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Bio

Sonic Psyops is a musical movement by Classically trained composer, Jasen Shawn Smith, who has been playing piano, keyboards and composing music for the past twenty years.

Living most of his life in the western United States, Jasen grew up during the so-called second British invasion. In those days, the American airwaves were filled with innovative artists and bands mostly from the U.K., such as, Gary Numan, Soft Cell, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, Depeche Mode, A Flock of Seagulls, The Human League, Thomas Dolby, and Landscape just to name a few. As a child, Jasen was fascinated with Science Fiction and these New Wave artists with their cold and distant sounding synthesizers and robotic rhythm sequencers sparked Jasen's young imagination.

By the mid 80’s, it seemed as though New Wave split into two different camps, Synth Pop and Modern or Alternative Rock. Jasen began to look for a more mature and intellectual music direction to take. In high school, a friend introduced Jasen to New Age music and to his favorite New Age artists, Vangelis and Tangerine Dream. Although Jasen was familiar with both artists through their film scoring works he never really gave them much thought. After listening to Tangerine Dream’s "Optical Race," "Lilly on the Beach," and Vangelis’ "Themes" and "Opera Savage," Jasen knew that he had found the musical stimulation that he was looking for.

Towards the end of his high school career, Jasen took a deep interest in music, attending a music theory course in which he learned the fundamentals of composition. During the class, he mastered the piano and keyboard by studying the classical composers, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven. Although Jasen found the classics inspiring, a contemporary artist, Suzanne Ciani, so impressed him that he began composing his own pieces that were modeled around Ciani’s Electronic/Neo-classical style.

After high school, Jasen enlisted in the Army and played keyboards off and on for some local bands while stationed in Washington D.C. However, playing in smoky clubs for a bunch of ungrateful drunks wasn’t exactly a gratifying experience. Subsequently, Jasen spent less time playing in the clubs and more time composing piano pieces that he vowed to, “pump some life into” later.

After graduating Florida State University, Jasen purchased a couple of synthesizers, one of them being a Korg Triton Workstation, and began a deep and thorough self-taught rediscovery of the classical composers that he studied in high school. By analyzing each composer's individual style and technique, he developed his craft and own unique style. This style is evident in his early experiments with his equipment. Unfortunately, his only audience, at the time, was his lovely wife and two cats. Reworking some of those old pieces that he vowed to "pump some life into," In October, 2006 Jasen released his debut album titled: "Culture of Convenience".

Jasen has completed a pure Classical album performed by the world famous Vienna Symphonic Library called, "Virtual Ornaments".

Music Description

Jasen's style can be best described as 'sticking to the basics; the emphasis always being placed on melody, harmony, rhythm and counterpoint. Jasen is very versaitile and writes in many different genres, namely Orchestral, Rock, Pop, Electronic and New Age. He especially has a talent for fusing such diverse genres as Hip Hop, Jazz, and Classical or Brit Pop to create new genres.

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