Imperium Vorago now available for digital download

A small update - I've just uploaded my first CD, Imperium Vorago (2004) for digital download. You can get it for £5.00 here!

For people overseas!

Hey all - I hope everyone had a great Christmas! It was nice to have a rest but I'm kind of looking forward to picking up the pace again. So much to be done! Anyway, just a quick note regarding overseas orders placed before Christmas.

If you haven't received your CD(s) yet, there are a couple of reasons why this may be: some orders were placed on, or after the date for last Christmas post in the UK. So while they were taken to the post office the day they came in, they might not have left them straight away. We also had some pretty crazy snowfall and anyone who knows anything about England knows, all it takes is a little bad weather to bring this place to a grinding halt!

So, that said, post should be operating as usual starting from today (yesterday was a bank holiday). If you placed your order before Christmas, and it doesn't arrive within 5 - 10 days please just let me know and I will send another out to you right away. I can also arrange for free download links if you want to listen to the album ahead of its arrival.

Hopefully there shouldn't be too many of you still waiting but, if you are - thanks so much for being patient!

- Paul

At the Dream's Edge, now available for digital download!

Hey all! It's taken a little while to sort, but the new album is now available to buy as a digital download direct to your computer as 320kpbs MP3! If you're already at the site, you can find a link to buy at the top of this page, otherwise point your browser here. As usual, any problems - just shoot me a message using the contact form :]

- Paul

International orders

Hey everyone! Just a quick update for those of you outside of the UK who haven't received your CD's yet - there are various cutoff dates around Christmas after which anything posted won't leave the country until the start of January. For Australia, I think it was half a week or so before I put the word out about the CD. For America, it was pretty much bang on, so it remains to be seen if some made it in time. Otherwise, if you're still waiting, your CD is on its way :]

If, after Christmas, it still hasn't arrived, please let me know. I'll be posting an update here as soon as I hear they're starting to filter through to other countries, so that should give you an idea of whether anything has gone awry or not.

Thanks again for the patience and more importantly for the incredible support! It's been an absolutely amazing start (almost!) to the new year because of it!

- Paul

One more update:

I've added a new item: At the Dream's Edge + Imperium Vorago. If you've already bought one with separate postage, please get in touch with me and I can either arrange for a discount on the postage/price of the next release, or PayPal you back the difference! Just use the contact form on this website!

Orders for At the Dream's Edge

First of all I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has ordered so far. The response has been absolutely awesome, and as I've said on a few forums, way better than could have imagined :] It's also meant it's been a bit of a mammoth task to get it all flowing but the first wave is out today. So apologies for those of you who ordered on the very first day and still haven't received it yet. Your orders are all being seen to in the order that they came in and it will get much, much quicker.

Thanks so much again for the support, and for the patience. As a side note I'll also be releasing some exclusive downloads just for you guys - possibly EP length if all goes to plan. So keep an eye on your emails!x

"At the Dream's Edge" - ready for order :]

Okay...short version: it's done! You can buy my second CD "At the Dream's Edge" here. Be sure to choose your location - it's the only way I can counter for postage at the moment but I'll work on something a little more elegant soon! I'm also in the process of sorting out online distribution, so if CD isn't your scene - no worries! Best bet is to follow me on Twitter and you'll know the second it's available at iTunes/Amazon etc.

I would like to say an unbelievably massive thank you to the many people from all over the world who have put up with my glacial rate of progress and stayed enthusiastic about this CD over the last few years - you all know who you are! The support and appreciation of my music (even when I'd effectively stopped making it!) has been beyond kickass.

So, play it loud, spread the word and most importantly, enjoy the music!

- Paul

For the curious, an interview!

I took a few minutes out to answer 10 questions for Chris of Spinelanguage, and you can check it out here! Enjoy :]

"Under One Sky" finished and uploaded...

And of course, with me "finished" doesn't quite mean "finished" :) But there are only a couple of small tweaks to be made before it's CD ready. So much for holding out until the CD is ready!

"Harvey Wallbanger" - a video for your eyes!

Tune in to BBC Radio Essex tonight, 7PM GMT

Just a quicky to let you know that you can catch the song "At the Dream's Edge" tonight on BBC Radio Essex's Introducing/Unsigned hour @ 7pm! Very pleased to get some air time for a 3rd week now, so once again a massive thanks to the DJ's for picking my song! So if you're by a radio, tune in, enjoy the music, and by all means text or mail some monkey love to the station!x

**Edit: you can also send any comments or requests to essex.introducing@bbc.co.uk!

Thought I'd take the quickest of breaks from recording to say a huge thanks to all of the people who took the time to listen to Supererogation on BBC Essex's 'Introducing' on Friday. I've had some really great feedback, so it's much appreciated. Also a huge thanks to the DJ's Mike and Ollie for choosing the song for a second week!

If you missed the show you can listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p004xz0s/Essex_Introtducing_06_11_2009/

Cheers again - hopefully there will be more Chimp on the airwaves soon :] Now, back to work!

Last update before super happy CD time!

Hey all - okay first up, there's a new track uploaded called "Far From Home" (some of you may know it as SRMV, an old clip that was kicking around for the longest time!). It's going to be a prelude to Terminus on the new CD, and the back story ties up quite nicely. Should sound pretty cool.

Now - as for 'At the Dream's Edge', I'm at the point of having only 2 more tracks to push past the 3 - 4 minute mark and then it's done! There are a few things I'd like to include if I can, but I'm setting myself a deadline here. 5 years is long enough. So, this will be the last update until the CD is ready to buy. I'll sit on the new finished songs until then, so hopefully there will be some nice surprises!

So it's back to the studio (see: bedroom) to get this done. Wish me luck :)

A nice little surprise...

For anyone in or around Essex, you can catch 'Supererogation' tonight at 7pm during the 'Introducing' Unsigned hour on BBC Essex! Perhaps go for a drive, whack it on, and pretend you're in a flying taxi/delorian/other :]

New track finished (well...99%) and uploaded...

Hey all! I've uploaded a fairly complete version of a new song 'Harvey Wallbanger' (although I have other titles in mind for it!). You can find it at MySpace and Soundclick. A few things are likely to change but I'm impatient...and at least it'll leave an element of surprise when it's on the CD ;]

Oh and also, I thought I'd just share some test renders I put together to get a feel for the theme and artwork to go with it. I tried to put them in this post but completely butchered it, so they'll be over in the downloads area!

AMC 3 released

The final pack in the Ambient Metal Constructions series is now available at Producerloops.com! You can check out an audio demo and a free 30MB sampler here.

Work has already started on the next sample pack...sufficed to say, it's going to be completely different. But I'll keep quiet on that one until it's ready. Enjoy!

"At the Dream's Edge" - Progress

Here we go - a makeshift track listing, and progress update. Almost there...I can feel it. And it feels good. Like an awesome sneeze.

Supererogation [ finished + extended intro ]
Yellow Jacket [ 30% ]
All Roads Lead Here [ 85% ]
Probe's Day Out [ 30% ]
At the Dream's Edge [ finished ]
The Mirror [ finished ]
Harvey Wallbanger [ finished ]
Bad Code [ finished ]
Welcome to the Fold [ 75% ]
Mad Touch [ 30% ]
A Song for Heroes [ 90% ]
Terminus [ finished ]
Under One Sky [ 75% ]
All Good Things [ finished ]

As a maybe, "SRMV" should make an appearance but only if I can past the intro.

The order might change, as might some of the titles, and there might be a couple of new additions in the form of some ambient/mellow tracks but, that's more or less it!

I say it on a regular basis, but a huge thanks as always to the people who continue to buy my first CD, and remain patient with me and my terrible rate of progress. It's been a really long time coming but I hope it's going to be worth the wait. Now to make the final push...

New rough/demo clip uploaded

The product of a little midnight riffing - not entirely sure where this is going to fit in with the other material, but I already have some cheesy and strangely upbeat melodies in mind for it. For now the second half is just the first repeated but I'll think of something cooler :] Enjoy!

"Harvey Wallbanger" Soundclick Player

A quick/important note regarding Ambient Metal Constructions

I've had a few messages from people who have spotted this riff from my Soundclick page in various places. I actually ended up recycling this idea and using it as part of the Ambient Metal Constructions pack, which is sold as a royalty free song construction set, so nothing has been infringed upon. I'll add a note to the upload later on today just to clarify this - either that or take it down completely. Not sure which yet!

I'm ever grateful to people who take the time to let me know when my ideas do crop up in unexpected places, and it's been of great help to me many times. If you do think you've spotted something chimpy, by all means PM or email me! If you have any questions over the usage of sample packs, your best bet is to contact Producerloops directly.

Chimp's August Update...

Hey all - just a little bit of news for this month. First of all, my Ambient Metal Constructions 2 sample pack was recently reviewed in Music Tech Magazine. I'm expecting one from Keys Magazine (Germany) also, but in the meantime you can check out the review, listen to some demos and buy the product at the Producerloops website. For anyone wondering what exactly it is...think Legos. But instead of plastic bricks, pirate ships and those neat satellite dish things, it's small chunks of guitar, bass, drum and synth loops.

Secondly I'm pleased to announce that I've just signed a publishing agreement with Giant Client Publishing/In The Groove Music. Their clients have included ESPN, BMW, MTV, CBS and more companies with more acronyms than I care to remember! Does this mean Chimp Spanner will be the soundtrack to the next Hoverboard Championships? Who knows. But hopefully the year ahead will prove...interesting.

For now it's back to work. Keep an ear out for a new song at the weekend!

**New song uploaded**

Hey all - you can hear the latest track from the new album, "At the Dream's Edge" at MySpace and Soundclick! Still a few adjustments to be made but I'm close to putting this one to bed. Enjoy!

Update on patch issues, and Computer Music reviews AMC2!

It's been quite a while since I added anything to the site, so here's a quick update!

First of all I've had a few emails regarding my Line6 patches not working with the XT series, but it now seems to just be a software issue. The patches will not work with Line6 Edit, but they will work with Gearbox, on the XT/Pro/Live. The dual tone patches, of course, will require the X3.

Next up, 'Ambient Metal Constructions 2', my second sample pack with Producer Loops, has received an 8/10 from this months Computer Music; it's great to see that there's room for heavier music in the sample market alongside mainstream styles! So feel free to head on over there and check out the demo clips. All Producer Loops products are available as direct downloads so it can be yours in just a few minutes.

Lastly, the new album is still in progress and is up to about 50 minutes. I'll have at least one new track to upload by the end of the week. Work slowed down on it briefly while I've been preparing some of the tracks for a potentially exciting new venture...but more on that when it's good to go!

That's all for now, and as always, thanks for your patience with the new material!

IE6 issues

Just a quick update - I've altered the site to be compatible with Internet Explorer 6. It turns out it doesn't support transparent .png's, so I've had to switch to .gif. The banner is slightly less attractive but it's a fair trade off for people being able to read the site! Any other display issues, just let me know.

Professional Services page finished + showreel clip

Click here to check it out. The showreel contains some stuff you might have already heard, but I'll be uploading some new material when I get the chance!

All Roads Lead Here - a work in progress update...

Just a small teaser clip of the new (and almost finished) track, All Roads Lead Here. I'll put it up at the MySpace and SoundClick sites too but the .com gets it first!

[ Download ]

Enjoy!

Better late than never...

The Chimp now has a blog! I feel so mainstream all of a sudden...

Anyway, some general news - work is picking up again on the new album, and the total number of finished tracks is standing at around 6 (7 at a push) plus a handful of 50-75% finished songs, so it's fast approaching album length!

The next step is naming the sucker; I might even open it up for suggestions so if you've got any awesome ideas just shoot me a message using the contact form.

It's been suggested that as well as patch/tone downloads I should also include TAB files, so keep an eye out for those.

Lastly, you can now buy bottled Chimp! By which, of course, I mean the second installment of the Ambient Metal Constructions series at Producerloops.com. You can check out demos as well as a staggering number of other royalty free sample products.

That's all for now!