My new album (Poems now online)

Vel · Tue 26/12/2006 18:48:48

... is an album!

Basically, it is a progressive rock album based on the verses of the renowned Bulgarian poet Dimcho Debelyanov. So if you have a weak spot for the softer edge of progrock you are sure to like it! ^_^
Since that's not that common, though, you could just give it a try, and say what you think.
You can read all about it there, and download it. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Edit:

Half of the poems are now translated and uploaded to the website.

Also, if you're not sure whether you'd like to download and listen to the album, you may hear a sample song on last.fm. Give it a try, mmkay?

Tuomas · Thu 28/12/2006 14:55:12

Such a great composition requires a reply. I recommend that everyone downloaded this. It's great, though me as a huge fan of eastern european prog am a perfect person to make give comments about this. Err, sorry for the oddly grammared lines, my head is fuzzy because of a non-mushroom relkated disease. But at that, the atmospheric music here fits my mood perfectly

Steel Drummer · Thu 28/12/2006 22:01:47

Downloading right now.... Is this album in English or is it in a foreign language?

Vel · Thu 28/12/2006 22:11:38

It's in my native language, Bulgarian. Poetic translations of the poems will be up shortly, as is said on the website.
Thanks, Tuomas, and a raised eyebrow meaning "Well?" to everyone else.

Erenan · Thu 28/12/2006 22:23:07

I like conceptual progressive rock, so I will download this and listen as soon as I get a chance. These days I spend precious little time using my own computer.

I want to do this sort of thing myself. Maybe someday I will.

Damien · Thu 28/12/2006 22:28:59

Thank you, Vel.

I've listened the album a couple of times and it's pretty enjoyable.

Also, I recognized the 2nd song from somewhere (probably your website) and understood most of the lyrics.

To the rest of you: Highly recommended.

Vel · Thu 28/12/2006 22:41:56

erenan: looking forward to hearing your opinion.

Hey Damien, thanks, I appreciate it!
The second song is the first one I wrote and has been on my website for quite some time, yeah. You would probably understand most of the lyrics in the Bulgarian section too, give that a peek.

Steel Drummer · Thu 28/12/2006 22:55:30

Listened to a few tracks. It's great! Even though I don't understand Bulgarian, the instrumentals are awesome.

ManicMatt · Thu 28/12/2006 23:45:32

Oh, well okay I'll let you know I did download it and listen to a few tracks!

I'm not into progressive rock music, so while I can perceive the talent on display here, it's doesn't do anything for me personally.

But I'd rather listen to this than most prog rock i've heard!

Vel · Fri 29/12/2006 00:02:06

Thanks guys.

Matt:
Progressive rock albums, as I see them, are supposed to be listened to wholly, it's not the single tracks that are strong, but the album as a whole. I have tried to achieve this and I think that if you listen to the whole thing, not just "some tracks" from it. That's what's also preventing many people from realising how great progrock actually is, they don't have the patience. No offence or anything, just my two cents on the subject.

Oneway · Fri 29/12/2006 09:09:48

Thank you so much, Vel! That was great to listen to and the most original Xmas present i ever had!
I am used to listening to music while working on the computer and normally the music stays in the background of my attention. But your album had me staring mindlessly into the distance a couple of times (that's a good thing!

)

I very much like your voice on the lower parts. It tends to get a bit unstable/held back when going up, but nothing that would devaluate the experience you gave me.

Thank you again. And though a little late to wish you a merry xmas in return, a very happy newyear party for you!

Vel · Fri 29/12/2006 12:25:41

Thank you for the kind words, Oneway, and I'm glad you liked it! You know, once you are familiar with the album you're more than welcome to leave your review/comment/opinion on the website.
And I'll have a damn good New Year's Eve, don't you worry about that!

Peder 🚀 · Fri 29/12/2006 14:43:45

Hey Vel!

Nice album you put together here!

Really nice atmosphere and it makes me whistle with it and that is a really good sign as I only do that when enjoying music

.

Good luck with any future projects you might start!

And Id want you to sing on one of my songs! hehe

.
Though I play black metal :|.

But I really like your language the way it sounds

.

Peder.

Erenan · Fri 29/12/2006 22:42:28

I listened. It's nice, though I'm sure I'd probably get far more out of it if I understood Bulgarian. It's much slower and softer than I expected, though that's not a bad thing. Now, with rock music I tend to lean very heavily on the avant-garde and high energy side of things, so please bear with me as I give you what I hope is a constructive critique.

Personally, I felt that the feeling or aggregate effect of the music needed to vary a lot more. Mostly it was all pretty close to the same for me. Things changed a few times, and every time this happened it made me say, "Finally! Something else!" But again I should point out that I'm primarily in the high energy prog camp, so I like changes to be unexpected and frequent, so maybe this is just me. By the way, the strongest energy I got out of this album was the held high vocal note at about 1:10 on "Orphan Song." I actually like your voice more up there rather than in the range used throughout most of the album. This is mostly a personal taste issue, but the point is that I loved that note.

Melodically, nothing really stood out to me. I don't mean to be harsh, but for me most of the melodic material was rather unremarkable. Maybe I would better be able to understand the emotion through the words if I could understand Bulgarian, but as it is, I get little emotion from the melodies.

Other than that, I have little to say. I hope I didn't come across as too harsh. This mostly just isn't my preferred style of music, but I very strongly appreciate your sharing this with us. I'm always interested in hearing people's music, even if it's not my favorite flavor. For sure, don't hesitate to share your next album with us when you write it.

I guess I'll go ahead and copy and paste these comments onto the website. Just watch out for those slashes that got inserted before every apostrophe. Ack! :o

Ghost · Fri 29/12/2006 23:02:09

Good stuff, really good stuff. And as a free christmas present, it's a unique offer. Thanks for sharing this, and a happy new year to you, Vel.

Vel · Fri 29/12/2006 23:05:34

Hey Erenan, I appreciate your creative crits.
You're right that the mod of the album does not vary a lot - it is because I did not want it to vary. As I've written on the site, the works of Debelyanov are the works of a disillusioned man, who has yet kept the longing for beauty in his heart. And that's pretty much what I wanted to recreate musically - not the "go out and party" kind of rock, but rather the "sit back and listen concentrated" one.
If you knew Bulgarian, you might have been more touched by the words themselves, but hardly by the music. Yet again I shall say that the translations will be up shortly, so you'll decide for yourself whether you like them or not.
As for my vocal register, you say you like me singing higher notes, Oneway says the contrary, so I guess I'll just continue using it all.

Again, thanks for taking the time to listen to this and criticise it constructively, even if it is not exactly your cup of tea.

Edit: Ghost, just saw your post, thanks a lot for your enthusiastic words, you have a good time too!

Erenan · Sat 30/12/2006 01:06:58

Well, I actually do sit back and listen concentratedly to high energy Prog.

Yeah, a critique in my mind is basically, "If this were my composition, here's what I'd do." I understand that you wanted to do a certain thing with your music, and given what you said you wanted to do, I say, "Mission accomplished!"

Vel · Sun 31/12/2006 16:19:45

Ill definitely do something more uplifting in the future, I need a break from gloomy sonic skies.

Vel · Thu 04/01/2007 22:31:45

*bump* I have updated the first post.

GarageGothic · Fri 05/01/2007 17:14:22

As atmospheric as the songs are by themselves, it's very nice to be able to understand the lyrics now. I'll give the album another listen while reading along. Cheers.