Week 9 of 2024! I started making weekly tracks on Week 9 of 2020, so this is a special time. 4 straight years of weekly tracks later, here's a track about Bumblebees.
More accurately, the theme and the bees foleys was inspired by my son and I going to a local greenhouse to pick strawberries this Sunday morning. There are a lot of bumblebees in the greenhouse, as they fly flower to flower to get the nectar, while the flowers benefit from that and turn into strawberries. This was a quiet simple time, and we got to eat a lot of strawberries. That's a good plus.
The guitar is slightly baroque-ish. Maybe this is because I was listening to some Deep Purple. I had not listened to them in a long time and I was reminded of how much I loved Jon Lord's playing.
Thank you everyone for listening and commenting. Work has been brutal for the past few weeks and unfortunately will continue so for a couple of months at least. I hope I'll find more time to listen and enjoy the wonderful tracks that the community is sharing!
‹ Ramblings about 4 years of weekly tracks
Ok, 4 years of weekly tracks, what have I learnt?
Well, there are some obvious ones. After 200+ tracks, it gets much easier to compose, to mix, and to get a sense of what works and what does not work. I also polished a lot of composition tricks (including the use and abuse of reverse crashes, toms, thunderstrikes), and developed a much better ear than what I had 4 years ago. Listening to some old tracks can sometimes be so embarrassing, but at the same time it's encouraging how practice makes better.
The most important learnings however are beyond composition and mixing. It is about playing the long game. There are weeks without inspiration. There are weeks when I just don't feel like it. There are lows, deep lows. But what i learnt is that, just give it time, and the valleys turn back into hills. It's ok, it's just the way it goes. Not all tracks will be the most fantastic exciting thing I've ever done, and that's ok.
I used to try to make tracks to make an album, or even to get people to like them, or to get a response from people. Now, I more make the tracks just for myself, trying to capture the way I feel during the week. Maybe basing it off something that happened during that time, or some good movies I enjoyed, or a memory, or a feeling. That can be nostalgia, anger, confusion, peace, or just frustration at the lack of inspiration. That has made me focus on the process. It's just about documenting things with music. And the only thing that really matters is to be true to myself and to play what i really want.
I envision the subconscious as an immense ocean over which the conscious floats like a small cork. Music is a way for me to give a way to the subconscious to take the reins and express itself in its own way. It does not use words, but it uses sounds, textures, beats, screams, and small sounds. The trick is to be true, to really give in, and to accept where it wants to go. I find it's just easier to ride the waves, struggling will just tire you, and you'll both benefit from it if you just let go.
yeah, that's long ramblings. but hey, you did click the spoiler expand button.
