“Portfolio I: As Serious As Your Life” (2021)
Written, produced, recorded, mixed, mastered and visually designed by Timothy “Ill Poetic” Gmeiner.
“AS SERIOUS AS YOUR LIFE” FULL PROJECT // CLICK HERE
Artist Statement: ‘As Serious As Your Life’ was designed to act as a portfolio of my collaborations and services as a producer, composer, engineer and visual artist. Along the way it captured much more: a global pandemic and the slow passing of my mom - a painful event experienced by everyone enmeshed with a deeply personal event only truly felt by me. Inspired by Val Wilmer’s seminal 1977 book on the black free-jazz movement, “As Serious As Your Life” funnels the urgency, frustration and freedom of that era toward these specific themes through explorations of hip-hop, jazz, fusion, psychedelia, 70s electronic music and film scores.
Logistics: The songs on this project were composed and produced in Ableton. Additional elements were composed and arranged for musicians, vocalists and percussionists and recorded at San Diego City College Studio.
“An expansive yet cohesive record, Portfolio I is a solemn fusion of hip-hop, jazz, funk, and electronic music full of requiems for his late mother and suites that navigate grief...Portfolio I exists in the long tradition of great life changes inspiring career-defining art.” - Max Bell, Bandcamp
Since release, “As Serious As Your Life” has garnered strong critical acclaim, academic attention, radio play and interviews from various podcasts and digital publications (pictured above). Select songs are being used as foundations for performative and generative experimentation.
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Musician credits can be found here.
Tools used: Ableton Live 9, Pro Tools, Reason, Waves Plugin Series, M-Audio 49-key Keyboard / Controller, Stanton Turntable, Dante Network (studio audio network), Audix Series microphones (drums), AA CM87 microphone (trumpet), SM57 (guitar amp). Focusrite RedNet 2 & 4 Pre-Amps, Avid S6 Control Surface, Adobe Photoshop