malukah

August Cover Sneak Peek & Updates

Hey guys! I hope you're well and that your week is off to a good start. 

I have a few updates for you. First of all, this month's Patreon-voted cover is the traditional English folk song, Scarborough Fair. Here's a sneak peek of the track. It's coming along nicely, I just need to add some more guitars, percussion, and a crap ton of background vocals. Haha! 

Last week, I got to work with Cristy again to film 2 videos for In the Darkness, ...

Patreon Exclusive Premiere - The Dawn Will Come

Hey guys!

I hope you're well. :) Here's the July cover for the song chosen through a Patreon vote: The Dawn Will Come from Dragon Age Inquisition. It's a Patreon-only premiere for now and will be going live next week.

I struggled a bit with the arrangement, but finally found a way through. I really enjoyed getting to record a choir-like sound. Here's a behind the scenes video where I show how that came together!

2020-08-04 02:51:10 +0000 UTC View Post

July's Cover Song is Here! The Dawn Will Come

Behooooold! The newest cover! Selected by a Patreon vote! 

The Dawn Will Come from Dragon Age Inquisition. 

https://we.tl/t-TLbY2TdeaS 

Thanks to everyone that voted. I still need to review what behind the scenes vlog footage I have that could be interesting to share. I didn't film as much as I wanted to this time. But, I'm hoping to change that next month. I'll announce the new voting session ...

Huge Announcement!

This is all in the video, but if you prefer text, read on :) 

You guuuuuys. I am preggers. Hehehe! Some of you already knew, but I hadn’t made a formal pregnancy announcement here yet and I really wanted to share the news with you.

Omi and I are expecting a baby boy this November. His name will be Dante. We’re happy, excited, terrified, and already bought too many baby clothes… I’m 6 months along. 

In order to keep my music journey going while learning to b...

New Collaboration with Peter Hollens - Tale of the Tongues

Hey guys! 

Hope your week is off to a good start. :)

Quick Updates
- New collaboration video with Peter Hollens: Tale of the Tongues.
- July's Patreon cover vote results: The Dawn Will Come!
- Lord of the Rings/Tolkien EP in the works!

More details if you've got time

- - - Tale of the Tongues - - -

Getting to revisit this Skyrim ba...

The Fields of Ard Skellig - Download

Here it is! I hope you enjoy this new cover. 

Thanks for being a part of making this possible!

Hugs,
Malu

VLOG: Recording the Newest Cover - The Fields of Ard Skellig

You guuuys. I've finished the Patreon-voted cover for this month! Here's a vlog I filmed during the process. It was fun for me to get to show how I approach these projects.

The next step is filming a video this weekend. I will be filming this myself at home, in a more old-school, casual setting. I miss making those kinds of videos! And I'm hoping that a blend of casual and fancy (fancy = Cristy films) will allow me to share more music more often.

I'll be sending out a download lin...

May It Be - Exclusive Patreon Premiere!

You guuuuys. It's done. It's out! But it's unlisted. hahaha! So, only you can see it for now. 

I want to wait a few days before making it public so that the distribution goes through and it's added to Spotify, etc.

Making this video was a lot of fun. We finally got to record at double speed so that Cristy could slow the footage down in editing. Hehe! I'll be sharing a clip from that when I post a quick vlog about this song later in the week.

And I also miraculously fit ...

Next Cover Has Been Chosen!

You guuuuuys. And we are off. You voted last week for the next cover and we have a winner. The Fields of Ard Skelling from The Witcher 3.

I wasn't expecting this to win by so much, BUT I'm glad it did because if left up to me, I would have chickened out from recording this cover. hahaha! Thanks for the extra nudge into action.

I'm happy to report that I have been able to record vlog clips here and there while I'm learning the song, etc. So, I look forward to sharing that footage a...

New Song Download!

Hey guys! It's done! :D Here's a download for May It Be.

https://we.tl/t-hhKQQCJnAx

I'm struggling with the volume of this one. For your, on your usual way of listening. Is it too loud? Too soft? 

I'll make adjustments if necessary and send you another download link with the final version when I post the video!

Now, I must figure out how to film the video. 

I'm considering adding some fo...

Patreon June 2020 update!

Hey guys!

I've updated the Patreon pledge tiers and made a video to tell you about them. 

In summary:

$1 - Same. Patreon Feed and Audio previews
$3 - Song download links! MP3 and FLACC
$5 - A monthly private livestream (concert, Q&A, office hours)
$10 - Vote monthly on the next cover!
$20 - Same. Physical letter + goodies
$50 - Same. Credit in video + letter + journal

I can't wait to get started on the first voting session! Hehe!

Any feedb...

Another May It Be Sneak Peek!

You guuuuys. This is getting closer and closer to being done.

I'm just at the final stage of fixing the last few details of the arrangement.

What I like of this 2nd verse and pre-chorus I'm sending you is the little piano lines in between the vocal lines. I feel they add an introspective tone and sweetness. It's almost a lullaby texture. It's weird that by now, I'm so used to them, it's hard to imagine the song without them. hahaa! It feels like they were always there. In my brain...

Witcher 3 Anniversary Vid!

You guuuuys. Marcin Przybyłowicz, the composer for The Witcher 3, invited me to participate in an anniversary tribute video to celebrate Witcher 3's 5 year anniversary. I was so happpppyyyyyyyy! 

The plan was to rerecord one of the tracks from the OST called Hunt or Be Hunted with the help of musician fans of the game. When I recorded the part I was assigned, I had no idea who else would be involved and was looking forward to seeing the finished project.

The video was releas...

May it Be - Sneak Peek

You guuuuuuuys!

First, here is a tiny sneak peak of May it Be. It has been a longtime dream of mine to record this song, and I finally figured out how to approach the arrangement.

I had tried piano only... then guitar only... and then, strings only, like Enya, and then, a capella... and nothing felt right. I've settled on a sprinkle of everything. Ha. 

I've realized that the more I love a song, the bigger the struggle it is to cover it since I always prefer the original...

Lullaby of Woe Collaboration with Peter Hollens out NOW!

Thiiiiis is it! It was super fun to work with Peter once again. Although... I am still a bit mad that he made me wear a black turtleneck in MEXICOOOOO. I was meltiiiiing. hehehe! I kid, I kid.

Hope you guys enjoy the vid!

More soon.
Big hug,
Malu

Some News!

Hellooo! I hope your week is going well.

I made a video to catch you up on the latest! If you can't watch, here's a list of the news.

Ahhhh, first, something not in the video, I will be having a music stream on YouTube this evening (in about an hour, 7:30pm CST) to share this first bit of news:

- Reignite has finally been released on music platforms! Here's a link if you'd like to add it to your playlists or download: 2020-02-27 00:50:32 +0000 UTC View Post

Office Hours! I'm testing some music things

You are super welcome to join if you wish!

Hugs

Malu

https://youtu.be/Dxc5Rh0pDLw

Sneak Peek!

Hey guys!

Last week, I recorded my half of the collaboration I'm currently working on. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away ♪♫♪♬. Sorry, I couldn't help it. Yesterday, Cristy came over to film. Thor assisted. 

The last time we filmed in the living room, we struggled to control the amount of light because almost an entire wall is made up of windows (and the neighbor's house is white, reflecting an obscene amount of light into ours).

This time, Cristy bro...

A First Look

OOPS: here's the link: https://vimeo.com/389090980/c4c531addf

You guuuuys. I'm feeling a lot better. Finally. The vertigo is almost gone. The doc said I should still be careful and take it easy so we don't "undo" the progress. You bet I'm gonna be careful. 

Since I've been radio silent most of the year so far, I wanted to share a first look at a video I've been working on with Cristy of 24milí...

Patreon January Check-In

Hello! January has been off to a rocky start. Hehe. Or should I say wobbly start?

I wanted to say hi and share a bit of what I'll be working on in the next few weeks!

Big hug to you all,

Malu

New Cover Video - O Holy Night

It's liiiiive!

Oh, man. I gotta grab a quick dinner because today's Christmas Concert starts in an hour and half! 

I'm so happy with this new cover and video! I loved the way Alex helped shape the arrangement with the guitar parts he wrote. I hope that we get to collaborate more often in 2020!

Another cool detail of this video is that Alex didn't have any camera equipment. I wasn't sure if he was going to be up for filming, but was surprised when he said yes. He ended u...

O Hooooly Niiiiight

You guuuuys! I'm working on the final little tidbits of the Holy Night video, which I'll be sharing in a couple of hours, but couldn't wait to send you the audio. Happy Holidaaaaaays!!! A tiny gift from me to you. In mp3 or wav quality. Your choice.

https://we.tl/t-5KWm3EC0gU

Working with Alex on this was so much fun. I'll tell you more when I post the video here.

Tonight at 8pm CST is the second and final on...

Sneak Peek - O Holy Night

BEHOLD! We have an intro! hahaha!

I'm scrambling to hopefully finish this arrangement by tomorrow. Good news is, it's taking shape! I have rough sketches of the parts I want and I just need to polish these and record them nicely. 

So far, I'm loving it. Alex really has a beautiful sound and it's been lovely to work with what he recorded.

Tomorrow is the first Christmas concert of 2019! On my Youtube channel at 2pm CST.

Alright. Back to work!!!

Big hug,

Next cover in the works!

Hey guys! 

I'm currently editing and recording some extra things for the cover of O Holy Night that I hope to share next week!

I reached out to Alexander Knutsen, who played guitar on the new album, to see if he wanted to be a part of this track/video. He said yes, woooooo! 

He sent me his recordings yesterday and they sound lovely! A really cool thing, is that once I added them to my tracks they inspired a slightly different direction for the arrangement! That's t...

Want a Holiday postcard from Malukah?

UPDATE: Ay, the postcards are now gone. Thank you for signing up and we'll do this again next year!

Hey guys!

Three years ago, I began a tradition of sending you holiday postcards at the end of the year. I love this! I have the two previous ones on the wall in front of my desk because they feature Thor and seeing them makes me happy. Hahaha! 

This year, we continue the tradition.

But, WAIT!

If this is the first time you are hearing about this and you'd like ...

Favorite Moment

Yesterday was incredible. We have tons of footage thanks to Cristy and Omi. We’ll sort/edit as we can, but I wanted to share this video.

This was one of my favorite moments from yesterday. We paused rehearsal to go listen back to what we had played. It felt good to start hearing what things will sound like. These guys are some of my favorite musicians and yesterday I reconfirmed why.

They are talented, funny, kind, and completely open to feedback and collaboration. They are a ...

Are We All Ready? Here we go!

Hey guys! One final check-in before we start recording the album tomorrow. OGMOGMOGMOGMOGMOGMGOMGOMGMGO I'm freaking out.

In this video, I talk a bit about the things that go into producing an album. The different kind of tasks, responsibilities, and some ways to communicate with people involved in the project.

After so many years of working alone, it has been refreshing to get to talk to people, coordinate, etc. I'm loving every second of iiiiiit!

Big hug. Prepare for the l...

Another secret... Shhhh! :D

Been wanting to add this one to Spotify and iTunes, too! :D 

Next week!

Hugs, Malu

Shhh... don't say anything yet!

Frozen Sleep is being processed for release on iTunes/Spotify, etc. If all goes well with the licensing, it should be in stores in a week or two!

Some of you guys have asked about Reignite. I'm working on that, but it will take a bit longer. Hopefully it will eventually be on iTunes/Spotify and everywhere else, too!

Have a lovely Sunday!
Hugs from Melting Mexico,
Malu

Last One, I (almost) promise

You guys... this is optional homework, but I rerecorded the strings for In the Darkness. I took a printed score of the arrangement, deleted the old midi, and rerecorded all the parts one by one. This allowed me to verify that the score was correctly notated, and it also allowed me to focus on trying to get the best virtual instrument performance by using dynamics modulation and vibrato controls. I went for a string quartet sound instead of a chamber string section. It's a smaller, more intima...