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Cover day. Many Song-A-Day folks really enjoy this day. I normally find it to be a huge source of stress, and am normally disappointed in my results. The stress comes from trying to sift through the hundreds of tracks that have been posted and choosing one. I wrote about all of this in far more detail the last two years, so if you’re interested in that or my criteria for what a good cover song … Continue reading
After finishing up Laska’s Dream in the early afternoon, I had both the time and motivation to get today’s track written and recorded before a reasonable bedtime. I’ve definitely been fading a bit with the reduced sleep schedule so far this month. I didn’t rush back into the studio, instead doing a bit of housework, watching a little TV, having a relaxed dinner. It was around 6:00 PM when I got started. This one only … Continue reading
Sitting down in the studio after an evening of socializing, I was in a pretty chill mood. I had two false, though promising, starts that ended up in the sketches folder, but the third time was the charm, as I landed almost immediately on the beat that sparked the rest of the track. I made some pattern edits and then duplicated the kick twice to get the additional notes I needed, then looped that for … Continue reading
Almost immediately after posting Laika, I started a new project and got to work. My intent was to try an instrument or plugin that I hadn’t used yet. After scanning through the options, I decided that it sounded fun to do a chiptune track, and fired up Plogue Chipsounds. This plug models a bunch of sound chips from older computers and video games systems like the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, and Nintendo Entertainment System. After … Continue reading
Well, so much for the plan. While I hadn’t really imposed any constraints for myself in the lead up to this year’s Song-A-Day, I sort of had a loose plan that I’d be cutting back a bit on production work and doing simple arrangements. My hope was that by stripping things back, I’d work more on writing actual songs. This track originated in a quick drum and bass sketch I came up with a couple … Continue reading