"Has It Really Been That Long?: The Current State of Astral Productions in 2018/2019" Update

Okay, right up front I want to say that I have been seriously neglecting Astral Productions, including the 2 albums of Astroid Andy that are still in production (the almost finished The Neural Reconstruction Sessions: Audiomelancholia 2 which will be completed one way or another by the end of November 2018, and my next album Movie Night on Gargantuan 1, which will hopefully surface in early 2019).

There are 2 main issues that have halted music production:
1. I now have a full time job (I work at a little pizza/coffee joint called Pizza Junkiez delivering pizzas, and with the dawn of my full management looming, it looks like I may have less time than ever to have any time for myself). While the job pays well, it usually involves full day shifts and long nights.

2. I still have not gotten a new pair of high quality headphones, which allows me to fully hear every sound in high definition.

BUT WAIT! THERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS HERE!!!
Today I started working on a few rough draft ideas for the finishing songs for Audiomelancholia 2, the closing track is something I have very high ambition for, wanting to create something very large scale that may need to be broken into at least 3 parts. All in all, I am extremely proud of the work that has been done on the album, the songs are amazing and showcase the next step in my musical evolution.

There will also be a compainion disc to AudioMel2, called The Neural DEMO Sessions that features unreleased tracks and alternate demo states from the songs that make it onto the actual album. This piece is meant to showcase all the different forms a song takes before it's finalized, with alternate parts that were cut, altered, or integrated in a different manner to the final version. Each demo could almost be considered a new track in a certain light, and instead of just doing the base demo I decided I would do multiples per track at various stages of production, giving the whole thing a "Making of..." vibe. Maybe at some point I will do some remixes, hell, one or two may show up on the next album, but in the mean time I feel like it's loaded with enough content (which is still being updated to this day) to tide you guys over until I feel like AudioMel2 is complete.



So for all you Astral Projectors out there, just know that Astral Productions is still active, but due to less time for actual production releases will be a bit more spread out unlike previous years. Hopefully this process can yield some high quality music unlike anything you've ever heard from me.

- Astroid Andy

2017 Mega Updates! 9/18/17

Wow, long time no update, eh, Astral Projectors? I hadn't realized just how an extensive removal of myself from this side of me and the total lack of any musical progression in almost a year, but after a jolt to the system and a new outlook on music, I AM BACK! So let's break this giant update down in to parts, skip what you don't find interesting or to just get the gist of it.


Astroid Andy UPDATES:

1. The new(ish) EP release

Okay, so I know this is the least exciting of the updates, but I thought it still deserved a mention. I'll be blunt, there isn't a new song (with the exception of the Intro track) that was solely created for this album. Orginally this was going to feature all of the Astroid Andy song's from The Laceration Recordings and add in around 6 or so brand new songs to make it into it's own thing. Instead, the project was abandoned and I began shifting sounds and focused all my attention towards production of 2016's Audiomelancholia. So, because I had already taken the liberty of uploading the EP onto my music site, custom cover art included, I decided to make it public. I have a Temple of Sloth album with the same premise, but no new songs and it hasn't been uploaded, so you'll just have to enjoy those on the original album.

2.NEW MUSIC ALERT!

The Neural Reconstruction Sessions: Audiomelancholia 2

Production is currently underway to a brand new album, as well as a bonus disc of all the different stage demos.
Once I decided to finally put my hands up and declare that my last album, Audiomelancholia, was finished, I still had this huge feeling like the album wasn't complete. After the first 5 songs end, I felt like I was tapping into something with a newer sound and that sound unfortuantly made it into 2.5 tracks of the 10 track album. But seeing as I had started working on that album in early 2016 and not having made any new music since August of last year, I knew it was time to see what the future held for my music. I found some newer software and got to work installing and adjusting to the new features and production began 2 weeks ago on The Neural Reconstruction Sessions. Originally, this album was going to be a Remixed album of Audiomelancholia, but now it has become the ending that I didn't achieve in the first chapter.

With this new album, I have to decided to branch out a lot more than I have in any of my previous works. Towards the end of my last album, I experimented with a new kind of song structure as well as employed more aggressive, hip-hop, trap, dubstep, and breakbeat elements. I really enjoyed the end result, and with casting a wider net of genres to utilize and make my own, I regained my passion for making music. This will be one of my most experimental full length albums since 2010's Decomposed. I will be trying out new song structures, a wider variety of musical genres, as well as trying to evolve my signature sound I have been working on for over 12 years now as well.



The Neural DEMO Sessions
For the first time ever, I will be releasing each song in various stages before it's finally finished. The songs on this album will be uploaded frequently, as once I hit a stopping point on production of any given song, I will be mixing it down into a track and make it available to listen to. This will showcase just how far some songs go and what ideas were scrapped, extended, or improved before it becomes the true song. Plus, I think there is always something cool in there that gets cut, even if it's sloppily thrown together, and I hate to waste it by deleting it forever. Think of it like a musical diary.
TL;DR - A bunch of free unfinished tracks on a free DEMO album.


3. FREE PROMO ARTWORK - COMING SOON

So far I have about 4 alternate covers for the DEMO album, but I am currently working on orginal promotional posters for the new album, and will be making all of the free on the album's download and here on the site. So far I have created an alternate cover for my upcoming album...

...and plan on making a few alternate versions, as making and editing album covers is admittedly pretty fun.

Updates: Hiatus, New Astroid Andy Album [Audiomelancholia], and General News

Above you will find the newest album (in progress) Audiomelancholia by Astroid Andy. I have been working on this album off and on since late October of 2015 and for a long time, nothing happened. I knocked out 5 tracks that I felt were incredible, and then BAM! I hit a brick wall creatively.

Back in early August 2015 I got a beagle puppy who quickly became my son, his name is Albert and he consumes about 95% of my time. That other 5% was filled when I got hooked on collecting and playing various PC & PS3 games. I have a mild form of OCD that makes it so I get on these "kicks" where I get obsessed with collecting things, books, movies, games, and music. During these kicks, my collecting overshadows most everything else in my life at that time, and it can be a real problem. That's not to say some good hasn't come out of them, I've gone on long benders of making music and writing stories (most of which never end, because I keep expanding them and then have trouble wrapping them up). I also suffer from crippling anxiety and depression which forces me to stay indoors and binge watch TV shows and movies while I numbly lay on my futon, barely eating and chain smoking. Okay, enough of my personal drama, let's get to the meat of this post: THE MUSIC

Audiomelancholia, my forthcoming album will be a fantastic album, paralleling Shadows (hopefully, fingers crossed). I've employed a lot more dubstep, hip hop, trap, trance, ambient, dub, and chill elements than I have previously, with tons of heavy bass and dark pads with some hypnotic synths and sequences. When I updated my software a few days ago, I discoved a whole new plane on which to create music, as well as over 15 new genres of music to play with as well (and a butt ton of new synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, and keyboards which I plan on utilizing for my eventual new album for Temple of Sloth). The newest track I just finished is a bumping anthem infused with dark hip-hop/trip-hop with elements of dub & trap. I'm also trying my hand at samples, adding a little extra flare to my music. This album will also include multiple bonus tracks that are the uncut versions of the song A.U.D.I.O., which is the first 5 songs of the album that are meant to be heard as a single track. I also plan on doing an EP following shortly after the release of Audiomelancholia similar to the past few EPs that followed my last 2 releases that include remixes, b-sides, and bonus tracks. If all things go as planned, I'd like to finish off my Astroid Andy's Temple of Sloth Epic with the series's swan song, "Rise of the Temple of Sloth". If I am able to somehow pull off the impossible, expect a Director's Cut within a month or two after it's completion.
So keep your eyes peeled as I will be posting more and more updates as the album progresses and a big surprise when it finally drops. Sorry for the long absence, hopefully this insperation streak doesn't fade anytime soon and we can return to the glory days of Astral Productions.

This has been Astroid Andy, taking you through a new level of the Astral Plane.
Until Next Time Astral Projectors, keep that 3rd Eye Open.

Andy Day

The Laceration Recordings

Sorry for the lack of updates folks, I've been super busy these past few months. In between work and getting a new puppy, I have been wall-to-wall busy doing something. But in my spare time, I have been vigilantly working on my music. That's what the Laceration Recordings is, a tribute to all my free time in this hectic rat race know as life. When the dust settled, I began working on a new Astroid Andy album, and with it only be 4 songs deep, I can say it is easily going to surpass Shadows in terms of quality. The album, Audiomelancholia should be completed by the end of September. Just thought I'd drop by and leave a small post letting everyone know that I haven't stopped making music and a new album is in the works.

Unearthed Astral Projections! Astroid Andy Presents: Mental Evolution

Okay, just a fare warning, this is not my greatest work. I was messing around a lot with sound manipulation on a bunch of my songs back in 2010 and created around 8 albums all like this, where I take a single song, drastically reduce the BPM, add in a bunch of bizarre sound effects, rearrange and even stack arrangements on top of each other. I like to have all my music accessible online, but unfortunately I was only able to upload 2 of these "Musical Experiments". But with completion of The Laceration Recordings, it'll be a little while before I drop some new music. So I thought I'd treat you, my fans [Astral Projectors] with a blast from the past. These were all but forgotten until I got bored and did an image search of myself on Google and found the cover for Telepathy: Phase 2. So sit back, relax, and wait to hear some of the most bizarre recordings I've ever made with The Mental Evolution Series.







Thus concludes our broadcast day.
Signing Off -
Astroid Andy

The Wait Is Almost Over: Febuary 2015 Update

It's been almost a year since my last update, and in that year I have only officially released one new EP, Room 302. Production on The Laceration Recordings is still ongoing, but the good news is the majority of the album is completed, and can be streamed now. I'm pushing for a February release. The reasons for the delays on the musical front is many: depression, writing and editing my story "Shadows" (which is now over 40 pages long), the release of Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix & Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition (these games have become something of a super obsession, consuming most of my downtime), work, and a slew of new books. I have been working on music, just not as rapidly as I am used to, giving myself more time to perfect the final product. The Laceration Recordings, as I reported last year, is a split album featuring tracks by Astroid Andy and Temple of Sloth. Jumping off from what I learned from Shadows, I have taken a more focused approach to music production, while integrating new elements previously un-utilized in previous albums. As for the story "Shadows", I can not determine how much longer it will be until I find a good place to stop. The good news is, by the end of Febuary, we will have a new album on our hands, which will most likely be followed up with an EP in tradition of The Sounds of Static EP & From the Shadows EP featuring remixes and B-Sides, as well as a few exclusive tracks. So stay tuned, I will do my best to keep things updated on a more regular basis as things progress. In the meantime, here, stream TLR now!

This concludes our broadcast day.
Signing off, this has been:
Astroid Andy

"The Laceration Recordings" is on hold, release date TBA. "Secret Album" Info. Astral Productions Updates: March 2014.

Astral Productions Presents: The Laceration Recordings. ALBUM UPDATE.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the split album, "The Laceration Recordings" to meet it's March 20th release date. I do have a few songs already completed for the project, but I don't think we'll be seeing it until late April to mid-May at the latest. I am still working on it, but it's a slow moving process as I want each song to really shine, and showcase what Astral Productions is capable of. The few songs completed are Temple of Sloth tracks, and honestly, they need a little fine tuning before I decide to unleash them upon my fellow Astral Projectors. No Astroid Andy tracks have been made for this project yet, either, so you can see why it's taking a while for it's release. I'll keep you posted and probably give you a teaser with a few Temple of Sloth tracks from the album before it's release.

The Astroid Andy "Secret Album".

 

Part of the reason why it's taken a while to complete "The Laceration Recordings" is because I have been working on a new album for Astroid Andy (like that page, damn you's!). I'm not going to divulge to much information about this new album, but it will be directly linked to the release of the story "Shadows" which will come with the album when you download it. I will also post the story, in "semi-chapters" under the Astral Publications site. The story is near completion, and is bordering on almost 30 pages. The story will be merely a chapter in the grand story that is "The Sloth Epic" which will include stories connected to albums such as The Sounds of Self Destruction , Sanctuary: City of Flames , Sanctuary: The Lost Reality , Decomposed , and The Manipulated Living . The entire epic will take me a few years to complete, and the ground work has been laid out a little in "Shadows", hinting at the fall of Sanctuary, and taking place after the events of Sounds. With all that being said, let us move onto...

Astral Publications Presents: Shadows.

 So as I said above, with the story of Shadows nearing completion, I will of course give the entire story away for free for those that download the "Secret Album" (which will contain two versions of the story, one of which will not be made available on Astral Publishing). Let me give you a quick description of the story.
Shadows focuses on an unnamed narrator as he tells his story of survival via journal entries. Our narrator wakes up one day to find himself locked in a hotel room, the door covered in a spiderweb of chains that are welded to metal beams on either side of the door. The window is covered in boards. The walls are covered in pages of books, journals, diaries, and newspaper articles. There are a stack of eight television sets stacked haphazardly in one corner with an old time radio that emits a constant stream of bizarre electrical glitches and static for days on end. The bathroom is filled with canned food, bottled water, and bags upon bags of pills. As our narrator slips in and out of reality, he finds himself in situations and environments that make no sense, further fueling his ever growing insanity. Along the way, he will cross paths with people and experience things that push the boundaries of what is real, and was is a fever dream. Will he ever find a true escape from the room? Will he find out how he was forced to be imprisoned in it? Will he discover the sinister meaning to all this seemingly endless insanity? 
Shadows is set to be released April 3rd, alongside the new Astroid Andy "secret album".


This concludes our broadcast day:
Coming to you live from Astral Productions,
This has been Astroid Andy,
Signing Out.

"Deeper Into This Madness" [2007] Is Now Up on Astral Publications!

A little while back, I started a new page called Astral Publications, which would serve as my main hub for all my writing. While I was digging through some old files on my computer, I stumbled across something very interesting. What I found was a piece I had wrote back in '07 entitled "Deeper Into This Madness", which was broken into two distinctly different parts. Part One is a series of memories written in great detail, little bits and pieces of my past brought to the present. Then we have Part Two, which is the best part, seeing as it has all my ORIGINAL poetry. I have also made this piece of work a bonus item for Astroid Andy's Shadows & From the Shadows EP that includes another (significantly smaller) piece of work from 2005/06, "Swallowed By Chaos" which is an experimental stream-of-conscious, poetry type of work. So swing over to Astral Publications and check out the newest arrival, "Deeper Into This Madness".

CLICK HERE TO READ "DEEPER INTO THIS MADNESS" NOW!


- Andy Day



P.s. The story for "Shadows" is coming along great. I'll start posting some of it once I get a better idea of cohesion and decide how to format it to convey the story the way I want it to be told. Keep your eyes peeled, you'll being getting a glimpse by the first week of March.