Success in the Modern Age
(2022)

Utopian Virtual, Library Music, Synth Pop, Fusion

"Success in the Modern Age" is my love-letter to 90s Library Music. There's something magical about the ROMpler marimbas and pan flute samples that evoke such a powerful feeling of nostalgia. It's not my first foray into library music pastiche, but its probably the most focused of them. This was a remarkably easy album to put together, and it came together quite naturally. After I got some new toys in the form of the KORG M1, KORG Triton, Roland Super JV 1080, Roland U-220, etc, etc, I just plonked away at the keyboards and put down whatever came to me.

It was pretty easy to put myself in the mindset for each track: what would a mid-level executive hear while closing some big deal? what would inspire the grunt worker to become the office hero? All very tongue-in-cheek, but it worked (I think). I was listening to a lot of the KPM 1000 Series during the couple months it took me to write these (Keith Mansfield, in particular) and it clearly shows, but I think you can hear some fusion and j-fusion influence in tracks like "Grand Prix", and a bit of Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel on "Whispers of the World(s)". Last fun fact: "Learning New Things" was written and recorded a few hours before I uploaded the album, and its probably one of my favorites on the album!

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