Epiphanies are hard to come by so when drops in for a visit, I take notice. It was a big goal for me this year to release a song a week on ye olde blogge but what I have come to see is that it takes longer than a week for me to polish something to the state it needs to be in for public consumption. I’m often surprised by the positive feedback I get for what I feel are unfinished tracks and it leaves me feeling a little weird. Either I’m too picky or folks are just being nice. Either way, it’s not good and I’m not feeling good about the work I’m releasing, aside from being able to say I put something out. Where does that leave me?
What I really want, and have always wanted, are songs and pieces that connect. I like thinking of “the album” as a larger form and individual tracks as movements that exist within it. It’s really difficult, though not impossible, to have ten or twelve songs relate to one another in a meaningful way and, more to the point, in the age of the iPod and the death of continuity that is “shuffle” I want to produce tracks that compel the listener to follow that development. In that vein, I’m going to pursue the idea of the EP.
With six or so songs in a unit, I think I can produce several of these in a 12 month period (where several > 2). Maybe even 1 per quarter. Maybe not. But the point will be to have a unit that is polished and released with no regrets. That might be what I enjoyed most about Nothing of Consequence: no regrets and it shipped on time. I still think it sounds great. Download it here: https://www.othertime.com/musicblog/?page_id=377
So there you have it. I have some collaborations going on right now that will require their own vehicles, but for me, I will be focusing on the EP for the foreseeable future. This means, sadly, that I will have to come up with useful ways to elaborate on my progress here on the blog both for accountability and to keep the six or seven people who read this with any regularity coming back for more. I might even go back to my exercises (one complete piece written and released in one sitting). They keep me sharp and happy.
My focus is getting tighter and it feels good. More music soon.
I love the idea of EPs. I am one of those dying few who love the full album instead of individual songs, but I can tell from my listenings of all sorts of albums, it is tough to do well. The EP allows you the freedom to explore and try new things in a smaller setting, a fantastic idea!
Continuity is the plan. I really loved writing song cycles and chamber pieces that are really just the traditional western music version of EPs…or wait…EPs are the modern equivalent of…um…yeah. Anyway, the point is that I really want to do something in a larger form but an album is hard to pull of while an EP can really work wonders. Stay tuned, yo!
I love the idea of EPs. I am one of those dying few who love the full album instead of individual songs, but I can tell from my listenings of all sorts of albums, it is tough to do well. The EP allows you the freedom to explore and try new things in a smaller setting, a fantastic idea!
Continuity is the plan. I really loved writing song cycles and chamber pieces that are really just the traditional western music version of EPs…or wait…EPs are the modern equivalent of…um…yeah. Anyway, the point is that I really want to do something in a larger form but an album is hard to pull of while an EP can really work wonders. Stay tuned, yo!