Veiron Audio and Visual Productions announced that LTP Learning To Play, the debut album from Director/Producer JJacob will be released digitally on November 6, 2010 through CD Baby.
LTP Learning To Play will also be released in a CD format in December.
JJacob was born Jacob Marris in 1973 in Addis Abbeba of Ethiopia to Greek emigrant parents, where he lived until age 13. After finishing high school in Athens-Greece, he went on to a local film and television college where he earned his degree in direction and film making. In 1996, he began working freelance in the local film and television industry on season to season contracts with all domestic major production companies and broadcast networks. This would prove to be his career and source of revenue, one that allowed him to pursue other interests in his spare time.
JJacob never received any formal musical education, but as a teen, he had the opportunity to experiment on a cheap 1980s Casio synthesizer that he was given and discovered that while he was not a musician, there was music within him. In 1992, JJacob wrote the original score for his first academic short feature movie “To Ktinosβ – The Beast 1992” and recorded it on a home cassette recorder. He also formed a high school rock band, holding jam sessions in parking lots, basements and the school stage when possible. Because he didn’t play an instrument, he became the band’s vocalist and lyricist.
In 2008, a friend gave him music production software as a gift. He began to use his home studio, originally set up for use with his work in film, for experimenting with making music. He learned to use the software key by key without the use of loops or forms in preset – one track after another. With the encouragement of family and friends, he began his quest to become a professional sound engineer. He gradually sharpened his skills and in December 2009, hired Kostas Mouroulis to do mixing and sound engineering work on a musical concept he had in mind. Mouroulis input was invaluable and he eventually took on the role of co-producer. Under JJacob’s newly formed indie label Veiron Audio and Visual Productions, the concept turned into his debut album. This was his first serious venture into the music business, of course, having been a professional film producer and director for fifteen years.
JJacob is very clear regarding questions about his musical training, abilities and goals. He is a music enthusiast, and making music for him is both a reconnecting with nature and a hobby. Music is like love, it has the power to touch and heal. Music is like the universe in that we are all a part of it and it is a part of us as well. There’s music in the soul of every man, woman and child. Just because one does not seek to pursue it as a profession does not mean that he or she should not allow it to be freely expressed. JJacob is happy with the title of amateur musician, as he freely admits that his “bread and butter” comes from a well-established career in directing and editing.
The nine track LTP Learning To Play is a combination songs based largely on the combination of the electronic genre with multiple other genres, all of which (with the exception of one) are purely instrumental. There are mixtures of rather classical instruments like pianos, violins, orchestral elements and percussions, drums and guitars. On most tracks, elements of rock dominate but under the umbrella of what one would consider electro-rock or progressive instrumental rock. Some tracks are closer to the styles of artists like Vangelis, Jean Michele Jarre and Tangerine Dream. “Learning To Play”, the only track with lyrics, and performed by singer Lola Yannopoulou, is reminiscent of Enya and the 90s ambient scene.
LTP was originally based on the simple idea of learning how to play music. With the completion of each track, however, it became more apparent that the creative process was being driven by certain personal emotions which were gradually emerging. Eventually, LTP turned out to be learning to play with a sense of nature, the simple elements that have contributed to one’s life, and even the new sense of values that emerge from a child’s play. The ultimate understanding is that our true existence in the universe is grounded in the grace of humble things.
You can read more about JJacob at the following sites. LTP Learning To Play will be available for purchase at all major online retailers.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jjacob
http://www.reverbnation.com/jjacob
http://www.myspace.com/jjacobsmusic
http://frenchmusic.ning.com/profile/JJacob
http://www.myspace.com/veironavp
http://www.reverbnation.com/label/veironaudioandvisualproductions
http://www.youtube.com/veironavp
