Who are we?
We are a family run business since 2002 based in the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Our main focus in business is the creation of art and music and the development of art in the community and beyond.
- Derek Atreides aka Selfhelp
- Erica
Derek is the creative force behind Secret Cloud. As a working artist for many years Derek has been involved in many projects both big & small. From massive painted murals for a deteriorating section of downtown London, Ontario, Canada in 1999 as part of LMYA (London Multicultural Youth Association) to countless event flyers, printwork for magazine, graphics for mobile/cellular carriers (A T & T, Telus, Rogers, Bell Mobility, etc.), artwork for album covers or art that has been featured in record releases (Awol One & Factor, MC Homeless, nomar slevik, Hand'solo Records, Fake Four Inc. etc.). A few years back Derek was wanting to expand his visual art portfolio & became quite an avid photographer that enjoys capturing both the usual & unusual with an eye for detail. After so many years as a visual artist (15+) Derek naturally learned all of the industry standard illustration & graphic art software through necessity over the years. From visual programs like Adobe Photoshop or Jasc Paint Shop Pro to video editing software like Sony Vegas 8.0 and audio editing software Pro Tools, Cool Edit Pro, Ableton Live & various others Derek always keeps up on the cutting edge allowing himself the ability to digitally manipulate his art to create virtually any desired effect for any given project. Besides visual arts Derek has also been releasing music under various pseudonyms since as early as 1999. Most notably Derek was a vocalist in the experimental group "Bending Mouth" which was a musical collaboration with highschool friend Thesis Sahib. The project was originally released in 2002 on CD but was later released as a vinyl EP on French label Vulgar Records in France (2004). Bending Mouth sold all 1000 CD's & all of the 12" Vinyl EP's that were pressed & over the course of a few years the group achieved a small international cult following. Eventually both artists moved quite a distance from eachother & became increasingly busy in their respective art careers & no follow-up album has been created. Music is still a passion of Derek's & in between all of the art that keeps him busy he was able to release another project in 2009 titled "Old Friends" under the Selfhelp moniker. The album clocks in at over 70 minutes & features Awol One, Ceschi, Ira Lee, Wordburglar, Wormhole, & Def 3 with production from mattr, mcenroe, Aries, Timbuktu, Savilion & others. Derek currently has an album (LAME) planned with German beat maker DJ Extend for 2011. Whether designing an advertisement for a national client or drawing with his 2 year old son using crayons one thing remains clear....Derek is dedicated to acting on his creative drive & feeding off of his experiences to continue evolving both artistically & personally.
Erica is the backbone of Secret Cloud. She is essentially the logic & direction that keeps the Secret Cloud on a much more focused path (even though our direction can never truly be predicted) . Not only does she watch over the accounting & financial aspects of Secret Cloud but she also oversees all of our output & assists in advising our work to be as good as it can possibly be. Erica boasts a diploma in Sound & Music Recording from Recording Arts Canada & she is also a decorated piano player having won the highest honors for the province of Saskatchewan upon completion of her piano testing done by the Royal Conservatory of Canada. Having Erica involved in Secret Cloud ensures quality & experience is always a part of our brandname.