In This Sugary Installment

Eternal Raven At Last is the sixth installment of the mericanDREAM saga following: CYBER CIRCLES & A COSMIC HEART, Palace of the Sun, The Little Lunar Album, Wolves Are Very Emotional, and IINDEPENDENCE. In this sugary installment, Matthew A Cruz aka mericanDREAM spews out over 3,000 words throughout the album, enunciating the word DREAM just well over 60 times. 

Artwork drawn by Matthew A Cruz, featuring The Raven, King DREAM as a Lion and The Unicorn of Duchess

The story is going to be a smoothly paved trail for the listener to stroll on. As it is implied, there the Raven, Her Majesty, who carries a message from world to world. DREAM who is king, must hearken from those he crosses paths with. Yet, if  DREAM is brave enough to play matador towards fate as the bull, he might wake up in a place where he does not desire to be.

As the writer, Matthew shares values, illuminating through biblical theology and Greek mythology. A hint of astronomy, in a discography-continuity embracing the sun, the moon, the sky and the stars. In the depths of Hollywoo—an original reference from NETFLIX’s BoJack Horseman—DREAMREALM is inhabited by animals. DREAM refers to himself as a leo, a lion. The occurring deuteragonist, possible protagonist (depending on how the listener interprets the album), the Raven is personified as a beautiful and mystical woman who is as God’s favorite messenger. Will she scream NEVERMORE to king DREAM.

June 20th, the album is scheduled to be released on all major platforms such Spotify, iTunes, YouTube Music, Tidel, Amazon, Pandora, and more.

My Personal Glimpse on Making an Album

It was a pleasant experience working on this album, even though looking back now, it felt so brief. Is my music mainstream worthy? Nah. And I’m okay with that. I did attempt to engage with other artists, even featured a young and pretty violinist, and an energetic lyrical freestylist—compensating them for their work. I hired my buddy, using my Canon EOS Rebel T7 with the 75-300 millimeter lens to take the photo of me for the album cover. He did a great job. Yes, I’m aware of the practicality in making an album while juggling between two to three jobs is fiercely difficult, but it is well worth it. Marketing for an audience—the proper audience—will come in time. Maybe. The focus was… to create and properly engage.

Desmond Teal focusing the Canon EOS Rebel T7 with the 75-300 millimeter lens on the stand for a clear and quality shot.

Drafting compositions in a melodic manner, including structuring and identifying chords as themes definitely helped in creating an impactful story. I scaled between defining characters and settings to what does their theme sound like. 808s and percussion lacked more than the melody, as I heavily depended on Splice samples—though I did manipulate the module, pitch, or length of the samples for a more original feel. Also for the bass, I didn’t spend nearly as much time as I did for the chord structure of the (treble clef) melody.

I maintained the mythological ethos, carried by the lyrics I wrote. The story is going to be a clear trail for the listener to stroll on. Yet, the moral of the story may vary between each listener.

The dynamic vibrations of this album—utilized resources included a community center grand piano, a trumpet, a three stringed and out of tuned violin (that I attempted to play), an acoustic guitar, ikea tall chairs and a support beam for drums, primarily recorded by an ICE snowball mic, and processed by FL Studios software. 

Matthew A Cruz aka mericanDREAM recoding the vocals, normally planting the mic between a stack of books inside a conference/library room

The work does take a toll on the mind and body, and my personal freetime. I couldn’t dedicate myself to the gym as much. I couldn’t calibrate myself properly for my professional side. It is very taxing on the mind when you take your craft very seriously. But like the old adage says, don’t take yourself too seriously. I feel when I needed to, I lightened up. I try to do different activities, disrupting certain thought patterns. I explored my social circle, even met some people I feel are a positive addition in my life. And I continued to be a fan of things that have nothing to do with my craft. From Mid-December to the end of May, the process has been absorbent..

Matthew A Cruz aka mericanDREAM and the facility cat having a jam session.

A Look into the Creative Headspace

It’s a fresh start for a new year, meanwhile I’ve been in a creative headspace since mid-December. Since 2018, I’ve released an album every year—reflecting my trials and tribulations, my enlightened moments, and my underlying environment. 2023, through thick and thin my process is more thorough, drafting concepts and character outlines then creating melodic themes for each main character and settings. At times, I chart chords and notes using a grand piano at my condominium community center or by simply using FL Studio’s piano roll at home. Once I’ve figured out the chords to use for theme, I rearrange the notes and plug-ins (basically instruments and sounds). In layman’s terms, the foundation of my pieces are the instrumentals I produce.

I also sketch out my characters, normally using a Pilot G2 or a BIC Atlantis pen and some Sharpie markers. During character development, there’s a particular image in my head, but it’s never clear—like staring at a frost window. My recent method for clarification is using Pinterest to conjure up the most relatable ideas, a lot of times I sketch what I see, then add on from it. From there I’d take a photo of the sketch from my phone and photoshop it—maybe change the background, or add a filter. Once I complete a picture of the character, I listen to my compositions to see if it's a match, if it compliments each other well. 

My lyrical development process is extremely slow and naturally more convoluted then my composing process. For this album project, I want my voice to be clearer and my lyrical rhythm, fluid and smooth—smooth sailing. My lyrics will continue to be mythologically dynamic, however I want to create stronger continuity for the story. While listening to the entire album, it needs to make sense for the audience. Sometimes, being sporadic keeps the interest, but it needs to happen in the direction of the story. 

Its a balance though, there must be structure yet there needs to be room for creativity. Now speaking work/life balance, depending on the work, at times I need to give my undivided attention to the task at hand. It’s the same when I’m composing art, my mind, my heart have to be present in the story to synthesize the desired vibrations I want to share with my audience. 

This is my hobby, my life’s work. Producing a yearly album is my M.O.

My Hexagon Album

My sixth album installment of mericanDREAM is in the works. Be prepared for a moxy lore that will keep your intangible imagination dazzled. DREAM is king, met by a character who’s ruffled feathers brush along time itself. Darkness as a heavy puddle where violet light seeps from it. The shelves surround this puddle, its books moving along like conveyor belts. Along every corner hangs eclectic art full of cowboys and scholars. Ebbing bulbs bloom in the hazy atmosphere, where every past character appears as stone or an unfinished marble. Nevermore, her lore, where God’s dandruff falls upon the cobblestone streets. Nevermore, her lore, where DREAM bends reality’s line with a dark twisted fantasy. Nevermore, oh the uni-horned white beasts who dash its hooves upon DREAMWORLD’s streams. Nevermore, screams Eternal Raven At Last!

New Camera, New Look

I am excited to share that I purchased a new camera, two lenses, and a camera bag for about 600 bucks. Yeah, it’s not the newest, most expensive camera in the market, however, it’s my first professional camera I bought in almost a decade. It’s a Canon EOS [Electro-Optical System] Rebel T7. It’s been in the market just before Avengers Infinity War was released—spring of 2018.

I bought this camera at Best Buy and that very next morning, I did some nature photoshoots. Though I am learning how to use this optical machine, I’m impressed. One lens is a 18 55 millimeter lens that is EFS (Short Back-Focused). My Second lens is a 75-300 millimeter lens. Oh, that one is a beaut on taking far shots.

It’s nice having a camera now—not being overtly dependent on my iPhone. My plan is to do professional photoshoots, maybe during events. I’m excited and I feel this is a new bridge for mericanDREAM to cross.