LATEST NEWS
Quick Yearly Archive Access: (in reverse chronological order)
2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007
Out now is my new Pop/Vocal Amphabian album, “Unfulfilled Dreams.” This is my 14th vocal album.
The music contained was written over a span of some 37 years (1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2023, 2024) and were chosen by digging through my song Archive and randomly choosing which songs I felt like working on over the past year, in addition to a few new ones. Now available to add to playlists and enjoy.
As always, wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 16, 2024
Greetings! Out today is a new Pop/Vocal Amphabian track, “On And On.” This is the 12th song (out of a dozen) slated for a new album titled, “Unfulfilled Dreams” (the 14th Amphabian album release) which will be out later this year after I finish another cover song and complete the album mastering. The music for “On And On” was written this past April 20th, and the lyrics were added this past week.
As always, wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
June 5, 2024
Greetings! I can’t believe two months have passed since my last entry. Nevertheless, a new Pop/Vocal Amphabian track, “Apart” will be heading out for distribution later today. Sometimes it gets into stores and streaming outlets within the hour of my upload, or it can take days. I have no idea the actual logistics involved so I just flip the switch and wait. This will be the 11th song (out of a dozen) slated for a new album (the 14th Amphabian release) which I hope will be out soon after I complete another song. “Apart” was written 32 years ago on August 8, 1992 according to my notes.
As always, wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 5, 2024
Out now, are two brand new Singles. The first is a loving tribute Cover of the America classic, “A Horse With No Name” and the 10th song slated for a new album out later this year, “Rainy Day” (which was written sometime in the Fall of 1994).
As always, wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
January 13, 2024
Happy New Year!
I’d like to announce a brand new exciting project I’ve been working on titled, “The Holy Rosary” (under another newly established artist name for myself, “Mariology” which I’ve also added a new navigation tab in the website menu). This name (which means the theological study of Mary, the mother of Jesus) is a one-off use for this 4-part project and will only be used for these releases. It has taken me 37 years between inspiration and recording skills to assemble, and months to get it technically edited and mastered.
In a nutshell, I have set the entire Holy Rosary to music. Most of it is vocal and sung, whereas the introductory and exit prayers (which are part of the Rosary daily ritual cycle) are mostly spoken.
“Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world” – Our Lady of Fatima (The First Apparition, May 13, 1917)
I can’t think of a better time to release this project with what continues to happen daily around us across the world. My hope and intent is that this will encourage and inspire people to explore and say the Holy Rosary meditating on this purpose.
There are four complete Rosaries (for each set of Mysteries) and a 2nd part to each rosary called “The Express Version” which accelerates the time it takes to listen and meditate daily by stacking the Hail Mary prayers in a fugue like form “row, row, row your boat” (in the round) vocal arrangement, cutting the time nearly in half. Time length was always a concern for me as music generally makes ritual prayers and church services twice as long and deters many from participating with music.
This is not your garden variety meditative Rosary. Rather a very modern take: complicated, complex, raw, rhythmic, atmospheric journey for Catholics and Christians (who also say the Rosary) to explore as an alternative musical experience. I envision even young Catholic teenagers studying for Confirmation who might find it interesting and enlightening as an alternative during their sacrament preparation.
Some parts are very joyful and even give off a hand-clapping Gospel vibe whereas the Sorrowful Mysteries focus on a more melancholy “chill” vibe featuring my piano playing. I painstakingly mixed each component part to be unique as much as I could, and dove deep in order for them to all be different and to keep things interesting when going through the repetitive meditation cycle of the Rosary. Many have expressed in general that whenever they begin to pray the Rosary, they end up falling asleep. I guarantee that my versions won’t bring you to that point in any way, shape, or form.
An analogy I’ve come up with: it’s like experiencing the Disney World ride, “It’s A Small World” where you hear all the different versions of the song via cultures, languages, indigenous styles as the boat floats on by the corresponding mechanical figurines – all synched together in the same key and tempo.
This collection spans over 5 hours of content. As it’s not what one would expect as a Rosary reciting, it’s still very much “me” and a strong direct reflection of my artistry and musical style(s), which solidified my interest in moving forward with the release, whether or not it might offend some, or be well received.
There were two inspirations for getting the ball rolling: The first was in 2007, when I set “The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father)” to music (and made a subsequent Music Video for that track) which appeared initially on an Isadar album, then rebranded as an Amphabian album release called, LiFe v.2.o (2007) It is used here, almost verbatim, but in a massively edited down form due to time constraints and to keep things moving along.
The “Our Father” was heavily influenced by the music I was exposed to as a child in Catholic school, namely the “Hi God!” series created by then Father Carey Landry (who I actually met as a child when he visited my classroom with his guitar in tow on numerous occasions and during the “Hi God” summer camps the school hosted since he was stationed locally as a priest at LSUE nearby in Eunice, LA.) The “Glory & Praise” volumes of worship were also an early influence, but most specifically in this case, the “Our Father” recorded by Australian nun, Sister Janet Mead which charted on Billboard and went on to sell over 2 million copies in the early 1970s.
At the time I produced “The Lord’s Prayer (Our Father),” I thought it would be interesting to do the same with the “Hail Mary” prayer though I never took the time to do this until recently while working on my Amphabian song, How. I had also made a demo for “The Sign Of The Cross” during the making of “The Our Father” back in 2007 which had sat in my archive until recently. The intent was to chain them all together to make the Rosary.
Never in a million years would I have thought my song “How” would have been the launching pad for “The Hail Mary” set to music – but it just sort of happened and worked well, so I went with it, including all the Fairlight CMI bizarre parts in the original arrangement from “How,” et al. – which I think gives this by accident an overall distinctive off-kilter sound.
But when I sat down to actually start the assembly of the Rosary, I realized I had a huge misunderstanding from my childhood and being taught the Rosary in Catholic school incorrectly of the proper sequence of prayers that make up the entire cycle following the beads – and what they represented. For example, I had been taught that the large piece of metal connecting the circle of the Rosary beads was meant for reciting the The Act Of Contrition prayer, but it is not. So it took lots of internet research to reconcile my ingrained errors and relearn and understand it correctly.
I also had no education regarding the proper symbols and uses of the Mysteries, which took some time to learn them all and catch up. Plus there was an addition of the Luminous Mysteries in 2002 by Pope John Paul II, which was entirely new and unfamiliar to me.
The second inspiration happened way back in 1987. I was in pre-production at a local studio in Crowley, LA – picking synth patch sounds to use for my first professional recording of my song, “Wake Up” (which I was recording the following week) when a mutual friend of my brother’s showed up in the studio. I couldn’t understand what Leslie was doing there and I was perplexed. She informed me that she was there to start recording a musical version of the Rosary (and coincidentally) had asked my brother to join her in order to come up with a piano arrangement to fit the melodies she claims came to her in a dream. She also invited me to sit in on the recording sessions which consisted of only piano and voice by a local female vocalist. I think this experience first planted the seed that resulted in my version.
I hadn’t yet segued into solo piano music professionally, so she had no idea what I was capable of nor that I was most likely a better fit for such an endeavor. But my brother by contrast had a reputation and familiar name recognition to lend to her project locally as he was the Organist and Choir Director at a large church parish (which she and her family belonged) in Lafayette, LA at the time.
After the recording was complete, Leslie then hired me as a consultant on the project in which I had to fly up to Nashville for the day and work with the guys who were assembling it for cassette duplication at a recording studio/in-house production facility explaining where the cuts in the program could be made for the duplication of a double cassette (two Side A’s and two Side B’s) in order for it to all fit. None of the Engineers were Catholic and had no reference to the content and a phone conversation was not getting us anywhere except creating more confusion. As complicated as that project was in working with, editing, and splicing analog tape, it still was only 3 parts and simpler than my recent project, since the Luminous Mysteries hadn’t yet been established.
I wholeheartedly believe it’s taken my entire career as an artist to be able to execute and hone the skills necessary to make this overwhelmingly intricate and complicated project, and no doubt was inspired by these early experiences.
Additionally, the cover photo features a very special handmade Rosary that my maternal Grandmother had commissioned in the early 1940s by a group of local Cajun women artists who specialized in Rosary construction.
I encourage you to check out this project on a daily basis as intended as I’m really proud of it’s completion, and as I mentioned, I can’t think of a better time to release and focus on this work and meditation prayer.
P.S. – – I am still working with Spotify regarding the glitch involving lyric scrolling on about half of the Rosary, mainly an issue with the Express Version – but I hope to get this resolved soon. All other technical issues have been resolved, including full access of all four volumes of Mysteries in Apple/iTunes. (March 1, 2024)
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / and this one-time, “Mariology” / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
Out today is my latest new Amphabian vocal release, “Eyes & Tongue”
This is another song in part from my Archive dating back to the 1990’s with actual lyrics just written last week. It is the 9th new recording slated (out of 12) for my next 14th forthcoming Amphabian album release.
The story behind this song is that last week I started to re-watch a TV series I own on DVD (“Huff”) which is all extremely well written – in which one of the characters gets a major eye injury and after going to the ER for examination it was proposed that eyes and tongues are the parts of our body that heal the fastest. I thought it would be a nice luxury if our hearts could do the same after a painful heartbreak, hence the inspiration for the lyrics of this new/old song.
Once I had the idea of the lyrics for the Chorus, and the rhythm it would require, I searched through my instrumental Archive until something seemed compatible. I landed on a sketch from around December 1995 that seemed to work, and so I re-tooled the arrangement in order to compliment the melody and lyrics. However, the key of the song is way out of my vocal range. I originally recorded all the vocals an octave lower than they appear here and they just wouldn’t cut through the music nor the mix and sounded lifeless.
I contemplated changing the key by a few steps higher but parts of the music were recorded to .wav files and were not sound fonts which could easily allow that flexibility. It would have required painfully searching for and re-recording a few of the live synth keyboard sounds. I also REALLY try to stay away from changing keys of songs after I put them down in some format. Musical keys really give character and change the feel and tone of music and melodies dramatically. For me, they are in those keys for a reason. So, I screeched out the vocals in my highest register and I was quite surprised at the scratchy rough texture of the final product. It’s a very different sound that worked well this time around.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
November 27, 2023
Out today is my latest new Amphabian vocal release, “Running Through Time”
This is another song deep from the Archive dating back to December 28, 1987. It is the 8th new recording slated (out of 12) for my next 14th forthcoming Amphabian album release.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 10, 2023
Out today is my latest new Amphabian vocal release, “How”
This is another song deep from the Archive dating back to February 1999. Over the years, I used the demo version of this song as a bonus track on a few releases, but it never felt polished. I decided to re-work the lyrics and the arrangement for it’s official release today. This song was built on my Fairlight with Page R when I lived on the UES of NYC. The last few days have been strange working on this as it took me back 24 years to that time of my life. Music has always been like a diary of emotions and feelings for me, storing them like a vault.
This day, October 10th, also marks the debut of my first piano album, “Near the Edge of Light” which came out 33 years on this day in 1990. Also, strong emotions stored there for me.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 29, 2023
Out today is my latest new Amphabian vocal release, “Ain’t Reality”
This is another song from the Archive dating back to August 11, 1995. I don’t really remember any details surrounding the inspiration nor making the demo, but nevertheless it’s nice to move another song over to the completed pile. It seems that my 14th Amphabian album is moving along quickly as it’s half-way done. This is the sixth track completed out of a dozen I plan to include.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 22, 2023
This past Sunday morning I woke up with the melody to a Chorus and two lines of actual lyrics embedded in my mind. I went to the piano and picked the melody out and added the most logical chords that would compliment what I heard in my head. I then fired up my computer software and proceeded to capture this slither of inspiration, and 5 days later, it’s in it’s polished form and is my latest new Amphabian vocal release, “Once In A While (Always)”
You never know where or when inspiration will spark. This is not the first time this has happened to me, and I always welcome these unexpected gifts.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 11, 2023
I’m excited to announce another new “old” song is finally out. This week, from 1995 – an Amphabian vocal single, “Wherever”
About a year ago, I worked from the rough 2-track live home-studio demo (from a DAT tape!) made sometime in 1995 – constructing the musical bed. I put it away and kind of forgot about it at that point. Last week, it came back up on my radar so I recorded the vocals Saturday evening, and did most of the editing that night and again yesterday morning. I was surprised at how quickly I could get this mixed and mastered to my satisfaction. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 1, 2023
I’m excited to announce another new “old” song is finally out. This week, I finally released a composition (was found deep in Archive) from August 20, 1988 which figures out to be 35 years ago – an Amphabian vocal single, “The Light”
Due to it’s simplicity, I added the “featuring Isadar” tag for cross-referencing in music outlets, and also because the Single comes along with an (almost) “Solo Piano Version.” It was written 3 years earlier than last week’s release of “The Transition” to the day, which I thought was an odd coincidence especially since they evoke a similar vibe and color.
Like “The Transition,” the demo was much more complicated than the basic piano/voice recording this evolved into for it’s final version. I thought the simplicity of just the piano and voice really complimented the pensive lyrics and the vibe of the piece so much better than if I were to spend an enormous amount of time orchestrating it, expanding the arrangement, and giving it more wings. I’ve already done all that in the past with some of my other similar songs, so I wanted this to be different from those recordings. More intimate.
My only regret regarding this song, is that it took me so long to get into the head space to polish it and get it produced properly. It’s a really beautiful, lovely song, and it’s a shame that it sat dormant and ignored for 35 years.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 22, 2023
I’m excited to announce new music! This week, I’m releasing a very old composition from August 20, 1991 – an Amphabian single, “The Transition” Due to it’s simplicity, I added the “featuring Isadar” tag for cross-referencing in music outlets, and the Single comes along with a “Solo Piano Version.”
The demo was a little more complicated than the basic piano/voice recording this evolved into for it’s final version here. I thought the simplicity of just the piano and voice really complimented the pensive lyrics and the vibe of the piece so much better than if I were to spend an enormous amount of time orchestrating it, expanding the arrangement, and giving it more wings. I’ve already done all that in the past with some of my other similar songs, so I wanted this to be different from those recordings. Although 32 years ago, I had no idea what Artificial Intelligence even was much less write a song about it – and it’s unintended, but hauntingly somewhat spot on of what the human race is currently embarking on and will shortly deal with.
The deeper I dive into my Archive, the harder and harder these pieces are getting to assemble/produce and make some sense out of them. After-all, this is why they are sitting there, as they were just too overwhelming for me at the time to handle when they were conceived. This one (along with another from 1988 called, “The Light” that is currently being edited) was boxed in as I assumed I would need an elaborate arrangement/orchestration, but once the vocals and piano were in place, I realized it wasn’t necessary (even preferred) and therefore they could move further down the production line and get finished.
I seem to be getting a second wind (so to speak) as I had really given music a rest for the Summer, not intentionally, but just the uncertainty of A.I. and the impact it would have on my music in the future seemed to have put me in a tailspin. I still have no resolution to that end, but I came to the realization that I need to work on these pieces for myself and not be concerned how they may evolve or get co-opted in the future with unknown technologies and uses. So I go on.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 17, 2023
Out today is a brand new vocal Amphabian single, “Why?”
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
June 26, 2023
Out today is my 13th Amphabian studio vocal album, “Perfectly Flawed”
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
June 12, 2023
Check out my brand new Amphabian vocal Single, “Do You”
This is the last song to be included and slated for a new album. I will start the Mastering process shortly of these 12 songs. If not too much work is involved, it may be ready in a few weeks – in which case I can then start working on more music. [Interesting fact: “Do You” was written on May 28, 1986 a few days after I graduated high school and a few days before I started my first college semester – and according to my notes, was only the 6th song I ever wrote.] The song’s name (only) was clearly influenced by the album name (which I still absolutely love and listen to, to this day!) by “Sheena Easton”
In the meantime, I was sad to hear that pianist, George Winston recently passed away. His music was a large influence on my solo piano works much like his Windham Hill record label colleague, Liz Story.
In early April, a friend sent me a link to a video regarding AI (artificial intelligence) and it really rattled me to the core. So much so, that I have not worked on music in over 2 months. It made me realize that what I was working so hard on and what I’m doing creatively will have little value (if any!) in the near future. I always thought AI was 50 or 25 years (or maybe 10 years) into the future, but it’s ALREADY here, and within a year will reshape the entire world as we currently know and many millions will lose their livelihoods. As a result of this knowledge, I’m only back on-line working to finish the core of what’s left in my Archive. Once that is complete, I will close-shop and wind down my presence and continue to enjoy my full retirement. Until then…
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 10, 2023
Just in time for Mother’s Day, my Isadar solo piano sheet music for “Mother (Mom/Mum/Mama/Mommy/Ma)” is now (also) available through Hal Leonard’s “SheetMusicDirect” website in addition to “SheetMusicPlus” and buying direct from me here.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 30, 2023
My Isadar solo piano sheet music collection for “The Journey” is now (also) available through Hal Leonard’s “SheetMusicDirect” website in addition to “SheetMusicPlus” and buying direct from me here.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 4, 2023
Check out my brand new Amphabian vocal Single, “Wishy Washy”
Last week also saw the completion of two more “cover” Tribute Singles “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless): a Crystal Waters tribute” and “Lookin’ For Love: a tribute to Johnny Lee” that are now available.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 29, 2023
Check out my brand new Amphabian vocal Single, “Perfectly Flawed”
Written last week, this one came together quite quickly! I’ve always subsribed to the idea that perfection is highly overrated. I think beauty is found in many flaws and gives the subject/object more genuine unique character.
Last week also saw the completion of two more “cover” Tribute Singles “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless): a Crystal Waters tribute” and “Lookin’ For Love: a tribute to Johnny Lee” that will be out whenever the distributor can complete the licensing requirements necessary for their release. Stay tuned.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 14, 2023
Out today (in most places) is another brand new Amphabian vocal release, “RUN!” A new Amphabian pop-vocal album is certainly coming along and will collect the most recent dozen songs with their instrumental companions which should be out soon.
Written about 31 years ago on September 11, 1992 (exactly 9 years before 911), “RUN!” was re-discovered inside my Archive early last year. The lyrical content is an errie premonition from that infamous date!
It’s such a real pleasure (and relief) to finally have the time to get through my vast Archive and tackle all of these unfinished demos/sketches of songs and bring them to a final polished form.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 6, 2023
Out today (in most places) is another brand new Amphabian vocal release, “Love Slave.” A new Amphabian pop-vocal album is certainly coming along and will collect the most recent 12 songs and should be out by late March.
Written about 32 years ago on June 24, 1991, “Love Slave” was re-discovered inside my archive early last year. This was from a batch of songs I was writing for pitching to other recording artists. It was fun to finally get this completed in a final polished form.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 3, 2023
Out today everywhere is another brand new Amphabian vocal release, “Sesame Street.”
Written 30 years ago on November 30, 1993, this piece was re-discovered inside my archive early last year. The children’s TV show, “Sesame Street” (along with “Captain Kangaroo”) had a major influence on my childhood and this is definitely a tribute of sorts. Learning how to “read” used in the lyrics is meant as urban slang. (i.e. to call someone out on their flaws, or to mock them)
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 25, 2023
Out today everywhere is another brand new Amphabian vocal release, “A Mystery.”
Written on September 26, 1992, this piece was re-discovered inside my archive early last year. I was surprised to unpack the final version of this project as I see it as the beginning of an interesting segue into “music” for me which I believe will be the staple of my output going forward. It isn’t a “song” so to speak but instead a short musical work with lyrics without a particular form or structure. Although I have many pop-like songs still in the works, this lack of form and structure prestented here to me I suspect is in my future.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 20, 2023
Out today everywhere is another brand new Amphabian pop-vocal release, “Together Forever.”
Written on March 6, 1987 (right before my 19th birthday), this piece was re-discovered inside my archive early last year. The idea behind this song was to repeat the entire cycle of lyrics several times throughout the song so that visually (in the music video) each time the narator would be seen going home to a different lover. It was a commentary on polygamy. However, it extended the song too much and only one repeat was practical in the production of the song.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 13, 2023
Out today everywhere is another brand new Amphabian pop-vocal release, “One Step Closer.”
Written on September 19, 1987, this piece was discovered inside my archive early last year. It turned out quite differently than what I imagined from the rudimentary home demo recording made in 1994. It is paired with a short one-minute piece called, “Saying Goodbye” that was created around the same time as the “One Step” demo.
There are many fragments of songs similar to this short instrumental piece “Saying Goodbye” in my storage archive. Generally, they are simple ideas (soundscapes) and don’t yet have lyrics nor a separate melody formed or attached. I’ve decided to collect these ideas and will release them as a compilation which will be titled, “Bits & Pieces” for a release in the near future. Ideally, I’d like to further develop these at some point – but I already have my hands full with other songs that are further down the path of completion.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 6, 2023
Out today everywhere is another brand new Amphabian pop-vocal release, “Energy.”
Written on February 3, 1989 (exactly 34 years ago), this piece was also discovered inside my archive early last year. I decided to work on this recently and see where it would take me. Very glad I did as I love how it turned out.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 1, 2023
Out today everywhere is a brand new Amphabian pop-vocal release, “Possessions.”
Written a very long time ago in April of 1988 (coming up on 35 years to be exact), this piece was floated around for a bit as an album concept to follow “Dream of the Dead” but it obviously never came to fuition. I decided to revisit this piece after having discovered it inside my archive last year.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
January 13, 2023
Happy New Year!!!
Out today everywhere is a brand new Classical flute & harpsichord release, “J.S. Bach: Badinerie, from Suite in B Minor (Flute & Harpsichord)” a collaboration with my brother, Dexter.
This J.S. Bach work is special to me in that I’ve been playing it since I was 13 years old. I won numerous festival awards from performing it and consider it my signature flute piece. This release completes and rounds off a Trilogy of flute & harpsichord EPs I started to release in December of 2021. Like the other two EPs, it includes a “play along” track with count in clicks for flute players to practice and/or play along.
Many performers take this piece at an incredibly and insanely fast tempo which I think absolutely ruins the beauty and intricacy of this classic Bach work for flute. With age (like with many things) I’ve come to the conclusion that it should be savored instead of glossed over. I hope you enjoy my interpretation!
Also out today is a new Isadar “new age” instrumental Single, “A Swan’s Song” which also happens to contain my flute playing. This piece was apparently very much inspired from listening during my college years to the debut album by Canadian artist Loreena McKennitt from 1985 called, “Elemental”, (particularly the beautiful angelic track, “Banks Of Claudy”) and whom my brother met back then at a music camp and purchased the cassette directly from her.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
Out today everywhere is a brand new Amhabian vocal Single release, “Bad Attitude”
This song, written in March of 1987, was clearly influenced by The Zombie’s 1968 classic, “Time Of The Season” although it wasn’t a conscious effort during my creative process.
It’s taken a little over 35 years for me to finally get to finish the track to my satisfaction. Slated to be the title cut of an album back then that never materialized, I recently found 80’s influenced artwork/portrait photography (by my friend Will) that was created, incorporating the orange/yellow/green theme brought forward for this new Single cover.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 28, 2022
Out today is a brand new Amphabian vocal Single release, “Reality (Two Different Worlds) – 2022 Revisit”
The original style (and this new 2022 revisit) was and still is very much inspired from the “Latin Freestyle” genre which was so popular in the mid-to-late 1980s. Particularly from the tracks produced by dance-music producers Mark Liggett and Chris Barbosa, specifically the album they produced for Nolan Thomas, “Yo’ Little Brother” They were also the producers behind, Shannon’s “Let The Music Play.”
My song “Reality” was written nearly 35 years ago when I was 19. The original version was technically my very first release, but not on my own Label. It had won the “Dance/Pop” genre prize in a south Louisiana local Acadiana Musician’s songwriting contest and was released on their compilation album back in 1989.
Part of the winning prize was “free studio time” at a local studio to record the winning songs in each category. My track was assigned to Master-Trak Enterprises studio in Crowley, LA. I was very familiar with them as I had already used the space to record, “Wake Up” and another unrelated project 2 years earlier.
Thomas Dolby was also working with some local Cajun musicians at the same studio at the same time for his song, “I Love You, Goodbye” but by the time I heard that he was in town recording, he had already left without me getting a chance to meet him which was unfortunate as I was and am such a huge fan of his work and not to mention he was also an avid Fairlight user.
This contest mix was supposed to also be included on what was supposed to be my 1989 debut – which was taking shape into, “Dream Of The Dead” but it took me over a decade to come up with the funding to finally release it – and musical styles had changed dramatically by then. The only surviving elements of the original recording brought forward in 2022 are: all vocals (which were recorded there in Crowley back in the day), and the very 80’s flavored “Orchestra Hits” and car samples used in the intro from a Roland S-50 which I had recorded at USL’s electronic lab.
When mixing the CD at Sony in 1997 I had to abandon all the “Latin Freestyle” elements by stripping it down and pulling out all the percussion, rhythms and bass lines to sound more current at the time and to also blend with the other tracks used in the album. I was never satisfied with the dismal end result which is why I decided to tackle this song once again in 2022 and resurrect the initial Freestyle sound and inspiration.
Thanks for allowing myself to indulge while traveling back the 35 years that it took for this mix to finally come to fruition and for this song to finally get it’s due.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 26, 2022
I’m excited to announce that a brand new Solo Piano album, “Behind the Fence” has now been released. It contains 16 compositions that were worked on this Summer during June, July and early August. Because of this, I believe the album has an overall Summer vibe and I debated on whether to release it now or wait until next year.
All of the musical ideas for these compositions were found earlier this year when I was reassessing my Archive and were documented as only short snippets that I had collected over the years that which I had never fleshed out when the initial sparks of the melodies presented themselves to me. Some of these were even conceived long before I composed and recorded my first piano album.
There’s a lot packed inside this project, and I find it difficult to listen to the completed work without becoming overcome with emotion. I hope you enjoy the music and appreciate as I do the long evolution these works took along their journey to completion.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 25, 2022
I’m honored to be included in the latest Special Issue of HomeGround, The Kate Bush Magazine, 40th Anniversary, Issue Number 80 (free download) I am featured under my artist name, “Amphabian” on pages 74-76 in an article titled, “A Cajun Eating The Music” (a play on her song, “Eat The Music”) regarding the 6 cover versions of her songs from her masterpiece “Hounds Of Love” that I’ve released over the years.
I plan to re-create her album in it’s entirety and have another track ready to mix that I hope to release in the near future. I wrote this article back in February before anyone knew her song, “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)” was going to be featured prominently in the latest Netflix original series 4 of “Stranger Things” and literally go viral and hit Number 1 on all charts all over the world and break countless charting records. I am SOOO happy for Kate! I have always wanted people in the United States to know who she is and be celebrated for her beautiful artistry – which was part of the reason why I made the “covers.” It took over 44 years for this to happen, but I’m so glad that it ultimately did happen for her.
Kate Bush – Amphabian “Covers”
click here for the Spotify Playlist
click here for Apple Music
click here for iTunes
New music is out today: a new Amphabian Single, “Feel You Here” This is a song that will be featured on my upcoming new album to release this Fall. And a new Isadar Single, “Lifting The Veil” Although this Isadar Single is not solo piano (but electronic), I’m also pleased to announce that a new solo piano album is in the works and I hope to have it finished by the Fall as well.
Although none of the solo piano material is brand new, the material was found in my archive earlier this year while I was taking stock of the songs and ideas that I have been collecting since 1985 which are unfinished and unreleased. Some of the songs actually were conceived before my debut piano album, “Near the Edge of Light” was recorded. These were ideas that I either didn’t develop or decided to pass on at the time.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 31, 2022
Out today is a new Amphabian Single, “Can’t Stand It” This is another song found deep in my Archive that dates back to February 1987. It’s a retro track even for then borrowing the bass line from the 1950’s and inspired in some way I’d imagine by “Summer Nights” from the Grease soundtrack 10 years earlier.
My Video Podcasts are now back up online in iTunes (and the audio track is also up in Amazon/Audible). For some reason, the hosting site of these changed the address which required me to do some tinkering behind the scenes. I took this opportunity to split off the Solo Piano and the now known as Amphabian vocal Music Videos. You can access them here:
Lastly, my Isadar solo piano sheet music is now (also) available through Hal Leonard’s “SheetMusicDirect” website in addition to “SheetMusicPlus” and buying direct from me here.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 6, 2022
Out today is my new Amphabian album of 10 songs (and their “instrumental” versions), “1986” This is a guilty pleasure for me in the sense that all the music was written while I was a Junior/Senior in high school (1985/86) as well as my first few early semesters of college up to 1987. These were all written during the same time as the material that made it onto “Dream Of The Dead” and were simply passed over due to their lyrical content not falling into the vision for that first album. There are several more tracks from this time period that will most likely become another collection in the near future. However, before that gets worked on there is another album that is almost finished that I hope to have ready by the Fall of this year. 8 of the 10 tracks have already been released as Singles, so I’d like to tackle the last two over the Summer.
I’m also excited to announce that my Isadar solo piano music (“Jealous Heart”) is being featured on One World Music Radio’s new playlist for “The Golden Piano (#3)” Also includes great music from Michele McLaughlin, Ken Elkinson, Carol Comune, Dan Chadburn, Jeff Bjork, Robin Spielberg, Stuart Jones, and Karen FitzGerald. Stream it here:
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 28, 2022
Out soon is the 10th and last Single from my forthcoming album, “1986” out next month. “Drastic Changes,” another song with a long history stretching back all the way to August 1986. I have already started the mastering for the new album, so it should be out shortly.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 18, 2022
Two new Amphabian Singles are out this week, “Come On Out” and later this week, “I Always Knew”. More songs with long histories stretching back all the way to May 1986 and March 1987.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 11, 2022
Another new Amphabian Single is out now, “Adam & St-Eve (Adam & Steve)”. Another song with a long history stretching back all the way to April 1988.
This song came about from wondering what it would be like if there was only one gender of people in the world. A common intimacy that could be much more profound. It wasn’t specifically proposing a society of all men, but the catchy song title suggested I take the narrative of the concept in that direction as opposed to two women or an unknown 3rd gender.
You could say, that this song is also my own version of Kate’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” but instead of swapping places in a relationship between a man and a woman to find out how the other feels or sees things, there would be no need for the swapping of places because everyone would see the world from the exact same perspective, without the bindings and predisposed assumptions of gender.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 4, 2022
I’m excited to announce another new Amphabian Single is out now, “The Big Question”. Another song with a long history stretching back all the way to April 1988.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 27, 2022
I’m excited to announce another new Amphabian Single is out now, “World War III”. Another song with a long history stretching back all the way to 1987, and will also be featured on my next album which will compile my songs from that time period.
I remember working on this piece as a 19 year old while a student at USL (now UL). The basic piano part was inspired by chords on the Oberheim Matrix that was one of two keyboards (the other being the Roland S-50) that the university had in it’s electronic music lab on the 2nd floor of Angelle Hall in a closet of what originally held a small pipe organ.
The lyrics of this composition was meant to be a commentary on the AIDS crisis back in the 80s, but ironically is errily similar to the COVID pandemic.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 21, 2022
Happy Spring! I’m excited to announce two new Amphabian Singles are out now, “Keeps Getting Better” and “The Key”. Both of these songs have a very long history that stretches all the way back to 1985, and will be featured on my next album which will compile my songs from that time period.
“Keeps Getting Better” is the absolute very first song that I ever wrote, in April of 1985, 37 years ago. It started out musically as a bizarre improvisation that seemed to magically develop simply out of my eagerness to learn and pick-out Madonna’s “Material Girl” on the piano by ear. The lyrics came shortly afterward. There was a single demo made of this song that I had to reference and it was created on a rented 4-track machine in January of 1987 according to my notes. I was quite surprised at how this song took shape recently while bringing it to full fruition. The vibe resulted in sounding like 1970s pop music and I can also hear a little bit of Kate Bush’s “The Kick Inside” album production going on in that it’s a simple piano, bass, organ, sax, and drums arrangement, a first in all of my years writing and producing music.
“The Key” also has a special place in my musical history in that it was the very first time that I ever recorded one of my songs – and then actually sang the vocals and melody on tape. That happened in Eunice, Louisiana while a group of us were winding down the production of a summer musical (“The Pajama Game”) in 1986 at the local community theatre.
A few of us were going to start a band and at one of the band rehearsals, I asked my friend and sound guy if we could record the vocals of my song on top of the music using his PA system mixer. The music was from a tape I had made at home of just piano, a cheap Yamaha mini keyboard and a drum machine I had programmed and borrowed from the main guy who had purchased it to start the band.
The demo was excruciatingly bad sound-on-sound multiple takes on a single consumer cassette recorder – but it’s what started it all for me. The song was always incredibly long (much too long), but even in producing it recently I couldn’t bring myself to edit it down (although I made several attempts) as all of the verses had some meaning for me and the song’s narrative seemed pointless after the cuts were made, so I left it in it’s original painstakingly long form.
I’m slowly working my way through my near 40-year archive to complete all of these unfinished songs and ideas that have been stored away all these years. I figure if I can do at least 10 songs a year, I should get through them all by the time I turn 70, but that’s only if I don’t write anything new along the way, which is highly unlikely. Stay tuned for more new music that is forthcoming.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 11, 2022
Another new Amphabian Single called, “The Trip (Love One Another)” is out now. The song, written less than 2 weeks ago on February 27th, is the most recent completed song from my vast Archive of 148 compositions (yet to be produced and released) that span all the way back to April of 1985. More new music is on the way.
I’m also excited to announce that my music is being featured on One World Music Radio’s new playlist for “The Golden Piano (#1)” Also includes great music from David Lanz, Robin Spielberg, Loren Evarts, Jeff Bjorck, Ann Sweeten, Stephen Rhodes, Carol Comune, and Stuart Jones. Stream it here:
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 4, 2022
Another new Amphabian Single called, “Haunting Me” is out now. The song, written December 13, 1991, originally appeared as a bonus track on the digital version of “Dream Of The Dead” but was pulled when it underwent the artist name change back in October. I realized that the song needed to be re-recorded as it was the original demo and felt very weak. I knew I could make it sound much better and I’m very happy with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy the new and improved version. More new music is on the way.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
January 20, 2022
I’m very happy to announce new music and piano projects.
Another new Amphabian Single called, “The Way It Should Be” is out now. The song is from my forthcoming album which will feature songs from when I first started writing in 1985.
Written on May 28, 1986, it was composed on the piano and incorporates my flute playing. According to my notes, it was written 5 days after my high school graduation. An initial 4-track cassette demo was made in January of 1987 on a rented machine (along with another song that will most likely appear on this album called, “Keeps Getting Better”). It’s taken me 36 years to bring this one to fruition. The inspiration behind this song is based on my total disdain of Televangelists.
I’m also excited to announce that new sheet music for my last solo piano album Telepathy is now completed and with the printer. The digital version of the 76 page book and individual songs are now available exclusively here until I can sort it out with other outlets. It was transcribed by the great David Shenton, who has meticulously transcribed every collection of my piano music to date.
The Disklavier (and PianoDisc compatible) software version for player-pianos is also now available (along with my previous piano album, Red). A new Christmas Extended Play diskette which compiles my two past Christmas albums onto a single diskette is also now available and includes the new “Linus & Lucy” track as a bonus. This song always got a positive reaction whenever I played it for friends or family.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
January 1, 2022
Happy New Year! Just a quick message to announce new music is out now, and more is coming shortly within the next few days. First, a new Amphabian Single called, “Living In Fear” is already with my distributor and should have rolled out earlier this week. I assume the new year holiday has created a backlog for them, so look for it soon. The song is from my forthcoming album which will feature songs from when I first started writing back in the mid to late 1980’s. It’s without percussion and incorporates the use of the Fairlight set in a dark atmosphere – and is set lyrically and physically in a post-apocalyptic environment, coincidentally much in line with the on-going never-ending current pandemic.
I’m excited to announce that I’ve been spending some time with my flute lately and have been busy recording Clasical music as a duo with my brother. He recorded the harpsichord and piano parts several years ago in order to give me projects to practice and work on brushing up my playing and tone on my new flute after having not touched a flute in well over two decades. The first EP (of three in the works) is out now. It is the Handel “Siciliana and Giga” from Sonata V, HWV 369. The EPs also include “play along” tracks with count in clicks for flute players to practice and/or play along.
The other flute EP that is also ready to go is the Jean-Baptiste Loeillet “Adagio and Gigue” from Sonata in G Major. The odd thing, is that this one was sent to my distributor a full day earlier than the Handel EP, but yet it still has not moved along in cue. The delay could be due to the Handel piece being more popular and already on their public domain “cleared” list – whereas the Loeillet is less popular and they need to clear it manually. In any case, it’s on it’s way. The last flute EP (for now) is still in production, but should be ready shortly.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
Happy Holidays! I’m happy to report that a new Amphabian single is out today. “Ctrl+Z (Undo).”
Lyrically, the song is a metaphor of life using the computer Ctrl+Z function of undoing a mistake. Since it’s involving a computer process, the voice has a robotic “autotuned” sound to fit the narrative. I wrote this song this past May, and it is not part of the forthcoming album of my 80’s songs slated for 2022.
All “Covers” from my Tribute Series are now back live in all outlets as well as brand new Amphabian releases containing all companion instrumental mixes throughout all of my albums. The dust has finally settled with regard to my re-brand and split of Isadar/Amphabian and took six very painful weeks to complete. There are still remnants of error out of my control that I’ve still got my eye on for further follow-up.
Spotify has recently launched a new “Lyric” function which I think is awesome, but nearly 1/4 of my catalog has errors, wrong lyrics/no lyrics, and most are not synched. This is a known glitch that is being addressed behind the scenes.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 16, 2021
I’m very pleased to announce that a name rebranding of my music is currently underway. Isadar will remain exclusively the name for all my solo piano music and related instrumental compositions. Everything else is getting rebranded to my new moniker, Amphabian It will take some time to complete this process, but it is rolling out and updates are being made daily.
It was previously thought an artist name change was impossible on previously released recordings, but that obstacle has been worked out behind the scenes. This separation is the right action to take at this time when algorithms and playlists run the show on streaming platforms. My hope is to get these aspects optimized to find their rightful audiences respectfully.
To that end, all of the recently added “Covers” had to be pulled and are going to take some time to secure new licenses under the new name and subsequently roll out again. YouTube channels and videos will also be revamped at some point in order to split up the content, but the YouTube Music channel has already been more-or-less completed with regard to the new name change.
Another major change to my catalog is that I am consolidating “Instrumental” versions of my vocal albums to be included along with the original package. Over time, I will eventually pull down the newer albums which will be updated to include their instrumental mixes too – but in recent years, I have not taken the time to prepare and master an instrumental version of the albums, so this will be an on-going long-term project.
The albums which I had no choice but to pull down completely to implement the new “Amphabian” name change, will be going back in ASAP with the added instrumental tracks. Cycles is the first album to reflect the new changes and started to roll-out yesterday. In the past, these instrumental albums were only available through Amazon, on-demand physical CDs. But since Amazon ended their on-demand platform, these mixes will now get a new outlet.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 10, 2021
Click here for ***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ***
31 years ago today, my debut solo piano album was released into the world. I’d like to share with you one of the very first demos for the project. It was recorded on a Blüthner concert grand piano (which had a few extra bass note keys) at the home and studio of the late Jimmy Hernandez, near the corner of West Bayou Parkway and South College Road in Lafayette, LA. His very unique modern home (U shaped), which also housed an elaborate 28-rank tracker pipe organ, sadly no longer exists as it was demolished after many unfortunate events including vandalism, a fire, (even the theft of his piano) following his death.
Jimmy was in a wheelchair and had great difficulty with his vision (results from Polio), but he had much depth and a musical soul, and appreciated music very much. In the 1980’s he gained an appreciation for the Windham Hill Records label, and I was surprised to run into him at a performance by “The Turtle Island String Quartet” at a church in Lafayette. When I approached him at a later date to do my solo piano project at his studio, he was delighted after hearing the music and listening to me talk about my influences.
This demo (along with 4 other compositions from the album) was recorded 33 years ago on May 27, 1988, by David Rachou and Rex Hebert (from La Louisianne Studios) two years prior to the album’s release. It was recorded “live” to un-editable digital tape format, so what you hear is the actual performance – and I only had the time to make one take. Clearly the tempo in which I played these reflect the time restraints. Although intended as “Masters” to use on the album, the brightness of the piano (although incredibly beautiful in person) was too harsh and didn’t translate well once recorded. The live room and effects added also put the music in an environment that wasn’t my vision for the project. So, I decided to revisit the recordings later on a different piano, place, and time. However, looking back now I appreciate their raw character.
These coupled compositions sum up the Autumn season well and has deep memories for me.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 2, 2021
Click here for ***SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ***
Out today is a new Amphabian vocal single, “Moonstruck.”
This track is the 5th Single release under my new additional name, Amphabian. This Single is also the 3rd track from an upcoming album I’m putting together consisting of all songs I wrote while still in high school and early college. This period of songs cover the years 1985 through 1988. This collection of songs were all passed over when I was considering what I should include on my first album, “Dream Of The Dead” as they didn’t fit into the overall arc and theme of the album. I recently re-discovered these songs as they were written decades before I had a computer to assist in my music production.
In fact, all these early home demos were recorded using a YAMAHA Portasound PSS-460 (REALLY regret selling mine years ago after having just watched this video) and by taking two cassette decks, a TEAC and a Sansui D-35BF that had a rare “mic mixing” mono function which allowed me to add a new layer with each copy between each deck. It was ghetto to say the least. I couldn’t afford a real cassette 4-track recorder, so you do what you gotta do with what you have. These demos are SOOOO bad, I can barely listen to them myself. The bouncing from one cassette to another multiple times skewed the speed and therefore shifted the musical keys to a point where they were between keys and unrecognizable, not to mention unbearable tape hiss. It was challenging to pick these arrangements out as I was having to guess the key to re-record them into my current software.
The tracks completed so far are, “Leave Now,” “Abducted My Heart,” and now “Moonstruck.” This is a missing piece of my earliest catalog that I’m excited to bring to life. I hope you enjoy these.
I’ve also added a Discography link for Amphabian in the menus of this website. By passing your mouse, pointer or finger on the “Discography” tab, you’ll see a clickable link to take you to the new collection.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 26, 2021
Going forward, I will be releasing all of my new vocal music under the newly created moniker, “Amphabian” instead of Isadar. My intent was to move all of my vocal music over to Amphabian and leave exclusively my solo piano works under Isadar.
However the current practice of the music industry does not allow this kind of artist name change on existing albums and recordings, without blocking and/or hiding the content if you attempt to try. So for now, a huge amount of my vocal music will still be cataloged under Isadar due to this restriction.
To work around this, I am adding to some of the new Amphabian song titles, (feat. Isadar) in order to cross-pollinate both Discographies so that listeners who care to listen to either flavor of my music can easily find the polar opposite content.
I believe having both genres of my music under one name for decades has caused confusion, and has done irreparable, permanent damage to algorithms, playlists, and traction over recent years of streaming. It has finally come to a head and I had to take action to hedge the continued damage, particularly since my music is getting more adult and explicit with regard to lyrics. It’s unfortunate how branding and marketing can undermine an artist’s complete vision. But I understand that if you buy a bag of Dorito’s you expect to find Dorito’s inside.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 7, 2021
My latest vocal album “Dark Matter” has been pulled from all stores and streaming outlets today. There was an overall low volume issue with the album (about -2db) which I’ve fixed and will be re-uploading the louder version today. It will take a few days for it to get back online.
In the meantime, as part of my new Tribute Series, I’ve released a Vince Guaraldi cover of the Peanut’s theme from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, “Linus And Lucy.”
This solo piano track is one of my earliest memories of piano playing. His music was a precusor inspiration prior to my discovery of Liz Story’s compositions and Windham Hill’s solo piano projects. Although it is not verbatim to his work as I only included the fun part everyone only wants to hear (and I left out the bouncy jazzy middle part – which was too complicated for me to pick out by ear anyway), it’s how a young me would interpret the work. It’s so ingrained in me, I couldn’t play it any other way even if I spent the time with the official sheet music. It also was and is always an attention grabber anytime I ever sat down and played this for friends or an audience at school. I think I even played this for a local talent show when I was about 10 years old.
I also coupled this piece on the Tribute EP with “Where The Wild Things Are” (the live version from the video on YouTube – which is the first time I’m releasing the audio from those performances) and “Kangaroo Court” from my latest solo piano album “Telepathy” (which was an exercise for me in trying to write a variation of ‘Wild Things’ for fun). Both are similar in style and I thought would make great companions to “Linus And Lucy.”
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 23, 2021
Out today is the new vocal double-length Album, “Dark Matter.”
The mastering went much quicker than I expected (but it was still a nightmare and required total remixing in some cases), hence the late August release. The album is a culmination of songs I’ve been working on since late 2019. The “dark” aspect of the theme is unfortuneatly a sign of the times. However, I personally think it’s some of my best work (musically and lyrically) to date and I’m very proud of how it turned out.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Amphabian / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 12, 2021
Out today is a new vocal Single, “Blacklisted.”
This is the last “Single” that will trigger the album release of “Dark Matter.” I’ve already started the Mastering of it, and it should be ready to go for a September release.
About this piece: This song started out in 2009 as an “instrumental” composition called “Shamanic Trance” and was written and recorded in NYC before I moved to Los Angeles. A version of it was released as a B-side to an earlier Single. I decided to write fictional lyrics this past May to the music as it always felt unfinished, and the concept of “blacklists” have also always fascinated me.
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 7, 2021
I’m very pleased to announce that my “Covers” album is now back in outlets, “My Spin: A Collection of Covers.”
As I reported a few years ago, the licensing aspect of this album was quite complicated and expensive. I was actually losing money (and unable to recoup the fees) with the structure of how it all worked and what was required. This aspect of the music business has fortunately changed recently. These songs are now cleared for my use in perpetuity so the album has gone back live. Because of this new arrangement I can have with songwriters and publishers, it’s encouraging me to make more covers.
In the meantime, the following “Singles/EPs” will also be returning to outlets under a newly launched, “Tribute Series.” Each contain their companion “Instrumental” versions which I was unable to include before due to the exorbitant costs of additional licensing, which is now moot. These Single/EPs allow the original artist name to be included in their “tribute” titles which will facilitate searching, so listeners can actually find them.
Although, most all of these are already on the “My Spin” album, no one can find them due to an idiodic rule by stores and streaming sites that the original artist names can’t be referenced nor included on the track level of the song’s description – and there were too many artists to include in the “My Spin” album title, which ironically IS allowed.
The list:
Toni Childs – “Dreamer” (new 2021 mix, with louder vocals)
Richard Marx – “Right Here Waiting”
Thomas Dolby – “She Blinded Me With Science”
Dead Or Alive – “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)”
Dead Or Alive – “Hooked On Love”
Depeche Mode – “Lie To Me”
Kate Bush – “The Morning Fog”
Kate Bush – “And Dream Of Sheep”
Kate Bush – “Under Ice”
Kate Bush – “Watching You Without Me”
Kate Bush – “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”
Kate Bush – “Mother Stands For Comfort”
Madonna – “Everybody”
Madonna – “Luky Star: A Madonna Tribute” (includes all Madonna covers, including “Papa Don’t Preach” feat./ Mary Ann Russell).
COMING SOON:
Vince Guaraldi – “Linus & Lucy” (solo piano EP)
COMING SOON, but not real soon…
Kate Bush “Jig Of Life”
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 15, 2021
Out today is a new vocal Single. Written this past Sunday night, July 11, 2021, “Blue.” The lyrics of this song were inspired by animals you might come across on an African safari and visiting African diamond mines. It also was inspired a bit by the south Louisiana 1975 ‘Audubon Zoo’ song by The Meters, I suppose: “They All Ask’d For You.”
This is the first time I am experimenting with Mastering my music using a vintage analog “reel to reel” plug-in inside my recording software. I realize after 30 years of all digital sound, I crave the warmth and punch of analog tape. We all ran from tape screaming back in the early 1990’s as “digital” music and CDs became the new standard, but I find myself craving that smooth and yummy sound once again. My benchmark tests on this particular song were no contest. The reel-to-reel saturation won in all test mixes.
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 2, 2021
Out today is a new vocal Single. Written February 16, 1997 (with added lyrics and melody, June 6, 2021), “Totally In Love.”
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 20, 2021
Out June 1st is a new vocal Single. Written May 14, 2021, “U,” explores lyrically toxic and physically abusive relationships. It will appear on my album out later this year, “Dark Matter.” If you’d like to add it automatically to your Spotify library upon release, here is the link to “Pre-save.” I do not manage nor keep an email list, so there is no need to click the “share” box when you use this function.
Also note that Amazon.com is shutting down it’s “On Demand” physical manufacturing and distributing functions on June 4, 2021 due to lack of interest in the CD and DVD formats. It’s that time again when technology moves forward leaving older formats in the dust. CDs and DVDs are joining the place with 8-track tapes, vinyl, and cassettes. If you wish to purchase any of my titles on CD (or DVD), the last day to place an order with them is Friday, June 4, 2021. You can click on the Amazon shortcut located at the bottom of any album page in the Discography section going directly to that album in Amazon.
After June 4th, I’d like to ask that you no longer use Amazon to buy ANY physical formats of my music as there will only be “bootleg” copies left on each product page. I have never been paid for those copies, so please don’t buy them. If you’d like CDs or DVDs of my music and videos, I have a ton of them here and will give them away to you for free, if you simply pay the postage. Just send me an email please.
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 7, 2021
Out today is a new vocal Single. Written February 21, 2021, “COVID-19,” explores lyrically my opinion regarding the state of global affairs regarding the “pandemic,” in line with the new album out later this year, “Dark Matter.”
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 20, 2021
I’m excited to announce that a new vocal Single is out everywhere this Friday, April 23rd. Written just about a month ago on March 21, 2021, “Do You Believe?,” explores lyrically how our beliefs are formed during early childhood and how they evolve (or not) into adulthood. In line with the new album out later this year, “Dark Matter,” it also applies this exercise to the current events of the 2020-2021 Pandemic.
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 17, 2021
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!! I’m excited to announce that my new vocal Single is out everywhere today! Written less than 2 weeks ago on March 4, 2021, “Dark Matter”
Musically, the track is my take on “House” dance/club music. Lyrically inspired by the mysterious theory of “Dark Matter,” I felt to use the concept as wordplay too applying the same scientific definition but in regards to tackling dark emotions and experiences – particularly those occurring during the social distancing and lock-downs from the past year due to COVID-19. “Dark Matter” will also be the title of my upcoming album out later this year, building on the themes explored from the recent other nine Single releases from the past year, plus those that are pending.
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 1, 2021
New Single out today! Written on January 27, 2021, is my newest vocal Single, “Picture Show”
Inspired by the urban erotic adult theaters of the 1970s/80s/early 90s (prior to when home video replaced these unique historical venues) but more particularly, the unique social experience unreplicated to this day.
My 1993 arrival in NYC gave me a good barometer of what these old theatres must have been like in Times Square prior to when Disney swooped in and reenvisioned for “family friendly” tourists the entire area and made it unrecognizable just a few short years later.
Other lyrical inspirations for this work include the 1960 song “Jeanie Marie” (a song I’ve always wanted to cover) by Trini Lopez, who sadly recently passed away from complications due to COVID-19. It also includes lyrical inspiration from the 1973 classic song, “Rock On” by David Essex. I’ve always been in awe of the amazing sonic qualities of that recording, particularly due to the early audio technology limitations of that era. Yet more lyrical inspiration came from Bennie Mardones’ “Into the Night” and of course, last but not least, and most recent, Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.”
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 14, 2021
Out Now: Valentine’s Day 2021
Written on November 14, 2020, is my newest vocal/piano/flutes Single, “I Can’t Unlove You”
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
January 25, 2021
Written on September 14, 1993, out now is my newest vocal/pop/dance Single, “C’mon”
I hope you enjoy it as it took me nearly 28 years to tackle what felt like a monster of a track – that had a stubborn mind of it’s own and no matter how I approached the song, it just wouldn’t stick nor jell together. Well this past week, I finally made it my B I T C H !
I can recall that this song was written while I had been put in contact by a NYC co-worker with the nephew of the CEO of Elektra Entertainment Group at the time to play keyboards in his college friend’s band that he was managing and was being considered for a record deal by his uncle. I was rather more excited about this song instead and was pitching the demo to him at the same time, but he showed zero interest and was only trying to fill the keyboard player slot for the band. I turned them down as the music of the band was very much like Mellisa Ethridge and Alanis Morissette – neither my cup of tea, but more so because my intuition told me to pass on the offer and opportunity.
Wishing you all well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
Out everywhere, is my new solo piano album, “Telepathy” This is my latest solo piano ablum since 2013’s “Red (piano)” It contains six brand new compositions, and four of which have been previously released as vocal songs over the years. I’ve been meaning for a long time to convert these four into solo piano pieces, and “Playing the Piano” was actually the piece I played during my performance at Carnegie Hall, NYC in October 2015.
I hope you enjoy these new piano pieces, and can connect to the ‘telepathy’ that I’ve always hoped my music has been able to communicate with through to others. Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 31, 2020
Out everywhere, are two new vocal Singles: “Shooting Darts” and “How I Love You.”
These are the fifth and sixth “Singles” from my new vocal album out later this year (or early 2021, depending on how quickly things come together) along with the new “Telepathy” solo piano album coming out on September 9th.
In addition to an instrumental mix for “How I Love You,” I’ve included here the solo piano version of the song which will also be part of the track list for “Telepathy.”
Note regarding “How I Love You”: Originally released in 2005 as “Come To Me” on Disc 2 of “Lessons In Love.” This is a new 2020 rebuilt from the ground up and re-recorded version. The earlier version I’ve always thought of as a “demo” that was good enough to release, however I always knew I could do a better job at it’s realization.
There is also a music video for the original “demo” version here “Come To Me (music video).” The video was shot high up in the mountains of Malibu, California overlooking the Pacific Ocean in the Summer of 2009. It was the last music video I filmed to date although others were released afterwards due to the editing required on the later clips.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by,
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 1, 2020
Besides working on an audio book for my friend Morris Ardoin (see below), I have also been steadily working on music. Out everywhere, is my new vocal piece called, “Never For Ever.” The name of the song is a tribute to Kate Bush’s 3rd studio album released in 1980 with the same name, although she never actually released a song titled, “Never For Ever.” I’ve heard rumors that an actual song by that name does indeed exist but was not included in the album’s release, nor released any time since.
My music and lyrics were written on May 12, 1987 and the underlying music was directly inspired by the song (including the use of Oboe, even though they used English Horn), “Life In A Northern Town” by the British band, The Dream Academy. I absolutely loved this song, the arrangement, production, and the vibe it portrayed. I purchased a copy on 7″ vinyl as soon as I heard it played on the radio.
It’s taken me 33 years to bring my song to fruition, but it took me that many years for the subject matter of the lyrics to really sink into my psyche. The whole world has changed recently for various reasons (and I don’t think it will ever go back), and it’s no mistake this song floated to the surface at this time, right on cue.
This is the fourth “Single” from my new vocal album out later this year in tandem with the new “Telepathy” solo piano album slated for a Fall release. In fact, in addition to an instrumental mix, I’ve included here the solo piano version of the song which will also be part of the track list for “Telepathy.”
The cover artwork is me running around our front yard at I’m guessing around 10 years old and was taken by my Dad on Kodak Super8 sound movie film, which he had recently upgraded to from silent 8mm. This was about 6 years before Beta/VHS and home video tape became widely available and required yet another equipment upgrade. Yes, nothing is ever for ever (especially when it comes to electronics) and it never stays the same.
Wishing you well! Thanks for reading and stopping by.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 28, 2020
Over the past few months I have been very busy! In early March, I was approached by my dear friend Morris Ardoin to produce an audio version of his book, “Stone Motel: Memoirs Of A Cajun Boy” that was recently published by the University Press of Mississippi. It was a long painstaking process that took about 3 months, but I’m pleased to announce that it is now finished and released.
We originally blocked off a week in May and were going to record it in my studio, but with the pandemic cancelling all of Morris’ travel plans to promote the book locally in south Louisiana, we opted to work on the project together remotely. Little did we know how involved this project was going to be and a “week in my studio” would not nearly have been enough time to say the least. The audio book runs for 8 hours and 24 minutes. It felt like I was producing 8 music albums simultaneously!
He recorded himself reading his book (partly in the character’s Cajun and southern accents) in his New York upstate farm house on a nifty hi-def voice recorder device, and I received the massive production files through DropBox and assembled the parts and chapters together and added some of my music (specifically, Morris wanted to use the piano version of “The Bermuda Triangle” from my album “Reconstructed”) and sifted through lots of editing.
Once we had the book entirely assembled and mastered (around the first week of July), it was then a process to upload and allow Audible to review the book and decide if it met their technical standards and whether or not they and Amazon would even carry the Audio Book version – and so we were thankful that it went through without a hitch and went live earlier this week. We were also thankful to the University Press of Mississippi who agreed to revert their audio book rights back to Morris so we could work on this together in our own private bubble.
Morris’ style of writing is a little bit similar to David Sedaris and Del Shores, but because this book is more autobiographical, in my opinion, he was limited to being true to his comical voice (which I hope will appear full force in his next fiction book) because it revolved around family members and telling a more truthful story and timeline of events of his childhood instead of being completely fiction based. In any case, there is still much humor in his book nevertheless told in a unique voice and is very ripe for TV series or feature film development possibilities, which I’m hoping the publisher is pursuing.
You can purchase the book by clicking the photo collage below and you can either get it for free with an Audible trial, or your can “Buy with 1-Click” for $17.46 to purchase the audio download with no further obligation:
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 14, 2020
I hope you are staying sane and safe during this whole COVID-19 fiasco! During this unprecedented time, I’ve continued working on music as there is little else to do or occupy my time.
Out everywhere now is a new Solo Piano composition and recording “Falling Down The Rabbit Hole – solo piano.” The 9:52 recording and composition is part of a new batch of solo piano pieces that have transpired over the past month.
This is the second “Single” from this new album and eventually all of the compositions will be compiled into a new full solo piano album called, “Telepathy.” I think it should be out in time for the Fall. I don’t think I would have concentrated on this project if not for the forced quarantine, so I guess for me, there is some good coming out of all this madness.
Quite a bit more sheet music is now available at SheetMusicPlus.com as an alternative to purchasing my sheet music directly from me on this website. You can find my music over there by clicking here:
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 8, 2020
I hope you are staying sane and safe during this whole COVID-19 fiasco! During this unprecedented time, I’ve continued working on music as there is little else to do or occupy my time.
Out everywhere soon (hopefully in time for “Mother’s Day”), is a new Solo Piano composition and recording “Mother (Mom, Mum, Mama, Mommy, Ma) – solo piano.” The recording and composition is part of a new batch of solo piano pieces that have transpired over the past month or so during the forced quarantine and will be combined with another batch of a few that were realized in the Spring of 2016 as I was getting settled back home in Louisiana after leaving New York City in March of that year.
This is the first “Single” from this new batch and eventually all of the compositions will be compiled into a new full solo piano album called, “Telepathy.” I think it should be out in time for the Fall. I don’t think I would have concentrated on this project if not for the forced quarantine, so I guess for me, there is some good coming out of all this madness.
Quite a bit more sheet music is now available at SheetMusicPlus.com as an alternative to purchasing my sheet music directly from me on this website. You can find my music over there by clicking here:
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 10, 2020
I hope you are staying sane and safe during this whole COVID-19 fiasco! During this unprecedented time, I’ve continued working on music as there is little else to do or occupy my time. However, people’s nervous, fearful, restless, and chaotic energy has completely zapped all of my creative energies, so I’ve moved on to projects that have been on the back burner, like “Remastering” some of my back catalog.
Out everywhere now, is a new and improved remastered version of my 13-year old album, “LiFe v.2.o (2020 Remaster)” which was originally released in 2007. The recordings have been further EQ’d, sweetened, made crisp, and the overall volume has been increased to match current level standards to prevent the recordings from falling flat when included in playlists.
With the new version of the album, I have unfortunately had to remove the two “covers” (“Get Together” and “Dreamer”) due to the mechanical licensing fees which have outweighed the actual streaming income. It’s a sad fact of the current state of the music business, so I had no choice. They are still online for a few more weeks however, as part of the “My Spin: A Collection Of Covers” album which all licenses will expire April 26th and that entire album will be pulled out of circulation for the same reason. So hurry if you wish to download any of them from the stores. I hope you’ll give the new “2020 Remaster” a listen, add it to your playlists, download it, etc. For now, the original album will continue to be “live” as well, and I find it fun (and rewarding!) to compare the two versions back-to-back in order to hear the pleasing improvements.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
March 5, 2020
Out everywhere today, is a new vocal/pop Single, “Gaslight” The music was written on a Fairlight CMI in March of 1998, and the lyrics are brand new having been written last week on Friday, February 28 and “leap year” Saturday the 29th. It is the third Single for 2020 release. It is a song lyrically about the psychological abusive technique of “gaslighting” by manipulating individuals to a point where they can no longer trust anyone, anything, nor themselves. The term originated from the 1938 play and its 1940 and 1944 film adaptations. I hope you’ll give it a listen, add it to your playlists, download it, etc.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 24, 2020
Out everywhere today (happy Mardi Gras!), is a new vocal/pop Single, “Neva Eva” It was written in late December, and is the second Single for 2020 release. It is a song about resilience against “bullying” / “domestic violence” and dealing with it from the shadow side of the self and psyche. I hope you’ll give it a listen, add it to your playlists, download it, etc.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
January 27, 2020
Out everywhere today, is a new vocal/pop Single, “A World Full Of Sin” It was written last month on December 4th, and is the first planned for 2020 release. I have quite a bit of new music in cue, but none of it is quite ready whereas this one happened to come together very quickly. I hope you’ll give it a listen, add it to your playlists, download it, etc.
I have started to offer sheet music at SheetMusicPlus.com, and if there is more demand for my music at this website, I’ll upload more. For now, you can find me by clicking here:
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
*** 12/17/2019 a new revised version is now available only on SoundCloud until it can be replaced in outlets.
Out everywhere today, is a brand new tribute “cover” recording of “Engravings II” a piano & oboe composition. It originally appeared on Windham Hill’s first volume of “A Winter’s Solstice” (1985). It was written by Ira Stein and performed on piano by Ira and Russel Walder on oboe. It was a companion to the original version which appeared on their album, “Transit.”
I’ve mentioned before (when I released my composition earlier this year, “The Turn Of The Screw“) how much Ira Stein & Russel Walder have influenced my piano and oboe composing and playing. Here I am playing both the piano and oboe parts of the composition and I’m very pleased with the results and I hope you’ll give it a listen, add it to your playlists, download it, etc.
You can find the recording paired with my 2012 version of “Greensleeves” on a new Windham Hill tribute EP titled, “A Winter’s Solstice.”
Please bookmark if you wish, or continue to visit this page for any future updates regarding my music releases.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 27, 2019
New Yamaha Disklavier player-piano software for my latest Christmas album from 2012, “O Christmas” is now available!!! You may purchase them HERE They are available on physical 2DD 720kb floppy diskettes for compatibility going back to the very first generation of Disklavier pianos. (Compatibility disclosure: I’ve also tried this new collection in both PianoDisc early systems from the early 1990’s that I have access to and they also worked pretty well. I experienced just a few pedal dropouts, but since most of the album is upbeat and percussive, it’s not very noticeable.)
If your Disklavier does not have a floppy diskette drive, you may opt for the “emailed” delivery version of the digital files. I am including in a .ZIP file both the .FIL e-SEQ as well as the “MIDI type 0” files along with a .txt file for instructions and the “directory” file if you plan to move them to a floppy diskette on your end. This flexibility allows for you to simply move the files into your Library, and organize them as you see fit.
Enjoy the quickly approaching holiday season! Cheers!
Please bookmark if you wish, or continue to visit this page for any future updates regarding my music releases.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 17, 2019
I’m pleased to announce that my new “double-length” album, “The Mandela Effect” is now out and available everywhere.
The idea for the overall arch of this new album is based on the phenomena of “The Mandela Effect” originally documented by Fiona Broome. “…memories that didn’t seem to match documented history.” In a nutshell, many of us remember Nelson Mandela passing away in the late 80’s. (I even have memories of watching his memorial on television) Yet, he didn’t die (at least on this timeline) until 2013. I have experienced my own journey of this “phenomena” profoundly, in many other areas and aspects of my life as well, and it’s quite unnerving and extremely frustrating at times to say the least.
Many believe that CERN is behind these changes by having created “black holes” inside the particle collider which are changing our reality and ripping the fabric of time. Others believe that we have been living in a “computer simulation” since 2012. That an “extinction level event” took place (as predicted by the Mayans) and that we are all dead – and living out the rest of our lives in a simulation, and that nothing is really real. No matter what you believe, or what is really happening, I feel something is just not right, and that narrative is visible throughout my new project, ‘The Mandela Effect.’
With 2019 quickly coming to a close, I hope to be back in mid to late 2020 with more new original music – if God is willing. I’d like to make it my goal to release at least one new album every calendar year. There are many things in the works, like always I guess, but everything is so far away from completion that I have no idea what will come together, or when. So please take this time to enjoy and absorb the new album in the meantime. Add it to your playlists and gradually “feel the effect.” I really hope you enjoy it, as much as I enjoyed my time working on these songs!
Please bookmark if you wish, or continue to visit this page for any future updates regarding my music releases.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 11, 2019
I’ve released a new vocal/pop Single today called, “2:45am (You Got Me).” It is going to be included on my new album, “The Mandela Effect” next month, but the Single has the “Instrumental” version included. The Single will be pulled from circulation once the new album arrives to un-clutter my artist pages in online outlets and stores.
It’s an old song written in February of 1997, 22 years ago. It was sitting in my song archive until last year when I began to seriously work on the arrangement. I was able to finish it in time to include on the new album. I hope you enjoy it!
Please bookmark if you wish, or continue to visit this page for any future updates regarding my music releases.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
August 8, 2019
I’ve released a new vocal/pop Single today called, “To Love Me.” It is going to be included on my new album, “The Mandela Effect” later this year, but the Single has the “Instrumental” version included. The Single will be pulled from circulation once the new album arrives to un-clutter my artist pages in online outlets and stores.
It’s a very old song written in July of 1992, 27 years ago – about 7 months before I moved to NYC. It was a complicated song for me to put together, so it stayed sitting in my song archive until 2012. I decided to continue working on it during the days off from my day job at Sony Music due to Hurricane Sandy. I was fortunate to not lose electricity during the storm as I was living in an isolated and untouched pocket in Forest Hills, Queens near the hospital and probably part of the same “high priority” grid as Laguardia airport.
At the time, I only concentrated on building the “Chorus” to what I felt was right for the song. Over the past year, I’ve been working on the rest and trying to pull it all together – which included very minor lyric editing and recording mostly from scratch the verses and background vocals.
The songs left in my archive, which I’ve yet to produce, are complicated for me to realize. This is why I’ve left them alone for all these years and work on them when I feel I have the energy to dive deep into these works and try to make sense of them.
Please bookmark if you wish, or continue to visit this page for any future updates regarding my music releases.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 23, 2019
I am OVER social media! I’m DONE! What a complete waste of time and energy. I will however leave my accounts open for contact purposes only, but will no longer “engage” with any of it. Bye-bye Facebook! Bye-bye Twitter! Good riddance!!!
Please visit this page for any future updates regarding my music releases.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
May 19, 2019
I’m pleased to announce new music: “The Turn Of The Screw (piano & oboe).” This composition will most likely lead to an album of similar Piano & Oboe works. I do have another piece in production, but uncertain as to when it will be completed. This sound and genre was directly inspired by the Windham Hill Records duo Ira Stein (piano) & Russel Walder (oboe). Their album, “Transit” was a touchstone for me back in the late 80s and early 90s, and their one-off track, “Engravings II” from the 1986 Winter’s Solstice compilation album still haunts me to this day with it’s beauty.
Another new Vocal/Pop collaboration with my friend Steven Cravis, “I Am A Dinosaur” is now also out along with it’s companion, a bonus track called, “Marinate.”
The lyric narrative behind “Dinosaur,” came about from my complete frustration with technology. It seems every time you turn around there is a new version of a computer software, an operating system, equipment, or a way of doing things that requires you to start from absolute ground zero in re-learning everything you already knew how to operate. The irony, is that NONE of it is any better than before, it’s just different. I guess I’m just a dinosaur, because I’m at a point where I’m rejecting this kind of useless change. Perhaps, everyone gets to this point as they grow older and can see through life.
I’m still pushing forward with the production of my new album, “The Mandela Effect” out later this year.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 24, 2019
I’m pleased to announce that a new vocal Single called, “The Mandela Effect” will be released Monday. The music (and back-end vocals) in the song was composed and recorded in 2008 over 10 years ago and the sculpting of the new front-end lyrics and mixing is what’s been occupying my time recently. It will be the title cut of my newest album slated for release later this year.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 6, 2019
Happy New Year! I’ve gotten off to a very slow start this year, but I’m pleased to announce that a new vocal Single called, “Lenora” will be released next week on February 12, 2019. This song was written and recorded about a week ago – all in a day. It’s the quickest I’ve ever put together anything of this complexity, and I’m excited at how it turned out. I hope you give it a listen and enjoy! More music is on the way soon, but it’s all a bit foggy at the moment.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
Around this website, you’ll start to see a “Globe” icon. This is a new smartURL which has every outlet where my music is available. (this works globally for Amazon stores around the world). Each product page will be updated with it’s own unique codes, however, the icon below and on the Main Page will provide general access:
Listen/Stream or Buy/Download:
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
September 12, 2018
Please note that, “She Blinded Me With Science (a Thomas Dolby tribute)” has been pulled from Spotify U.S. due to litigation between Spotify and the song’s music publisher. When (or if!) the litigation is ever settled, the track will automatically go back live. The litigation ONLY effects Spotify U.S., so other territories still have the track, as well as all other outlets.
I’m pleased to announce another collaboration with artist Steven Cravis, a slow, sensual original piece called, “Some Say” which is available everywhere now. It was made utilizing Imogen Heap’s software, “Box of Tricks.”
Stay tuned: September 19th will see the release of our Richard Marx ‘cover,’ “Right Here Waiting.” The track has been reenvisioned as a slow, beautiful film/soundtrack piece, which is very emotionally charged contrasting with it’s 1989 rock influenced origin.
My forthcoming album, (the name has changed from “Pop” to “The Mandela Effect“) has been pushed back to 2019 as this year I’ve already released 2 new albums, a new EP, and 14 new Singles. I am aiming for a March or April release.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
April 23, 2018
The new 10 song vocal album, “Soul” will be released shortly. Mastering has just been completed. However, nothing essentially new is actually on it – it is rather a compilation of various Singles that have been released over the past year, including the newest being released today, “Wish I Knew.” This is the follow-up to last year’s vocal album “Revolution: Counting Bruises” (which originally was slated to be called “My Gumbo”).
The good news is that I’m half-way through producing yet another vocal album that should be ready later this year. I’m guessing October’ish. As before, the Singles will start to roll out as the songs are individually completed ahead of the album’s release. The final 10 song album will be called simply, “Pop” due to the nature and genre of the new music. I call it new music, but all of the work is from a three decade long back log – with the exception of a new song I just wrote called “Dumb.”
“Near The Edge Of A Different Light” is going to be remastered with a remixed version of “Overview.” After spending more time listening to the album, it occurred to me that the piano was too loud in the intro section of the song – to the point of distortion and clipping. It annoys me severely, so it will be repaired, pulled, and re-uploaded soon. Look for the new version in about a month or so. [edit: this has been completed and the new and improved version is now live. April 28, 2018]
Although I’ve had reservations, I’ve decided to move forward with an official release of “My Spin.” Distributors and the music outlets have put restrictions with regard to text and metadata in how I can title the album, as well as how I can name the individual songs on the album. This was the reason I decided not to move forward last year as it seemed pointless to release a project of “covers” if I would be restricted in not being able to include the names of the original artists who recorded the songs (for indexing, pointing to their profiles, and general search hit results). I’m still not at all happy about this, but I figured it’s better to have it in the stores and in outlets to stream than not. Look for it soon. [edit: the album is now live. April 28, 2018]
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
It looks as though “Near The Edge Of A Different Light” is going to be delayed some. I’m having problems and issues with a Digital Distributor relating to another release that was designed to precursor this release (subsequently delaying both!). These issues are completely out of my hands. Thanks for your patience, and hopefully you’ll get the albums soon. In the meantime, another distributor will be releasing another Single from the album, “Waiting.” Look for it in the next few days.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
October 7, 2017
Just a quick note to say that a few albums will be released shortly. 1. “My Spin” (an album of new and old covers that started when I began recording a version of “Fever” back in 1997). 2. “Near the Edge of a Different Light” – brand new re-envisioned interpretations (with full instrumentation) of an assortment of my piano solos from each album up to 2000’s “The Journey.” [Eventually, I plan to re-make the entire album of “Red” (Red/Redefined) in the same spirit using the same production techniques]. A brand new vocal album (last was 2008’s “The Omega Point”) coming shortly in 2017 called, “My Gumbo” and another new vocal album slated for early 2018 called, “Soul.” Thanks!
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
July 31, 2017
I have been very, very, VERY – busy!!! I mostly spend every single day recording and working on new music (and I’m having the time of my life!!!!) – preparing songs as “Singles” for the new music release outlets such as iTunes, Amazon MP3, Spotify, and if I’m lucky – – acceptance on Pandora Radio by their curators. No luck yet with regard to these new Singles, however.
So far, since December I’ve released nine brand new singles and many more are waiting to be released over the next months. Many of these tracks will be recompiled into about six different album projects. But these projects are all under wraps for now until it’s time to talk about them.
Currently, I have no plans to make any further “music videos.” I also do not see another “solo piano” project in my future at all…but never say never, right? I’ve pretty much covered all of that ground, and said what I needed to say within that art-form over those 25 years and eight albums. I also feel that my piano style has evolved into a much more complex animal. That level of complexity is no longer able to co-exist along side, or fit into the “box” and playlists of typical new-age, or the genres and places that promote the majority of what is currently being released and promoted by other “solo piano” artists. This was disappointingly apparent with the release of my last solo piano album, “Red” in 2013. It was all but ignored. So, in a nutshell, what I’m focusing on now is music that makes me happy… I’ve decided the best I can offer is going back to my true roots – where it all began… Alternative “Art-Pop,” Rhythmic, Vocal music. For now, this gives me an incredible pallet of sound to express myself and explore uncharted territory. With much gratitude, I hope you will continue to join me on this musical journey.
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
February 7, 2017
My latest Single, “Can’t Let You Go” was one of 4 songs I brought to an established Producer Kim Guidry (back then p/k/a Kim Sharp) in 1991 who just happened to be living in New Iberia, Louisiana at the time. I was 23 years old and had just graduated from UL. Kim was heavily involved with the 1970/80’s funk band “Chocolate Milk,“ as well as touring with Prince and having participated in numerous studio sessions at Paisley Park. But at the time, more importantly, he was just coming out of producing and writing a portion of Vanilla Ice’s debut album, which sold 15 million copies. I was put in touch with Kim by Tim Poole ( Tim Tim ), a then local car salesman who I had worked with on an automotive deal.
Kim stopped by La Louisianne Records & Studio and listened to the 2” masters I had recorded for my album “Dream of the Dead” (the 13 or so slated songs which were pared down to 10, had not yet been mixed) as well as the completed version of my 1st solo piano CD “Near the Edge of Light.” I think he was impressed with some of both projects. At this point in time, I was waiting on accumulating more finances to get going on mixing “Dream Of The Dead.” I had already written countless new songs and was shifting to more of the late 80s/early 90s pop/dance genres and was anxious to also begin working on these new projects.
Kim graciously offered to Produce on “spec” a professional 4-song demo package to submit to major Publishers which he already had existing relations. The songs were “It’s My Birthday,” “Can’t Let You Go”, an unreleased track called “Alright (It’s Gonna Be)” which was a substantial collaborative re-work of my song “Go On” from my 2008 album, “The Omega Point,” and “Too Many Broken Hearts.” We ended up with a 3-song demo instead as we decided not to go forward with “Too Many Broken Hearts” as neither of us were happy with how it turned out compared to my original home demo (I ended up using the original home demo as the basis for the version I produced, which finally appeared on my 1998 album “Cycles” which went under remixing and re-mastering in 2011).
The intent for the now 3-song demo was to secure a Publishing deal, then use that deal as leverage to secure a recording agreement with a major label. Although we had some positive feedback from the music and the demos, we were not able to secure any deal(s) whatsoever. I was extremely disappointed. …To the extreme… (wink, wink). Shortly afterwards, I began planning my relocation to New York City with the hopes I’d have better luck presenting the demos in person – as well as finding higher paying employment to generate funds to continue my recording projects on my own and complete the mixing of “Dream Of The Dead.”
Moving forward in time, I had totally forgotten about this song since I had no .MIDI map or demo recording myself that was done prior to Kim’s production. Earlier this year, I was sifting through my BMI repertoire and apparently I had filed a registration for the song back in 1991 and it brought back some good memories. The reason I had no other record of the song is because I showed up at Kim’s studio and simply played the basic chord changes into his set-up and the track was assembled with his equipment, mostly by Kim himself. After the BMI discovery triggered my memory, I emailed Kim in an attempt to locate the original .MIDI data and any other archival pieces he might have, but none were found or available.
Since there was no better time like the present, I decided to rebuild the track from the ground up using Kim’s production as my guide. Luckily, I still had my old Kawai K4 keyboard in full working order with the preset Fairlight sample to utilize from his version (Kim also had a K4, in fact he’s the one who convinced me to get my own). Once I had it more-or-less complete, I sent the SONAR bundle file to him via DropBox and he added all the guitars and parts on his end mimicking somewhat close to what he performed in 1991.
So that’s the story of how this song made it by being released now as a new Single… I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it and taking a trip down memory lane. [It is now available on the 2017 album, “Revolution: Counting Bruises“]
Isadar / from the “Heart of Acadiana / Cajun Country” in the state of Louisiana
As the music business continues to rapidly evolve, I’ve decided to make a fundamental change in how I present mine and get it out into the world. My new method will embrace the digital “Single” format. Typically, an album collection of music takes a very long time for me to make, but equally challenging is subsequently getting each individual song it’s own due in getting heard. My hope is that the “Single” will improve that issue allowing me to present it in small tiny pieces over a constant period of time instead of one big chunk at one specific time where it can get entirely lost or ignored, undermining all the hard work and expense that went into making the record.
Since relocating home, I’ve been working hard on producing new music and have incorporated other musicians and singers into these new works in order to give and get a different perspective and explore genre styles outside my comfort zone. To that end, I’ve accumulated a large cue of new “Singles” that will begin to release this week. Due to the amount of music I’ve been able to put together (and continue to work on), these “Singles” will most likely roll out every two weeks or so (beginning this week) but then starting up officially January 10, 2017. They are packaged digitally along with their companion “Instrumental” mix and in most cases will include an additional Bonus track (or “B Side”).
Once enough “Singles” roll-out, I plan to repackage them into album(s). However the bonus content, including the instrumentals, will most likely go away unless you download them as the “Singles” will be pulled so that the landscape of my Catalog online doesn’t become cluttered, overwhelming and confusing.
Another point to consider is that these “Singles” are “Mastered” to get the best possible sound as a stand-alone work. I wasn’t required to benchmark and get a “happy medium” with the sound so that the levels and equalization (EQ) flow into a sequence of other songs that might have different dynamics for an album. Once the album gets compiled, the Mastering will also change due to this requirement.
I invite you to come along for the ride and explore the samples of each “Single” as they arrive. Stay tuned for the first of them, “Higher (Two In Love)” which will introduce and feature the talents of both my nephews, Austin and Ryan.
Isadar / Lafayette, Louisiana
August 30, 2016
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- It is still not too late to join me and the other Enlightened Piano Radio (EPR) artists on our Carnival Cruise!
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On another exciting front, my 2013 latest solo piano album, “Red” has been nominated into the Top 3 “Best Jazz Solo Piano” category of the 2016 Enlightened Piano Radio Awards Ceremony and Concert. These are the same lovely and talented folks that made my performance at Carnegie Hall last October come to fruition. This year, they are “upping the ante” and it will take place on the Carnival Cruise ship “Triumph“ (October 6th through the 10th) – leaving port in New Orleans and heading to Cozumel, Mexico. Since I’m in the top 3 and secured the award nomination, I am guaranteed a performance spot in the concert (and will most likely be playing at other opportunities on the ship at other times). I have already booked my cabin and the public is not only invited by EPR, but encouraged to join us for a “piano cruise.” There are special rates available and this is the link and page you should visit if you’d like to join me and the rest of the artists on the cruise. I look forward “seeing” you at “sea“!
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- P.S. – I’m excited to announce that I have been working on a colossal amount of new music! In fact, I just finished recording a new “album” today (which will contain 12 new original compositions), so I’ll be putting finishing touches and working on artwork for that forthcoming release in the coming weeks. I hope to have it out by November, but it may end up being an early 2017 release instead. There is no title nor a planned release date as of yet, but I can tell you it is “unique” compared to my past releases so it will be interesting to see what comes of these efforts. There are also more projects in cue, but not in a stage that I can even assume they will be released anytime soon. I have also been very busy working with other musicians and vocalists too in order to find more palettes to broaden my sound. I’m very grateful to be back home and able to concentrate 100% of my time and energy on these projects.
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Isadar / Lafayette, Louisiana
March 11, 2016
The time has arrived in my life for closing an old chapter and opening up a new and exciting one! In a few days, I’ll be leaving New York City and relocating back home to Louisiana. This is actually my 3rd time leaving New York City, and I believe it to be my last. New York has been very good to me over the past 23 years, but in the same breath it needs to be said that I’ve made tremendous sacrifices and mind-boggling compromises living inside of this urban jungle. But it was indeed worth it for what has been given back to me in exchange. No regrets.
The city of New York has changed so much since I arrived – I look around and can barely recognize what it has morphed into since the Summer of 1991 upon my first visit. Because of the drastic change, I no longer have the same connection nor desire nor need to be inside of it’s boundaries or limits and it is simply time for me to move on and begin living again. I never felt like I was “living” while being in NYC. I just felt like I was marking time and making money for my future – and in retrospect, that was and is an accurate assessment.
One of the biggest changes for me is that I am breaking ties and leaving my employment and position of “Officer of” Records Manager with Sony Music Entertainment after 21 years of service. I am semi-retiring and will be concentrating on my own music full-time after a period of transition and getting resettled. I thank NYC, I thank Sony, and I’m so grateful having had the opportunity of making nice gains on the purchase and subsequent sale of real estate here in the city – all which has enabled me to move on at this time.
Even though I’ll be “working on” my own music, I’m not sure how or what that will translate to since I will be free to do whatever I want and whenever I choose – which is a luxury I’ve never been blessed with previously. The reason for the uncertainty, is due to the fact that I’ll no longer be focusing on forcing a “commercial conformity” (in both content and format) or trying to make money through and with my music. Therefore, the possibilities are endless and not anchored to traditional public consumption, such as: album releases, singles, concerts, music videos, etc. Perhaps, I’ll make “music” and my art just for me – and not feel compelled whatsoever to share it with anyone.
Over the past few years, I’ve discovered that many of my contemporaries and similar “solo pianists” in my same “New-Age genre” have been making TENS-OF-THOUSANDS of dollars individually (every single month!!!) from SoundExchange based on their spins and streaming on Pandora Radio and similar sources. (As a benchmark comparison, I only make about $300 to $500 a month from the same SoundExchange sources). I became SO angry and frustrated when I discovered this as most of the artists involved haven’t been around very long and haven’t spent the decades I have (as well as others in our genre) investing an incredible amount of money and countless hours within their craft, in their careers, pushing promotion, and lastly the unfathomable amount of time and money dedicated to education and training not only what I’ve sacrificed to obtain, but also what my parents sacrificed to provide for me throughout my childhood and young adulthood. To me, this is the ultimate “slap in the face” to us all. This is the perfect example of how the unfairness of the “new” internet radio and model of the music business is further killing musician’s careers – and their hopes and dreams.
So although we’ve gone full-circle in the music industry with allegedly transparent digital technology designed to keep the playing field leveled and fair for all artists, there are still clearly “gate-keepers” only letting certain individuals gain traction, make “recommendations” based on some seemingly arbitrary algorithm, and make tons of money in the process – and I’m not just talking “money,” but I’m talking about Michael Jackson “Estate” and Madonna “Superstar” kind of money for independent artists who you’ve probably never even heard of… Although I can be happy for these select solo pianists for their obvious luck and clearly good fortune, it seems to me that the Curators and Music Directors over at Pandora Radio and similar stations should put everyone in rotation inside these “high stream” and “high volume spin” plateau levels and algorithms in order to spread this vast wealth around!
Sometimes, you’ve just got to let things go (and this is one of those times for me) – so, I leave it all in God’s hands as I am unable to change any of this unfairness – and to keep thinking about and obsessing over it will just continue to feed my anger and frustration. Instead, I focus on how blessed I have been elsewhere, despite this situation.
If you follow my logic, I see no reason to continue down a cycle and business model that pretty much leaves me and my music in the dust with very little compensation. No one seems to buy CDs anymore and the mode seems to be all about and moving toward, “streaming.” Without the Pandora inside connections, I don’t stand a chance making any financial gains with “streaming.” Why should I bother then working and spending money on making and promoting new music?
I’ve been asking myself this question a lot lately and the answer is simple: because music is my passion. That will never go away and I need to continue feeding it, if only for myself. I live for the spark of composing and improvising, the tactile feel of my fingers on the piano, the breath of playing the flute and the oboe. The satisfaction of getting near perfection of a main vocal performance while recording, writing lyrics that somehow fit the music and work in tandem to a melody, the intense discipline in the recording studio when recording and making final mixes, adding complex layered background vocals, and even remixing!
Completing a music project gives me the reason to do what I do and to keep going – exploring, discovering, and experimenting along the way. Not just about the music, but about myself and life in general. You can’t put a price on how this relates to my psyche and soul. But the conclusion I’ve come to is that it doesn’t require I participate in the music industry, which only seems to devalue and steal my intellectual property in the name of promotion. It’s not a requirement that I share my music, it’s a choice! The paradox is that if I don’t have it online virtually for free (like everyone else), then no one will ever hear it… Is it worth sharing my music if it can only happen on a platform that is free and others are making advertising money off of and creating a business model by using my intellectual property for free? For an egomaniac attention-whore, I’d say the exchange works well. But I’m neither, and this doesn’t sit well with me. Let’s say I instead choose not to participate and share my music going forward – where would that get me? It would be like totally shutting down. I know this is also not the answer. I just need to get paid, which brings us back full-circle to the current “streaming” issue.
I talked about extreme sacrifices above while living in New York City over the past 23 years. One good example is that I had to stop playing the flute and oboe in 1993 as I had no place to practice. Living in a small 400 sq. ft. one-room apartment leaves one with no options. With my relocation and semi-retirement this is all going to change. I recently invested heavily in a hand-made Howarth of London conservatory Oboe and a special custom hand-made Muramatsu Flute. These both have been dreams of mine. My parents could never afford a quality oboe, as they are extremely expensive, when I played it in high-school and throughout college, and in the local orchestra – so the oboes I had access to at that time were either cheap rentals or belonged to the public school system – all inferior and very old instruments without access to simple and basic maintenance.
I plan to take these talents to their fullest extreme this time around. When I previously played these instruments, I mostly interpreted Classical works. In fact, my signature award-winning flute solo piece (beginning at the age of 12) was Bach’s “Badinerie” from the Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor. This time I plan to do the same, but also compose with them as solo instruments and in combination with each other – and also with piano. I’m also interested in collaborating with my colleagues in the New Age genre by contributing soloist work with these new instruments on their recordings. {{If you’d like to hear me back in 1988, I’m playing both the flute and oboe together on my album, “Dream Of The Dead” in track #7., “Not That Easy.”}}
I also feel very strongly about returning to the Church – and using these musical gifts as my way of connecting to God and contributing to the Mass and church services – much like I did in high school and college. You will find me playing flute and oboe for weddings, special Masses, events, or simply as a soloist. The sky will be the limit, and I’ll be thinking (and playing!) outside the box…literally.
If you follow my feed on Twitter and Facebook (you should if you don’t) I had the vast pleasure of meeting Liz Story in December. Another pianist friend and contemporary, Lisa Downing made the connection. I had an unforgettable night sitting at a piano with Liz while she enlightened me into the combination locks I couldn’t break through on my own when interpreting her music. Words can’t describe the incredible experience.
We left the evening talking about performing together and possibly touring as a trio (me, Liz, and Lisa Downing). That is an option I hope presents itself soon as well (now that my schedule will be flexible to participate) as I think audiences would connect to our similar musical styles and playing – especially since Lisa and I were so inspired by Liz’s composing and arranging when we created my own works.
On another exciting front, my 2013 latest solo piano album, “Red” has been nominated into the Top 3 “Best Jazz Solo Piano” category of the 2016 Enlightened Piano Radio Awards Ceremony and Concert. These are the same lovely and talented folks that made my performance at Carnegie Hall last October come to fruition. This year, they are “upping the ante” and it will take place on the Carnival Cruise ship “Triumph“ (October 6th through the 10th) – leaving port in New Orleans and heading to Cozumel, Mexico. Since I’m in the top 3 and secured the award nomination, I am guaranteed a performance spot in the concert (and will most likely be playing at other opportunities on the ship at other times). I have already booked my cabin and the public is not only invited by EPR, but encouraged to join us for a “piano cruise.” There are special rates available and this is the link and page you should visit if you’d like to join me and the rest of the artists on the cruise. I look forward “seeing” you at “sea“!
Isadar / New York City
Happy New Year!!! I’m very excited to start the new year by announcing that the relaunch of my 3-disc project, “Lessons In Love” is underway. The album has been revisited, remixed, and remastered and is unrolling through virtual stores and streaming services at this time. Like all my other vocal albums, I’ve also completed an instrumental version of the album as well, which is also now available.
This was an ambitious project from the start! …a self-imposed concept of recording a track per week during the course of a year, 2004. Due to the quick pace, it was necessary to go back and polish the tracks to match the quality of my other vocal albums. I believe I’ve accomplished this by painstakingly going over the production meticulously armed with evolved technology and improved skills gained over the past 10 years. I hope the efforts are appreciated by those who listen.
On another note, the vinyl test pressings of all my vocal albums are going forward. The copies of “The Omega Point” have been completed and sound absolutely amazing due to the special Mastering utilized for the vinyl format!
I am Archiving all of my vocal albums on Vinyl utilizing Direct-to-Metal-Mastering (DMM) in the Czech Republic. I will order a handful of extra black vinyl “test copies” to sell for $30 each. They will not have artwork, and the white labels are to be rubber stamped. Contact me here if you are interested in obtaining any of what will be extremely rare collectible vinyls. When they are gone, they are gone…
Isadar / New York City
I’m excited to announce that I am making an appearance on “The Gathering II,” a new Will Ackerman compilation project. The series is a continuation of the Windham Hill Samplers legacy (i.e. “A Winter’s Solstice,” etc.) My solo piano piece, “Uncertainty (Reconstructed)” has been included. For more information, or to purchase, click the photos above.
March 26, 2014
March 17, 2014
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!! Welcome to the newly constructed ISADAR.COM website! I’m excited to announce that the website is now mobile phone and tablet device “responsive” and optimized with regard to content access as well as for obtaining my music. You’ll also find “social” links to “like,” tweet, and share from every page as well as a “search” box at the bottom of each which will search the entire website (207 pages) for any mention or instance of whatever you’re seeking. Videos are now hosted and fed directly from Vimeo and are also “responsive” to your device on any platform due to them being served through this website.
Remixing continues on “Lessons In Love” and I’m pleased to announce that Disc One has been completed.
Isadar / New York City
November 14, 2013
It’s that time of the year again! 50% off Christmas Sale through December 31st. Use Discount Code: AR94E24D Click here
Isadar / New York City
September 8, 2013
A brand new DVD of my special Acadiana launch concert for my 2012“Reconstructed” solo piano CD is now available exclusively here at ISADAR.COM. The DVD was filmed in HD 16:9 ratio High-Definition live in Crowley, Lousiana at the historical Grand Opera House Of The South. It has been professionally duplicated. I have no plans for a Blu-Ray HD version of the disc. Free shipping within the United States, but will also ship internationally.
Isadar / New York City
July 1, 2013
As June comes to a close, the promotions for all three of my latest solo piano albums from this past year have also concluded. “Red” made it impressively into the Top 10, landing (and peaking) at the #9 position on the Zone Music Reporter (ZMR Chart) for February.
I have become disenchanted with YouTube recently. All clips I try to view have either an annoying pre-roll ad or in-screen ads. I’ve deactivated this function from my account – however, ads continue to show on some of my videos. Although I have over 150,000 views of my videos, I have never been paid any advertising revenue generated from these ads. I don’t see why I should continue to enable someone or a corporation to make a business model from (and profit off of) my intellectual property! From now on, I’ll be embracing Vimeo exclusively. As an alternative, all of my videos are viewable here on ISADAR.COM by going to the Music Videos page.
Please note that I’ve added extensive “buttons” at the top on the front page of ISADAR.COM. I hope you find these helpful to find me across the internet at your favorite sites.
Although I’ve started the “re-visiting” of Lessons In Love (listen to a sample of how the work is progressing here), I realize that this project is going to be another major undertaking – much like the process I underwent for Cycles. In order to continue, I’ll need to take quite a bit of time off to sort things out as well as to find a new physical space in order to perform the work. But more particularly, to reignite my passion for continuing to work with music at all – since that seems to have escaped me for the moment.
Once I begin work again and make more traction on this project, I’ll be sure to communicate my progress here on this page. Until then, I’ll be signing off due to radio silence.
Thanks for your patience,
Isadar / New York City
February 14, 2013
Greetings, and Happy Valentine’s Day!
In honoring Valentine’s Day, I’m excited, proud and pleased to officially make note of my newest solo piano album “Red.” It is a bitter-sweet love themed album. It was released on Tuesday, February 5th and took over 7 years to write and produce (along side my 2012 Holiday album, “O Christmas”). There are 7 tracks on the album, but I wrote about 25 compositions – the final 7 are what I felt were the most moving to me and worthy of making it onto a new album.
The album is available as a physical CD direct from Amazon, downloadable MP3s in all digital stores such as iTunes, as a professionally transcribed and beautifully printed sheet music book (as well as a downloadable book version or individual song transcriptions).
This week, Isadar / Mainya Music is proudly underwriting the syndicated PRI (Public Radio International) radio show, “Echoes” hosted by John Diliberto. Part of the underwriting is a large animated banner ad (see example below) Slide 1, Slide 2, Slide 3, Slide 4, Slide 5 advertising “Red” on the front page of their website as well as the airing of a few 30-second spots throughout the week. Today, they are airing in full the third track on the album, “The Man Who Broke My Heart” as part of their special Valentine’s Day soundscape. Watch YouTube preview here.
Radio chart-wise, I’ve been very fortunate having landed both the #4 position in December on the Zone Music Reporter (ZMR Chart) for my “O Christmas”album. In fact, it was the highest charting Holiday album for the entire season of 2012! “Reconstructed” is also still doing very well – having taken the #7 spot on the year-end chart. It was also the highest ranking solo piano recording released in 2012!
“O Christmas” has been honored with a nomination by the Zone Music Reporter for Best Holiday album of 2012. The award will be announced at the live ceremony that will take place at The Joy Theatre in New Orleans, Louisiana on Saturday, May 11th, 2013.
“Red” has been sent and promoted to international radio DJs and I look forward to see how it charts over the next couple of months. (see: ads placed on the Zone Music Reporter website Slide 1, Slide 2 )
Isadar / New York City
August 24, 2012
Lots of BIG news this month, so let’s get started:
First, I’m super excited to announce that my new Christmas solo piano album, “O Christmas” is now complete. It is set for release on November 6th. This is a milestone for me since I’ve been working on it for the past seven years! It will contain 10 new tracks consisting of my take and arrangement of public domain works. Stay tuned here (or on Facebook) for details.
During the month of July, Isadar / Mainya Music proudly underwrote the syndicated PRI (Public Radio International) radio show, “Echoes” hosted by John Diliberto. Part of the underwriting was a large banner ad Slide 1, Slide 2,Slide 3 advertising “Reconstructed” on the front page of their website as well as the airing of forty 30-second spots throughout the month.
Internationally, I was honored (and I am still excited about it) to have received the award of “Album of the Month” (for July) by ReviewsNewAge.com based out of Spain. The album has also been nominated for 2012’s “Album Of The Year” which will be announced in early 2013! Read their review here in Español.
My piano music from “Reconstructed” is now being aired on the major cable music channels: Music Choice / Soundscapes, DMX Radio, and Pandora.
For both July & August, I’ve managed to hold my place in the Top 5 (currently at#4) on the ZMR’s (Zone Music Reporter) Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart.
Saving for last, I’m excited to announce that my album, “Reconstructed (solo piano)” has been submitted for consideration into 5 categories for the 55th annual GRAMMY® Awards:
1. Best Pop Instrumental Album
2. Best Instrumental Composition “The Purple Heart (a summary)“
3. Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Will Ackerman
4. Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical): Thomas Eaton
5. Best Recording Package (for Artwork / Cover / Design)
I’m curious and anxious to see how this process unfolds over the next couple of months as it gets closer to the nomination ballot stage, which will be announced in early December. Stayed tuned.
Isadar / New York City
July 26, 2012
I’m pleased to announce that “Reconstructed (solo piano)” is currently at #2 on the Zone Music Reporter Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart. The ZMR Chart is the industry source for New Age, World, Ambient, Electronic, Solo Piano, Relaxation, Instrumental and many other genres.
Isadar / New York City
June 7, 2012
“Reconstructed (solo piano)” is now available at a limited introductory sale price here on ISADAR.COM. Purchase your CD copy today!
The album has been getting great reviews (as well as airplay) and you can read these articles from the News Articles & Press Reviews page.
Particularly of highlight is an article that came out today in the Huffington Post – (part two here [added 6/11/2012]) written by Alexandra Holzer. Alexandra’s Dad, Dr. Hans Holzer, was the Parapsychologist author who did the original research with regard to the Amityville Horror movie. His book, “Muder in Amityville” was the source for the screenplay for the movie. Like her Dad, Alexandra is a psychic paranormal investigator – hence the slant, and area of interests covered in the article.
Isadar / New York City
April 5, 2012
I am so excited to announce that I will be performing at the historical Grand Opera House of the South in Crowley, Louisiana, Friday, May 11, at 7pm!!! It is a “sneak-peek” pre-release concert to launch my new solo piano CD in the Acadiana area – further details will be posted here as they unfold.
Isadar / New York City
March 25, 2012
I am honored and pleased to announce that Grammy award winner Will Ackerman (founder of Windham Hill Records) will be producing my new solo piano record. Stay tuned for more details as they unfold.
All my best,
Izzy / New York City
November 27, 2011
Looking for unique Christmas music for the holidays? All my solo piano, DVD and antique music box Christmas collections are on sale until December 31, 2011.
Take 50% off by using code: AR94E24D
Included in the limited sale are 2 brand new CD releases, “Antique Music Box Christmas Collection (Disc 1 and 2).” This 2-disc selection (sold separately) is culled from the 2007 2-disc box set, “Antique Music Box Collection” – Various Antique Music Boxes.
Until now, the Christmas selections (over 80 minutes worth of music) was only available by purchasing the entire box set.
Happy Holidays!
Izzy / New York City
November 22, 2011
The newly remixed and remastered version of my 1998 album,“Cycles,” is now available on CD from Amazon.com and downloadable in iTunes. You can also now stream the album in full from Spotify.
I’m excited to announce that I’ve also released both the physical CD and the digital package as an instrumental version. I’ve always found it interesting to hear instrumental versions of songs made by artists I like. Without the vocals, you can hear so much more of the detail and hard work that went into making the music. Eventually, I plan to release instrumental versions of all my vocal projects.
Stay tuned shortly for another announcement regarding Music Box Christmas music…
Until then, enjoy…
Izzy / New York City
August 27, 2011
My music is now available for streaming 24/7 on Spotify. All of my albums are up with the exception of the piano box set and the two vocal albums that are currently being remixed and remastered. Click here for my Spotify page.
Remixing and Remastering of my 1998 album, “Cycles” is now complete. It will take some time to get it up in iTunes and Spotify, so in the meantime, you can begin to hear the new versions on my Soundcloud page.
I have started the Remixing and Remastering of “Lessons In Love” but due to the size of the project I don’t anticipate this moving very quickly.
Izzy / New York City
July 2, 2011
Today, I am pleased to post some statistics regarding my music videos and their performances:
Since 2008, my music video 30-minute episodes have aired in New York City, Los Angeles, and south Louisiana on Public Access television for a whopping total number of 168 times! (that’s 84 hours of programming) That breaks down to well over 302 million opportunities for potential viewership!!! I’m so proud of this accomplishment and couldn’t have done it without the help of program directorsChuck Stern at Manhattan Neighborhood Network in New York City, and Lisa Nguyen at LA36 in Los Angeles. A big thank you both! All episodes have run their course in all markets however, and it is time to retreat and concentrate on other things.
I am about to dig deep into the remix / rework projects I started last Summer. As I stated back in March, I’m near half way through the album “Cycles” and with time on my hands now should move through the material at a steady pace. As this project develops I will begin to post the new versions on my Facebook page. If you’d like to hear them, you should check back frequently or “like” the page so that you’ll see the postings in your news feed.
Until then, have a great July!
Izzy / New York City
March 18, 2011
Sheet music books for the piano sampler collection, “Scratching The Surface” are complete and now available:
As March comes to a close, a few huge milestones have been reached: my music videos have now aired in NYC on MNN for a total of 65 times, which equals to about 33 hours, reaching a potential audience of over 195 million viewers! Series 1 & 2 also gained massive exposure (about 56 million potential viewers) while getting aired 35 times in Los Angeles on LA36 during the past 8 months.
Recently, I changed digital distributors and took this opportunity to perform basic clean-up and remastering (as well as updating cover artwork, and adding a song or two) to some of the digital albums before re-sending them back into iTunes. They are now new and improved.
Physical CDs of these new and improved versions are also now available. The albums are being manufactured on demand by Amazon.com and are of the same quality as major-label manufactured CDs. The vocal CDs include lyrics inside the 4-page booklets.
However, during the updating process it became obvious and necessary to hold back on two old releases. Currently, I am re-working and re-mastering one of them – my 1998 vocal album, “Cycles.” I thought this was going to be a simple, straight-forward process when I started this back in August, but it is proving to be very time consuming – and at times, even feels like I’m making the entire record over again. The mixing is proving to be quite frustrating and complicated in trying to emulate the original atmospheres of the tracks with entirely different technology. I’m about 5 songs into the 14 total at the moment with much more work to go… I suffered massive burn-out around December and have taken a break from this work since that time. Still, the finished new versions soundawesome!!!!! So worth the time that I’m taking to improve upon them…
After “Cycles” is finalized, I will tackle the 3-disc vocal project “Lessons In Love” from 2005 with the same re-working process. This album was made very quickly (I targeted one song per week during production) so I am anxious to refine this to match the quality standards of my other albums. This will then require re-synching the new audio to the existing music videos from the album as well. Will it ever end? LOL!
Needless to say, the piano albums are not even on my radar at this point. However, I have plans to perform solo piano next month here in Los Angeles, but details have yet to be finalized. As soon as that is in place, I will post somethinghere and on Facebook. [performance has been cancelled, 4/29/2011]
Izzy / Los Angeles, CA
July 28, 2010
East Coast, now West Coast – LA36 has approved and will begin to cable-cast both my music videos & piano performance 12-episode series beginning in August and will be in rotation for a year. LA36 is the second largest community cable station in the U.S., LA36 reaches over 1.6 million viewers from Bel Air to Silver Lake, from downtown Los Angeles to San Pedro, from Brentwood to Sherman Oaks. I’ve added a link above containing the schedule as the information becomes available.
Izzy / New York City
June 28, 2010
Sheet music books for “Near The Edge Of Light” are complete and now available:
I’ve added a 2nd YouTube Channel exclusively for my solo piano recordings and videos. You can access it here:
New product: “Isadar – Solo Piano Anthology 1990-2010” is now available. It is a 6-CD bundled set and can be purchased here:
Isadar / New York City
June 5, 2010
Two of my solo piano CDs are now on Pandora Radio:
I have added two new tabs to the home page: One for “Concerts/Events” and another called, “Shop/Store.”
In early July, I will be performing solo piano at three dates in the Pacific Northwest region. These performances are part of the Whisperings Solo Piano Artists Series. Details can be found on the Concerts/Events page. See also: Kathy Parson’s link.
All of my music videos and piano performances are now available on several DVD collections. Other new products (and more on the way) are also found in the newShop/Store. Click the covers for more information regarding the video collections:
The sheet music transcriptions for “Near The Edge Of Light” were completed yesterday and turned over to the book printers. This release celebrates the 20th anniversary of the making of this album (on June 19, 1990). The virtual release, including all artwork, will be available next week from the Sheet Music tab – and single versions of individual songs will also be added soon. I anticipate the physical books ready to ship upon my return from the July performances.
Izzy / Beverly Hills, CA
April 22, 2010
With the end of March, another huge milestone has been reached: my music videos have aired in NYC on MNN for a total of 38 times, which equals 19 hours, reaching a potential audience of over 114 million viewers! Episode 3 also gained great exposure (about 1.5 million potential viewers) while getting aired 13 times in south Louisiana on Acadiana Open Channel during this past December and January.
The entire 12-episode series has been converted and added to iTunes as a FREE Video Podcast. The content can be downloaded or streamed and is viewable on the iPad, iPhone, and video compatible iPods.
A new 12- episode music video series is currently being compiled and should be ready within the next couple of weeks for airing.
The sheet music for my last solo piano collection “The Purple Heart” (click the cover art to see the back art) is now available. The professionally printed books have also been reviewed by Kathy Parsons, a noted reviewer and teacher of solo piano published music within the new age genre.
New solo piano transcriptions for “Near the Edge of Light” are currently being made by David Shenton. He is editing and refining my original work in order to make new versions which will be verbatim to the audio recordings that appear on the album. As soon as he is done with the new versions, I will order books from the printer.
You’ll also find a few new music videos on the Music Video page. Two of them are remixes for “Loving You From Afar” (which feature clips from previous released videos) and the latest video added is for my remix of LiFe v.2.o.
A few other recent music videos have also been added to that page: “Everything I Was Looking For,” which was shot last summer in the California Mojave Desert. “Uh-Oh!,” shot in November 2008, and “Come To Me” made this past September in the canyons of Malibu, CA.
You are now able to access a new “Solo Piano Performance Videos” page from the Music Videos page. This gives direct access to individual songs that appeared in the solo piano episodes.
I’m planning to roll-out physical CDs of all my albums in the coming months. As soon as I am able to set these up, order my own copy, and test the quality of these on-demand kiosks I will post the order links. This service will be available world-wide. I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews of these systems and this will enable me to offer fans professional quality units without the upfront manufacturing investment nor having to store an inventory.
New releases are also in the works, but I am keeping the details under wraps for now.
Until then,
Isadar / Beverly Hills, CA
November 28, 2009
With last week’s airing of Solo Piano (Episode Three), another milestone has been reached: my music videos have aired in NYC on MNN for a total of 12.5 hours, reaching a potential audience of 75 million viewers!
A solo piano “Christmas Special” has been delivered to MNN and will air during the month of December. The links above will note dates and times when the information becomes available.
All of my music video TV episodes (including solo piano) have been added to blip.tv and can be streamed there as well as here at the links above.
I now post frequent updates on my Facebook page – and lately have been uploading rare demos and works in progress. I invite you to interact with me by becoming a “fan” of my page. Come and check it out!
Happy Holidays!
Isadar / New York City
September 21, 2009
The music video for “LiFe v.2.o” is now on-line for viewing. This video was painstakingly programmed by a young Canadian named Kyle Johnson and is a SIMS animation clip. I thought the artificial world of “The Sims” would be the perfect environment for the concept of LiFe v.2.o. I’m very grateful to Kyle for the time he spent making this video. I love it!
Episode Two of my solo piano performance series has been delivered to MNN and I anticipate this show to air in early October. (Still no word from AOC on whether or not my videos will begin to air again).
Isadar / New York City
September 2, 2009
The music video for “By My Side” from my album “Dream Of The Dead” is now complete and on-line for viewing. This video was shot this past June in the California Mojave Desert.
Isadar / New York City
August 29, 2009
Since March of this year, my music videos have been on the air in New York City for a total of 8.5 hours and have reached 51 million potential viewers.
On September 16th, my Solo Piano multi-episode series will begin to air as well. At the same time, I’m continuing to work on Episode Six (which will be the last episode for now) of my vocal videos. So far, two videos (out of those five) are fully edited. Three to go…
My goal then will be to get through the editing of all the live piano compositions I recorded in March. (about 35 of them in all) These will probably make up five to six episodes of solo piano performance content.
Once these air, the plan will be to begin a series of episodes which will blend and compile both styles. A vocal video, followed by a piano video, etc. This will keep me on cable TV in NYC for the next year enabling me to reach over 200 million potential views. I also plan to launch this content in other markets when I have the opportunity.
I view all of this effort in promoting my work as a “virtual tour” and as an innovative way to get my music heard. Exciting stuff!
Isadar / New York City
August 20, 2009
Episode Five of my music videos aired in NYC last night for the first time. They will air two more times over the next two weeks. In the meantime, I just finished a brand new music video of my 2nd Madonna ‘cover’ for her song, “Get Together.”
The video was shot near Palm Springs, California this past June. I remembered driving through these fields of windmills during the summer of 2000. They had an eerie futuristic quality about them and the area stuck out in my brain.
I’m pleased to announce that the solo piano version of my song, “The Bermuda Triangle” has been charting high in digital downloads at Amazon.com. I saw it go as high as #2, now it is sitting at #22. You can keep a watch on it here: Solo Piano Downloads
This piano version of “The Bermuda Triangle” is simply an isolated mix of the actual piano performance incorporated into the full-blown recording session of the vocal song. It originally appeared on my vocal album “Private Property” but this solo piano mix is a bonus track on Disc 1 of my sampler collection called, “Scratching The Surface.” Because of the recent new interest in this piano version, I’ve re-cut the original music video specifically for this piano version and it will appear on the Solo Piano video episodes beginning to air in NYC next month.
Isadar / New York City
August 12, 2009
A new music video for “Thinking About You” has been completed and posted on-line. This is a bonus track that appears on the digital album version (i.e. iTunes, etc.) of “Dream Of The Dead.” It technically was a live 2-track demo – but I was happy enough with the atmosphere of the performance, so I decided to simply use it as opposed to trying to recreate that “feeling.” The video was shot in between Santa Monica and Malibu, CA this past June. This was one instance where the “June gloom” worked to my advantage!
Episode Five of my music videos has been completed and delivered to MNN. It will begin airing on Wednesday, August 19th. I have also completed Episode One of the solo piano series that will begin airing Wednesday, September 16th. (Complete air dates and times can be viewed by clicking the link at the top of this page.)
Isadar / New York City
July 31, 2009
I’m pleased to announce that the new sheet music books for The Journey are now available for purchase and shipping.
***NEW!!! Join me on Twitter (right click, and “open in new window” orhttps://twitter.com/Isadar ) and Facebook
The music video for “Meant To Be” is complete and up on-line for viewing. This video was shot this past May and is the fifth clip from my latest album “The Omega Point.”
Isadar / New York City
July 20, 2009
One of the videos I shot in Los Angeles last month (for “Fun & Games“) is now fully edited and posted on-line. This was a very difficult video to shoot due to the location (Santa Monica Pier) with the hundreds of people around and the camera mechanics involved, but it was fun to make never-the-less. It was the last video I shot the afternoon before I returned to NYC and the first I wanted to tackle editing because I knew it would be difficult.
MNN begins airing “Episode Four” of my music videos tonight (or rather 1:30am). This is by far the best collection in my opinion and I’m anxious for it to air over the next week!
I received confirmation Friday that “The Journey” sheet music books are all printed! I saw the final proof early last week and it looked beautiful. They should be shipping later this week.
Isadar / New York City
June 30, 2009
Great news! Sheet music for “The Journey” is now available via download here. The physical books are still about 2-3 weeks away. I will post another update when I have them on-hand and when they are available for shipping.
I spent a week in Los Angeles earlier this month and while I was there, I shot four new music videos (all songs from “Dream Of The Dead.”) I am busy trying to catch up on video editing as I still have one music video I shot over the Thanksgiving holiday, one I shot over Christmas and another I shot in May. Seven total that I’m trying my best to get done.
This past March I spent a day creating videos of my solo piano performances. I made “live” clips to 35 different compositions that span across my piano projects (including a few from my unfinished album). I have edited only nine of them so far and it is also a project I’d like to complete in the coming months. The plan is to make six 30-minute episodes (like the vocal collection) for cablecasting on MNN and AOC. These will air in the Fall on MNN. One episode will be exclusively for the holidays and contains piano music from “In Search For The Meaning Of Christmas” as well as a few from the new Christmas album that is still in the works.
MNN has started airing “Episode Three” of my music videos and it will air again this Thursday night (you can see the schedule by clicking the link above). AOC has not aired anything for a few months now and most likely will not get to air “Episode Three” until late August (so I’ve been told) due to a large amount of programming that has priority scheduling.
Have a good summer!
Isadar / New York City
April 6, 2009
I just finished editing (and posted) my new video for my song “On A Pedestal.” My videos continue to air in New York City on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. “Episode Two” will begin airing shortly. Check the schedules at the links above.
Isadar / New York City
March 17, 2009
Although MNN confirmed previous air dates and times for Episode One, they had technical difficulties which will result in a new schedule of air times. (Please click the link above for new details as they become available).
Episode Three has been submitted to AOC and should begin airing at anytime (check the AOC link above for updates).
Isadar / New York City
February 19, 2009
Today, I delivered Episode One to MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network) here in New York City. My videos will begin airing in a few weeks. Each episode will have three repeats. Once I have the confirmed airtimes, I will post them at the link above. I’m really excited to get on this network as they reach 3 million people throughout New York City.
Isadar / New York City
February 9, 2009
I’m pleased to announce that I’ve completed my newest video for my song “I Love You.” It was a lot of fun to make and edit this video clip! The music track is taken from my 2005 album, “Lessons In Love” and appears on Disc 2 of that collection. The music was made entirely with my Fairlight CMI Series IIx (previously owned by Herbie Hancock – and used to make his infamous song, “Rock It!”). I only added a real piano and my vocals on top of the Fairlight’s output. This is one of my favorite compositions/arrangements that I made with the CMI. I hope you like the song (and now the video for it) too!
Isadar / New York City
February 2, 2009
You can stream both complete Music Video Episodes One & Two by clicking the link above.
Isadar / New York City
February 1, 2009
FuseTV Music Video Contests
Please take a moment to vote for my videos that have entered into numerous FuseTV (MakeAStar) competitions. Currently, I’m in Groups 27, 28 and 30.
Voting requires a quick sign-up process (which is free) and once you have a user name and ID you can go back to the pages to vote.
The Link
Thanks for your support!
Isadar, New York City
January 22, 2009
I’m pleased to announce the completion of my new music video for the song “No Hope.” You can access the video via the front page of my website or from the Music Videos tab bar.
The video was shot in-part at the prehistoric archeological site Poverty Point(1650 – 700 BC) near Monroe, Louisiana.
Isadar, New York City
January 8, 2009
Check out this guy named Sam Burns who did a wonderful cover of my solo piano composition “Where The Wild Things Are” on YouTube. Thanks Sam! I’m completely flattered!
Isadar, New York City
December 7, 2008
I am pleased to announce that Acadiana Open Channel, (AOC) in Lafayette, Louisiana will begin airing my music videos. For time slot consideration and maximum amount of exposure, I created 30-minute episodes that will contain five music videos each, coupled with an interview clip at the end. Generally, in the order that they were made. The interview clips are being pulled from a 2-part series (about making the music videos and about my piano and vocal music process in general) that I shot in November. It was made for a promotional 2-hour double-disc DVD video compilation. The episodes will have a rotation life of four weeks each on AOC. Episode 2 should begin airing in February and the entire series should run through May of 2009.
I have delivered the first episode to AOC and it will begin airing the week beginning Friday, December 19th. Currently, a 60-second promotional spot for the episode is running (so I’m told). If you live in the area and subscribe to Cox Cable and get Channels 15 and/or 16, you can check the weekly schedules here for the exact cable-cast time. (Click the “Programming” tab then select “Daily Schedule”) When I have the airtime information confirmed, I will post it here in the News section. In the meantime, check out the 60-second promo spot for the episode here on YouTube Cox Cable has confirmed that as of June 2008 AOC reaches 120,000+ customers in the Acadiana area.
I am also excited to announce that I am now a “Whisperings: Solo Piano” artist and I just got on board with their broadcast at Solo Piano Radio If you are a fan of my piano music and are not familiar with “Whisperings” I strongly suggest you click the link for more information. It’s a hugely popular Internet radio broadcast that targets people who love piano music. They also create regional concert series (which I will eventually participate). The program launches between 1 and 2 million streams every month. My songs that are airing in heavy rotation 24/7 are:
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from “Near the Edge of Light”: Jealous Heart / Overview / Highway Driving / Near The Edge Of Light / Summer Nights / April Showers / Holding Back
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from “Active Imagination”: Active Imagination / Waiting / Uncertainty / Love Chaconne
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from “In Search For The Meaning Of Christmas”: Bring A Torch / Children Go Where I Send Thee / The Holly & The Ivy / Silent / Greensleeves
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I am still working on my two new piano albums and transcriptions to “The Journey” are also forthcoming. No new information at this time regarding these projects to report.
Happy Holidays!
Isadar, New York City
October 17, 2008
The sheet music collection for “In Search For The Meaning Of Christmas” is finally complete and available for sale here at ISADAR.COM The first printing of books are spiral bound for ease in page turns. However, they are very expensive to duplicate in this manner so the next printing will be saddle-stitched like “Active Imagination.” You can also acquire them via instant download.
These took much longer than expected. Nine drafts later I am finally ready to release them. These also include chord symbols for use in a wider range of instrumentation. Transcriptions for “The Journey” are now the focus and are very close to completion. Check back in the coming weeks for an update.
With the Fall energy strong in the air, I am moving along on both new piano audio albums. I’ve made lots of progress in the past few weeks! Focusing on the piano transcriptions I believe also nudged me along this path.
Isadar, New York City
September 3, 2008
The printed sheet music books for “Active Imagination” have arrived today! It is such a pleasure to finally get these in my hands. The Christmas collection is not far behind. I’ve been promised this batch shorty and these should be leaving for book duplication in a week or so if all goes as planned.
Instant downloads of the transcriptions, and select unrestricted .MP3s are now available to purchase using a credit card from this website.
I just finished editing my new music video “The Bermuda Triangle.” It was an absolute joy to make.
Isadar, New York City
August 10, 2008 *****UPDATE*****
The sheet music collection for “Active Imagination” is now available as loose-leaf. It is 40 pages in length and verbatim to the audio recordings. I am having a soft-cover book professionally printed and the copies should be ready in a week or two. The transcriber, David Shenton, has promised that the Christmas album, “In Search For The Meaning Of Christmas” will also be ready in a few weeks – in time for the holiday season. Check back in September for details.
Look for more music videos shortly. I am in the process of editing #15, which will be my cover version of Madonna’s “Burning Up.”
Isadar, New York City
April 10, 2008
Recently, I have made a few music videos to accompany my songs in the style of early MTV. Although I’ve always been interested in the “music video” medium, I realized early on that I would not have an outlet to get them publicly played even if I pursued production. In the past, it was also very expensive to make “music videos” but with new technology that is no longer a concern.
Thanks to YouTube.com (with their nifty tag and search capabilities) I now have the opportunity to get my music in front of a large audience who would otherwise never hear my work.
Going forward, I plan to make many videos and post them on YouTube in order to further promote and bring attention to my older recordings and album projects. I’m also having quite a bit of fun during the process!
Since YouTube compresses uploaded video significantly (and audio/video synchronization issues occur during playback), I will always post pristine versions of the clips here in the Music Videos area found on the menu to the left. The videos I post here can be streamed or downloaded and are made for playback in Windows Media Player. If you are a MAC user, you can download a free Apple version of Windows Media Player here.
Additionally, I have posted a few video clips on YouTube showing my Disklavier player-piano performing my solo piano compositions. (More to come in the future). I’m posting these clips so that interested piano players who either do not read music, or can’t read very well, can watch the key movements of the piano and pick-up my songs “by sight.” I actually learned a few Liz Story compositions (including “Wedding Rain”) using this method.
Click the logo below to enter (and subscribe to) my channel:
Isadar, April 10, 2008, New York City
March 9, 2008
I’m thrilled to announce that my new album, “The Omega Point” is complete and en route to digital distribution channels.
Piano sheet music transcribing continues and the collection for “Active Imagination” is near completion.
I have come to realize that while living in the confined space of my apartment in New York City (and the more time I spend away from an inspiring concert grand piano) the less I’m inclined to have an interest in producing solo piano works. Nevertheless, I still plan to continue work on the two piano projects in progress and hope to complete them by the holiday season.
Isadar, March 9, 2008, New York City
November 17, 2007
Happy Holidays!
This has been a busy year. My new vocal album “LiFe v.2.0” was the main focus for most of the previous months and took much longer than I expected to complete.
I am currently working on a project that is a continuation of the same type of vocal material on LiFe v.2.0. I had not planned this, but inspiration and creativity can have a mind of its own. Due to this, both new planned piano albums have been pushed back until the Fall of 2008. It is highly likely (based on how deep I’m into the current project) that it will be ready early 2008. It is untitled at this stage.
Sheet music is still being worked on – nothing new to report to that end.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season!
Isadar, November 17, 2007, New York City
April 24, 2007
Greetings from the Big Apple!
Spring is in the air. Get out and enjoy the weather if you have not as yet… In the spirit of the season, I’ve joined a gym and hired a personal trainer while fundamentally changing my diet for the better. It was time to make a serious change. I’m amazed at the amount of physical, mental and spiritual energy almost instantly the process has returned to me.
I’m excited to report that all Mainya Music audio recordings are now available in iTunes (and other on-line stores) for downloading & sampling.
The latest addition is that of the Antique Music Box Collection. This collection now has 30-second individual track sampling via iTunes. Click on the iTunes logo in the AMBC page and iTunes will open to Volume 1. The collection is split up into 10 volumes. You can navigate to the other volumes through iTunes once on the page. Three additional volumes contain exclusive Christmas/Holiday themed tracks and have different cover artwork in the spirit of Christmas. All tracks are set to $0.99 and all volumes have a download price of $9.99 USD each. Buy the entire physical CD box set direct from ISADAR.COM instead and save. Enjoy!
I have been really busy since January. I again upgraded my home studio. The main addition is a Yamaha Disklavier grand piano. With that said, two new piano albums have flowed out of me rather quickly. The first will be titled, “Red” and will be a continuation of the improvisational style explored on “The Purple Heart (2003)” but are individual contrasting compositions instead of an entire suite. The other piano album, is a new Christmas collection. At the moment, it does not have a title. These will of course have the verbatim Disklavier player-piano software performance simultaneous release. Neither are set for release in the near future as they are still being worked on but I anticipate both completed and released by the Fall.
I have hired a music transcriber who is currently transcribing my album “Active Imagination” to piano sheet music verbatim to the CD audio. We will follow with all other piano albums (including the composition ‘Scratching The Surface’ from the sampler) I do not have a time estimate as to when these will be completed and ready for purchase, but I will announce the availability here. I have already added these products to Amazon.com along side “Near The Edge Of Light” (which is currently available) as the new collections are forthcoming.
My other upgrade was a vintage Neumann U87 microphone for my vocals. This was a real find and treasure! It was manufactured in 1969 for a professional recording studio in the Netherlands. It also happens to be THE mic that ABBA used to record their vocals on all albums and hits! Words can not describe the texture and warmth of this microphone! I look forward to a lifetime of use making vocals with this jewel.
Lastly, I discovered virtual synths – actual synthesizers which reside in computer RAM memory. They work very much like fonts in a word processing application. This has been a real epiphany. I was very close to purchasing a Fairlight CMI Series III (c. 1991) but when I experienced the capabilities and functions of the “virtual” synths I quickly abandoned for good all interest I ever had in a CMI.
The virtual synths have sped up my process by 100-fold. I can put together the bed of a track in an hour or two whereas it used to take me weeks or months! This has allowed me to catch up on most of the archived MIDI material I had written and arranged during the span of 1991 through 2000. ‘Part 1’ of these results is a new vocal album titled, “LiFe v.2.0” I’m in the midst of revising lyrics and no real master vocals have been recorded as of yet, but it is moving along as expected. I also anticipate this being released in the Fall or earlier since it is further along than either piano album.
Thanks for your support and taking the time to read my news!
Isadar, April 24, 2007, New York City