My mind, much like my life, is a messy, disorganized, stained glass mosaic. There are so many people I want to be. So many places I want to go. So many ideals I wish to pursue… I’ve been fortunate enough over this summer to continue my pursuit of the next rest-stop of my journey. I can’t say that I gave my 100% every day- but the progress is absolutely shining through.
With that said, I know I still have a lot to continue working towards, and a lot to let go. I’m currently in a phase of simulatenous retrograde and metamorphosis. I’m slowly coming to terms with many ideals, and even slower still putting my creative energies into a stable medium. I do feel a little let down that I didn’t accomplish what I originally set out to do… However, I’m extremely thankful for the paths I’ve taken over the past few months- the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, the reflections I’ve had… At this exact moment in time, I can’t with any certainty promise a particular outcome. Hell, I don’t even know what outcome I currently want. This would be the perfect time to scrap this section of the website, and chalk it up to one of the numerous failures I’ve made in regards to my career… but I won’t. I’ll leave this as a moderate success. Maybe I won’t post every month- but I WILL post when there is reason to. Maybe I won’t be doing things the “standard” way- but as already discussed in Vlog 1, I’ve always been atypical, and I’m embracing it. Plus, it’s a great showcase to friends and students alike in regards to failing numerous times over. Eventually, I will be more than happy (and liberated!) to release Anastasia: Life After You, Love Letters To Suburbia, and the ever looming hypersigil that is 7 Minutes To Midnight- over five years in the works. These are my only current creative goals- goals that will only materialize when I’m of sound enough spirit and mind to pour my soul into them. I truly apologize to those select few that are actively watching and waiting from the sidelines. Please know that I TRULY appreciate you and your positive energy- even if it goes unspoken. I’m trying very hard to find myself and my way in this current season, and the fruits of my labor will surely not go unappreciated (as I’ve unfortunately feared for far too long). Suburbia is gone, but the memory haunts me every night. Soon enough, I’ll make everything right. Soon enough, I’ll reignite my Geist- and while you may be sick of hearing it, I’ll *eventually* be coming out swinging… Jut not Tonight. This is not an end… This is only the 100th beginning. Mark Alan Knapp Jr.
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Hey all! Unfortunately, I don’t have too much in regards to updates this month. Life has been pretty “bleh” recently, but I’m fighting hard to get things back on track. This time has definitely made me do some reflecting on who I want to be- but more specifically, what I want to be doing (both professionally and personally). I still don’t have an answer that’s grounded. I guess all I really want is to be happy- don’t we all. Nothing is going to stop me from finishing Love Letters or Anastasia, however! Minimal progress has been made, but the pace is slowly picking back up. These two projects are my biggest priorities, and will be the next two projects that I publish- I just can’t say with any certainty when. In the meantime, here’s a vocaloid cover I completed last week just for fun. I’ll continue marching forward, streamlining the process as I go. That’s the plan, at least. Thank you for your continued support.
Mark Alan Knapp Jr. Well, would you look at that- a blog post on time! I mentioned this project in my last vlog, and the *official* announcement is finally here! I am starting a soft retcon of my current studio discography, and with that, I introduce my upcoming “compilation album/first studio album of this part of my career”: Love Letters To Suburbia. Essentially, I would like to clean up what I’ve distributed over the past few years professionally. Now that I understand distributing, licensing, and myself a little better, (in addition to having the best production chops I’ve ever had), I’d like to remove some releases that I feel don’t necessarily need to be on Spotify, etc., anymore, as they don't represent me currently, or they would be better off at home elsewhere. I also wish to revamp some of my favorite tracks using my new tools- perhaps not completely re-record some songs, but also maybe! There is for sure one that is going to get a pretty heavy face lift… I truthfully can't say currently what all is going to go into this project. It'll be a fun surprise for all! Anyways, fun facts aside, here is the current tracklist for this album (order subject to change)! Love Letters To Suburbia: 1. Soundcheck//Dear Suburbia 2. Comeback Kid! 3. Insomniatic Holli 4. Melancholy Holli 5. Never Coming Back Home (Man Overboard) 6. Machines With Dreams and Parental Schemes 7. Everyone Wants To Make Music, But Nobody Wants To Be a Musician 8. Lazarus 9. The Party Song 10. Tell Me Who You Go With (And I'll Tell You Who You Are) 11. St. Augustine 12. Heartbreak Anthem 13. Read Between The Lines (Demo) As you can see, this release will feature mainly past 7 Minutes To Midnight music- The Sophomore Slump EP, The Suburbia Revisited EP, Heartbreak Anthem, and one previously unreleased song written circa August 2016. Oh, how time flies…
With all of this said, these releases, as well as a few others are going to be coming down from my platforms (Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, etc.) over the coming weeks. Some items may leave for a quick remaster- others for good. It’ll be a slow process, but by the time Love Letters is released, my released discography up to that point will be completely overhauled and finalized- finally making room for "new" music. In addition to the release, I plan on doing an extremely limited physical run of the album, with some other merch as well. This will all be explained during the album release livestream concert that is currently in the works- something I am EXTREMELY excited for! However- none of this can happen without the album being finished first! Do I have a current release date? No. My goal is to have it done by the end of summer, but truthfully it’ll happen when it’s meant to (as I’ve come to realize is true of everything). Make sure to check back every month (usually around the first) for update blog posts, as well as any other news that pops up along the way. Release date and livestream event date will be solidified well in advance- just let me get some good music finished up first! :) Thanks for your time, and I look forward to sharing this new era with you all. One of the many soft reboots I’ve done over the course of my career- starting from *almost* zero, if you will. “BIG THINGS COMING BABY!” Mark Alan Knapp Jr. Hey all! I apologize for already falling behind on the updates. Things should be much more monthly from here on out- I’ll be attempting to update near the beginning of each month, with the June album announcement being (roughly) the second weekend next month. Since March, I’ve completed all of the big milestones I needed to accomplish before moving back into a truly creative pipeline focusing on my original work. Things have become much more streamlined, time has been carved out, and I’ve already begun working on my two big summer projects. The summer is off to a promising start. I’m also very happy to announce the milestone of having my original score placed on TV One’s Fatal Attraction series (two episodes so far!). Watch one of the scenes below! Summer of 2023!Music wise, my next album will be announced next month as I previously mentioned. More details on that, the physical limited merch run, and the livestream release event will be posted roughly June 9th- give or take a few days. In the meantime, you may notice some of my releases being removed, renamed, re-uploaded… more on this next month as well! :) Game wise, I am putting a LOT of time and energy into getting my next game release, tentatively titled Anastasia: Life After You completed by the end of the summer. A non-visual novel, this game is more of an unorthodox psychological experience- while acting as a philosophical moment of introspection and self-evaluation, the soundtrack (of course) is the main draw. Some may remember hearing about a lot of this from my most recent YouTube Vlog (see below). As I stated, that video and this post go hand-in-hand. Make sure to give it a listen if you want some more in-depth information on these projects, as well as what to expect from me moving forward! In the near-ish future, I’d like to add a “subscribe” feature to this blog, so that those interested won’t have to blindly check every so often for updates, and will instead receive them via email. I will continue looking into this, as I have not had much luck up until this point.
I’ll also soon be embedding a link to my new Buy Me A Coffee page here on my website, so that you may donate if you enjoy the work I create. While not necessary, I truly appreciate any and all support. I’ll also release some random content throughout the summer- a cover here, an arrangement there. As should be realized by now, I am physically incapable of not creating. I live for putting my art out there, and am finally turning the heat back up on both creating and distributing it. Stay on the lookout for the album announcement next month, and more information on Anastasia in the near future! Thank you all for all of your support! Mark Alan Knapp Jr. Welcome to the newest (and perhaps, most exciting!) update to my website since its complete overhaul and re-skin over a year a go- a blog! Unlike the rest of my portfolio site, this blog is a much more personal area, so enjoy getting to read these personal, raw, and cringe words. Starting off strong already. Transparency has always been extremely important to me, though I've definitely lacked in actually following through with it. With this new addition to my website, my goal will be to keep those who are interested in all that I do up-to-date with current projects, upcoming releases, and perhaps even some behind the scenes fun. Who knows! I unfortunately have crippling perfectionist tendencies- so much so that I end up putting things off for way too long. However, I've learned over the course of my career that you don't learn anything unless you actually try. So, this blog is my first real attempt at maintaining transparency with those who enjoy the work I do. I'll admit right now that it might end up failing, and it may not be the "fix all", "most amazing thing ever", and that's completely alright. If it succeeds, then it has accomplished its goal! If it doesn't succeed, then I'll take my newfound knowledge, adapt, and continue to learn and grow- pretty much win-win regardless. My aim is to post ~roughly once a month with overall updates on current projects and timelines. Other reasons for posts would be big news, teasers for upcoming *secret* projects, and perhaps (in the future) a more "traditional" blog. Who knows! Only time will tell. So... what's the update for March 2023?!Glad you didn't ask!
My top priorities professionally are as follows:
Yeah... for those who know me well, I'm still a masochist. All of this (and probably a few other dozen things) while working a full-time job, part-time job, contract work, and a plethora of other things. But hey, I've never been the one who just settled for the ordinary. :) The timeline for these goals is to be finished by the beginning of May. The summer holds some... very exciting ventures. I think that's a good point to conclude this initial post. This is only the beginning on the 50th version of my lifelong journey, but I'm very excited for what the future holds! I hope you are too, because the media (delivered via a few different mediums) isn't slowing down. Quite the contrary, I'm more psyched than EVER to continue releasing my art into the world. Specifically, an album that I've been putting off for over five years. An album that... well, let's just say when it comes out... I think long time acquaintances will know where I'm going here. But as for everyone else... it's going to come out swinging. ;D Catch you all later! Mark Alan Knapp Jr. |
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