This was an interesting year for me, musically.

Bill Van Loo album update – May 2012

I started a new album project in the first 5 months of the year with high hopes of having it done in 12 months (see album updates for January, February, March, April, and May), then I had to put it on hold due to graduate studies and teaching work (see “teaching” year in review for details). I hope to return to this material in early 2013.

Linen Ray (Ypsilanti, MI) – Band Promo Photo

I also worked on recording and engineering with Linen Ray, a musical project by my good friends Gabriel and Rebekah Craft. I’ve been playing electric and lap steel guitar, and helping them get overdubs recorded.

working on Company 7 material

We finally finishing up the Company 7 recording, concluding with some sweet Rhodes and organ overdubs by Ben King. Next up for that project is getting our tracks mixed down and released. Exciting stuff!

Dan Lukas “Tether” remix

I’ve been working (slowly!) on a remix for Dan Lukas‘s “tether” project. Hopefully will be finishing this up soon!

guitar rig at Bethesda

I continue to play guitar at Bethesda, slowly adding more loops and textures to the mix along as I enjoy the opportunity to worship and serve.

As I mentioned in my last blog post about my music, I’ve been working on a new solo album during 2012. Here are links to my last few updates, which I’m hosting on my label site, chromedecay.

January 2012 album update

February 2012 album update

March 2012 album update

Most of my previous work as a solo artist has been doing strictly instrumental electronic music. The biggest departures from that were the two ambient guitar records I produced (“6 strings for a winter’s day“, and “the ghost of an idea“), and even those use lots of electronic production.

As you may be able to gather from my talk of “songs”, and from all the guitar you see me playing in these videos, this new record will be a departure, or perhaps an evolution, from my electronic music. There will still be electronic production and sounds, and a big focus on the textures that are a defining part of my previous work. However, I’m really excited to work on some songs for this record.

One of the most helpful things I’ve ever read as a creative person was Twyla Tharp’s “The Creative Habit“. In her book, Tharp talks about knowing how you see the world and how that translates in your art. I realized that I tend toward the wide-angle view, taking in textures, ambience, setting, season, and location. The titles of my previous work is a testament to that (“Autumn DSP”, “6 strings for a winter’s day”, “raindays”, etc).

This new work, in the other hand, seeks to build up that backdrop of location and ambience, and put something personal and intimate in front of that. Not everything in the record will likely have lyrics and singing, but some of it will. This is shaping up to be the most personal record I’ve ever made, and I am excited about the possibilities of it.

I’ve decided to record a new solo album during 2012. More details and an announcement video can be found on my label’s site, chromedecay:

http://www.chromedecay.org/2012/01/03/new-bill-van-loo-album-announcement/

This record will be composed, recorded, and produced during 2012, with monthly updates to be posted. I’m really excited about this project; I intend it to be deeply personal, spiritual, and to be a true reflection of my wide-ranging musical sensibilities.

As in many years past, I’ve compiled a list of what music really grabbed hold of me this year. 2011 saw me spending much time working on one musical project (company 7) to the exclusion of much else, but this is what I listened to the most.

Albums

Gungor: Ghosts upon the earth

An absolutely stunning record from start to finish; it is, by turns, melancholy, hopeful, dense, orchestrated, and deep. See also my notes (below) on their live performance.

Owl City: All Things Bright and Beautiful

A wonderful bit of synth-pop; this was the soundtrack to much of my summer.

Foreign Exchange: Leave it all behind

Thanks to the well-stocked collection of the Ypsilanti District Library and Spotify, I never actually bought this, but still managed to listen to it a ton. Such smooth and soulful stuff, almost perfect modern R&B.

Sara Groves: Invisible Empires

Sara Groves writes amazing songs, and this record is no exception.

Black Dub: Black Dub

A stellar piece of work from Daniel Lanois, Trixie Whitley, and the rest of the players Lanois assembled for this.

United Pursuit Band: Found

This is a more atmospheric, ambient release from United Pursuit (a favorite for several years). Excellent stuff.

Josh Garrels: Love & War & The Sea Inbetween 

I came across this thanks to Josh’s contribution to the Mason Jar Music Presents series of live videos performances and his album being released free on NoiseTrade. Highly recommended. (See also the whole Mason Jar Music Presents and Serialbox Presents series for a take on what the future of music looks like – independent bands, careful and artistic use of the revolutionary new HDDSLR filmmaking gear, and a DIY ethic and aesthetic. Inspiring).

Live Performances

I managed to see some amazing live performances this year, happily by some of the artists who made my favorite records this year as well!

Sara Groves (Muskegon, MI)

Sara Groves writes the songs of my married-with-kids life. She is a remarkable performer who invites you to become part of her family for a time while she’s on stage. My heart was filled with joy at the chance to see her again in the same small venue that my wife and I saw her at in 2005. Truly a special night of music and worship.

Gungor (Royal Oak, MI)

Even though Gungor was technically an opening act for David Crowder*Band (who put on a great show in their own right), Gungor really was what stood out for me from this show. Tremendous musicianship, and a masterful performance.

Vitek (Ypsilanti, MI)

My band, Company 7, had the opportunity to open for Vitek, and we were all blown away by what great performers they are. Amazing musicians.

Black Dub (Detroit, MI)  

This was truly a treat: a chance to see Daniel Lanois at the helm of his own live band in a small setting (Magic Stick in Detroit). Heart and soul music.

As I’ve done for many years now, I present you my top records for 2006. Since my days of buying massive amount of vinyl and other recorded music are gone, my lists tend toward “records that were important to me in the year gone by”, instead of trying to list the best music released that year. Most years there have been 10 on the list, this year there are only 9.

Therefore, most of the records in my list were not released in 2006, but instead this list is about what mattered to me this year. I hope you enjoy it.

Sara Groves – Add to the Beauty
This is probably the record I listened to the absolute most in 2006. I got a preview of it at the Sara Groves performance I attended in the summer of 2005, and for whatever reason didn’t pick it up when it was released in October 2005. I finally got a copy via LaLa, and it was pretty much a permanent resident in my CD player from that point on.

Procussions – 5 sparrows for 2 cents
“5 sparrows…” has its ups and downs, but when it’s up, it’s fantastic. The opener, “Shabach”, is probably my favorite hip-hop track of the year, seeing all 3 Procussions emcees trading verses off over a ridiculously good beat. Mr. J hits hard as always on the closer, “American Fado”.

Deadbeat – New World Observer and Wild Life Documentaries
Wild Life Documentaries was on my top 10 list the year it came out, and I returned to that material in a big way this year. I finally got New World Observer, and am also really enjoying that, though at this point I think Wild Life Documentaries is still my favorite of the Deadbeat full-lengths.

David Crowder*Band – A Collision [or, 3+4=7]
I got this in the last few days of 2005, so it got the vast majority of its play in 2006. It’s really all over the map stylistically, which I like, and has some great songs.

Sleeping at Last – Ghosts
I got to see Sleeping at Last live in the summer of 2005 and finally got “Ghosts” this year. It reminds me a lot of Hum, whose “You’d Prefer an Astronaut” record wowed me back when I first heard it. That’s not to slight Sleeping at Last, just to say that the influence runs strong. “Currents”, the second song from “Ghosts”, is phenomenal.

Denison Witmer – Philadelphia Songs
Such sad, sweet music. This record took a while to grow on me, but I went through a phase where I listened to it a ton over a few weeks in 2006, and have come back to it several time since.

Fognode – Porch Music EP
A free download offered by Fognode, this set of gorgeous ambient guitar pieces was a definite influence on my own “6 strings for a winter’s day” that I released at the end of January 06. I had these tracks going a lot during studying or reading this year.

Paul Simon – Surprise
A new Paul Simon record? With tons of help from Brian Eno? Sounds interesting, and it is. It seemed like Paul Simon jammed a few too many ideas into one song during the first half of the record, but the production is great, and there are some wonderful lyrical bits in there, too.