The_Story

The Story (so far)

...or what am I doing this for?

Introduction
The concept of Oenyaw began at the end of 2004. I had made a conscious decision to compose, perform
and record music as a solo artist three years before this. I had been studying sitar until time schedules
prohibited the education. The study taught me more about music in one year than I had learned in my
entire life; the techniques of playing, theories of performance and composition changed my view point on
music itself. I began practicing acoustic guitar in many different genres, blues, bluegrass, folk, and
ragtime, but I found myself selecting music on the basis of what some imaginary audience might
appreciate. It's akin to painting your house and selecting the color yellow because you think a higher
percentage of people driving by will prefer a yellow house over a green one. I had to be comfortable
with the music I was presenting. I had to be honest with and true to myself.   I've listened to many
different types of music from day one, and been drawn to electronic music since the 1960's.
Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" and Iron Butterfly's "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida" opened the path of
appreciation for Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk, just to name a few. Having a third
grade teacher introduce me to the art of Jackson Pollack yielded an influence and appreciation of
avante-garde works. The road that got me to this place of present occupation has had many influential
turns, and when you find that you are the type of person who's favorite Beatle song is "Revolution #9",
you must accept that you will never be satisfied playing in a A minor/G/F band.

Electronic Music performance and recording had long been and expensive journey to embark upon. A
few years ago, I began noticing the presence of the low-overhead performance, and certain products
have developed a media which is quite easy to work with. The ability to use a guitar as a primary
instrument over a synthesizer, the improvement in quality of small effects along with the ability to
interface a home computer to manipulate sounds, and proceed with mixing and recording has evolved the
entire process from massively expensive to incredibly affordable. One of the most overwhelming
feelings of awe came from the mathematical discovery of the MP3 formatted disc. No longer was I
limited to the 80 minute constraint of an album release.

The aim of Oenyaw lies in the production of music that provides an ambient background, unconstrained
by time through works that last longer than the average workday, or longer than the period of relaxation
the listener requires, or deserves.   Providing music that is not intended to attract total attention of the
listener, but music that the listener can enjoy, leave, and then return to. Music that is not composed for
the purpose of provoking awe from the listener, but music which could allow the listener to relax. I have
read many definitions of ambient music, my two favorites are "silence enhancement" and "music that
doesn't have to be listened to, but will present the listener with something of interest if the listener so
desires." Another aim of Oenyaw has prompted the formation of Oenyaw, LLC. A limited
liability corporation acting upon its own. Never wanting to be constrained by an outside force, as in a
record label or entertainment managers. Not that I have anything against the record companies of the
world, in fact, most of what I have learned is through studying these companies. In the twentieth century,
record labels were absolutely necessary for the production and sale of recorded music. The present
technology for recording, printing and marketing has made the need for a record company obsolete,
unless you desire a level of popularity that publishes your face on a calendars sold at department stores
across the country.

08/21/06
A Technological Dilemma
The good thing about being your own company is that no one tells you what to do. The flip side of this
advantage is that no one tells you how to do it. You learn by reading what ever information you can find,
and through trial and error. The first and second discs were recorded, each containing 10 hour of music.
Each transferred to MP3 format at 128 kbs. The sound quality seemed compromised, but due to the
repeated listening of each track, many times, hours of listening to each one, I would get to the point of
asking myself “Is it the disc, or is it me?” I learned that there is a grading scale of MP3 sound quality,
ranging from 128 kbs to 256 kbs. After learning this, I discovered that it was possible to transfer my
music to an MP3 format at 256 kbs, it just would not be possible to fit 10 hours of music on a
disc. So, since no one out there seemed to be rushing to buy a 10 ambient music MP3 disc, I decided to
sacrifice quantity for quality. The discs have been redone, at 258 kbs. They are no longer 10 hours in
length, more like 5 to 6.

Ambient Music, an introduction
Back in the 1960's, American radio was a different world. AM radio consisted of popular, rock & roll,
country & western, rhythm & blues, and news, sports and weather. FM was the music that was
associated with doctors offices, elevators, and shopping. A splendid example for those of you who are
either too young or don't wish to remember, is in the movie "Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love The Bomb". Peter Seller's character (as the British Air Force Officer) finds a radio
in a computer printer. He turns on the radio and music is heard. THAT was 1960's FM radio.
Background music. Among the original intentions of Ambient music, one was to replace that music.
My parents were suckered into buying a console stereo system once with the bonus of 50 free record
albums. The 50 free record albums were not albums that we could purchase from any store, but the
stereo stores albums, which consisted of nothing but background elevator music. My parents were quite
elated at this bargain, and took me in to select a few that I may have wanted. I may have been less than
12 years old, but I knew the real thing, and this was not it. After looking, I decided to be polite and pick
an album which had two extended cuts, one on each side. "Everybody's Talkin'" and "Theme from
Midnight Cowboy". I selected this one due to the length of the arrangements, thinking this should be
interesting. What I received was my first dose of ambient music. I can't say I like it particularly, but I
do wish I still had the record. I only listened to it a few times, and it would be interesting to hear it now,
picking out what elements had left their mark.

06/01/07
The Ambient Genre Label
I have begun to loose my fondness for the term and genre label of ambient music. I have always had a
problem with the classification of musical genres, even though they are necessary. The problem with the
developing ambient genre is that it has become a way of defining passages of music, interpretations of
music and potential marketing schemes. I have always considered the intention of ambient music as
being it's defining point. As music intended to be in the background. The definition has grown to include
music that winds up in the background, whether or not it is the intent of the artist. My opinion for this
newfound dilemma has been brought about by a few incidents. Reading books or articles which describe
everything in the terms of ambient, as if they are attempting to justify the existence of ambient
music by proclaiming something in a more popularly accepted music genre as ambient. Funny thing is
that a friend once made the comment that it is a genre of music in which selling 100 copies is a hit, and
selling 1000 copies is going platinum.

I'll pick on In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida again (only because I love it so much and Ron Bushy is such a swell
guy). It may be viewed as ambient now, but when Iron Butterfly gave birth to that work of art, I can't
believe they intended it to be background music.   I was personally introduced to the term ambient music
by Robert Fripp, who, in a collaboration Brian Eno, had stated an aim to replace music played in the
background in public areas (eg: shopping centers, elevators, health care facilities) with something more
pleasurable. As the times have changed, music now played in the background in public areas has become
everything from bluegrass to rhythm and blues to heavy metal. The music was replaced, but not with that
which Mr. Fripp or Mr. Eno had envisioned. The musical genre they created fell into the classification of
experimental or electronic music, and actually opened many doors, as well as many listeners to this
musical genre.   The problem arises when this musical interpretation begins to be overused, and grows
larger when the definition becomes argued over rules that are set within an art form that should not have
boundaries. When the lines are drawn in the sand, the playground is no longer a fun place to be.

Strategies in Marketing Music
Potato Chips. Let's say that you are a department manager in a really big store. Your area is snack
food. You know that there is a new potato chip that is better than potato chip ever made. Chun-yen's
Organic Potato Chips. They deserve an entry in the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Universe, they are so
good. The problem is that they are not advertised, so they don't sell that well. You, the manager, have
500 feet of shelf space. If you devote 5 feet of space to Chun-yen's Organic Chips, that is 5 space you
remove from the already 495 feet devoted to all those other brands that have been selling for years. The
brands that sponsor race cars, the brands that super heroes eat. It doesn't matter how you feel about
these chips, you will not be looked on favorably by the long line of superiors that you work for unless you
keep those chips moving. No matter how they taste, no matter what the nutritional studies from India are
proving, you will stock the best selling chips, if you want to keep your job.

Such is the case with everything everywhere. You are not going to walk into any store and find Russian
sci-fi films, obscure early seventies hard rock bands, complete selections of Legiti or Schoenburg, books
on esoteric philosophy, or magazines translated from other parts of the world so you can read another
cultures view point on global situations. You will find, however, in any store in the United States, many
different magazines reporting on what happened this week on various television soap operas, and the
daily life stories of stars and idols. The majority of the public is more apt to spend their money on
frivolous gossip than intellectually stimulating material. Supply and demand is why those
magazines cost so little, and college classes cost so much.

Oenyaw searches for his place
The major function I try to convey is that music is a form of art. I like to draw, and I consider my music
to be drawings. I happen to do these drawings without a constraint of time, for I do not believe it should
have a time limit. There is no reason for doing any act if the intention is to do that act merely to finish it.
"Hurry up and get it over with" translates to me as "don't take time to enjoy what you're doing, just do
it." Also, the question is not "How do I do a piece of music which has a long duration of time?" The
issue is more about allowing myself to create music that has a long duration of time. Another
development in my music is that the music itself has risen to a synergistic level along with the equipment
being used. I have found that if I try to force something to happen, it comes out as a contrived mess, not
worthy of being listened to a second time. If I allow the equipment to act as part of the composition itself,
than the music becomes more honest, more pleasant. If music can be composed to express the
dynamics, tone color, and range of a cello, than why can't it be composed to express those qualities which
exist in an electric guitar going through various effects such as distortion, flanging and reverb?

So, where does that leave me? I would like to be able to, or shall I say, there is a need to, classify my
music and place it into some type of genre. I consider it to be electronic music, but that has become beat
orientated dance music. I intended it to be ambient music, but as stated above, I'm just not that
comfortable there. I would like for people to listen to it.
Impressionism?
Surrealism?
Post 2K digitally enhanced sonic expression?
Avante-Garde Psychedelic Experimental?
Suggestions will be considered.

ta ta for now,
Oenyaw

Van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime. Knowing that is what keeps me going.

12/23/07
I am officially on the ride down to the big 50. I am now 49.5 years old. The weird thing is that I feel like
I'm just getting started, and I have a really good outlook on the coming year. I have completed a demo
disc which I am sending out for performance promotional purposes. As long as I feel they're getting
better, I will keep working on it. I have confronted myself lately with the possibilities of changing the
way I do things. Not in the respect of business, but from the artistic angle. Every time I do this, I end up
getting to a certain point and from deep inside, a voice cries out "It's good, but it's not 'Oenyaw'." I
stopped constructing the music and began "performing", that is, plugging in and hitting the record
button. It has been a rewarding and educational experience.I actually made a commitment to myself to
stop recording after "Songs of Praise and Torture" and then proceeded to record more in four months
than I usually recorded in a year. The two discs are entitled "A Line From a Pale Blue Dot" and "A
Party of One at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe."