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Busy busy busy.

As usual I try to keep learning and executing on several fronts, whether or not that’s a good idea, and despite a ton going on I haven’t had anything finished to report in an embarassingly long time. That’s been my M.O. since high school though, so go with what you know I guess.

While I haven’t ‘released’ anything in more than a year, I continue to explore and experiment with my own music. My Ableton Live folder has probably double the number of start-only hobby projects that it did this time last year, and while approximately three of them have any real chance of seeing completion, they are getting steadily more complex, interesting, streamlined, and subtle. I’ve taken a swing towards slightly heavier triphop and techno lately, which will be very rewarding if I can ever figure out how to mix it.

Speaking of mixing, I’ve gotten confident enough learning to DJ to decide that I’m terrible at it but want to keep trying anyway, thus continuing my relentless march along the Dunning-Kruger curve. I’ve moved from CDJ200+Live to a Mixxx-based DVS setup on a pair of Technics 1200s, which has the advantage of huge platters and vinyl control but the disadvantage of minimal effects, not to mention taking up the entire desk. I can, however, finally have a go at turntablism, which will take some doing but which has so far been pleasingly uncringeworthy. On the left side, anyway. On the right, I am a complete disaster. I will subject you to none of this until I am good and ready.

With that mindset firmly in hand, Katharine and I have taken a good long break from actually finishing anything for Fever Pitch, and have instead been building up our skills in an MMO-style grindfest so that we have half an idea what to do should inspiration strike. We haven’t had that particular breakthrough yet, but we have started gruntwork on two pieces, which will see the light of day only if they are suitably fulfilling to us. We didn’t write Hurry Home to impress everyone else; we wanted it to exist, and we want the same for any new work. I’m actually really excited about one of them. If we can produce it up to our expectations I think it will have an audience as well as make us happy, but only if we can get it done in time. No pressure. At least we’re not as slow as Portishead. Oh wait, we’reĀ slower. Well.

Finally, I’ve been working on at least two projects about which I’m remaining vague. One because I’d rather not make too much noise about it until it’s done, and the other because the entire point of it is to keep it a secret from every living person so that I’ll actually see it through both the good and bad times, instead of just moving on when the next shiny thing comes along. I really hope it works out. I’m learning a ton from it, and not just about music.

So yeah, busy busy. But if I can pull this all off…