. Well... you know that ;) I have some new plans regarding to music. The new alionsonny album, I announced for until the end of this year will for sure be released and all the other allready announced things will happen too.

To talk about the new ideas for projects I had in Madeira, there will be a second album of the "Cimelium" project. Again it will be a concept album, this time titled "Madeira". It will have the traditional number of 13 tracks and each of them will be titled after a particular place in Madeira and I'll try to capture the atmosphere / ambient of that place in the song. The music will again be very relaxing and calm, but it will not contain the oriental sounds you know from the "Mesopotamia" album. I plan to release this album at latest in summer 2013.

I also work at new songs for a second album of the Willma Poppen project. After the initial approach of the project failed, because of my inability to produce stupid simple pop-techno in a music industry style, I will take the project on a path of ambitious, sophisticated pop-techno meeting my artistical ambitions. To plan a release date for that album would be, keeping all the stuff on my agenda in mind, not just a bit shady.

And then I have some stuff on my mind, I don't want to tell you about yet, because it is supposed to be a surprise for you. TIPP: When the "AlionLive Return 2 Madeira" videos are being released, watch each of them. I sing a particular song in there... ;)

By the way: A short remark on the Cimelium album "Mesopotamia" and the Willma Poppen album "Heroes of the Popp-Culture". I thought that my distributor Routenote would manage it to get both albums out on iTunes, Amazon and eMusic until I return from Madeira. As you can see if you check it, this is not the case. Believe me: I am for sure AT LEAST as unpleased as you about that. I will have to speak some serious words with Mr. Bennett tomorrow. This doesn't work at all that way!

Ok, and now I go back to work to bring you some firstclass entertainment. The show must go on!

"Mesopotamia" by Cimelium is now available on Routenote for just 8,45$!

Yeah, that went quick. Thanks to James Bennett at Routenote and a big apology by me, because the problem with the album was indeed MY FAULT. I didn't simply understand the difference between 1415 and 1425 pixels. I think I never felt that stupid in my whole life. ok, but now everything is great and James even was so kind to approve the album immediately. So i am happy as a man can be. So, if you want the album right now and have no problems paying in US$, THIS IS WHERE TO CLICK to get to the albums page in my Routenote Shop. If you did not pre-listen the whole album by now, you can do it there aswell as on the Cimelium Soundcloud page. Have fun, folks!

Ahh, by the way: If you want to listen to most of the tracks of the album and watch wonderful impressions from my favorite place on earth (Madeira), there are 4 parts of my video series AlionLive Madeira available to do so. Here they are:

The album "Mesopotamia" of the Cimelium project is READY!

Yes, it is done! Yesterday I finnished the last track, titled "Dagon", of the Cimelium album "Mesopotamia". But, once again, I have some problems with the distribution service Routenote. When I tried to upload the album yesterday, the uploader refused to accept the coverart, though it was of the correct dimensions and in the propper fileformat. This means that everything stuck at the first step of the upload process. Well, no idea what is wrong again. So it will take some time until the album will be available at the Routenote shop and even more time until it will be available on iTunes and Amazon.

Well, you know that all from the release of the Willma Poppen album allready. Now, there's just a rather inconvinient way to get the album for those of you, who want the album right now. Here is how it works:

1. The price for the album is 9,90 Euro or US$
2. Send me that ammount of cash either to my Paypal (alionsonny@alionsonny.com) or send me a mail to the same address if you do not like Paypal for any reason. I will then provide you with banking details for a bank transfer.
3. If you payed via Paypal, please send me an additional mail with an e-mailaddress, to which I can send the album.
4. Once I receive your payment, I will send you the album in an archive via mail.
5. IMPORTANT: Please make sure, that your mailaccount allows attackments up to 150 MB!
6. If you are, for any reason, unable to receive the album via e-mail, please provide me with a postal address, so I can send you the album via postal mail

Again, I'm very sorry for the inconvinience. It is not really my fault. Once I earn enough cash by selling albums, I will for sure use another distribution service. For those of you, who did not pre-listen the complete album by now, here's a player where you can do so:



If you just do not know the latest track "Dagon", here it is:

Next-to-last track for the Cimelium album, "Enlil", has been released!

Ok, folks: I wrote all the stuff for the Cimelium blog allready, but most of you seem not to be able to visit this official Cimelium Blog ;). This is why I still have to announce news about the Cimelium project here also. But since I have loads of stuff to do and am too lazy to write a new blog entry for this blog, I simply copy & paste the Cimelium blog entry here:
With giant steps I head towards the release of the "Mesopotamia" album. Only one more track and we are ready to go. The track "Enlil", which I uploaded yesterday allready and just somehow forgot to promote at the blogs, is again somewhat different than the other tracks. It is, what i call a "free floater", which means, that there's no prominent and particular melody line or alike, but just a floating carpet of sound. It mainly consists only of a pad-synth which I sampled and then mangled thru a sequence of effects units which are constantly automated to achieve an evolving soundscape. Still I added some string-instrument arpeggio and some majestic brass-thingies to enhance the listening experience. Well, again i hope you enjoy what you hear and I'll do my best to finnish that remaining song for the album this weekend so the album can be released next week.

News from the project Cimelium: Tiamat!

And finally here is a new song from the project Cimelium. You remember it, right? Well the most recent song destined for that album was released more than 4 months ago. The Willma Poppen album really halted all work at this album.

Und this now is one of the last missing 3 songs for the album "Mesopotamia". Because I want finnish that album this month and there are barely 2 weeks of the month left, I have to do one song each week. This really SHOULD be possible.

This current work is quite different from all the other songs on the album. To describe why is somewhat difficult. best is you take a listen yourself and I hope you like it.