Partikul's debut album fuses aviation themes with synths, choirs, voices and electric guitars to create the ultimate Asian lounge music.

10 MP3 Songs
ELECTRONIC: Ambient, EASY LISTENING: Lounge



Details:
"Partikul" is the solo music project created by P.R. Hladon. Partikul's first album, Arrival, was written, arranged, recorded, and mixed entirely by Hladon at PKL Studios Japan, the home of his arsenal of synthesizers and samplers - a Yamaha Motif ES6, Korg Triton Le, Access Virus C and Yamaha RS7000, to name a few. Hladon used a Yamaha AW16G Digital Audio Workstation to record and mix tracks, then the CD was mastered by professional engineers at DiscMakers, U.S.A. No computers were used during production, as Hladon prefers a more "organic" recording approach instead of software and mouse clicks.

"Thank God for today's incredible synthesizers and music gear," Hladon said in a recent interview. "I am a self-taught hack on keyboards and guitar, therefore I have limited technical skill. Working with amazing workstations like the Yamaha Motif can make your musical ideas a reality in a short amount of time. I can write songs and arrange them effortlessly with the Motif. Just don't ask me to play Chopin on the piano, because I don't have the skill or interest [laughs]."

Hladon actually began playing electric guitar after the release of Arrival in July 2004, focusing on metal riffs to add a heavier edge to future songs. "All acoustic and electric guitars on Arrival were played on the Motif using the ROM programs and some excellent sample libraries," he explained. "However, there is no substitute for the real thing in order to generate some wicked, chunky metal riffs," he added. "I love metal and I love synths, so I may combine keyboard and guitar parts in the future. Sort of like Slayer meets Enigma, perhaps with a little trance thrown in. Who knows..."

Most of the songs on Arrival were written during the cold winter months of 2003-2004. "Winter is a great time to hibernate in the studio and come up with ideas. I left my keyboards on 24/7, because sometimes a melody appears in your head in the middle of the night and you have to record it immediately or else it's lost."

Since the release of Arrival in 2004, Hladon has relocated back to the United States and has devoted most of his musical free time to his new "girlfriend" - his electric guitar, a simple black OLP John Petrucci model. "I cannot believe that I waited until I was in my 30's to start playing guitar," he said. "Distortion, crunch, palm muting, speed, precision. Metal guitar is an incredible skill to develop, both rhythm and lead. I can spend hours playing Pantera, Slayer and Metallica riffs. Metal guitar has taught me to look at music chromatically and has opened up all kinds of new doors. There are no rules!"

Metal. Ambient. Lounge. Bossa Nova. Trance. Hladon's musical influences are eclectic and even contradictory, but they all add fuel to his ideas. Although he could not predict the release date of his next album, there is no doubt that it will be uniquely Partikul.