Let’s start this summer newsletter with a question from last week’s month’s season’s newsletter:
kittylitterlover565 asks - can we get more info on the gato pictures at the end of your newsletter?
That Gato’s name is GameCube and we all know he’s the main reason everyone reads the newsletter. We just can’t let him know that – he doesn’t need any more confidence than he already has.
Speaking of the New Album…
If you’ve seen my Instagram account or been on any streaming service lately, you’ve probably seen something shocking - I’ve released my debut album! .beyond_____(ECSTASY) was officially released on June 14, 2024, and people having been really digging it, commenting everything from “Very nice I like” to “🔥🌟 S̷u̷p̷e̷r̷c̷h̷a̷r̷g̷e̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷r̷ ̷I̷n̷s̷t̷a̷ ̷g̷a̷m̷e̷!̷!̷!̷ 🚀🌈 💲1̷0̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷1̷0̷0̷0̷ ̷f̷o̷l̷l̷o̷w̷e̷r̷s̷!̷!̷!̷ 📈💥 L̷i̷m̷i̷t̷e̷d̷ ̷o̷f̷f̷e̷r̷ ⏳ H̷u̷r̷r̷y̷,̷ ̷D̷M̷ ̷f̷o̷r̷ ̷d̷e̷t̷a̷i̷l̷s̷!̷!̷!̷ 💯🔥”!
.beyond_____(ECSTASY) took me a bit over a year to make, and I appreciate how much I learned throughout the whole process. Composing, mixing, and mastering an entire album’s worth of songs to be released at once is way different than doing the same for one song at a time. The process was stressful but made me feel really connected to the entire album, hearing it as more of a narrative than I originally intended. While I’m extremely excited to release my new music that I’ve been making since the album has been finished, I can confidently say that .beyond_____(ECSTASY) is danceable, weird, energetic, happy, sad, and above all, unabashedly Arum. You can listen to it here (unless you’re one of the weird kids that uses Bandcamp – you’re gonna have to try harder than that to get your hands on it).
Speaking of Arum Lore…
Get ready for some Arum lore that’s sure to show up in an episode of Jeopardy! someday – the officially released version of .beyond_____(ECSTASY) was released incorrectly! The cowards at my music distribution partner (not saying who it was, but it was Distrokid) refused to re-release Love Has Come Around on the album due to “copyright laws” or something idk I didn’t really read the email. Additionally, the album version of Ambrosius Costeau on the album was inadvertently cut off about 30 seconds in. I appreciate everyone who said that the cut-off sounded “weird, cool, and Arum-like”, but I unfortunately have to report that the currently released version of the album on most streaming services isn’t exactly what I intended. As annoying as this is, the corrected version of the album is live on Bandcamp (sorry for making fun of you earlier), and I’ve made this Spotify playlist with the corrected version of the album featuring Love Has Come Around and Ambrosius Costeau (Uncorrupted), both in their original position in the album. Now you can listen to the originally intended version of the album, all while knowingly chuckling at all the Arum “fans” who don’t even know there are two versions of the album.
Speaking of Remixes…
So what’s been going on since .beyond_____(ECSTASY) was released? I’ve been lucky enough to have some old friends make some remixes of their favorite tracks on the album which have been steadily coming out since the album dropped! So far, we have remixes from Stoopit Fresh (all the way out in Copenhagen) and Shmoozy (“New Hampshire”??) with one more from Beton Brut in London, pictured here happier than he’s ever been because he once got to visit an American Chili’s.
For those of you that don’t know (more Arum Jeopardy! lore incoming), I founded an electronic music collective called the ‘Safe//Sound’ Collective around 2018 with all of these guys. Check out all their music (especially their remixes), because they are all ridiculously talented.
Speaking of gigs…
I’ve been playing a ton of gigs recently! To ensure the newsletter doesn’t get too long (everyone knows all Arum-heads are legally required to have “jobs”), I’ll write a one-phrase review of each gig to summarize quickly:
mHouse: “Arum but you’re at your work’s happy hour”
Porchfest Lakeview: “Arum but you’re outside and he’s on a porch”
.beyond_____(ECSTASY)/live: “Arum but, and I’m not exaggerating here, it’s approximately 100x better than sex”
Café Mustache: “Arum but PBRs are $5 – whether that’s fair or not is between you and Café Mustache”
Windy City .Wavs Boiler Room Set: “Arum but he’s a mid-2000’s Myspace rave DJ”
Weeds Tavern: “Arum but he’s hungover from cosplaying as a mid-2000’s Myspace rave DJ, so you’re gonna listen to chill lo-fi house on a beautiful patio and you’re gonna like it”
I announce all gigs via my Instagram, so give me a follow if you’re interested in hearing where I’m playing next.
Speaking of Playlist Songs…
The ‘Arum Online’ newsletter Spotify playlist has been updated with this newsletter – you can tell that I’ve been on a breakbeat kick since playing the Windy City Wavs Boiler Room gig because all of these tracks are in all-caps:
black balloons – EARTHBOUND
Sounds like showing your friend a cool N64 game, then they show you a cooler N64 game
SBTRKT – YOU, LOVE
Fans of sad media that sounds nostalgic! You’ll love this one!
NotNevi, 13erry, Intrex – ASH
For those of you who missed it, this is what every soundcloud song sounded like in 2015 (except this is better)
Machinedrum – H0N3Y
Am I still on a high from when I saw Machinedrum play a B2B with 7 DJs almost a year ago? Yes but regardless this song still rocks
Speaking of upcoming releases…
August 16 - Love Has Come Around (Arum’s House Edit)
August 30 - Eye Level (Arum’s House Edit)
September 13 - LSW (Arum Love Song Edit) + Neon Vinyl (Instrumental)
October 4 - First single from my new (house) project :)
Speaking of upcoming gigs (mark your calendars!)…
August 16 – Arum plays Weeds Tavern (again)
August 17 – Arum opens for Charlie Heldman’s release party
August 18 – Arum plays Porchfest Roscoe Village
August 24 – Arum plays the Windy City .Wavs 1-year showcase event at the Atheneum Center!
That does it for this newsletter – keep your eyes open for new announcements, including new merch (a massive poster) and a live full-length recording of .beyond_____(ECSTASY)/live! Remember that you can directly reply to this email to ask a question that might get answered in the next newsletter. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening, thanks for being a fan, and, as always, remember – a stream for Arum is a stream for Mankind.
