D-Natural: M.I.A.

What's up world ?!?!?

Yeah, I know, it's been awhile since my last post here....

However, the things I mentioned in my last post  "Update" are really still relevant to what's up with me at this time. I had reluctantly regressed from creating to really work on myself as a person and to explore certain aspects of life & spirituality more. I knew that doing this would make me a better enlightened person, thus an even better artist and writer.

I have also taken the time this summer, while I have a much needed break from my academic obligations, to expand my work outside the music industry into the film industry. This led to me attending the Production Assistant Seminar back in mid May and completing the program to become a certified Production Assistant in the Film Industry!



Film Industry Veteran Gary Fiorelli & Myself
(Seminar Photos Courtesy of Adrienne W., Virginia Film Office Intern)

I had a blast training at the seminar and networking with awesome like-minded individuals! I had a brief glimpse of what Production Assistants do when I stumbled upon the set during filming of the upcoming film Ithaca while traveling through downtown Petersburg last summer.

I've always wanted to work further in the film industry while honing my craft as a music producer and writer. As a Mass Communications major at Virginia State University, I've found myself falling more in love with using a camera and getting dope shots (still or motion), almost as much as I do making music or writing poetry. Especially these days, an artist must be familiar with the visual aspect of their art, which is necessary for generating content in this digital age which has totally changed the way we consume art.

The seminar was held at the beautiful J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College campus in Richmond, Virginia. At the seminar I along with others spent a whole weekend training and covering all that goes into producing a film such as call sheets, script writing, technical terms, scene breakdowns, editing, etc...

This will really aid my journey as I get more into directing and editing my own music visuals/videos, poetry visuals and other ideas that in the works.

I am really excited and currently looking for my first film productions (outside my own) to be apart of in the DMV area and abroad. For more information on what took place and future seminars check out: http://productionassistanttrainingseminar.net/

 

 





In my next blog I will shed some more light on other endeavors over the summer outside of my music and writing.

But for now lets get back to the music!

Recently I have released a few new instrumentals out of the vault on the Artistic Visionz YouTube channel and will continuing to release more in the upcoming weeks ahead as I continue to work on solo projects for myself and artists seeking music production or collaborations. The latest of some of my work can be heard below:

 

 

 

 

Also as mentioned before, I haven't stopped writing and am still planning the release of my first ebook of poetry. In the meantime, as I've done in the past, I will release some poems out of the vault here in there along with some recital visuals.

I know I've been quiet, but trust me, I got y'all ! ! ! Everything WILL be worth the wait.

Until the next time, thanks so much for your continued support. It definitely is felt. You all are what drives me. Keep the faith & keep chasing your dreams.

OneLove,

D-Natural
Artistic Visionz Productions



PS - - - > Keep your eyes on the ArtsticVisionz Twitter & YouTube
 

"DMV"

1 of my throwaways from the vault. I somehow manipulated a sample of Gregorian monks chanting to spell out DMV.. It’s kinda rough but whatever, it’s the only version . It was of the moments where I liked it when I was creating it but then I didn't like it afterwards so I just put it the vault. In this situation I would usually delete the original instrumental so I can't record over it again. Then a couple months or even years later when I stumble upon it again, I'm like this isn't that bad after all, maybe I should at least share it with the people. I do that with my music A LOT !! I'm so brutal on myself & my work it's not even funny. I think it's because I listen to it so much while creating/writing to the music that it gets redundant and annoys me after awhile. I forget that when other people hear it, it's going to be brand new to them and they might get a different, better experience. Sometimes I think I have to go out and live life so I'll get some fresh ears then come back to some of my old work. This is usually the best time for me  to listen to it again. I always hear it differently then and can immediately see what I was attempting to do at the time. This is why I at least keep some songs around because I just plain delete a lot of stuff I make (a bad habit I'm trying to break). This is because I feel it won't live up to my more popular & acclaimed work. But anyway, hope you enjoy! More original music, poetry and much more coming soon!!

OneLove

D-Natural, Artistic Visionz Productions

Tuyul (Instrumental)

"Happily Ever After" - Mr. B (Prod. by D​-​Natural)

http://mrbmusic.bandcamp.com/track/happily-ever-after-prod-by-d-natural

$teady Grooving . . .

What's up world ?!

It's your man D-Natural back again with another chapter of my journey to share my gifts with the universe ! Been busy lately as usual making things happen & expanding Artistic Visionz Productions . Very happy to share some of my progress with you all thus far . . .

Still personally inspired by one of the songs I wrote & recorded for my debut EP Sigh of Relief back in August , I decided to reprise my most popular song off that project "Good Enough" with a visual of myself performing an intimate alternate version of it on guitar .

It's seems to have resonated with lots of you out there and of course as with all my work, it's very personal to me as well . I"m very happy to see that people are relating to my music and my messages ! It's really inspiring me continue on this journey that I've started with you all . 

I'm proud and honored to be playing my grandfather's vintage 1979 Peavey T-160 electric lead guitar . Everything time I pick this baby up it just felt right at home in my hands & I fell in love with it a little more each time . I'll be using it a lot more on other projects that I currently have in the works . I might have to possibly hunt for one just like it !! It's nothing like the sound of vintage instruments . With all the technology we have in today's society , musical instruments have evolved so much . But , even with that said , all the technology in the world can't replace the classic sound of instruments & equipment from the past . I personally will be starting a collection of them myself !

San Francisco, California Recording Artist Mr. B

Very proud to have recently collaborated with a great emcee out of San Francisco, California, Mr. B !! I had the opportunity to produce two songs , "Saved" & "Lord With You" , for his newly released album entitled "Hope" !

Mr. B "Hope"

One of the things that immediately stood out to me about Mr. B was his unique style & lyrical content ! He's a complete original . He delivers his lyrics with great energy & passion in all his music . 

I also liked the inspirational messages he injects in all his work , which has culminated into his beautiful new Gospel Hip-Hop album "Hope". A proud family man, Mr. B believes in creating what he calls 100% kid safe Hip-Hop . He definitely accomplishes that on his latest album and it gave me great pleasure to work with him in this effort . It also gave me great pleasure to hear the outstanding songs he wrote and recorded for this album which include our songs:

Saved & Lord With You

Everything really turned out great and he really blew me away with what he did to my work especially !! I look forward to more collaboration with this very talented west coast emcee !! I encourage you to click on all the links here to experience how he puts it down !! Trust me , you will NOT be disappointed !!

Until the next time , keep the faith & keep chasing your dreams ! I'll holla at y'all again soon but for now it's back to work . . .

One love

D-Natural, Artistic Visionz Productions

Grinding in the key of D-Natural . . .

What's up world ? ! It's your man D-Natural 1nce again comin atcha with the latest of Artistic Visionz ! I know it's been awhile since my last post . As I've said b4, when ya don't find me bloggin, I must be hella busy & I am . . . . . .



Moca DC Art Gallery, Georgetown ( www.mocadc.org )

Let's begin by rewinding back to last weekend, where I headed to Georgetown to the beautiful MOCA DC art gallery for an awesome exhibit put on by my homie Darryl Bennett and his crew Tokyo 13 ! I had a great time and made some cool new friends ! I appreciate art & the people who create it . Some great art has inspired alot of my music .



Darryl Bennet ( www.tokyothirteenarts.com )



Darryl and I were talking about how it's crazy that it seems that the art and the music community don't connect more . It makes sense being that both musicians and artist create art and we should come together more often to have an even greater impact in the industry . Well I'm gonna be one of the cats to change that . Some things will be in the works with artist like Darryl to help further unite the art and music worlds . I've got some great ideas on some events I wanna do, so as usual I'll keep you guys updated ! The Moca DC art gallery was such a beautiful place and full of cool art . Not the mention the owner David Quammen is one cool cat ! It was great getting to know him and the history of the gallery . Who knows ? a D-Natural concert may just be here in the future . . Hmmmm . .

                                        

A couple of days later that Sunday, after rocking on stage at church as usual, I headed to rehearse with the DMV's legendary Norman Weeks. I'll be playing drums on his next single for his upcoming album ! ! It's always a pleasure to play with Mr. Weeks and it's been great having him as one of my mentors in the music business .  It was blast playing on his last album Norman's Dream . That happened to be my first time being credited as a session musician on another artist's album, so that was truly a great moment for my career . I look very much forward to recording on his next single for his new album and that it also will be made into a music video ! ! A cameo from D-Natural in the video ? Hmmmm . . We'll just have to see !




Norman Weeks ( http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/NormanWeeksandGrooveTyme )

 We all met of at this church around the corner from my house in Southeast, DC to rehearse . The other musicians were real cool guys and could really play ! It's fun to play with people that know what they are doing and know exactly how to groove . We are getting it in really funky on this this next single ! ! I can't wait to record it with them next month !

So after a weekend packed full of grinding and networking, I decided to kick this week off by heading downtown to finally catch the A Tribe Called Quest documentary movie, Beats, Rhymes and Life, which has been out for a minute now . Due to the fact that it's been doing really good in the theaters, it was still showing in my area ! I meant to see it earlier in the month when it first hit the theater but things got really busy for me . For all my A Tribe Called Quest fans and just fans of real hip hop period, you guys should definitely check it out . It was worth the wait. The E Street Cinema downtown is the only one still showing it in the DMV area so you gotta hurry !

A Tribe Called Quest taught me to much about hip hop and the directions that you can take with jazz . They have had such and influence on me as an artist and musician . If you have noticed, some of the title of this blog page is from the title of one of thier albums Beats, Rhymes, and Life . It was my way of paying homage to them and just real good music in general . It's also a phrase that desribes alot of what my Artistic Visionz Productions brand is about . Little did I know that they would title the movie of them with the same phrase as well . My favorite A Tribe Called Quest album has to be the Midnight Marauders joint ! I remember buying that joint on cassette tape back in the day . The film was cool in showing you the origins of the group and giving an up close and personal view into the lives of the members . I learned so much about hip hop as well as how the music business can tear even the best of friends apart behind the scenes . Hopefully the guys will give the world another album one day but if not, the groups contribution 2 music will be appreciated for generations to come .

As for your man here, I've been hanging in there . I'm still at work writing verses to the tracks I've made for my Poetic Soul EP, which will be the first album I release this year . With a heavy school work load , I've been getting kinda fustrated because I can't always record when I want . But just know that it will be out very soon and as I've said before, it will be worth the wait ! ! In the meantime , on my next blog I'll release some unreleased beats to keep yall ears satisfied until then so please stayed tuned ! As always, I appreciate my fans and everyone's constant suppport of what I'm doing . As you can see, I'm still everywhere as usual, making moves  . So just know that you man is getting it in and getting things done . Until the next time, keep the faith and keep chasing your dreams ! Peace & Blessings

D-Natural, AVP