Ad Hominem IS FINISHED!

It is done! It is done! It is FINALLY DONE! The latest and long awaited album "Ad Hominem" is finished and has been uploaded to the distribution service. It will (hopefully soon) be distributed to all major music sites, including streaming services, like Spotify. I want to say thanks to all of you, who were faithful during the hard times, during which I announced a lot and got not much done. Also thanks to those who gave feedback and suggestions and encouraged me to work further when I was close to giving up. Yes, this is a very special album in so many ways. Not just that it is the most personal album I created ever, because it is about depression, but also because it was created during a time which had many personal challenges for me. One can safely say, that this album was created not just out of melodies and rhythms, but also with a lot of very strong feelings. Now it is done and the 13th track's title is really fitting here: "O Dulce Nomen Libertatis", oh sweet name of freedom. I feel very free, now that this work is finally done. Apropos titles: For thos who, for what reason ever, do not read the posts on the Cimelium Facebook page, here's the full and final playlist:

• 01 - Ad Hominem (To the person)
• 02 - De Profundis (Out of the depths)
• 03 - De Omnibus Dubitandum (Everything must be doubted)
• 04 - Noli Me Tangere (Don't touch me)
• 05 - Nihil Verum (Nothing is real)
• 06 - Alea Iacta Est (The die is cast)
• 07 - Mortui Vivos Docent (The dead teach the living)
• 08 - Tempus Fugit (Time flies)
• 09 - Preaterita Mutare Non Possumus (To change the past isn't possible)
• 10 - Ne Obliviscaris (Do not forget)
• 11 - Quere Et Invenies (Seek and ye shall find)
• 12 - Sic Parvis Magna (Greatness from small beginnings)
• 13 - O Dulce Nomen Libertatis (Oh, sweet name of freedom)

I know that some now will ask "And what about the album 'Madeira'? It was announced to be released in December 2015!". Yes, that's true and it was 99% finished when my little personal armageddon hit me. I'll now grant my a week of rest and then finish this album also. You'll agree, that it is worth the wait.

Cimelium IS ALIVE!

Ad Hominem Coverart in it's current state (raw concept)

After more than a year of silence, shortly after the announcement, that the "Madeira" album would soon be released, I owe you an explanation. You agree with me, don't you? ;) I think I do not need to say, that the "Madeira" album is still not out yet.

What happened?
Well, life happened... I do not want to go into detail, because all is too private to me. But I can tell so much: A loved one, with whom I have been together for 25 years (yes, this is possible), has bitterly disappointed me in a very nasty way. This has completely paralyzed me and took away 100% of the creativity and joy of life, which usually gives me energy for everything. Friends: I was so far down, most of you probably can not imagine. But that is the past. I am still not quite through it, but I am again steeply on the way up.

What's next?
I really HAD to put the work on the "Madeira" album on hold for various reasons. There are too many memories connected to it. Every time I tried to work on it during the dark time, memories came back and it was extremely painful. So after I felt a bit better, I invested all my power in the "dark sister album", titled "Ad Hominem". As this theme album deals with the topic of depression, it fitted quite well. And, actually, as I write this, I am in the process of polishing the 13 pre-release-versions, and creating the final versions. I don't want to promise anything, but when I say that it is only a matter of days, it is just about right.

Those who have so much looked forward to the release of the "Madeira" album do not have to mourn: I am now again able to work safely on the pieces for the album. And since the album was almost finished at the time of my little private apocalypse, it will not be long, after the release date of "Ad Hominem", until "Madeira" is also released. Keep your fingers crossed that everything is going well. Then you will soon get 2 Cimelium albums, one after the other. Great, eh?

And so you can look forward to something, here are a few samples of "Ad Hominem" pieces in their present state:

Ok, I'm back at work!

Last Pre-Release and: "Madeira" is C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E!

Yes, this is great news: All 13 tracks for the "Madeira" album have been completed as pre-release versions! At the end of this post, you find the pre-release version of "Pico Ruivo Tunnel", the last track destined for the album. And it is a quite unusual one. Not unusual for Cimelium, but rather unusual for this, quite happy, album. Malina already said, that it may be more suitalbe for the "Ad Hominem" album, and I somewhat agree. But to me it refelects the feelings and impressions I had on that day, when we hiked through the Pico Ruivo tunnel to the Caldeirao do Inferno (CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO!). "Madeira" will be a really colorful album indeed. It spans from very cheerful and happy tracks via melancholic sounds to the quite dark "Pico Ruivo Tunnel".

So what's now? Now the 13 tracks have to be polished and thus turned into the final album versions. Will this take as long as it did for the last Willma Poppen album? For sure not, but it will take it's time still. Also I want create some nice cover art, as always. I could use a collage of some nice of the many photos Malina took during our trips to Madeira, and I seriously think about doing exactly that. On the other hand I would find this to be "too easy". Anyway, I'll have to make a decision soon.

And what about the darker album "Ad Hominem"? I just wanted to write, that work at this project is on halt as until "Madeira" is finished, but no: Every now and then I need a musical journey to "the dark regions of my soul" and so the work at this album will slowly go on. Somehow I got the impression, that by far more people are actually waiting for "Ad Hominem" to be released than for "Madeira", but first things first.

Ok, and now enough words. Here's the last track for "Madeira". Note: This time I spent very little time on mixing and EQing everything properly for the pre-release version, because I wanted to showcase that thing very quick and move on to the album completion.

Finaly a new song for the "Madeira" album: "Porto da Cruz"!

Oh well... this is the second Blog on which I have to write, that nothing happened since about a year. Makes me feel just a bit bad, because actually I haven't been idle. As always somebody had to wait in favor of the friends of other projects. Simple as that!

But now the long wait has an end. The album on the Willma Poppen album is done, I have set my priorities different and generally have a new strategy. And so I finished a new song for the long due "Madeira" album yesterday as a pre-release version. So we need just one pre-release version until we can finally start polishing the album versions.

The current song is about the picturesque little village Porto da Cruz at the north coast of Madeira. And the last song is also already heavily in the works. it will be themed after my hike in 2014 through the Pico Ruivo tunnel. It will be for sure the most dark track on the album and Malina already said, that it would fit better on the upcoming "Ad Hominem" album.

The polishing of the pre-release versions aka turning them into album versions will also not take as much time as it did for the Willma Poppen album, because by now, as I said, I have a new strategy and the songs for the "Madeira" album do by far not need as much work. So, with no exaggeration, I can say, that it is more than just possible, that "Madeira" will still be out in 2015.

What about the "dark sister album Ad Hominem"? Well, even though I have many great tracks in the works, it is currently on halt. One of the conceptual failures I did recently was to not concentrate on one thing at the time e.g. not setting priorities. I'll not repeat that failure! So for now it is "Madeira" and my little video projects. That's enough to keep me busy for a while. I know that some of the friends of the first Cimelium album "Mesopotamia" (which is by the way by far the best seller of all alionmind albums) are a bit worried about the Cimelium sound getting too happy, cheerful and generally away from the old dark experimental sound.This cannot happen, friends. It is just, that I wanted to do an album about Madeira and a dark and gloomy sound would not fit it... well aside of the Pico Ruivo tunnel.

Ok, enough words! Let's work! Here's the pre-release version of "Porto da Cruz"...and never forget: Pre-release is NOT the final product!

Better late than never: New song "Nihil Verum"!

Due to unexpected technical complications and other reasons, this blog is more than just a little bit late. My friends on Facebook and Twitter know more already: Once again a song has been created for the "Ad Hominem" album. In fact, we have now completed almost half of the tracks for this album in form of pre-release versions. I joke sometimes, that eventually "Ad Hominem" will be released before the  "Madeira" album. Who would have thought this? Not me :).

Fitting for the album, "Nihil Verum" is once again a rather quiet and serious piece. Originally it was planned to be a so called "floater", ie without any kind of rhythm instruments. However, the use of percussion instruments, starting at around 50% of the playing time, was simply appropriate. Friends of beautiful and creepy experiments with different filter types (in particular comb filters) will again love this piece.

Finally, a short organizational note: Since the work on Willma Poppen album "Willma im Wunderland" is gettig into the "hot phase" (production of the release versions), it may become a bit quiet soon around both Cimelium album projects. Don't worry, we'll soon go on! And now have fun with "Nihil Verum"!
 

New song "Queimadas" and plans for the "Madeira" album!

Typical Queimadas!

The song was introduced two days ago on Facebook and Soundcloud already. This is one more example for why it is a good idea for real Cimelium fans to either "like" on Facebook or follow on Soundcloud. The slight delay of the update of website and blog results once more of a time conflict with another of my projects. More You don't necessarily have to know about it ;).

Queimadas
The new song is, as maybe expected, intended for the album "Madeira", and describes this time a picturesque village in the mountains south of Santana. This time I decided for an orchestral style approach and as it looks like the first listeners loved it. At least I had NEVER so many listeners in just 2 days without blog promo and publication of it on the homepage. Thank you! You encourage me. Here's the song again for those who missed it:

The album "Madeira" - almost done!
So we are now only two songs away from the completion of all traditional 13 songs for the album. And if you're thinking that this will take forever, I can not promise anything but:

1. The locations, described by the two missing songs, have already been selected. One is the Pico Ruivo Tunnel and the other is Porto da Cruz.
2. The two pieces were already completed in form of more or less detailled arrangements of approximately 5 minutes each. So rather a work of minutes instead of hours.

"Madeira" and then what? "Ad Hominem"?
One or the other asked already about what will happen after the completion of the "Madeira" album. So first don't forget about the dark sister album "Ad Hominem" in process, which is only completed almost 50%. But this means that I still have to work for a long time on it. What about the "sun children" amongst the Cimelium fans? Will they, until the album is finished, only get "dark music". Not at all!

Monumental work "Madeira Triptych"!
One or the other already carefully sugested, that something like Madeira can not be dealt with in just one album with 13 tracks. And not just a few noticed the absence of the capital Funchal in the planning for the current album. This is due to the fact that Funchal is a world in itself on the island. Jokingly I said to Malina the other night, that I could make a whole album about Funchal alone: So many places that are completely different even at the respective day- or night time in their feeling. And Malina's answer was THE answer: Then make one! Yes, an album only about Funchal. Sounds crazy? It is perhaps, but necessary. And even crazier like this here's the, now evolved, planning: Madeira will become an album triptych! This means that there will be THREE Madeira albums. Think about it as some kind of an altar: In the middle of it an album just about the queen of the villages of Madeira Funchal. And this album is flanked by two albums that deal with various, to me, important places on the island. Great idea, is it? But a great deal of work! Let's go for it!

"Sic Parvis Magna" a new track for the "Ad Hominem" album!

Finally also those Cimelium listeners get something new to listen who were a bit annoyed by the rather "happy" sound of the songs for the "Madeira" album. It's slowly but steadily getting forward with the "Ad Hominem" album. However, likely it will still take some time until the album release date. Now the fifth track was completed as a pre-release version. So I'm pretty sure that the album release will not still happen this year. Currently, the "Madeira" album and the new album by Willma Poppen have priority.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly, will likely know about the beginnings of "Sic Parvis Magna". It was really rather planned as a minimalist and not too rhythmic piece. However, you know all too well that I often change my plans. And so this track became at least a bit more complex and rhythmic. I have yet honestly tried to stick to the simplistic approach and I think I accomplished it ;). Nevertheless, there was a bit of discussion in my circle of friends and acquaintances, whether this title would be rather suitable for the Willma Poppen project. One or the other actually had the opinion that it would be a bit too rhythmical for Cimelium. Others, on the other hand, thought, that it would be "too dark" for Willma Poppen. I think "Sic Parvis Magna" belongs clearly to the dark side of Cimelium. What do you think?

I have this time tried a few new tricks regarding to the rendering and some other minor technical details. Should the present work therefore sound kind of weird, strange or otherwise odd: I'm currently learning a few new things and am experimenting. But that's what a pre-release version is good for, or? ;) In the finished product of cause everything will sound much better. So, enough said. Here is "Sic Parvis Magna". I hope you like it!