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| As a child drilled in classical piano, performing and
writing music came as naturally as breathing for Johnny M. It was apparent
early on that this skilled musician was not headed for the orchestra pit,
though. Every time he got asked to play for a church service, he whipped
out his Enya and Enigma songbooks. |
| Johnny M's passion for dance/pop music led him to write
his first song, 'Mystery', at the age of 16. "I don't remember much
of it right now, I just remember that it was so rough and simplistic that
I'm not too thrilled about it still kicking around in my head. I remember
that part of used a minor-key version of the 'Oh, sweet mystery of life
at last I found you' line that Madeline Kahn sings in [the film] Young
Frankenstein. I was injecting my love of movies into my love of music right
from the first song." |
| Unhappy with the options he found for furthering his
music education, Johnny M formed ASAGIRI with Hyperkitty, DJ Sakura, and
Rory Urban in 1995. ASAGIRI (which is Japanese for 'morning mist') spent
their time collaborating in the studio, with Johnny M mainly responsible
for primary keys and additional drums. It was during this time that Johnny
M first worked with Dark World and captured a rare five song demo release
on CD, including a special version of his song 'Fear' sung by Kylyra. |
| By 2001 Johnny M was getting too many ideas of his own
and wanted to go in a different direction musically than ASAGIRI. The split
between the group was highly amicable, and Johnny M has continued to collaborate
on occasional mixes with DJ Sakura. |
| A highly sought after talent, Johnny M has been busy
working as a DJ (aka DJ Johnny Sugar) and found work as a dancer and back-up
vocalist for Minneapolis dance/pop diva Lolly Pop. He is most actively
performing with Dr. Farrago's Burlesque Theatre (www.drfarrago.com), which
he also manages, DJs for, and where he occasionally appears as a striptease
performer. |
| (Present Project) |
| As a musician who works creates music directly on his
computer using loop-based programs, Johnny M's main equipment - software
- has changed with the times. The free downloadable tracks on Dark World
(done as ASAGIRI) were made using the MTV Music Generator, a delicate but
surprisingly effective program. Seeking a more sophisticated loop-based
program than the MTV Music Generator, Johnny M turned to Acid Pro to create
Riddle for his first iTunes release through Dark World International. |
| For Johnny M, writing music is a combination of experimentation
and discipline. "Well, the first thing I do, honestly, is come up
with a list of names. If I get a word or phrase in my head that I think
would make a good song title or that I could make a song out of, I write
it down in a long list of titles. I'll draw from that list and start getting
sounds, loops, and samples together. I'll play around with the sounds until
I'm confident that they work together, then I start actually working out
the order. I'll then arrange the songs in a kind of chart so I can see
the flow of the music, when things come and go, and if I'm overusing a
sample or sound. It also gives me a good idea of the length and time of
the song so that I'm not dragging any particular ideas out or not letting
them play long enough. It's all very logical, at least in my own way." |
| Johnny M cleverly invites listeners in on Riddle with
the opening sample on 'Fixed Thoughts', then begins to wrap them in his
unique ambient techno environments. Moving from the musically soothing
but gothically dark feeling of 'With Joanna Lumley as Jessica', Johnny
M then surprises the ear and the soul with the beautifully meditative 'Delicate
Hausfrau'. 'Challenging Stage' reawakens the spirit and cleanses your ear
just in time for 'Throne of Music Model 904 (Original Mix)' which begins
with gorgeous organic sounds and then unfolds into an electronic trance
song perfect for chilling out. Shiva (Original Mix) will remind you what
good techno grooves are all about, if you've managed to forget, before
releasing you into the classically tinged 'Consequence'. Johnny M takes
you back to the dance floor with the harder edged version of 'Throne of
Music Model 904 (Future Mix)' and then out to the desert floor to dance
under the moon with 'Shiva (Diamond Dust Remix)'. As an added bonus to
his many fans, Johnny M has included three of his finest earlier works
as ASAGIRI; Sunrise, Fear (with Kylyra on vocals), and The Mirror. |
| Johnny M's magnificent debut release, Riddle, proves
his is an artist capable of moulding songs from equal parts darkness and
light, club and ambient, sacred and profane. |
| (Discography) |
Released under Seventh Shadow Music:
ASAGIRI, (morning mist), 5 song demo CD, 2000.
ASAGIRI, Esperanto, full-length release CD, 2000.
ASAGIRI, "Hyperspace", single CD, 2000.
ASAGIRI, "Indigo", single CD, 2000.
ASAGIRI, The Eros Mix, EP CD, 2001.
ASAGIRI, "No Holly For Miss Quinn", promotional
single CD, 2001.
ASAGIRI, The Experiments Volume 1, full-length release
CD, 2002.
ASAGIRI, "The Strangers", single CD, 2002.
ASAGIRI, The Song Of Quiet Trust Original Soundtrack,
Seventh Shadow compilation CD, 2002.
Johnny M, Riddle, full-length release CD, 2004 (in its
original form).
Johnny M, "Idol Worship", digital promotional
single, 2004.
Johnny M, "Shiva", digital promotional single,
2004.
Johnny M vs. Nancy Sinatra, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot
Me Down)", promotional single, 2004.
Released under Dark World International:
Johnny M, Phase 6, DRM free digital internet release,
2008.
coming soon - Johnny M, Riddle,
digital internet release, 2008.
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