barryvan

Category: Albums

  • The stars above him

    The stars above him

    I can’t really pinpoint the inspiration for this song. The lyrics seemed to come almost fully-formed to me once I’d written the main verse melody. It’s not autobiographical, or even biographical; rather, it’s an exploration of my own understanding of how people can be driven to take extreme actions.

  • Tribulation

    Tribulation

    A lot of my songs recently have been about mental health, anxiety, and depression. This song explores what it feels like to be “trapped by your own mind” — when you feel as though you’re your own enemy, and have to fight against yourself to just get through the day.

  • Autumn Heart

    Autumn Heart

    This is really my first track with actual singing. 😱 (Yes, that’s what I look like when I sing…)

    I wrote this song to explore depression and anxiety. When you have a depressive episode, it feels like a pit you’ll never be able to climb out of — even though you know from past experience that it will pass. It helps to have someone who’s always on your side, no matter what.

    For more places to listen, try your favourite streaming service, or check out https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/barryvan/autumn-heart.

  • More music on Bandcamp!

    I haven’t updated my Bandcamp page in several years… But that’s just changed! I’ve uploaded music from the last year or so there. So now you can download it in super-high fidelity, store it on your hard drive, record it to tape for your Walkman sessions… The sky’s the limit!

  • Liminal: Four new tracks

    Liminal: Four new tracks

    I’ve just released four new tracks to tickle your earballs! They mix a lo-fi retro vibe with more modern instrumentation and sounds.

    Listen on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Music, YouTube… wherever you like to listen. 😉

    …or just use the embedded YouTube player below!

  • TrackPerformer update

    I’ve added in some really exciting new features to my TrackPerformer project, as well as three new performances: We Three Kings, Carol of the Bells, and Joy to the World.

    Filters

    It’s now possible to add filters, or effects, into the processing chain. These filters can be applied before any performers (pre-filters) or after all performers (post-filters). At the moment, the included filters are:

    • FPS: Calculates the average framerate across the performance, optionally displaying it in a DOM element.
    • Grid: Draws a grid to the canvas. The grid may be a simple intersection grid (points), or lines. Both the X and Y axes may be independently configured.
    • Pick: Probably the most interesting (and processor-intensive) part of TrackPerformer. The Pick filter will randomly swap a pixel with one of its neighbours. It’s used at full intensity on both We three Kings and Joy to the World, and, when toned down a little for Carol of the Bells, provides a softening, organic effect.

    I’ve got some ideas for more filters down the track… The only difficulty is keeping performance acceptable: manipulation of the canvas pixel by pixel is quite slow in current browsers.

    Performers

    There are a couple of new performers, and some minor updates to some of the existing ones. The Oscillator performer, in particular, is rapidly becoming the most flexible and useful of the performers.

    • There’s a new ShimmerGrid performer, which is great for adding texture and movement to the entire canvas. You can see it in action particularly well on Joy to the World.
    • The Swarm performer can now draw its particles as knots (like the SignalTracker), as well as as dots.
    • The Oscillator now has the ability to draw sustained notes, and to increase the longevity of notes. Take a look at Carol of the Bells to see these new options in use.
    • Notes can now be filtered based not only on their pitch, but also their velocity (volume).

    There are a couple of other changes here and there, but these are the main ones.

    We Three Kings

    The three new example tracks are all taken from We Three Kings, my new Christmas remix album. Why not go and have a listen?

  • Emmanuel: God with us

    My wife and I have just finished our Christmas carols album, “Emmanuel: God with us”. On it, you’ll find brand new orchestral arrangements of ten great carols.

    It’s available for digital download now at bandcamp. You can listen to each of the tracks in full above, and decide whether or not you want to help support poor starving musicians like ourselves. 🙂

    Each track is going for around $1 (or more, if you’re so inclined!), and you can pick up the whole album for $5 or more. You can also get your hands on a physical CD if you like — just let me know!