How it Always Happens

Just a reminder – Standing in the Sky will remain at the special, pre-order price right up until the release of the album and the two tracks available now will be alternative mixes to the ones that will appear on the album, so if you want to get in there now then I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so.

Without fail, whenever I have anything of significance to accomplish, lots of other important projects show up and all demand attention at the same time.

I’ve grown to accept this as a part of the process of how I remain creative and productive. When there is seemingly no time to get everything done is when I seem to get everything done and in a way that makes me feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment.

When I have lots of time on my hands it is much harder for me to hit my creative sweet spot and actually get anything done that is worth remembering.

So it is with great excitement that I am currently in a period that appears to be chaotically filled with things to do and the requirement for me to pull ideas out of the air and deliver! There’s no time for sleep and I’m loving it!

The last couple of weekends I have managed to track the vocals and the bass for the entire album. Standing in the Sky is well on it’s way now and with a fair amount of tracking still to do I aim to be ready to mix the album throughout August. August is going to be totally full up with activity as it is shaping up to be possibly the busiest month of the year for Karona projects , so I’d better be on top of my game to get the album ready by September 1st.

It will be ready!

I think it’s going to be the best produced album of mine that I have done.

Can it be Done?

It was another late night, as seems to be the norm these days. Whenever I make a conscious decision to have an early night I end up with a busy mind, writing down pages of ideas and until the small hours and this particular night last week was one of those nights.

Last year I did a similar thing one night where I wanted to record about 4 albums and I never got started on any. I didn’t mind because I got very busy with many extremely fulfilling projects, so I didn’t feel like I was slacking at all. I am still busy and I am loving every minute of my work because it doesn’t feel like work, but I am now back to the point where I want to release these albums. In fact I have written enough material for another couple of albums since my intention last October.

Now is the time to just get started. I have no time scale for this because I have very little time, but I have track listed 3 albums (one of which I mentioned in my last post and is in progress now) and a mini album. All the songs are demo’d, seeing as that is how I write (I always lay a demo down as part of the writing process).

Broken down like that it doesn’t seem that big a task. I may decide to use The Weekly Songcast to showcase the songs at some point and I may even do something about the idea of turning the Weekly Songcast into a perpetual album – another crackpot idea I had that hasn’t really got going. Maybe that’s a cool idea, to eventually get all the deserving songs I have written into some sort of completed form as part of that.

It just seems crazy to have written so many songs and not to do anything with them at all.

My New Project

Well one of them anyway. Oh no I haven’t changed that much. I still try and juggle about a million different ideas at once. However the 3 Minute Masterclass, as this project is called is different because it has the energy and enthusiasm of two cool guys, not just one.

It’s great to meet people who let you talk for hours about things like microphones, guitar strings and music software without telling you to shut up. I know a couple of people like that now, which means I’m lucky. I can go off on one without them getting bored. Well maybe they do wish I’d shut up, but they don’t tell me. Anyway…

The cool guy I’m working with on this is Gary Crause, who runs Legend Music in Phuket. He’s a really great producer form South Africa who’s made several hit records.

This new project is a podcast that provides quick tips on recording and mixing, so you can improve your skills in producing your own records (if that’s the kind of thing you actually want to do in the first place). Each episode – a video will contain a golden nugget of information or technique that can be applied right away to provide a positive contribution to your music productions. Explained and presented within 3 minutes.

Who wants to spend too long watching tutorials all the time? Tutorials are useful if you actually have the time or desire to spend the time studying, but sometimes you just want to find out how to achieve something when you are in the middle of the creative flow and that is not a good time to then start downloading a 10 or 20 minute video.

That is the thinking behind the 3 Minute Masterclass and I hope it’s something you’re looking for. There is also free membership available at the website, where you can benefit from extra content with show episodes and exclusive, member-only pages if you register.

The podcast is filmed at Legend Music Studios in Phuket, which is a damn fine studio and it rocks. It’s about time there was a real recording studio around here. Now there is and it’s just down the road!

So please check out our first video, which you could have watched already in the time it’s taken you to read this post!

All-Important Pre-Production

The studio at Boy@Heart Media is pretty much defined in terms of what is planned and the next step is to start putting it all together. At the same time I feel it is also time to start production on the next Boy at Heart record.

What I am faced with right now are various dilemmas. Do I start tracking now or do I wait until I have the first stages of the new studio setup? I’m itching to get started, but I am also relishing the thought of exploiting the superior sonic benefits of the new system if I start with that from the beginning. Of course the reason there is an element of waiting is due to the availability of equipment where I am and having to find ways to get the various pieces of gear here in the smoothest possible fashion!

So I suppose the best thing to do is spend some time at least in pre-production. I need to decide on what songs I am going to develop for the album and the overall vibe I want to create. I’ll also see about refining the compositions that make the short list to make them as good as they can possibly be.

So this leads me to more difficult choices. Which songs do I choose for the album? Well that would be easier to decide if I had some feedback from people who are interested as to which songs they want to hear, but I’m well aware of the fact that not many people comment on this blog, so I’m not holding my breath. All the same, if you do feel compelled to contribute with your opinions and suggestions then please leave a comment on this post.

If you want to hear the potential songs you can visit The Weekly Songcast and have a listen. Be warned though, there are nearly one hundred songs over there, but I would really appreciate suggestions at least regarding the style or the feel of the album.

I am currently thinking a rock production influenced fairly heavy by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, but if there’s an overwhelming voice for something else, like my more acoustic or quieter songs then I’ll comply!

You can also listen to my debut, solo album as well as my second, mini album too, which you can download and share. You may find that gives you a taste for my music and you’ll be inspired to comment here and tell me what you want to hear next!