Tuesday, June 22, 2021

The Bottomless Pit

When I finished working on Petrichor, a part of me felt compelled to keep working on music, so I started remastering a couple of my old songs, just for fun. I wanted to see if I could make them sound better, as I probably know a bit more about mixing and mastering than I did four years ago. 

Once I realized that the answer was yes, I stopped, as I knew that this was a bottomless pit. Yes, I can make these songs sound better, but where does it stop? As I was remixing one of the songs, I started thinking about recording a new vocal track for it. I think my voice has improved somewhat over the past four years, and I've certainly learned a few tricks along the way in terms of my production process. 

However, I think that once it's out there in the world, it is what it is. 

Besides, if I let myself fall into this pit, it wouldn't be long before I was starting each song from scratch and adding new parts to the composition. If I was to do that, then I might as well bring in other musicians and sound engineers to help. At that point, it becomes another project altogether.

Every album that I have written and produced over the past four years was not only a record of what it means to be human in the twenty-first century, but also a time capsule of my abilities as an independent artist. It is what it is, which is all it could be at the time, and so it shall remain. 

I prefer to look forward, only looking back to see what I can learn. 

To that end, I think that a person can more or less gauge how much they have grown as an artist and technician based on how much their older work makes them cringe. I still like all of my songs, mind you, but while I do enjoy playing them, I admit that some of the recordings are easier to listen to than others.

In many ways, my first three albums were a time-stamped record of me figuring how how to do this. Every subsequent album has been more of the same, but I like to think that the production value improves with each one, at least incrementally.     

See what you think... but if you do, start with my newer stuff. Petrichor just came out last week and is available to stream or purchase wherever you get your music. Personally, I think it's some of my best work yet.

Thank you for supporting independent art. 

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