Background Processes is Now Available on iTunes

daemon on iTunes

BUT -- the tracks aren't in the right order for some reason. I'll get it sorted out, but for now if you want to download from iTunes here is the correct song order:

1. Proper Form

2. Telespel

3. Kibodo

4. Save Room

5. Saline Solution

6. Kompyutagemu

7. Soshiki

8. Cubicle

9. Hirakimus

10. You're Not Naive

11. TX-0

12. For Refined Adults

13. Happy Every Day

14. Record Our Enjoyments

15. Racing

16. She Cares Too Much

17. I'm Out of My Mind with Loneliness

18. Hotondo

19. Make Sure You Go Under

20. Special Fear

21. It Comes in Waves

22. Hikoki

23. More Strongly Hold Me

24. Kanashi

25. Ending

Click here to find the album in iTunes.

Also, CD Baby sold out of the disc right away (thanks everyone!) but I'll be back in stock in a couple days.

I could really use reviews on both CD Baby and iTunes, so if you picked up a copy please leave a few thoughts.

Thanks so much for your support,

daemon

New Album "Background Processes" Now Available!

Greetings, good people. It is with great pleasure that I can finally announce the release of my latest album, Background Processes. Instead of a Monster-0 release, this is a side project simply named “daemon.” Six years in the making, Background Processes is a collection of 25 songs I’ve been writing since 2003. It’s pretty different from the pop/rock stuff I produce as Monster-0. Instead, daemon is all relaxed, instrumental electronica with retro synths and lo-fi drum machines that should make you feel all warm and fuzzy. Some of these songs were commissioned for various theatre productions over the years; others haven’t been heard at all until now. All tracks were recorded in my bedrooms of Chicago and San Francisco.

Background Processes is 25 songs long for $10. Many of the tracks are rather short and I think the album works best as one piece to be listened to from start to finish. It’s now available as a CD and a digital download from CD Baby. CD Baby will feed it out to all other digital distribution platforms like iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and eMusic, but that usually takes two to three weeks. The CD includes some very nice artwork created by my good friend David Adams.

You can find the new record right here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/DaemonHatfield

Thanks a lot and I hope you’ll check it out.

Word,

daemon

Monster-0 Presents: Daemon

i am pleased to announce my next release, although it isn't a Monster-0 record. i've collected many of the instrumental electronica tracks i've recorded over the years onto one album, which i'm releasing under the name "daemon." the album is called Background Processes and it is 25 songs long.

this release has been a long time coming and i'm pretty proud of it. some of these tracks date back to 2003 and they all were recorded in my bedrooms in Chicago and San Francisco. it's a pretty mellow record full of melodic electronica, '80s synths, and lo-fi drum machines. a lot of the songs are fairly short, in the two minute range. it's meant to be taken as a whole and this will definitely be a case where it's more economical to get the full album rather than singles. it's $10 for 25 songs.

a few examples of when you might want to listen to Background Processes:

• while making breakfast on a Sunday morning
• while driving late at night
• while writing a love letter to your crush
• while tinkering with your time machine in the garage
• while playing Magic: The Gathering

my good friend David Adams created the design. it turned out great.

here is the opening song on the album, called "Proper Form":

Proper Form by monster-0

you can listen to 10 songs from the album over at my new MySpace page (sorry, i know MySpace hasn't been cool for 20 years, but every musician has to have one...).

Background Processes will be out in November. i hope you'll check it out.

Link to Commentary Track is Fixed

it seems there are a bunch of new Monster-0 fans around recently, so i wanted to make sure you knew about the free commentary track for my second album, Don't Worry About the World. it's just me and Ryan Geddes talking about recording and being the lovable goofballs we are. i didn't realize it, but the link was apparently broken for a bit. it's fixed now.

Commentary Track for Don't Worry About the World

"Don't Worry About the World" On Sale for Limited Time

my latest album, Don't Worry About the World, is now on sale through the weekend over at CD Baby. it's now 30% off, making it a mere $7 for 11 songs. that goes for both the physical CD and the digital download.

you can find it here.

please to enjoy.

Max Fun Times

so i've written the music for my first videogame. clarification: i didn't make the game, i just provided the music and sound effects. it was a lot of fun, and definitely something i want to do more of in the future.

the game is called Max Fun Times, and it's a drinking game available now on Xbox Live Indie Games. it was developed by Claymerikorp, a shadowy new developer that not much is known about. the team contacted me via carrier pigeon because they needed the hot beats, and hot beats are my trade.

it's a fairly standard drinking game where you spin a wheel and have to do whatever the tiles tell you to do. the object is to get panda and, hopefully, land on the very special "Max Fun Times" tile. but the really cool aspect of the game is you can edit the tiles to say whatever you want. invite every girl you know over to your place, and change all the tiles to read "every girl in the room has to make out." the power is in your hands.

since this is a party game i tried to create a party atmosphere with a mix of hip-hop and electro tracks. here's what you hear at the title screen:

Max Fun Times Title Screen by monster-0

and here are the background beats you hear during a game:

Max Fun Beats by monster-0

when you achieve "Max Fun Times," you're gonna want to get up and dance. so i created a little breakdance tune that plays whenever you land on this ultimate tile:

Maximum Fun Times by monster-0

i also made all the incidental sound effects you hear in the game.

so Max Fun Times is now available on Xbox Live for 200 Points, the lowest amount a developer can charge for their game (at least it was the lowest amount when the game was submitted for approval). Claymerikorp would have preferred to release the game for free, but Microsoft has to put food on its table, you know? check out the game and let me know what you think.

New Song Didn't Pass the Girlfriend Test

i don't update this blog often enough. i'm going to try and change that by posting regular updates on what i'm working on, whether it's good or bad. today i'm sharing a recent failure of mine. sometimes you write a song, and after it's all recorded you sit back and listen to it and think, "wow, this sucks." this is one of those songs.

so the other day the idea for this track popped into my head while i was riding home from work on my scooter. the main melody came to me and kept repeating in my head. for some reason or another i thought it would be fun to make the song all about my favorite bands. if you are my Facebook friend, you may have seen my status update about working on this song. i suppose i thought it would be a good way to connect with listeners. if just one of these bands happened to also be a favorite of yours, maybe our bond would strengthen.

so i recorded the song as soon as i arrived home. didn't take too long -- a couple hours in all. the lyrics are nothing more than a list of my favorite bands, and the chorus merely repeats "these are a few of my favorite bands." easy, right? i tried to make it a light hearted, fun pop/rock song in the style of The Dandy Warhols, which i've been listening to a lot of lately.

but when i listened to the finished product, it didn't move me. sometimes i feel too close to a song to know if it's any good and seek a second opinion. so i played it for my girlfriend. "meh," she said. it is not a good sign when even your girlfriend doesn't like your song. turns out a list of my favorite bands does not necessarily make a compelling listen. she thought the melody was catchy, but needed a little more effort in the lyrical content.

so here is the song as it stands right now:

My Favorite Bands (demo) by monster-0

here's what i think went right:
- i've got a catchy melody and a solid chorus
- i like the crunchy, buzzy guitar tone
- i like the bridge that occurs at 1:52 (although i need to do more with it)
- i like the "whoo hoos!"

here's what went wrong:
- lyrics don't cut it
- guitar solo is weak sauce
- guitar part is inconsistent
- drums could use more personality

so there you have it. i'll probably scrap the vocals and write something with a little substance, then figure out exactly what the guitar should be doing. if i get another decent version going i'll post the update.

daemon

Rock Band Unplugged Infomercial

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Monster-0 Would Have a 100% Metacritic Rating

that is, if Metacritic tracked self-released albums by independent artists. i've just received the first review of my latest album, Don't Worry About the World, and it is positive. i'm batting 1000 over here.

PlugInMusic says, "If I were booking a Daft Punk tour I'd sign Monster-0 as the opening act." click here for the full review.

The Two Most Annoying Things About Facebook

i love Facebook as much as the next guy/gal. like the rest of the civilized world, i abandoned the MySpace ghetto long ago and now do my social networking exclusively on the 'Book. but there are two aspects of it i find aggravating. actually, these points aren't Facebook's fault, as they are user errors:

1. People who use photos of their kids for their profile pictures
dude, this is YOUR Facebook profile. are you really so devoid of a sense of identity that you have to stick your kid up there as your proxy? if i want to be friends with your baby, i'll send them a friend request.

2. People who don't understand the way status updates work
ok, gather around children. the Facebook status update is supposed to read like a sentence that begins with your name. for example, "Daemon Hatfield is going to the strip club." an astonishing number of people can't wrap their minds around this concept and instead end up writing something that doesn't make any sense, like "Daemon Hatfield At strip club."

just glancing at some recent status updates, here is what i'm talking about. names have been changed to protect the idiots:

John Doe "when i am king you will be first against the wall."

John Doe Go buy to Dark Was The Night, a benefit album including Sufjan, Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver, Beirut, etc! http://tinyurl.com/cxwxbl.

John Doe TNT starts @ 7pm at CCH. College students...get here!

John Doe At Fazoli's: "Gabe, do you want spaghetti?" "NO! I want pasta!"

John Doe At Cafe du Soleil in the Lower Haight getting work done. Stormy Weather crooning as I caffeinate and start a meeting.

John Doe someone got tased during school! hahah!!

John Doe at one point in your life, your age is exactly the same as the number p to an infinate digit and it passed in such a quick space of time that it wasnt even real.

none of these make any sense! come on, people. is it really that hard to type a verb? i know at least half of you passed the second grade.

Monster-0 on Facebook

Don't Worry About the World Commentary Track

as i did with my last album, i've recorded a commentary track for my second LP, Don't Worry About the World. it's just myself and associate Ryan Geddes talking about what went into recording, and it might provide some insight into where i'm coming from with Monster-0. we talk over the music, so you don't need to worry about playing it along with the album.

you can download the DWATW commentary track here.

as always, thanks for listening.
daemon

The Effect Monster-0 Has on People

My Favorite Year for Music

i have around 4,000 songs in my iTunes library. it occurred to me recently that i could determine my favorite year for music by figuring out what year is best represented in my library. whatever year i have the most songs from must be my favorite year, right?

apparently, it is 2005.

makes sense, i suppose. standout releases from 2005 include:

Boards of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (maybe my favorite album)
Beck - Guero
The Clientelle - Strange Geometry
Gojira - From Mars to Sirius
Hellfish - One Man Sonic Attack Force
Kaiser Chiefs - Employment
Ladytron - Witching Hour
Mew - And the Glass Handed Kites
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

close runner-ups: 1985, 1996, and 2004

mystery solved! three cheers for 2005!

New Album is Up on iTunes

"Don't Worry About the World," the second full-length from Monster-0, is now available to download on iTunes.

happy new year!