I have the upmost respect to those that are able to create and release music - especially complete albums - on a regular basis. I found it to be extremely challenging and I release this with some trepidation. I’m not one for self-promotion but this community is outstanding and I feel comfortable to share here.
For me, creating music is a way to relax. A hobby, not a profession. Something I manage to steal an hour of spare time for here and there. It’s good for mental health. An outlet. A way to create, rather than just consume. I’ve been producing songs for just over a decade; there are hundreds sat on a hard drive that have never seen the light of day. I’m sure many of you have similar collections of your own music. I find that, when taken chronologically, the progression through your own music is really interesting. It’s something that is uniquely yours - a journey; an imprint of this period of your life in musical form.
My early songs were produced with no knowledge of music theory, no understanding of mixing or mastering, tonality, progression, etc. They are shapeless, immature, deeply strange, but they are still a part of me. Moving through the years concepts are learnt and incorporated. You can hear things clicking into place as the songs start to resemble something close to listenable. I feel that I’m a long way off from being able to create music of the quality of that from some of the members of this community, but I’m happy with the progress I have made. Beautiful Days Before the Collapse is as close to as a cohesive expression of this journey that I can manage.
The album was created using modular synths sequenced with an Elektron Digitakt, Analog Four and Digitone. A number of Eurorack modules were used, but the stars are probably the Make Noise Mimeophon, Optimix, MI Rings, Erica Synths Fusion VCO2 and Joranalogue Filter 8. The artwork was created using a deep learning neural net.
I’m of course happy to answer any specific questions on process, tools, etc.
