Here's our exclusive interview with Subala, the man behind "Journeyman's Dream" and "Hidden In Plain View".

Loving Care Enterprises (LCE): Subala, thank you for taking time out from your very busy schedule to talk with us. I’d like to specifically talk to you about your music, but that just wouldn’t do you justice. You’re really an artist of many talents. What type of artist do YOU consider yourself?

Subala: (laughs) That’s a real good question. Even though I’ve been composing music for over 15 years now, I didn’t actually consider myself an "artist" until just a few years ago. People used to ask me what I did and I’d say "well, I play piano, write music, design graphics and build stuff with my hands…" and they’d go "you’re a real artist" and I go "oh, no, not me. I’m more like a musician’. It took me quite a few year of creating in various art forms, before I began to realize they were right. The simple answer is I’m an artist. Now you’re asking me what kind. Can I get back to you on that? (laughs)

LCE: Sure, no problem (laughs) I just find it real interesting that you were an electronics engineer for years and did a lot of developing computers. But at the same time that you did the real technical occupation, you had this whole other side of an expressive artist. Kind of a doctor Jekyll, Mr. Hyde thing.

Subala: That’s true. I remember going into work where I actually helped design guidance system for nuclear warheads. At my desk, I'd be listening to tapes of music I had worked on the night before. When my co-workers found out about my music they were shocked. I was a computer geek, not your typical laid back garage band type.

LCE: I could imagine. One is a heart type of thing and the other is a mind type of thing.

Subala: Exactly. But right about that time, things began changing in the electronic industry and computers and synths were just beginning to find their way into mainstream music. This was heaven for me and I took to it immediately.

LCE: Was this when you put together your first recording studio?

Subala: Well, in a way. Studio equipment was still out of my affordable reach, but a few companies began to produce low cost pro-sumer grade equipment. I bought a 4-track cassette recorder, a reverb unit, a drum machine and a Casio synth. Made a lot of music with that simple setup.

LCE: Do we hear any of it on your "Hidden In Plain View" or "Journeyman's Dream" CDs?

Subala: Not from that set up, but a few years later, using a lot of the same gear, I began composing some of the stuff on the CDs. Like "Ouiwi" on the "Hidden In Plain View" cd and most of the selections on the "Journeyman’s Dream" cd. Based on what’s possible with today’s equipment, I always wanted to redo those early pieces, but their lack of modern glitz actually adds to their charm in a way.

LCE: Well, I’ve never heard anyone complain about their quality and I’m actually quite surprised to hear they were written so many years ago. They sound very modern.

Subala: Thank you. I’ve been told that before. That’s the main reason I included them on these two CDs. People really like them, even today.

LCE: "Journeyman’s Dream" is a very interesting collection of music. It’s more like a movie score than regular jazz.

Subala: Exactly. I composed it just like you would a movie score. I took a description of each scene describing its mood and action. It even had a time line telling at what point things were to happen. The entire production was 30 minutes long and each second was scripted in this way.

LCE: Wow, that’s amazing. Why did you do it this way?

Subala: Well, I was in a competition hosted by one of those meditation tapes companies where they help you stop smoking, or loose weight, stuff like that. Anyway, they scripted the entire 30 minute production, and I did the music. Later I decided to keep it for my own use and put it out on my own CD.

LCE: Are all the tunes on Journeyman part of that project?

Subala: No. The last three tunes on the disc were composed separately and added to that project.

LCE: Why did you call it "Journeyman’s Dream"?

Subala: My music is very personal to me. It usually revolves around whatever is happening in my life at the time. It’s kind of my emotional therapy. I wrote that during a period of great change in my life. I was changing professions, changing a relationship, and changing the way I really identified with my surroundings. I was on my personal journey and I was full of new dreams.

LCE: Boy you are an artist. They’re always motivated by emotion in their lives. So what was behind "Hidden In Plain View"? That music is very different.

Subala: Yea, that collection is a bit jazzier than Journeyman. I love contemporary jazz and I also love classical. So when you mix the two, you get the Hidden collection. I was really beginning to discover new things about myself that I hadn’t considered before. I was learning about things that really mattered to me in my life. Love, family, friends, even religion and God. It was all there before, it was just hidden in a way that I couldn’t or didn’t really identify with it. Now, my vision was clearing and it was coming into plain view. This music was addressing all of those feelings.

LCE: Yes, I can see that when I listen to the CD. It’s very emotional music, but not sad or angry. It just really moves you when you really stop and listen.

Subala: That’s my goal. I hope other listeners find out the same.

LCE: I’m sure they will. So what’s next?

Subala: I’m working on a new CD. I’m finding myself in a very different space these past few years. I remarried, moved all the way across the country, my environment has completely changed. I’m older and hopefully more mature (laughs). All of this affects my heart and the music is pretty much an expression of my heart. I'm also pretty busy with aspects of my business and helping my wife with her projects, so hopefully I’ll finish up the CD soon.

LCE: Will it be a jazz and classical mix like before?

Subala: Yes. That seems to be what’s coming out so far. I wrote a piece, early in the year, in honor of my grandfather. I wasn’t raised with my dad around, thus my grandfather has always been a very important male in my life. He’s in his eighties and suffered a bad heart attack. We all thought he was going to die. I was really upset, even reliving the pain of when my grandmother passed a decade or so back. Anyway, I wrote this piece in his honor. I really like it and it does have the jazz-classical feel going on.

LCE: We’ll be looking forward to hearing it. Thank you for taking this time to speak with us. Oh, and before I forget. Thank you and Ecstatic Creations for the web site.

Subala: You're quite welcomed. We were pleased to help out.