No update blogs in a while, but I’m sure those of you who follow me on Twitter, Tumblr or Google+ aren’t complaining. And if you aren’t following, you should be! All the links are on the top right of the main page.

“Emanate” is a work in progress, but I’m probably gonna trim some fat from it. The problems of being a perfectionist. Still, I aim for completion soon. No rush. The new Swami album #UPGRADE, however, is very very finished. Minor mixing and the odd vocal overdub will be done in the next few days, then time for mastering! Our manager Luc has recently been in NYC having some strategical meetings with some people that will be partnering with us for the release. It’s gonna be epic. Total domination for 2012 is the aim.

Some real interesting developments with my solo work too. Let’s see what we can make happen. I have 9 ideas in mind already for the follow up to my debut. Shame starting ideas is so much easier than finishing them.

Love as always, peaceandbewild

S-Endz aka Casey Rain

x

It’s been a long time in the making. But the tracklist is finalized. The artwork is done. The songs are written. They just need mixing, which my cousin Subs and I should hopefully be starting this week. With a Swami tour also starting on Wednesday, there’s a lot going on.

Unfortunately there’s one song that still needs work, and it happens to be the most intensely personal song with the most musical depth and dynamic…… aka, the most work. All the other songs are done. I considered leaving it off. Unfortunately it’s the title track. And it’s hard for me to even think about the things it needs to be finished. It’s a tough one. But I’m determined to see this through, because I need to release this soon. I feel like I’m repressing ideas and visions for the next album I make and that’s not good. As they say, it’s much easier to start an idea than to finish one. But it’s a learning process, and over the past 4 years that I’ve been making this album (admittedly – on and off at times), I’ve learned so much, and I don’t think the next one will take as long. And hopefully it’ll be just as good.

I’m very proud of this album. But it’s scary to share some of your most innermost thoughts with the world. Not all of the album is like that – there’s tracks that are simply about having a good time and made to blast loudly at the world. But there’s a story weaving through all of the songs, and it’s my story. My life. Good times and bad times. I’m the creator, the protagonist, the antagonist, the hero, the villain, the narrator and more. I hope you enjoy it, but if you don’t, that’s OK. Because I didn’t compose this music and write these songs for anyone. Just myself. My Neosouljas, you know this already and I’m eternally grateful to all of you that have decided to join me on this ride.

This is only the beginning.

One love… S-Endz
x

So I’ve been neglecting my site right here a bit. I feel bad about it, but hey, it’s not like there aren’t a million other ways for you guys to follow what I’m doing. One of the main reasons I began to blog less here is because I made an executive decision to keep this site strictly about my work, and I began to blog about all the other stuff over on Tumblr.

If you use Tumblr, hit that link and go follow me on there. Of course, Twitter and Facebook are also good ways to keep up, you’ll find those links in the top right.

I’ve still been working hard on “Emanate” – although the new Swami album set to be released in 2011 has been taking up the majority of my songwriting and recording time over the past year. I’ve co-written and recorded vocals on every song, rapped on all of them and sang on some of them too. It’s easily our best work to date, and right now our management are talking to multiple major labels to make sure this is our biggest release yet. I can’t wait to get it out there for you all to hear it. Of course, this means that there have been a lot of delays to my solo project, but it is still an ongoing process, and very much a labor of love….  because you only get to make your debut album once, and I intend for this to be the ultimate showcase of what NEOFUNK is all about. Haters can step the fuck back because this shit will hit you like an atomic bomb.

Also, stay tuned for my brand new collaboration with Kazz Kumar, “Fashion Part 2 (Neofunk Style)”….. hitting the airwaves in January….get ready!

Peace and be wild,
S-Endz…. aka Casey Rain The Neosoulja
x

I made sure we dropped a quick video blog whilst recording a session for the new album last month. Enjoy!

So in 15 hours or so from the time of writing, it will be a new decade here in the UK. I for one welcome it with open arms and happily say "Good Riddance!" to the Noughties. Click the "Read More" link to find out why:

The Noughties sucked as a decade. I mean, really. Think about it. Of the years 2000-2009, 8 of those years had George W Bush controlling the worlds most powerful country. I mean, who let this guy in? OK fair enough, you guys made a mistake voting him in the first time. But you realized and then…..the bastard cheated his way back in. Obama’s first year in office hasn’t been anywhere near enough time to counter the damage done by the Bush Administration, but I am certain that over time, Obama will be able to lead the country and the world in a better direction.

What about music? Well, the record business died over the last decade and it seemed like cultural movements did too. Where’s the movements like there were in every decade prior? Grunge and the rise of commercial hip-hop and alternative rock in the 90′s, electro, new wave and post punk in the 80′s, metal, punk and funk in the 70′s, rock and roll in the 60′s……well what the hell does the Noughties have to show for itself musically? Nada.

2009 felt like it had to just outdo the suckiness of the whole rest of the decade on it’s own. Economic recession. The death of the king of pop. In my case, more heartbreak and personal issues than I care to even waste another second getting upset about. In short, a terrible, terrible year. I’m confident that the Tens is going to be a GREAT decade though. I can’t explain why right now, since we’re not even in it yet. But I CAN feel it. There’s something stirring, an energy that some forward thinking people will harness. The Noughties has left us all downtrodden, resentful and angry. This anger is our gift and the force that will guide us to a better tomorrow.

I plan to start off the Tens with a bang. The release of my long awaited, years in the making solo album (I PROMISE it’s nearly done!!!)….the new Swami album that is our most ambitious project to date and will hopefully elevate us to previously unseen heights……THIS IS THE NEW BEGINNING.

But don’t just take my word for it. Drop me a line and let me know why you feel the Tens is going to be awesome. I can’t be alone in feeling like the draught of the Noughties will lead to a new renaissance of the Tens. I mean, once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up, right? Happy new decade to all of you.

Peace love and be wild.

Casey "S-Endz" Rain.

P.S – Big shout out to Bobby Friction and all the listeners of the FRICTION show on the BBC Asian Network who placed ‘Sugarless’ as the #2 song of 2009 in the Top 50 songs countdown show. Hey, I guess 2009 wasn’t all bad

The CD’s have been pressed, the record company has sent the stock to the distributors, and all systems are go for the UK/India physical release of ‘53431‘ on the 17th August!

Here’s the tracklist:

1. Electro Jugni
2. Sugarless
3. DesiRock
4. Mehbooba
5. Turn It Up
6. Hey Hey
7. Tonight
8. Don’t Hold Back
9. Shakedown
10. Homage
11. Ching
12. Disciples
13. Big Beat Thumbi
14. Ching (Shiva Soundsystem’s Mo-Flo Remix)
15. DesiRock (Shiva Soundsystem’s Radio Remix)

‘Sugarless‘ has blown up on radio worldwide, and we’re incredibly happy with all the love you guys have shown for the song. We’ve shot a performance video for the song and we hope to have it completed within the next few weeks. For all you club DJ’s, don’t sleep on the hard-hitting dancefloor-targeted "New Desi Generation" remix of ‘Sugarless‘ – if you’re on Facebook, you can listen to it here – get in touch with us for your copy!

If you’re in the UK or India, you’ll be able to pick up ‘53431‘ in stores from the 17th. If not, we will have some stock on our digital store  – where you can also grab your own ‘DesiRock‘ or ‘53431‘ T-Shirts which have been flying off the merch tables at Swami shows this summer! Get yours now cos stock is extremely limited!

We’re currently finalizing details for the digital release of ‘53431‘ which will be in early-to-mid September.

Are you ready for ’53431′?

Peace!!

S-Endz

S-Endz appears in the new issue of Anokhi magazine, out now in the US and Canada! So to those of you on the North American continent, go out and grab a copy! If not, no fear! Check out the article right here!

So now it’s official! Emanate dropping in the fall with the first single ‘Do U Wanna Come?’ bustin out the airwaves soon!

Thanks to Jay at www.bhangraw.com for the scan!

Time to break out the purple champagne.

Prince’s new 3 album set (consisting of his ‘LOTUSFLOW3R’ and ‘MPLSOUND’ albums and the album ‘ELIXER’ by his new protege Bria Valente) has debuted at #1 in the Billboard album charts.

This is particularly impressive because the album set is only available in two places – Target retail stores in the USA, and the lotusflow3r.com website (and the website sales do not count towards the Billboard chart).

As the man himself says on ‘Ol Skool Company’ from the MPLSOUND album – ‘The white house is now black….it’s time to take the radio back!’

Congratz Prince! Now, where’s the party at?

Hey all,

Just wanted to give you a heads up on the progress on my forthcoming solo album, ‘Emanate’.

Currently, the album stands 14 tracks deep and about 75% finished. I’m shooting for a September release, and the production has been exclusively handled by myself and Simon ‘Subs’ Duggal so far. I’m hoping to get in the studio with Diamond aka DJ Swami to work on a track for my album at some point in the next few months, after we finish the new Swami album. So far Kidd Skilly, Sups and Sarah Riley are all featured on the album, but the finished product may have a few more collaborations.

The next single will surprise a few folks, but I love it. Peace x

S-Endz

The two new Swami songs that we wrote last week are now recorded, mixed and finished.

I think I can get away with revealing some info about them.

They are both commercial and uptempo, produced by Diamond, with vocals from myself, Sups and Liana, and live percussion from Bobby P. They are more commercial than anything we’ve done to date, and we’re all really happy with how they’ve turned out. As always, our live set was something we kept in mind during the writing and recording, and these songs are definately gonna be crowd-pleasers once we work them into our set.

Oh yeah -and these two songs will see a release sooner than the rest of the new material that we are working on….but you’ll find out about that soon enough.

Maybe I shouldn’t give the titles away just yet……anyway there’s much more to come, so hold steady and get ready to move into an alternate galaxy……..53431…

Peace ,

S-Endz

P.S – you can stay updated with what Swami are up to in real-time by following us on Twitter!! – http://www.twitter.com/swamimusic