Rock + Ambient Music

I've been writing songs for fun since I was 16, but I've never played live or even been in a band.   My first stab at recording was for the 2007 RPM Challenge, which is the "Record-an-album-in-a-month" contest.   I've done RPM every year since then.   Participants record 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music in 28 days.   I couldn't get anyone to sing for me, so I had to do it myself.   My voice is just good enough for you to tell that I'm really trying but, just bad enough to be embarrassing.  

In 2007 I set out to make "techno-folk," combining synth-pop beats with indie-folk guitar strumming.   Many of the songs were too complicated for the simple equipment I was using, so in 2008 I stripped things down and made more of a Goth rock album.   I went in the opposite direction in 2009 by recording everything "live" using a video camera and only acoustic instruments.   In 2010 I got tired of listening to myself struggling to sing, so I went in the opposite-opposite direction and made an entirely electronic, instrumental album.  

For RPM 2011, I had even less time than usual (which is to say, less time than no time), so instead of recording my own instruments, I recorded a bunch of sounds and noises off YouTube and manipulated them.   It's either my best disc, or not even music.   It's too early to tell.   The album is subtitled "10,000 YouTube Videos," but I'm about 9,985 short.  

I don't think I'll ever do much with rock music, but it's been fun learning about songwriting, mixing, and recording techniques, and maybe someday I'll be in a real band, if I can find the time and people who can put up with me.   Below are many of the songs I've recorded over the years for RPM, plus some music I made as soundtracks for my own films, and some live recordings.

-Peter Kovic, February 2011