Floorboard is back with more old demos from the depths of the vault. Psychedelia, spirituality, love in the darkness, faith in disintegration, and isolation. Cranial Rain is a journey through the shadows, both in its high beauty and nagging sinister confusion. Enjoy the full album on youtube.

To Breathe Through the Void

I was once sold on the illusion that I was going somewhere, convinced that life had a set destination. Racing towards a finish-line hidden on the other side of the horizon, I would have been smart to sacrifice the moment for whatever primitive desires I believed myself to crave, for the reward would come to he who finished first. I guess I got tired of running. The human experience doesn’t seem so linear anymore, and perhaps that’s purely a function of having lived just barely long enough to see myself in the same place more than a few times. The same places come back to me, I don’t necessarily return to them, but the places are not truly the same. They’re not better, nor are they worse, they’re just different. What’s changed is not the location; not the outside world. Neither is it me. There is only less smoke in the hall of mirrors that is this universe I’ve awoken to. Every lap around the sun I can see myself a little more clearly within this labyrinth of reflections, and the world responds. As I put down the sword, kick off my shoes, and soften my gaze, the reflections grow kinder, more compassionate, more beautiful, and more innocent. I’m slowly learning to fall in love with the great all of being. I see more smiles and more embraces; more understanding and more authenticity; more color and more texture. I see God, the infinite dancing Tao, shining through the walls, through the carpet, through the wrinkles in my skin. I know I’m never alone as I learn to be here among all these eclectic faces that are none but my own, forever swimming in this ocean of symbols, all breathing the same message of a cosmic yet simple love. It is all self, and then it is no-self. What remains is just a beautiful feeling; a universal sigh with no need for resolution.

Yet within this singular exhale of all experience, I still find a profound sadness. I miss the water. I long for oneness with the waves. Struggling to drink from the cups before me, I grow doubtful that I’ve actually learned anything. I’ve learned to pray, but not to swallow my fear. The valley spirit never dies, but where is she? I think I need her, though maybe that’s just the smoke. All I can do is continue to breathe through the void.

Loved ones ask me how I’m doing. The answer doesn’t matter, and quite sincerely, I do not know what the answer is. However, I know that I will be okay, and after another lap around the sun, a little more light will pour in. I am grateful for every moment, even when they hurt, and I am glad to be feeling, even if I don’t smile back.

MEDIUM ARTICLE

The Floorboard Spotlight

Adventures Through The Newgrounds Audio Portal

Issue #1 - April 16th, 2021: So It Begins

What is this? Well... I'm not sure yet, but following the influence of @littlbox and @thetanktribune, I wanted to put something together to give some appreciation to fellow artists and build a greater sense of community among the newgrounds audio folks. I'll be including mixes, project reviews, and audio forum highlights. I'm not sure how frequently I'll be doing this, but I'll aim to do this at least twice a month or so.

The Floorboard Mix:

An extremely well produced bass-centric piece by @SynchroSpectre. I REALLY love the vocal production on this one. Well worth a listen! Check it out:

This piece by @LordAndiso is phenomenal. Like... wow. SUCH a groove. And I'm a sucker for some good music box sounds. Honestly, it kind of pisses me off that this kid is 16. Give it a play:

This piece from @SacredOyster is my favorite kind of weird. Seriously underappreciated! Why don't you take his red car for a test drive:

Great raw tune from a friend of @SourJovis. Don't be waiting on this one:

This is addictive to listen to, but, so is everything @BitBeak does. I just LOVE the flutey stringy textures in this. Treat yourself to some ear candy:

Here's a nice retro tune with some lovely synthetic textures, and great vocals, brought to you by @fearing. No need for drug abuse when we can all get high off this spicy sax:

I'd never listened to any orchestral dubstep until I found this beauty by @Karumamusic. Whether you like to sit quitely in the concert hall, or headbang to some distorted bass, it's definitely worth a dive into this:

Here is some truly lovely and exploratory video game music from @GundorSound. Beautiful melodies! Very easy to fall in love with this track:

A poignant piano composition to close this out. Embrace the hope within darkness as @Troisnyx tickles those digital ivories. It's easy to close your eyes and drift away into this stunning piece:

Project Spotlight: The Short End by @Littlbox

@Littlbox absolutely KILLS it with his latest EP "The Short End" by imaginary band "Captainsideway". A fun exploration of odd time signitures, analogue textures, and unique sonic spaces, bringing feelings of crisis and hope; of nostalgia and revelation. It's fantastical and raw, like old memories of a broken yet beautiful childhood home. I'd highly reccomend tuning in for littlebox's little masterpiece.

Listen on newgrounds:

Or buy him a beer (or two) through BandCamp.

...

Also, while we're still on the "Project Spotlight" section here, @BitBeak finally got his stuff up on Spotify, so check that out as well here.

Audio Forum Highlights:

• User @aakase brings the idea of a newgrounds label into dicussion.
• User @AceMantra asks about the collaboration process.
• User @BBank gets us all to have some fun with band names.
• We finally got ourselves a thread for the REAPER DAW.
• User @Troisnyx completed a song a day for the 40 days of lent, so take a peek at her portfolio thread to take a listen.
• User @MetalRenard is planning a metal/rock workshop.
• User @Aidnic7 gets us sharing the love for some underappreciated musicians.
• User @JojoTully asks what your personal favorite track is.
• User @itemgod asks about you favorite VSTs.

Well folks, that's it for the first issue! Do you guys find value in this? Should I continue? Let me know!

All the best,

Floorboard

Hello everyone! I've finally released my new EP: Moloch Eats Connecticut

Here is the opening track:

Stream the whole thing on Spotify:

Soundcloud:

or YouTube:

I've been very excited about this project, and the support I've been receiving from Newgrounds has been awesome, so I've definitely been looking forward to sharing this with you guys! Please let me know what you guys think! I hope you enjoy it!

Also, and I kinda hate myself for doing this, but if you feel you get some value from my music, consider supporting me through Patreon. You would truely literally become my new best friend!

I finally got it all uploaded!

Here is my 2019 release "Under the Goldstar: The Floorboard Demos (Vol. I)" in the proper album order:

It actually isn't a new Twitter account. I had it for awhile but it was pretty much completely sparse. I have no followers, so if any of my fellow newgrounders want to give it a follow I'll return the favor! Find me on twitter here.

I've been resisting uploading my music to soundcloud for years, especially since I wanted to avoid the label of "soundcloud artist", but I decided to just go ahead and do it today. Find it here.

Here's the demo album:

Finally got myself a youtube channel started up.

First move was to upload "Under the Goldstar: The Floorboard Demos" in it's entirety.

Just wanted to showcase the art for my upcoming EP "Moloch Eats Connecticut". Coming to all major platforms April 16th!

I'm currently in the process of uploading some tunes from my 2019 release Under the Goldstar: The Floorboard Demos (Vol. I). I should be uploading most of them in the next couple weeks here. I'm not all too proud of these any more, especially considering production quality, but I'd like to have them here if I ever decide to pull them off the major platforms. If you want to check out the demos on spotify, you can find them here.