Emerald City Productions

Imagination Album…..

by Stokes-Herbst on July 21, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

Why not try my latest Album ‘Imagination’-an Instrumental Electronic album-laid back & Cool www.downloadplatform.com/paul_stokes/

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Artistic License or the Norm??

by Stokes-Herbst on June 15, 2010

in Electronic Music, General, Music

Hi There,

Re-evaluating 18m 38s Electronic work. Question: does artistic artistic license need to be preserved against what is the musical norm or must we experiment at the expense of being accepted musically or financial success?  I go for the second as that leads to progress in art forms.  There is something to be said for both camps though.

As a practising musician, I think there is something to be said for the restraints of learning form and structure which give a form which can be understood by the masses.  If there is no form or structure which a human being can ‘put a coat onto’, there will be no understanding of the art work or anything which can be understood.  It would be like sending out a radio message in prehistoric times where there was no radio set with which to decode the message.  Similarly, music or art would be nothing if it was not there, even if someone said it was!  This argument does impinge a little on the modern thinking where I recently saw an example.  I do not decry the artist or his thinking in this example.  In MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) where 70 white canvasses had a very very faint almost translucent wash of ‘colour’ such that it barely could be said to be a painting.  No form, no structure-but the canvass.  The work had a discussion about a field of daises which put into the mind that it was meant to be that, however there was nothing to suggest it except imagination!  Was this art?  Is the mere projection of words into the mind ‘the work of art’ or can art be said to images projetced into the mind through whatever means are?  See (www.thisistomorrow.info/viewArticle.aspx?artId=358&Title=Felix%20Gonzales-Torres%20and%20William%20McKeown:%20A%20certain%20distance,%20endless%20light)

This was also previously done with music in the classic attempt by the composer John Cage (1912–1992) in his infamous piece 4′ 33″ where not a note was played!  Discussions still ‘rage’ about that.

The fact that there is a physical suggestion whether the paint or audible notes or sounds is important in my thinking.  An external input must be made that has form or structure of some kind otherwise there is nothing happening in front of you apart from your imagination!  Is imagination art?-categorically no-otherwise we would all be called artists.  Art must involve construction on the part of the artist to ‘direct’ the onlooker or hearer in some method to change perception. Art must encompass change in perception or direction otherwise nothing happens in the mind.  I would argue the ‘Field of Daises’ canvasses in MIMA relies only on what is already in the mind of the observer, and is therefore not art in reality.  John Cages piece 4′ 33″ only has audience noise and outside noise which are already perceived and been allocated to their respective memories in the brain with appropriate association-i.e. an eggcup is used for eating eggs-the ‘field of daises’ is only a field of daises till it is painted  in purple for example, changing perception.  In that way true art must alter the mind image whether visual or aural.

I move….

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Music and Art-’Moving Man’ in brief….

by Stokes-Herbst on June 6, 2010

in General, Music, Science

Is music more powerful than Art?  Is there anything that music can achieve that Art cannot?

The link between Music and Art is Man.  Man creates both and there is no true meaningful Art or Music without Man, although a singing bird or a mountain range inspires us to use the terms of Art and Music interchangeably.  Perhaps there is truth in the Christian view that God created it all for our pleasure and enjoyment, and in that sense there would be a mind behind it all.

Take the case where a Man/Woman is in love.  They have certain feelings that surface which accompanying their experience of unity.  However, their feelings may change during a period of disagreement and they find themselves in a different place emotionally that day.  One of them may choose to listen to the radio which plays a piece of music which brings a sense of forgiveness into the situation.  Reconciliation follows directly as a result of the Music.  You hear of this type of encounter all too often.

In 1830  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Auber” \o “Daniel Auber” Daniel Auber HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Muette_de_Portici” \o “La Muette de Portici” La Muette de Portici (opera — sparked the  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution” \o “Belgian Revolution” Belgian Revolution) as an example of the power of music on a gathering of people.  Was it the message or the combination of music and message?  Music here moved a nation into revolution.

Similarly in Art there are examples where the influence has moved nations as in the violent riots of the depiction of the prophet Muhammad (2005-2006).

What is going on in these examples?  The influence of both is monumental and can affect the direction of civilizations!   The Arts have been a touchstone as in the depiction of Muhammad in the opera La Muette de Portici where the opera is loosely based on the historical uprising of  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaniello” \o “Masaniello” Masaniello against Spanish rule in  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples” \o “Naples” Naples in 1647.

Clearly the Arts act as a centerpiece or focus, engaging both the critical faculties of the mind and the creative/emotional responses of the brain.  The two together seem to unite in an explosive mix that is able to have far reaching effects.

Recently scientific evidence has emerged where cows that are played classical music produce more milk and also students played classical music have higher marks during exams.   It has also been found that some music lowers the blood pressure, some affects the frequency and amplitude of the brain waves measured by EEG, and some lowers breathing rate and affect the electrical resistance of the skin!

Combine some of these effects with an Opera that has political connotations or Art that informs the sub-conscious or haves some Psychosocial effect, and there can enormous implications or results in the environment or the history of Man.

This is a short excursion into a whole area which partly science is trying to unify with experience and that can be measured to some degree, but there are areas that science will not address as real that I believe that are just as real and measureable, being the whole areas of the supernatural and God in the unseen (other dimensions) realms.


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Ophiuchus is long?

by Stokes-Herbst on June 4, 2010

in Amateur Radio

I have named a piece that I have written for my next EP Ophiuchus! It is 18m 38s long with undulating scenes and rythmns.  Its been a labour of love and it is what it is!  It is deliberately repetitive but has beautiful deep undercurrents of sounds with background inlaid notes!

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Album IMAGINATION release 10th June

by Stokes-Herbst on May 25, 2010

in Electronic Music, Music

Imagination was conceived by Paul Stokes as a Studio album (Glenmoor Studio’s) containing undercurrents of classical though remaining stronglyFront300Pix Electronic and New Age.  This is a release from his back catalogue where it is going to be more widely available for download.  It is being released by BelieveDigital on many download platforms.  Being well received by the public previously on a smaller scale, more people will be able to enjoy the album on major download platforms.  In small trials, Imagination has had critical acclaim by the public when played on Internet and Capital Radio etc.

Paul Stokes-Herbst (Paul Stokes) track record includes being in bands and writing music for the Media and solo albums.  His music can now be found in many countries around the world on film, shorts, advertising etc.  Crossrythmns says “here can be found a pile of influences coming together to make something new”. Imagination is Electronica but is Sc-Fi influenced, with crossing of musical boundaries, creating pleasant but creatively inspiring themes.  It will pull you out and in!

You are invited to explore perhaps deep parallel worlds or deep intertwining themes which will cause you chase dreams……in your head……  The album is available from most reputable digital download stores including itunes/Musiczeit/BelieveDigital and hundreds of  others.  Contact details follow below:

Hear at:

www.itunes.com/paulstokes

www.believe.fr/paulstokes

Album IMAGINATION Release!

by Emerald City Productions

Christmas in Narnia



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Hi,

I have been in the Music industry for more than 20 years working in rock bands that took me to playing to 15,000 people at a time, to the sole composer as I am at the moment.  The great change though came when I left the band and married and did family stuff!  But that was not the end of it.  I decided that Music was for me and that led me down ‘that’ path plus providence!   The ‘Holy Grail’ of recording at home without the high cost of renting recording studio’s and getting the quality music out there through contacts etc.

Fifteen years ago, cash in hand I started to look for a computer and the problems started!  PC’s then were in their infancy, and all the claims that were made about their ability in music recording terms were about as useful as a chocolate fireguard.  After 3 custom made PC’s at £1000 every time, failures in reliable recording without regular crashing and glitching were ongoing.  I became somewhat of an expert in all things PC, and was able to fix with time most faults whilst not writing music!  I was using Cubase at the time and gradually upgraded to Nuendo 2.  I thought that this final professional DAW would end my problems.

Then problems seemed to revolve around constant crashing or high latency with plug-ins etc.  Further there were problems with the Cubase/Nuendo 2 not performing tasks correctly or locking up.  These would especially be during working in the midi note edit page where dragging notes or selecting notes would lock up the PC.  One that was never solved, was recording midi in time with the click, then on playback it would be time shifted by 0.25s-by the way not my playing!  Whatever I did-offsets etc I never did solve it and I went over to Mac!

In more enlightened moments, I have wondered whether the PC processors/speed though powerful were just not fast enough for the programs and what was recommended. But then I ask why do the Mac’s work straight away out of the box?  Can anyone answer this?

It must be 10 years later after working with PC’s I found out that the Apple Mac’s existed!  It is only in the last 3 years, that I believed what I had been told by every musician worth his salt, that the ‘Apple Mac’ solution to music recording worked!’  Slowly in the past 2 years I have gradually migrated my whole studio to Apple Mac’s.  It has been a steep learning curve-in some ways-new architecture-new procedures-but worth every penny of it, and wish I had not believed the Windows-PC  evangelists brigade.

Looking back, if only I have spent the three grand on a decent Mac, and not on PC’s, I would still have the Mac and be working with it!  I have looked at the quality of build, their speed and seeming robustness of the Operating System.  Perhaps the wisdom of sometimes listening/researching all camps before taking the plunge and also cheaper is NOT always the cheapest option, long term!  Time is precious, and I am sad about the time lost, but perhaps in other ways, I learnt a lot about PC’S.

Logic Pro had been recommended to me and the moment I started hammering it-it held up with whatever I threw at it-or was it the Apple Mac? Whatever the combination I have never looked back-Logic Pro Studio is great, and so is the Mac.

Currently I am writing an LP/EP and have laid down 3 tracks.  I have invested in the Native Instruments Komplete 6 package and have used this as my main writing tool and find it fantastic.  Most of the sounds have been drawn from this stable so far and the sound bank is so vast that this is all I might ever need.  The tracks are Electronic in nature and the writing style.

I hope this little explanation of where I come from shows my hand well and helps in your journey.

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Quote! Unique Music!

by Stokes-Herbst on May 5, 2010

in General, Music

Whatever you brood on will hatch!-A nugget heard the other day-from my daughter!  Hey why not listen to my music www.itunes.com/paulstokes

Hear Zeon

Cheers

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Album ‘IMAGINATION’ release….

by Stokes-Herbst on May 2, 2010

in General, Music

Dream away.....
Dream away…..

Album ‘Imagination’ release (May-June)

Official Site: www.emeraldcitypro.co.uk or Blog: www.emeraldcitypro.co.uk Social Networking: www.facebook.com/paulstokes  www.twitter.com/paul_stokes   www.myspace.com/paulstokes

Imagination was conceived by Paul Stokes as a Studio album (Glenmoor Studio’s) containing undercurrents of classical though remaining strongly Electronic and New Age.  This is a release from his back catalogue where it is going to be more widely available for download.  It is being released by BelieveDigital on many download platforms.  Being well received by the public previously on a smaller scale, more people will be able to enjoy the album on major download platforms.  In small trials, Imagination has had critical acclaim by the public when played on Internet and Capital Radio etc.

Paul Stokes (Stokes-Herbst) ) track record includes being in bands and writing music for the Media and solo albums.  His music can now be found in many countries around the world on film, shorts, advertising etc.  Crossrythmns says “here can be found a pile of influences coming together to make something new”. Imagination is Electronica but is Sc-Fi influenced, with crossing of musical boundaries, creating pleasant but creatively inspiring themes.  It will pull you out and in!

You are invited to explore perhaps deep parallel worlds or deep intertwining themes which will cause you chase dreams……in your head……  The album is available from most reputable digital download stores including itunes/Musiczeit/BelieveDigital and hundreds of  others.  Contact details:

Email Paul Stokes: paulstokesx@ntlworld.com





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Jets grounded due to Ash deposits!!!!!!!!!!

by Stokes-Herbst on April 22, 2010

in General, Science

Hi,

Linconshire training Jets have been grounded today due to Ash Cloud deposits in their engines.  They were RAF Typhoons.  The base in Coningsby are checking all their aircraft after four were found to have ash deposits!  I think we should have been more cautious about going to fly jets straight away-does finance or government/people pressure/company pressure take precedence over life?  We don’t scientifically know the risks we are taking yet.  The CAA have only 3-4 days worth of evidence, and that is not enough.  This event proves the problem is more serious than at first thought, and we need more time!

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Hi,

Life is a combination of up’s and down’s, and I wonder how we treat the things that would trip us up in life?  Human beings as God’s Creation have a vast capacity to overcome.  There are those who have overcome immense difficulties in life to become ‘warriors’.  With everything ‘plain-sailing’ for we have lost the art of learning.  It has been said that we only learn through our mistakes, which I believe is true.  Churchhill commented on one of his Generals that he was like a ‘Iron Peg in Ice’-that is almost immovable.  Life is to be overcome-not for it to overcome us!

This Volcano for me adds that ‘variation’ in life-that ’spontaneous thing’ that can beautiful or tiresome or death for some.  Nonetheless, how we look at this can be negative or positive-you could look at the death side and claim all is not lost or the Life side (Which also my Christian beliefs hold true) and say there is always something of beauty and positivity to be found.  I have lost friends, had immediate family members incur brain damage, have had tragedy personally, but I can always see the positive in life.

It depends on what we ‘look‘ at what we ‘see‘.  When we are taught to ’see’ the best-suddenly it dawns on us that without difficulty their is no growth, no change, no modification of personally damaging behaviour etc.

Therefore to me, Volcano’s, hard things, penniless (I’ve been there) nature threatening and non-threatening or sheer beauty bring that spontaneity to life which brings that fun element or that depth of understanding which brings a richness and depth and joy.  Music quite specifically expresses that for me in a neat way-it is without words and therefore cannot be tainted by words which carry so much evil at times.  It can express goodness, Peace, joy, as well as great tragedies etc. I have written the Classical work ‘STORM’ as my first experiment into the expressing this ‘Torment’ side of Nature in weather.

Once again I hear the Ash Dust Cloud begin to bring that ‘British moan’ out in people-a lot of us have never had it so good!

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