It is with great excitement that I announce the launch of Carlsbeat!
This is a new eurobeat project founded by myself and Gary Clark, also known as the_ditz on this forum. The two of us have been discussing our shared appreciation of dance music in general for awhile, and with our resurged interest in eurobeat following SCP’s recent Eurobeat Kudos releases, not to mention Nick the Beat and Gabrielli Roberto Eurosound starting up their own independent projects to beautiful results, we finally felt inspired to team up to create new eurobeat of our own together after several years away from the production booth.
I will allow Gary to speak from his own perspective later in this thread, but for now, I thought I’d give a quick rundown of what finally led me personally to this point in my life…
Music has always been a ubiquitous part of my world ever since I was a little kid. I spent hours upon hours of my free time either fiddling around with my Casio keyboard or playing my favorite songs from the latest edition of Now That’s What I Call Music!, and this love only grew as I got hooked on Dance Dance Revolution and especially the eurobeat genre. While I often enjoyed expressing my love of music creatively, however, I mostly held back from taking my passion for it beyond just a deep fandom, aside from some DDR simfile contests (which is how I met Gary in the first place). I did write and produce one eurobeat song back when I was in high school that was featured in the Underground Eurobeat Compilation podcast, but otherwise, I spent my childhood and adolescence focused more on academics, as well as sorting out my identity and figuring out what I specifically wanted to do for a living. For the most part, I kept my ambitions fairly quiet.
That attitude towards my life has changed dramatically in the past several months for me. After taking a general break from eurobeat for a few years, during which I greatly enriched my knowledge and appreciation for music of various styles and eras that I had previously overlooked, the string of recent events in both my personal life, plus the earth in general have finally compelled me back to the genre of music that has been such a precious part of my personal identity for a long, long time. In a world that is so enormous, so complicated, and so short of straightforward solutions, it has seemed all too easy for me to feel powerless and insignificant. Whenever I listen to eurobeat, however, all of my emotions just click into place. This genre of dance music may not be known for its aggressive diatribes against social injustice, nor is its audience particularly huge at the moment, but it still always fills me with so much carefree joy and release whenever I come back to it, and in an era where it’s so easy to lose track of who you are, the uplifting high that eurobeat gives me is profoundly refreshing. It’s truly a feeling that I wish I could share with as many people as possible.
After experiencing a ton of nostalgia for eurobeat, not to mention its closely bonded community, it finally became crystal clear to me that producing eurobeat is my ultimate passion in life. Especially with the climate of the industry transforming dramatically this year, I feel the time is right for me to begin this new chapter of my life and finally take heed on one of my biggest life dreams since middle school. Regardless of how much of an immediate fanbase I cultivate with Carlsbeat, any amount of happiness I can spread with the power of music is a triumph to me personally, something which feels genuinely meaningful and which gives me the motivation to continue to grow and push myself harder.
Why am I posting here as opposed to the Making Eurobeat subsection of this forum? Because I believe that, in this transitional period for the music we all know and love, new songwriters, singers, and producers need to step up to keep the industry diverse and thriving, and I’m hoping I can be an early part of that. A decade ago, the eurobeat industry still had plenty of new music being released by major companies and earning a solid amount of promotion through Initial D, rhythm games, and more. Now that the conclusion of Super Eurobeat is imminent and both the global social environment, as well as technology have evolved considerably in recent times, it’s our responsibility, more than ever, to support eurobeat with our own voices and talents and help it thrive during this pivotal time of change. Regardless of whether you come from a well-established studio-financed background or if you’re armed with little more than your computer, a software program, and a bit of personal ambition, I strongly encourage everybody with a passion for eurobeat to get involved in the industry themselves, offering whatever they can to steer this lovely genre of music into the future. Gary and I hope we can contribute all that we can through Carlsbeat, but above all else, the production of new eurobeat is a community effort, and we believe that every individual who supports the industry deserves to be welcomed with support and dignity.
In this day and age, the music industry is more diverse and interconnected than it has ever before. Talent from all around the globe has come together to produce new and exciting music. I would love for eurobeat to be a huge part of that. This music is all about drive - a drive for life, a drive for music, a drive of energy, and a drive for purpose. Gary and I recognize that we won’t transform everything overnight, but regardless, we feel a lot of love and passion for eurobeat and want to see it grow and diversify as much as possible as we enter a brand new generation for the industry. The journey ahead will be full of challenges, but we are ready to take them on and to support the growth of eurobeat with every ounce of love we have for the music.
For upcoming news and information about Carlsbeat:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carlsbeat-1105089229649152
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CarlsbeatMusic
Bandcamp: https://carlsbeat.bandcamp.com/releases
A full website, which will feature detailed biographies, song information, and more, is in the works and will be up in the coming few weeks. In the meantime, I’d like to announce Carlsbeat’s debut single, “Beyond My Heart”:
The new song drops this Friday, on August 3rd, and will be available worldwide on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play Music, and other mainstream music platforms. I will post links to the track once it’s officially released.
Thank you so much to everyone in the eurobeat community for never giving up on the music we love and for making sure the genre’s fire continues to burn for years to come.
Jacqueline
♪
