Contact
Info
email: alphaleonis@alphaleonis.org
Planet Ceres Enterprises
4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd., #619
Portland, OR 97214-5246
About Alpha Leonis
Alpha Leonis is exclusively and entirely the intellectual property of
Atticus Reynard and Planet Ceres Enterprises, created as a conveyance
vehicle for progressive ideas
and unconventional thought.
On the surface, it is a collection of music composed of both organic
and digital sounds, converted into transmittable archives reproduced
with modern technology. It is also a distinct pattern of sound
discernable by converting oscillations of pressure into electrical
signals which can then be interpreted by excitable neurons (to grossly
over-simplify).
More abstractly, while Alpha Leonis is a form of
art, it is also a philosophy. Art
has always been a way of understanding ourselves in relation to the
external world within which we exist, and by this measure Alpha Leonis
is part of this practice. It aims to embody the spirit
of human innovation and capture the essence of a temporary existence
bound to the limitations of the physical world. But beyond the
context of understanding, Alpha Leonis exists with the conscious
objective of subconscious interpolation -- the idea that external
influences shape our individual existences to varying degrees.
Music is not only a catharsis for internalized cognition through
emotional response, but also a powerful tool for shaping the common
world in which we inhabit, precisely because of those physiological
reactions it induces.
Alpha Leonis Etymology (Simplified )
Alpha Leonis - Regulus - COR
LEONIS - King Richard - COR CONDITVM - La cathdrale de Rouen - "HIC COR CONDITVM EST RICARDI
ANGLORVM REGIS QVI COR LEONIS DICTUS OBIIT AN M C XC IX"
About Shadows of Men
Although Alpha Leonis has existed as a theoretical entity for a number
of
years, Shadows of Men will be the first full-length Alpha Leonis
release, and the first Alpha Leonis release of any kind with the intent
of
reaching a mass audience. Shadows of Men is a concept album of
sorts, unified by thematic and compositional elements and does not
necessarily represent the future of Alpha Leonis, but rather a present
approach to composition.
All music on the album was written, recorded and performed by Atticus
intermittently over the course of several years in various locations
including the Californian cities of Santa Barbara and Rancho Cucamonga
as well as in Portland, Oregon. The album represents a small
proportion of Atticus' experimentation with sound, more of which may be
released in the near future if circumstance allows the opportunity.
About Atticus
Born in the Gregorian year
of 1981 A.D., the name 'Atticus' comes from the Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird, after a
character whose principles and moral values held steadfastly when
confronted by some of the worst traits of human nature.
Entirely self-taught as a
musician, and without any knowledge of even
basic musical notation, Atticus professes ignorance to even the most
elementary concepts of music theory and relies solely
on intuition and pattern recognition to produce organized dissonance
that some humans consider
melodious. This quasi-reluctance to develop a structured
knowledge of the art may be, at least in part, due his musical
upbringing, or more accurately, complete lack thereof. Never having been forced to
take piano lessons as a child, and realizing that Satan's own
instrument, the kazoo, had been his only introduction into musical
performance up until that point, Atticus decided to buy himself a high
school graduation gift in the form of an electric guitar in the summer
of 1999. Enabled by the rapidly expanding world of the internet,
he taught himself to play whatever music inspired him, encouraged to
regularly practice as a form of procrastination to escape the rigors of
college life.
Shortly after graduating from college in Santa Barbara with a
degree in Geography, Atticus took to recording music as a part time
hobby between a wide assortment of temporary jobs, internships,
physical pursuits, mental challenges and world travel, but always with
the ultimate intent of someday self-releasing an album. Atticus does not view
himself as a musician per se, a contention with which many would
undoubtedly agree, but a student of the world in every aspect
imaginable.
Atticus currently calls the
extraordinary city of Portland, Oregon his home.