Downtime

Downtime

Downtime Plug-in Capture
Downtime is released today and it’s the first in a new collection of instrumentals, inspired by some of my favourite artists like Herbie Hancock, Wally Badarou, Urbanator and many more.

This is a fun little project that I can create entirely ‘in-the-box’ and to show how in-the-box it is, the video is made up of a lot of the plug-ins used in creating this piece. Here’s a list of all tracks in my DAW, plus I had SSL Native Bus Compressor, XLN Audio RC20 Retro Color, UJAM Retro Finisher, iZotope Audiolens, iZotope Ozone Elements, iZotope Ozone Vintage Limiter and the Logic EQ and Compressor on my Bus.

This is my take on Jazz-Fusion and it very much sticks to a jazz format, with the main melody at beginning and end and a couple of lead sections in the middle. Looking forward to playing this with a band, or hearing another band play it in their set!

The artwork was generated by AI in Canva and the video created using HitFilm Express.

It’s available from today on my Bandcamp store and from 23rd February 2024 on all other stores and streaming sites.

Bring Those Good Times Back

Bring Those Good Times Back

Bring Those Good Times Back

(with Matt Johnson and Derrick McKenzie)

Atheen - Bring Those Good Times Back

iTunesSpotify

Spotify | Bandcamp | iTunes | Deezer | Amazon

The new single, Bring Those Good Times Back, has launched today! It’s always an exciting time releasing any music, but this feels particularly special as I have some exceptionally talented musicians contributing to it.

Ever since getting into music, it’s been the dream to be part of the ‘Jazz-Funk / Acid Jazz’ gang and I’ve previously been lucky enough to have musical contributions from Nick Van Gelder, Gary Barnacle and Johnny Thirkell. I was overjoyed when Matt Johnson and Derrick McKenzie agreed to play on the track. Right away they got the vibe that was needed and I have to say that I’m so happy with the end result. It was an absolute joy to work with such professional and experienced musicians and I hope there will be many more opportunities in the future.

Of course, I couldn’t do a track without my trusty buddy Gaz Rackham on bass, his playing still leaves me in awe after 20 odd years and to finish it all off I tracked down Jack Pennifold to play guitar, as I’d been so impressed with his professionalism and his robot timing on the previous track (listen out for those guitar triplets, awesome!)

Mixing Jazz-Funk to give it a retro vibe while still being fresh and modern enough to end up in Nu Disco playlists is quite a feat but Jez Larder at Skyline Studio did just that, a very talented mix engineer that I highly recommend.

So there we are. It took a while as these things are cash and time hungry when you’re an independant musician, but I now have enough tracks in the repertoire to get out on the road! 🙂

The video above is the Nu Disco remix, you can view the original mix here.

Track Credits

Written and Produced by Atheen.
Keys by Matt Johnson
Drums by Derrick McKenzie
Bass by Gaz Rackham
Guitar by Jack Pennifold
Mastered by Jez Larder at Skyline Studios
Video elements by Canva / Veed.io

New Single Preview

New Single Preview

Really excited to share this preview of the new single with you! Back when I started this entire project of inviting guest artists from the world of Jazz-Funk to play, I had no idea if anyone would say yes. Now here we are at the 4th single release with contributions by Matt Johnson and Derrick McKenzie of Jamiroquai!

Gaz Rackham and Jack Pennifold are completing the lineup for this release and it’s mixed by Jez Larder at Skyline Studios. So incredibly grateful to everyone that’s contributed, so proud of the end result and looking forward to sharing the full track with you later this week.

Neon City – Lofi Chillout

Neon City – Lofi Chillout

While I love doing tracks with guest artists and have more planned (I’m in the studio finishing one off right now!), these things take a huge time and cash investment so I wanted to release some tracks that I can create with just a laptop, headphones and a controller keyboard.

The first is Neon City, a lo-fi, lounge type chillout track that still lets me noodle on some favourite plug-ins, including my EastWest Bosey, Arturia Rhodes and Alchemy synth. I’ve chucked some XLN Audio RC-20 across the mix for a splash of retro grit. The old cartoon character also got revived.

Best listened to in a dark room with rain outside and a lava lamp on – enjoy! x

Mercy Mercy Mercy – Keyboard Tutorial Video

Mercy Mercy Mercy – Keyboard Tutorial Video

For a while now I’ve been wanting to put some keyboard tutorials online but copyright was always an issue – to get an MCPS license was far too expensive for this type of project. Then along came wearethehits.com, a company that has negotiated a deal with publishing houses to ensure the songwriter / composer gets paid, but also allows the video content creator to earn a little for their work – win win! wearethehits were started within Sony, but became independent in order to add more publishing houses and grow their available catalogue.

Here is the first of the tutorials, Mercy Mercy Mercy by Joe Zawinul. Hopefully this format is helpful but I’d welcome your feedback on my YouTube channel! x

CME Xkey 37 Controller Keyboard Features Demo

CME Xkey 37 Controller Keyboard Features Demo

I was fascinated by the CME Xkey as soon as I saw it and couldn’t wait to try it. Here was something that could easily be packed into an overnight bag alongside a laptop and headphones, so that keyboardists could work anywhere. This short video demonstrates the main features and shows how versatile this piece of kit is. It takes a little getting used to but has allowed me to compose a lot of tracks on the road that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

This was originally posted on my keyboardist channel.

Stronger – Modal Mix

Stronger – Modal Mix

Hey folks! First up a warning, this video contains some strobing effects!

I’d been wanting to do my own remix to this track to give it more power in the chorus so here’s the result, I hope you like it. It still features the fabulous Johnny Thirkell on brass!

The video is my little attempt at a VJ Video, using clips from Storyblocks. Being a sci-fi fan I’ve always wanted robots in a video so here they are 😉 x