This song is almost ten years in the making. I got the first lyric and melody ideas in the shower at my cousin's house on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn in 2007. I had spent the past four years at a job that was draining me, and in an attempt to figure out what to do next, I had taken a three month sabbatical, studied existential philosophy and Buddhism, and on this particular vacation, spent a lot of time listening to academic science lectures on my iPod while walking around Central and Prospect Parks.

Once I got back to California, I sat down at my piano and worked out the chords for what I had sung to myself in New York. It wasn't until 2012 that I actually tried recording the song in earnest, setting up a drum kit and also recording piano, vibraphone, and violin parts. I was never happy with the vocal performance form 2012, nor was I happy with the quality of my microphones.

Since then, I have increased both the quality of my microphones and my singing abilities, so I decided to try and finish off this song. Over the past week I re-recorded double-tracked vocals and harmonies on an AKG C-214, and added a Cello part to the existing orchestration. I've also given this a mix that is much better (IMO) than what I was capable of in 2007 or 2012.

I hope you enjoy this lush, depressive, nihilistic little ditty I have crafted for you.

Tags: brooklyn, buddhism, california, central park, existentialism, gunnery, new york, nihilism, nothing, nunnery, prospect park, week 4 2016, View by:DocOctave