Greetings Travelers. Writing to you now is a poignant reminder of how quickly time is passing. I feel like I just hit ‘send’ on my last transmission to you and here I am again cataloging some details of another month that has flown by. I guess being up here in space, lost in the stars and traveling at light speed from time to time does affect my perception of the passing of time, but time is passing quickly nonetheless. I’m also reminded that spring is upon you earth-dwellers in the northern hemisphere (and fall creeping up on those in the southern hemisphere.) I do reflect often on how much I enjoyed that time in my life on earth - winters icy cold grip finally releasing her clutch and the promise of the sun’s warm embrace and no school on the very near horizon. #goodtimes. If only life were still that simple, but we get what we get and I try to remember that things could always be worse. (That philosophy is my best attempt at ‘looking on the bright side.’)


I do have to admit, I was quite surprised at the overwhelmingly positive response to my last transmission. I figured letting people know I was over social media, AI and the fact that we own nothing and actually aren’t happy was going to make some people sad, mad or just evoke a mass-unsubscribe. Speaking my mind has always outweighed any concern over whether people liked what I said or not. Just ask anyone who knows me. :) So the number of replies I got back to the transmission broke all kinds of records. I spent a bunch of time replying back to as many of you as I could, but just know I appreciate the votes of confidence, support and the time you took to write me back. 🙌


Well since you are already aware that I’m currently lost in the stars I might as well divulge something related  -  Scandroid. I have officially begun working on the next album Lost Horizon. The first single is titled…. you guessed it - “Lost in the Stars” and is out NOW. I mean, like right NOW! So you can go hit this link and loop it in the background to set the stage for the Lost Horizon album plans I’m about to let you in on. Yep it’s true, there’s a whole album coming. In fact several songs are already completely done, mixed and ready to be released. Anyone who has followed me even passively for any amount of time knows that it’s hard for me to just write 10 songs with random ideas to comprise an album. No, that would make my life way too easy. Instead I have to create a high level concept, write a concept album around that concept (which is why they call it a concept album I guess) and then do a bunch of other related things around that. Well this will be no different, I’m afraid.


There is already a novella written by my Bit Bot partner-in-crime Joshua Viola that expands Red’s story (don’t worry, Aphelion is very much a part of the story :) Another idea I’ve worked on with James Rhodes (who often helps me sort all the noise in my head into actual tangible ideas) is to do a ‘season pass’ kinda thing, which is often seen in the gaming world. Truthfully the idea was conceived while planning the new Celldweller album GOD MODE which IS very game-centric and the idea of a season pass began there, although has not officially been announced. (Shhhhh… don’t tell anyone) So the main album will be available on all streaming platforms as usual but the yet-to-be-named season pass will be something those interested can purchase and will contain things like a completely original second album of Lost Transmissions (which will be similar to the idea of my Factions from End of an Empire) I’ve already put together 10 or so demos and I’m really pushing this into darker, cyberpunk tones instead of the lighter Tangerine Dream stuff I’ve also done as Scandroid. My plan is to also do some “Story Mode” tracks which will have the voices of characters from the novella (kinda like the Factions) and the plan is to drop a chapter of the novella with each Lost Transmission track. To be clear a few people have kindly asked, and I assured them of something they were concerned about bc these things sort of annoy me too - I don’t plan on releasing the whole album and novella a little at a time til they’re all done. There will be a significant portion of these things that will finally drop at the end of the album cycle so that there’s something to be excited about. That’s what I would want if an artist I liked approached an album release like this, so that’s the way I want to roll it out.


Another thing I’ve mentioned on and off over the last few years is Minidiscs. I scouted and purchased hundreds of minidisc players from Japan and then personally cleaned and restored as much as I could each and every one of them. The plan is to do a minidisc player drop along the way and sell a limited number of them at a time. This ties into the novella and also ties into the fact that most of the Scandroid albums are already available on Minidisc. (I’m planning on rolling out limited numbers of the Celldweller albums in this format too.) Of course you may have your own MD player already or can go buy a used one if you want - I just plan on doing something that makes each one a bit more special than just being an average used MD player. We’re working on the plan and that plan is coming down to earth soon for you to absorb and/or participate in if so desired. Also, I have procured some of the actual burnt out circuit boards harvested from some of the drones you’ll read about in the Lost Horizon novella, so these will be one of a kind offerings if I’m able to get them through galactic customs. (I know we don’t believe in luck, but wish me luck anyway.). There’s more to roll out but for now that’s a pretty good cross-section of some of the ideas we’re working on around the new Scandroid album.


Sorry, had to take a quick break to slurp down an Atirian glow-fruit smoothie and reset my blood-oxygen levels with a quick nap in the hyperbaric chamber. Now I’m ready to talk Celldweller: The 2 video game related scores I’ve done recently are now officially out, everywhere you buy or stream music. Click here for Legacy of Kain: Ascendance and here for Legacy of Kain: The Dead Shall Rise soundtracks. I also collabed with Amanda from CHROMERA. The song “Burn” should be out pretty soon. It’s pretty dark and pretty heavy in a “is that a synth or a guitar?!?!” kinda way. Hope you dig it. And lastly for the news most of you are asking about - GOD MODE. Well I spoiled some of the plan above but let’s get into it:


BEFORE: Fakebreaker is officially the first song towards GOD MODE, although I didn’t really know that when I finished the song. It was going to be a single. Then so many people were excited about the prospect of a new album that I eventually decided to put a few other things I had on deck to the side so I could do what I was calling the GOD MODE EP. (An EP being 3-4 songs) Well the more I started writing demos, and the more convos I had with James Rhodes and the FiXT team, the more it was obvious this really should be and album. And so it began….


NOW: as in, right now. I’ve wrapped mixes for not one, but two XP’s. “WTF is an XP?!?!” you ask? Well experience points of course, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. I’ll come back to that LATER. The main news is that my next single “Respawn” is totally done and really has been just sitting in my music library for months. The good news is it’s already being prepped for release, and that, dear travelers, is coming soon. (To be clear that means ‘weeks away’ not ‘years away’ :) As that is waiting for distribution, I have been working furiously on what I thought would be the next song, “No Damage.” I mean I already wrote all the lyrics and cut demo vocals and everything but… I derailed myself. I kept listening to another one of my demos and found I kept looping that one over and over. Suddenly it clicked - No Damage has to wait - this song I’ve been looping is going to the title track to the album and it needs to be next. So I’ve switched gears and am now full-blown working on the next single “GOD MODE.” In fact one part of what I’m working on is recording some custom samples - vocals, synth shots and weird sounds that I’m then getting pressed to vinyl. Then I plan to scratch over the track, kinda like I did in Symbiont 25 years ago. (I know we don’t believe in luck, but wish me luck anyway.)


LATER: I told ya I’d come back to it LATER, and here we are. So what is the bigger plan for the GOD MODE album?  What are XP’s?! Did you enjoy your Atirian glow-fruit smoothie?!?!? Yes. Yes, I did although my farts have been lighting up the room. Just a side effect of the glow-fruit, I guess. Totally worth it. Here’s the high-level plan for GOD MODE. The whole concept largely revolves around gaming and as you can already tell some of the direction I’m taking def ties into that idea. I’ll be releasing one song at a time (kinda) and calling those “Levels.” I guess technically Level 01 was “Fakebreaker” but I’m not committing to that yet. If I follow that pattern then Level 02 will be “Respawn” and so on and so on. These, like Scandroid’s upcoming Lost Horizon album will be released everywhere music is released, but like the Lost Horizon release plan (which was modeled after the GOD MODE release plan) I’ll be releasing a “Season Pass” which will include what I’m calling XP’s. These will be similar to the idea of the Factions from End of an Empire and like the Factions and Lost Transmissions, I plan to do some story mode versions which will contain character dialog and the like. In fact I’ve only completed 2 XP’s so far and both have dialog embedded in them.


Sidebar for context - like most people I stream my music (although I’ve been shifting away from that idea of late.) One of the only bands in the world whose music I still buy on Bandcamp is The Future Sound of London (which I’m listening to right now.) I’ve probably paid the cost of 3 years worth of streaming subscriptions to buy all the albums I wanted from them. Part of the digital fatigue I mentioned in my last transmission relates to all the music I stream, don’t own and often don’t appreciate because streaming music has become similar to a utility bill. It’s become disposable and the music and the art is barely appreciated. I’ve def been guilty of listening to a track, or finding an artist and scanning through a few of their tracks and then never coming back. I mean on one hand that was the allure of streaming - the All-you-can-eat model which sounded great at first. Now we’re all fat from the music buffet we eat every day and much of what we listen to has become background noise in our lives and it kinda doesn’t matter bc it only costs us a few bucks a month. For me, buying these Future Sound of London albums (and yes many of these purchases were physical CD’s) has made me connect more to the music, helped me feel the value of the art they make and honestly makes me want to listen to them over the absolute onslaught of content on streaming platforms, most of which are being overrun by AI generated slop. I don’t say this in a bitter way - it is what it is and technology isn’t going to stop for any of us. Instead, it made me realize that I don’t care about the numbers of listeners Spotify shows the world. It’s a vanity metric. I care about the people who actually care about the art I’m making and I’d rather choose alternate release methods where I control the narrative. I’d much rather reach a much smaller handful of people than post on streaming platforms and then have to swallow a bottle of ketchup or take half my clothes off to try to drive attention to my art using these vacuous and desperate techniques. (Yeah social media, I’m talking about you.)


I could go on and on but I think you’re all smart enough to get the point. (Thanks to both of you who are still reading this far down.) As for GOD MODE I had much bigger plans too, but the ideas I had were so big that they became too overwhelming and instead of making music I was laboring over how this huge undertaking  was going to come to fruition. After a few painful conversations with James and the FiXT crew it was obvious - making the music really is the most important thing and that’s what I’m mainly focused on. There are more things that will be part of the season pass (toying with the idea of doing commentaries for each Level kinda like I did way back in the Wish Upon a Blackstar era, but don’t hold me to that yet.) Stay tuned for the announcement of the Season Pass and all its related details. I know some of you will be stoked.


Well this has gone on too long, but for those stressing over the looming threat of AI - I’m with you. Those fearful over the economy and how to survive - I’m with you. For those who trust our governments and media outlets less than we ever have in our lifetimes - I’m with you. For those uncertain about the future in these very uncertain times - I’m with you. The only comfort I personally find in these times, being all the way out here in the vastness of space is not talking to space, not talking to the universe, but rather the creator who created it. It’s both comforting and mind-blowing that God Almighty can be as close to me out here as he is when I’m back on Earth, Atiria or simply lost in the stars. So whatever planet you’re on, in whatever situation you’re in, He’s right there ready to listen to whatever you want to talk to Him about. Give it a shot :)


Well I really need to get out of here. That glow-fruit is hitting in a bad  way and I need to hit the uh…  orbital relief station (if you know what I mean) before this ship is glowing in all the wrong ways. Hang in there, be safe on your journeys and know at the very least I’m making a lot of music, coming to your ears very soon. 🙌


- Klayton