Magnum Opus Multimedia Blog

“Sinner’s Therapy” is here! for FREE

danjohns — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:52:28 +0000

After YEARS of putting it together, we are proud to present Akshun’s second album Sinner’s Therapy. Serving as the follow up to his debut album Diamond District, This album features production from: Midi Marc, CAP, Encore, JahFree, D Gents, Diheim, Swan Dito, Absoul and JackDollars, and N1lla. With rapper Cajwell showing up as the album’s only guest, Akshun gives listeners a front seat to view his struggles in life without exploiting the fly and flashy persona that has plagued rap over the past decade. Deciding to showcase a darker side of one’s life is a hefty task in itself, Akshun as chosen to be the torch carrier for HONEST hip hop. Hope you Enjoy.

Front cover

Back cover/Tracklisting

link: http://limelinx.com/files/9085feeea99802d43e251945adef2ff2

This is the first link and many will appear later. If you would like to support the project, share, retweet, SPREAD THE WORD!

Akshun – “Sinner’s Therapy” is here, for FREE

danjohns — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:58:35 +0000

Front cover

Back cover/Tracklisting

link: http://limelinx.com/files/9085feeea99802d43e251945adef2ff2

This is the first link and many will appear later. If you would like to support the project, share, retweet, SPREAD THE WORD!

Live at the Jam Room Clips

danjohns — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:51:44 +0000

A few weeks back, the people over at The Jam Room recording studio (Columbia SC) reached out to Fat Rat Da Czar, DJ Shekeese The Beast, and myself about performing for their “Live at the Jam Room” cable series. They posted a few of the clips on youtube, and if you’re a Time Warner Cable subscriber in South Carolina, then you can check out the full performances on channel 1234 (under the local music tab).

Live at The Jam Room Dan Johns

Live at The Jam Room – Fat Rat Da Czar – Do What I Do

A little irony for the computer guy

danjohns — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:51:01 +0000

SO..recording after work today was anticipated, as I had plans to lay down two scratch verses for two different songs. As I was tweaking the performance of my studio computer, I turned off my antivirus program to see the difference in CPU/memory usage. Well, while the antivirus was off, i googled something to do research, and BAM, my computer was infected within 30 seconds.

Seriously, 30 seconds was all it took to get my pc infected, on a seemingly safe website. How’s that for irony?

test blog for scribefire

danjohns — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:32:28 +0000

this is a test blog, when posting from my other pc, the blogs take almost 24 hours to post, so ignore this

Hump Day Thoughts as the weekend approaches

danjohns — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 11:28:36 +0000

What’s good people? I hope that the week hasn’t been too hard on you thus far. This has been a productive, busy week so far this way. I’ve been re-organizing my workflow for music production, which has had me converting samples to different formats, and tweaking my MIDI setup, etc (studio rats know what i’m talking about).

Its also been a week where the importance of being there for your family has been highlighted. I don’t know about you, but as more years come and go, I have come to appreciate my family more. Sometimes, we so wrapped up in what we’re trying to do, that we end up losing focus of the things that really matter.

This weekend, we’re taking a business/pleasure trip to the Queen City. going to link with some good friends and hang out, then at some point i’ll be sitting in Jah Freedom’s lab, going through beats for “Alpha Writer.” Jah and I have a crazy chemistry when it comes to working together musically, not to mention he knows all of the best restaurants in the QC.

Before I forget, Akshun took some promotional pics for “Sinner’s Therapy” over the previous weekend, and is waiting on the completion of his album art. once that’s done, we’ll be taking the next steps to releasing “Sinner’s Therapy.”

Cyclone Death Song, Beats, Ramblings & A Classic Video…

danjohns — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:41:59 +0000

Today was a very productive day creatively. The homie Fat Rat Da Czar (who recently put out a classic video is posted at the end of this blog) came through, along with Akshun, and put down their verses for “Cyclone Death Song.” Don’t be alarmed by the title, as it derived from an anime series that I was watching a few weeks back. As of today, the record will feature Fat, Ak, yours truly and the homie K-Hill. In my mind, I forsee leaking the record in the coming weeks, and maybe even doing something creative for a video.

Also, crafted out some things on the beat-side of the music making process. its been a work in progress, but my workflow is steadily improving as a producer. I would like to thank my friends CAP and Chris Hanebutt for helping me with tips/tutorials and just listening to my ramblings.

I broke down the concept of “Alpha Writer” for Fat Rat, Akshun and B Steelz of www.onpointmag.info today. They get it, and I think that the world should as well. Until the next time, check this video out and be sure to leave some feedback.

Fat Rat Da Czar – Something Ain’t Right Extended Version

Outlaw Complex Pt. 1

danjohns — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:47:38 +0000

The fascination with movies like “Scarface.” The reason that groups like N.W.A. can reach more listeners than the average artist. The motivation for reporters to interview Terrell Owens, and the same reason that they steer clear of atheletes that are not problematic.

I have found that my own personal collection of movies and TV series is filled with tales of violence, bravado, and desperation. I wonder what it is about the outlaw lifestyle that just appeals to not only me, but to most people.

I would have made this blog a lot longer, but this will just be the introduction, since I’m watching Sons of Anarchy right now.

Waiting on Ak to arrive….

danjohns — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:40:48 +0000

Fresh out of church at 12:15(ish), I’m now home in the lab, awaiting Akshun’s arrival. Today we put the stamp on “Sinner’s Therapy” by finalizing the mixdowns, song-order, and sending the master CD to the graphic designer. (Serious graphic designers like to hear the material to help give them an idea of the feel that the artwork should portray)

The New England vs Baltimore playoff game is still in the first quarter, and the Ravens are already up 14 – 0….my fantasy player Ray Rice has an 83 yard TD run already. wow, as i type this, Tom Brady just threw another interception. My other half is going to be LIVID if her adopted NFL team (New England) bows out of the playoffs early.

SO, in other news, I have been working on a treatment for what could arguably be the best music video of my career. The song will be the lead single off of “Alpha Writer,” and is entitled “Origins.” Stay tuned for more info on that, including some special cameos in the video

To prepare for the video, I may actually shoot a test music video of another song from “Alpha Writer,” so keep your eyes open for that.

Its 2010 and….

danjohns — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:34:06 +0000

…this will be a memorable year for yours truly and my family.

Taking the big leap towards marriage in June, so its starting to become a mad dash to get everything in order for the wedding. In between that, I’m making music towards my next project, Alpha Writer. More on that later, because honestly its not a priority at this time.

This weekend, Akshun and I are FINALLY going to wrap up his new solo album, Sinner’s Therapy. The project is pretty much complete, all that is left now is to mix down one song produced by MIDI Marc, and to place the interludes, intro and etc.

I’ll be blogging more in 2010, as there will be a lot to talk about obviously. Happy New Year, and I’ll see you around.