Phew, I’ve been so sick for the last couple of days. Luckily I’m starting to feel a bit better again so I’m doing some work in the studio. I have a handful of unfinished ideas but nothing definite yet. Still lacking a couple of tracks. Maybe I should start looking for a label interested in releasing my next album. Some outside interest in this project could possibly get the creative juices flowing again..
Looking around my studio I realize I’m probably a bit of a Roland fanboy. Or not, really. Over the years I’ve just naturally gravitated towards the sounds I like the best. It’s not so much about what company actually made the hardware.
Anyway, tomorrow is 909 day and Roland will officially present some new exciting products. We’ve already seen the leaked pictures of a Boutique version of the TR-909 drum machine and TB-303 bassline. Personally I’m hoping for a even smaller version of the TR-808. Let’s see what they have in store for us.
The thing about promoting your music online is, you have to do it more or less constantly, through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube channels.. whatever.. Now it has been a while since I added something to my Soundcloud page which means the interest has more or less died down. So.. 12 listeners today. Yay! Maybe I should do something about that, but right now I’m a bit sick and just too tired. Maybe tomorrow.
Last night, after 18 hours of playtime and 677 kills I finally finished Uncharted 4 on my PS4. I’m still awestruck. It’s such a great game, on so many levels and I would dare to say it’s one of the best so far, if not the best.
It’s not often I get impressed by a computer game but the Uncharted series has managed to do this four times now. The thing I’m most impressed with is the world building and how the story sucks you in. The world of Nathan Drake is believable and the characters are almost real, with their own desires and emotions. It’s the trademark of a really good movie and rarely, just rarely you get this from a computer game as well. Check it out if you haven’t already.
My last couple of months have been pretty lacking in the inspiration section for making new music for my next album. I’ve had quite fun tinkering with the Gameboys but those chip tunes won’t really fit into the concept of the album. The last couple of times I have tried to get something done with my synths it always ends up with pretty hard techno and that’s also not the style I’m aiming for right now. Today I have spend a couple of hours trying an approach that I really should do more often. Making a beat on the Korg Volca Sample and just go from there. Now I’m done for the night but I think I actually have something that I can use as a starting point. Lets see what happens tomorrow when I listen to it again.
Yesterday I visited a local synth yard sale. Well actually it was more like a basement but anyway. People were selling used synths, studio equipment and what have you.
I got myself this little nice MIDI keyboard for just 300 SEK (around $35). I plan to use it whenever I’m too far away from my main keyboard, like when I’m playing on stuff at the left side of my studio.
Lots of fun toys to play with…
Check out the details on my Studio page.
SoundStage: VR Music Maker is a virtual reality music sandbox built specifically for room-scale VR. I haven’t tried this but my initial reaction is.. W T F! :) Being a hardware guy I really can’t see this replacing a real studio anytime soon. Could be fun to try out though. So far I haven’t seen any obvious killer app for VR.
Today I will spend some hours in the studio trying to make one more tune for my next album. I’m still 2-3 tunes short until it’s finished. If you want to keep up with what I’m doing, my music and other artistic endeavours, you should follow me on the other sites I’m active on. They are:
Facebook, Instagram, 500px and Soundcloud
Om not on Twitter anymore. Why? I’m just not a Twitter guy. Writing stuff everyday that nobody was reading really wasn’t my thing. So I quit it and didn’t look back.
I guess this is a normal part of having a creative personality, but once in a while I kind of drift into a phase where I start to question whether this is what I really want to keep doing. Should I continue to produce new tunes or just call it quits and try something else. Maybe I could get back to developing games and apps again. I dunno.
I suspect there are people around me that probably, secretly thinks I’m too old for this shit. I mean, I’m 47 now. Three years left to 50 and I still haven’t really “made it” and probably never will. The dream I had in my mid 20s, to be able to support myself with my music looks pretty dated and naive today.
But… I have tried to go down that road before. The idea of quitting music for a while and that didn’t work out, at all. It felt like a big part of me was missing. I really need the kick I get when everything works out and a track turns out great. I guess that’s what keeps me going. Not the thought of “making it” but the fact that the whole music making process is now a deep part of who I am. I can’t cut something like that away without serious consequences.
Anyway, enough rambling for today and back to tweaking the Eurorack modular.