All Things Music Updates

Welcome to my brand new website and my very first blog post! Who would have thought that someone as wordy as me could get well into my thirties without ever posting a single blog... With all the little essays and novels I've written online over the years, sometimes in ridiculous locations like comments sections, you'd think I'd have had a blog back in the Tumblr days, but alas I did not.

I'll be making up for lost time in the coming days, weeks, and months, finally releasing a lot of the content that I've been either hoarding to myself, or sharing only with those closest to me. As a private and introverted person, I've historically struggled with putting my work out into the world, always feeling that it isn't yet "ready" or "good enough." The truth I've come to realize is that I'm never going to feel ready, since I'll always have my eyes set on the next improvement; sooner or later I need to trust myself and take the leap. That's why this next phase of my journey is all about learning to put out into the world what I've always felt called to give.

All this is to say that if you've enjoyed my work in the past, I hope you'll follow along with all that I have coming up! You're about to see a lot more, released a lot more rapidly than you're used to from me. Here are a few of the projects that I'm working on musically.

 

Alchemia

Many of you likely know me through my band Alchemia, which has been on hiatus for the last several years. I'm happy to announce that the hiatus is over, and Aaron and I are back at it! We're currently working on re-recording "ShadowSea," my personal favorite, which I expect to be ready for public release early this autumn. 

I'll be re-recording my vocals for all Alchemia originals in August and September, though Aaron has quite a busy schedule between his multiple bands and successful career, so the rest of our music might be released closer to the end of the year. If you're interested in hearing the vocal recordings as I complete them, as well as demo versions of all songs, please join me on Patreon! :) My patrons will be able to see more of the process and behind the scenes, and will also get exclusive extras.

Along with those long-awaited recordings, we're also working on getting new band photos taken, and launching our website. I can't quite say that this last one is in the works just yet, but I'm very hopeful that we can record and release our first music video by the end of the year.

 

Mnemosyne

A very select few of you will already know about my band Mnemosyne, which I've kept very private over the years.

This is my baby... My band that I started nearly twenty years ago when I was still in high school and first imagined the musical concept that I remain obsessed with to this day. A musical concept that I now know is written into my natal chart. I've kept it under wraps all these years, privately obsessing over the songwriting and how to fold in layers of meaning, while perpetually keeping myself stuck, since I didn't yet feel it was good enough to meet my vision. For years I've been working on Mnemosyne in bits and pieces, showing no one but my musical partner-in-crime, Jeremy Delaune.

Mnemosyne will be making it's public debut this year.

This project has long been a space for me to weave together the two central loves of my life --- music and magic. It is not simply music about magic however, and if you're a fan of Alchemia you know that magic and astrology has long been a lyrical theme for me across much of my music. Mnemosyne is music which is infused with magic; music which is written and recorded in ritual space as part of a larger work of magic. 

The only Alchemia song which was written in a magical ritual space, at least so far, is "ShadowSea." After months of listening to the structural bones of the song on repeat and coming up with option after option after option of what to do with the vocals, the song came to me as if already completed, in a ritual. Both lyrics and melody came out all at once in a rush, and I had to hurry to grab my phone and record it before it could fade away. I had not gone into that ritual with the intention of completing the song, yet the ritual seemed to open the way for it to come through.

We performed "ShadowSea" live for the very first time later that month, and I personally think that magical birth can be felt in the music. From the very first performance, people were coming up to tell me it was their new favorite. If you enjoyed "ShadowSea," I think you'll love Mnemosyne.

Songs will be written, recorded, and released based on astrologically-timed elections, and are created to support people in their spiritual and magical journeys. You can follow along with public releases through this website and through following me on YouTube, or if you would like to see more of the behind the scenes along the way (or perhaps you'd like other goodies, to use those astrological elections I find for your own magical work), then please consider supporting me on Patreon. It really means the world to me.

 

Voice Lessons

I've been teaching voice for sixteen years now, and continue to do so. Since 2020, I've also expanded to offer virtual lessons, though if you have the ability to meet in person I personally think it's still the best way to get the most out of our time together.

If you're a beginner or intermediate vocalist looking for a teacher or coach, please feel free to reach out with any questions, or check out the section of my website dedicated to voice. I'm located in San Francisco for in-person lessons, or will travel to you for an added fee.

 

Vocal Covers

Along with my work on my two bands, you can also expect to see a lot of vocal covers coming up! At least one vocal cover will be posted publicly per month from here on out, and I'll be posting additional covers each month on Patreon.

Patreon is a big part of how I'm holding myself accountable in this new habit of consistently releasing what I've been working on. I'm at my best when I'm responsible to others, and so I'm creating that structure for myself. There's also the simple, tangible reality that if I'm able to make even a small income from doing what I love, that's more time I'm able to spend focusing on what matters to me, and less time spent in spaces that leave me feeling burnt out.

 

If you're one of the handful of people that has been so incredibly encouraging and supportive to me over the years, and you're looking for the best way to support right now, this is it! :) I'll be working hard to make quality content for my Patrons so this can be mutually beneficial and mutually supportive.

That said, if you can't become my patron for whatever reason, I completely understand, and I'm so grateful that you're here following along with me. There's plenty of free content coming up, so please stay tuned, and thank you so much for taking the time to look through my new website and read this first blog post!

Till next time, my lovelies,
Raven Kaneshiro