THE CELTIC LORDS
This is the label that I use for personal projects, songs with depth and occult tendencies...It depends on the mood...
Musica Canora Projects
This is my exportable brand name where I want to explore music for others. It can go from ambient to experimental, from solid rock to sound track movie, and so on.
The History
The trademark The Celtic Lords has been the first to be created and used. After a while, I've decided to create a second trademark named Musica Canora for the purposes of new songs that can be less personal, much more for distribution or as a brand new commercial perspective. At first, I didn't imagine using other name than The Celtic Lords. But the idea of using Musica Canora for exporting new projects appeared to be the solution. Finally, for copyrights purposes, the trademark named The Celtic Lords And Musica Canora Projects © has been registrated under the certificate number ******, July 25th 19**, nature littary-musical, owner F. R******** aka F. R. Lantz, by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
First 5 years ran under the Celtic Lords, then came Musica Canora. I've decided to split amongst all songs some of it and include them into the appropriate brand name. This is why many songs appear many years because they were at first just ideas to develop and became lately different versions of the same songs which will finally be considered as "finished" songs in 2003. The unfinished songs will be lately remastered and in some cases, as old ideas from the past, incorporated into new songs for 2004 or later.
The year 1990 was productive; almost a song by week during 3 months. But those songs were not good; this was the idea that I did not develop as much as I should. Same for my skills... In this regard, the equipment was largely responsible for the talent: a good sequencer can make your coffee as well as playing all suitable channels in the same time ! But I was hardly capable of well quantizing... Well, I guess I had to start somewhere !
In 1990's year I was using my stereo system, my only keyboard S-10, no mic, nothing else than my attempts to bring a song to life ! I must say that the result - which was sometimes horrifying - was pretty well recorded, keeping in mind that I had nothing to work with. The vocals were not developed at all; only singing with a plane voice, no harmonics - Jesus, how to do this ?! - only giving the lyrics. These lyrics were in English, German, Latin, and French. I was recording a drum part with a keyboard part, then playing back the tape with my stereo while I was singing and doing another keyboard track. At the end, it became the song... A song a week ! Then later on...
Then in 1992, the first song mixed with a Fostex 280 consol, which I really enjoyed having! I bought this 8 track - 4 stereo, and I can say that I was really starting at this point ! Blind Vision became the first song to be completed and mixed. I had a girl friend of mine (thanks Lucie!) who gave me back vocals on this.
After having done a couple of dumb things and ideas with a potential in it, I may say that the good results of my songs today are mostly in the arrangements. I consider myself much more as a sound manipulator and as a composer. I'm not a performer.
The equipment I had in all those years was mostly the same: drum machine (TR-505), effect pedals, 8-track, electric guitar, bass (borrowed to a friend), keyboard (Roland S-10, lately I got Roland Juno60) Kawai Midi Key plugged into a Yamaha TG100, computer software as midi controler (Voyetra, Cakewalk) and lately effects, digital mastering, digital recording with softwares such as CubaseVST, etc. A good effect processor Yamaha Emp100 came to give some extras. I would say today that I still don't need the latest technology for making music; I just need to follow the basis of technology and try to exploite all potential in a given instrument. Don't need to have the latest full-equiped synth that can make you coffee while you're singing...under your shower!
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