LEWISTON — Colby Michaud’s first professional composition was a piano tune meant to be nonabrasive, classy and unnoticed.

It was vanilla, but it did its job.

The music accompanied an online video for a local real estate agent, giving a polish to the minute-long movie that also featured the home seller’s dog.

“I was pretty happy with the music of it,” Michaud said, running the original piece on a computer in his Lewiston studio. The hopeful tune resembled something from a romantic comedy, gaining momentum as a violin and other strings joined the piano.

“I had various instruments and played them all,” he said.

Dozens more videos followed, each one accompanied by Michaud’s intentionally subdued music.

But today, Michaud, 23, has more instruments, more equipment and more musicians.

Three years after he made that first video, he has built and soundproofed a recording booth, assembled a hip-hop album for Auburn rapper D. Ross, crafted his own solo EP for imminent release on iTunes and has begun work on a musical.

Michaud now wants the music to be noticed.

“I was doing this background music for two years,” said Michaud, who co-owns Praxis Production Studios with business partner Chad Sylvester. “It was only part of the company because it was my passion. It wasn’t like it made any money. It wasn’t bringing in revenue. It was only an added bonus. If somebody decided to do a video with us, they could have custom music.

“I wasn’t getting satisfied artistically with that,” he said.

Then he met Devon Veilleux, who performs under the name D. Ross.

“It was the first chance to do a professional, commercial studio album with a recording artist,” Michaud said. “We upgraded our equipment: microphone, sound equipment and stuff.”

It took almost a year for their first collaboration to be complete.

“We became friends first,” he said. “Then we started creating music after. We had very similar goals.

In September, 11 months after they began work, they released the album “July’s One ‘n Only.”

“I didn’t really know what I was doing as far as how to record hip-hop,” Michaud said. “I was just doing what I thought was best. Because of that, the album turned out to be more of alternative hip-hop, rather than the typical sound.”

Veilleux wrote the songs and rapped. Michaud filled each track with sound, creating soundscapes with his computer.

In all, the album has 15 tracks. Most have explicit lyrics. But they are hopeful, too. Songs even praise intimacy and monogamous relationships.

Maine singers Chris Ellis, Molly Finn and Adele Allocca all assisted on tracks.

On iTunes, where the recording debuted on Sept. 24, the album has garnered a single user review (five stars) and the Praxis label. Michaud and Veilleux have already begun working on a second album.

But before that comes out, Michaud plans to release his own solo album. It features electronic and orchestral flavored instrumental music released as “The Lucid Subconscious.”

“It’s more about capturing a feeling than creating a melody,” he said. “The great thing about creating a solo record is that there are no rules. I can create a 6-minute song and that’s OK. It’s really more about expression.”

It’s unlikely be played on the radio, Michaud said.

But he hopes to continue adding music to the community. He is shaping a musical, though he’s reluctant to describe the project in detail. He’s also planning to score for a locally made movie.

His hope is to eventually make a profit from the work.

If he can, he hopes success will change the way people see the arts in Lewiston-Auburn.

“What I’m trying to do is push it towards becoming a revenue stream, having that also pay the bills,” he said. “I think it will happen. Eventually, slowly, it will start happening.”

dhartill@sunjournal.com

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