space music

Mare Tranquillitatis

Having finished yesterday’s track relatively early in the day, and with just one song left in the month, I decided to take the night off and enjoy the evening with Mary. As a result, this is the first day all month that I’ve woken up and still had a blank slate in front of me. After asking Mary for any final genre requests, I decided to do the final ambient piece for the Lunar Mare series. I hadn’t planned this series out prior to start of the month, which is … Continue reading

Mare Nectaris

As I’ve mentioned previously this month, I do worry about these ambient pieces being unenjoyable for others, but two comments on the Song-A-Day site made me feel a lot better about it.  I think my favorite track this year is Mare Imbrium. What could be more beautiful, more emotionally satisfying? I wish I had written that one. Derek Greenberg I think I’ve listened to “Mare Insularum” like five times in a row now. Wesley Thompson These are both people whose work I respect greatly, so getting feedback like this is one of the most valuable external things about Song-A-Day.1The main … Continue reading

Mare Frigoris

Today’s piece is the type I often agonize over posting to Song-A-Day. It will become one of my collection of deep ambient works that I love to listen to while flying, meditating, or relaxing, but I always worry about boring my fellow participants. That should never be a fundamental concern, of course. Creativity is a strange beast, though it’s not always what people think it is. Here one of the most eye-opening statements regarding it I ever came across: “Creativity is not a talent; it is a way of operating.” John Cleese This is far deeper than it seems on … Continue reading

Zenith Quasar

After yesterday’s diversion into techno, which was a ton of fun, I’m definitely tapping into the bottom of my reserves. There’s nothing inside demanding to be let out, so I’m having to go searching for it instead. After picking Mary up at the airport, I asked her if she had any requests, and she decided on a solo piano piece. That obviously didn’t happen. I did try – I even have a saved project called “30 Minutes of Wrong” on my hard drive now. I started recording without a metronome going and just played whatever for 30 minutes. The same … Continue reading

Molten Salt Reactor

We’re on the home stretch now, and sort of in a groove – that part of the marathon where you know you’re going to finish. It’s not any easier, but mentally, there are only a couple more hills to climb, a couple more turns to make, and then you can stop running, at least for a few days. There’s not a whole lot to say about this one, in either the production or composition sense. I sat down, some sounds caught my ear, I recorded them. I thought this was going to be me heading down the road to experimentation … Continue reading