Tomorrow, Saturday, October 12, at 3 pm EST, I’ll launch a new series of videos on my YouTube channel called “Deconstructed”. From then on, every Saturday there will be a new video.

The idea is to take very well known songs from very well known bands and artists of many genres and many era and listen to the multi-tracks to discover how this was recorded, what makes them sound good and also talk about a few production/songwriting tips and tricks that anyone recording could use to make their song better. So we’re really going to be deconstructing songs, track by track and listen to what’s been recorded in detail.

This should interest indie artists, producers, engineers, but also any curious music lover, as I intend to let people hear things they might not have noticed in these recordings and point out why this makes a difference, and how it worked within the context of the song.

Now, some might say that it doesn’t go well with my fight against streaming platforms… after all, YouTube is the biggest one of them, and the one who’s paying the less in royalties. But I consider YouTube as a video channel more than anything, and a great platform for learning, and this is what this series is going to be about… whether it’s a fun fact, or a detail in a song you’ve never noticed although you know the song by heart, or about some tips for recording and mixing, it’s a way to share my love of this music that has been part of my life and most likely yours too. 

Anyway, the bands and artists will get any little royalties coming from their “deconstructed” songs, because these videos will most likely be monetized on their behalf (or their label’s). Some videos might be taken down from label’s DMCA, and if so, I’ll possibly put them on a private site, with a password protection, so that people really interested will still be able to access later. We’ll see how it goes.

In any case, I hope you will like this new series, whether you’re just curious about music, or serious about learning of songwriting/production.

So don’t forget to subscribe https://www.youtube.com/c/ghostlybeard and hit that “bell” button to be notified each week when a new video comes up!

Nowadays people don’t listen to music. They watch it on YouTube! 
Which is why having a video for all your songs is essential… Like it or not, YouTube is still the number 1 music discovery website far more than any other platforms.

Which is a bit silly, really, because I remember that back in the days we used to listen to albums, sometimes with eyes closed, to get engulfed into the sound and music and dream our own movie… I suppose we have became too lazy today to just listen to music without image support?

So, if you are making music nowadays, you need to create videos. And of course that’s another hole in your budget/time, either you hire people to work with you on videos, or you have to learn to do it yourself (and not everyone can be gifted at everything) and this takes more time away from what your focus should really be which is writing/playing/recording music.

For this song, which is supposed to be the feature song of the EP, I wanted to make a special “Official” video. And I was fortunate to find Gareth Kay, a video artist from London - UK, who accepted to work with me on a limited budget but with a dedication to create the best content possible. We talked about a loose scenario and directives that included someone between life and death trying to make a sense of his life in “out of body” experience sequences. I wanted the end to be hopeful, like the song ultimately is, after a psychotic experience seen from evocative images.

I’m very happy with the result which looks sleek and professional, despite the budget, and nicely bring along the viewer on an emotional journey.

Today I received the first draft edit of my new official video for “Close Your Eyes” which is going to be the feature song and video from my new “Infinite” EP.

It is directed by Gareth Kay, from London, UK - you can check him out at http://www.garethkay.co/ Gareth is a very talented indie artist who has worked on numerous music videos and has also worked on another video of mine (unreleased yet, it will be used for the promotion of my second album).

I’m pretty excited about this new video! We took the time to build a cool story line that goes well with the theme of the song which is about questioning your life and looking for hope and redemption, ultimately finding it where it counts.

The song is kind of an epic for me, with a rather large sound reminiscent of stadium progressive rock bands (I leave you to guess who :)), so it seemed like a natural candidate for a video narrative, and we hope that it will take the viewer and listener through a visual and musical journey that is rewarding.

So stay tuned for this one, it shouldn’t take too long now! :)