EDIT: now on soundcloud!
It's here, it's (mildly) queer, and it didn't manage to kill me - it's that album I've been talking about for many many moons. I did every part of this except violin and female vocals. On the whole, I'm really happy with how it turned out - I may have someone else re-master it for me once I have the money, but I'm pretty fine with the job I did on that for now. I had to change some things last minute to get things to sound nice on Bandcamp, but that's ok.
This has been consuming basically every hour that I haven't been working for the past few weeks/months, and I am so relieved to have it over with. I crunched the numbers, and this took about 500 hours to make, a large amount of which was spent on 4 or 5 songs that are no longer on the album. I'm planning on putting those out on their own EP in a month or so, but right now I just don't want to record a dang ol' thing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Let's talk about these songs!
1. The Tempest
This song is 7 years old, written when I was 15. It's a song I like, but it's honestly on this album partly so I can just get a decent recording of it and get it out of my system.
The first part was recorded mostly on my tape deck, and the rest of the album is all digital. I wanted this track to sound kind of like the first 2 EPs I did, and then transition into something much bigger.
2. Found
The first thing I recorded for this album, and the last thing I finished mixing. The nylon guitars on this track are the bane of my existence, and I couldn't re-record them because my nylon guitar is on another coast.
3. Homeward Bound
Another old one. Here's a live video, if anyone wants to see it. One of my favorite songs to play, the fingerpicking is really fun.
4. Life in a Vacuum
A song I wrote for a cute girl.
5. Bind
A song I wrote for a cute boy. This one was actually cut from the album until a week or two ago, and I'm really glad I put it back on.
6. Helen
My absolute favorite song to play. This is actually the second recorded version I have - here's the first. I wanted a sparkly new version now that I'm a bit better at recording, and I really wanted to change up the ending.
7. Kiyoko
Really really happy with the second half of this, production-wise. Based on this person.
8. Isaac
Another do-over, here's the original. I think the ending of this might be the prettiest thing I've ever made.
9. And Became Visible
This song has over 200 tracks on it. That shit is never gonna happen again.
The poem that gives the album/this track their names is "Elegy" by Tomas Transtromer. I was also considering "Scarecrow".
-------------------------------
Takeaways:
No, you can NOT fix it in post.
I spent so much time trying to fix mistakes that I made while tracking, and I wish I had just spent the extra few hours to get better takes/mic placement to start.
There's always the next album.
I had a very hard time not getting discouraged about my mixing ability when I was comparing my tracks to commercially produced albums, but things became a lot better when I just compared things to the last folk EP I put out. I'm not trying to be better than anyone else, just better than the last thing I made.
Finishing something imperfectly is better than never finishing it at all
I've been recording music for almost 4 years now, and the fact that it took me this long to try and make an album is a testament to how much the idea of putting out a substantial project scares me. Glad my inner perfectionist was exhausted enough to finally let go of the small things.
thenewgreen, steve, bfv, ButterflyEffect, elizabeth, kantos, zebra2, lil, @every person who has ever expressed slight interest.
If you like this, you can buy it. If you want a free download, PM me and I'll send you a link.
-Brendan.
flac, I am so sorry, having bought your album at Tue, 9 May 2017, 08:32 GMT, this post must have been only hours old, possibly even minutes as it was an immediate purchase...
It is in no small part a complete failure on my part to have omitted to telling you that I am completely head over heels in love with this album. I've listened to it over a dozen times, start to finish.
But today I am truly lucky, as I have fixed my headphones, gone are the terrible, ghastly little earbuds and. WOW. It has totally renewed my love for your album, the depth and just pure energy to songs like Kiyoko are just overwhelming.
I hope wherever you are you're having a beautiful day, because your work has literally brought out the sunshine here.
Thanks!
Funnily enough, I have no strong feelings on audio formats (or, I don't think of myself as an audiophile, at least); "flac" was just the name I used when I was playing competitive Super Smash Bros. in college, which is when I first joined hubski. Plus it's a fun word to say.
flac fact
Drowning. But soon, I'll come up for air and when I do... I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to listening to this. Not casually, but thoughtfully. Full attention, headphones of quality, no distractions kind of listening.
I CANT FUCKING WAIT
badges for completing this.
Your biggest fan!
TNG
Things are going well. I recently entered a remix competition set up by the guys who run the label I've been trying to get on. I didn't win, but I did get an honorary mention as one of their favourites!
I can also see from my stats that they went through and listened to all my Soundcloud stuff, so that's cool. And they said they'll be keeping an eye on said honorary mentions for potential future release on the label. So yeah, getting there little by little.
I'll post the remix on here later today, there's just some mix adjustments I want to make.
Hot shit this is good. Congrats! You gonna push it? Play live shows and whatnot? Besides the songwriting, the recording quality is stellar. What's your setup?
<3 thanks! I'm going to start looking for gigs in a week or two once I've gotten some practice in, maybe some open mics til then? Going to get it printed to cassettes in a bit and maybe make some merch once I figure out screenprinting.
I have a picture of my recording space somewhere on hubski, I'll add it to this in a bit. It's, uh, not ideal.
Technical shit
Everything's recorded in Reaper through a Focusrite interface. My main mics are the AKG C214, and the Shure sm81 and sm58. Bass and Guitar are mostly DI with amp sims after the fact.
To get really technical about my acoustic guitar setup: I use the sm81 angled towards the soundhole from about 1 ft away, and mix that in with a Dean Markley pickup. I'll usually cut a lot of the low end off of the sm81 track and run the DI through an amp sim with some widening delay.
The only paid plugin I use is Addictive Drums, which is a really solid drum programmer. I tracked some live drums when I was back east, and mixed those in to give it a bit of grit and humanize the sound. Everything else was done with free plugins, mostly stock plugins from Reaper.
I got a TON of mileage out of the MDA ePiano plugin, which is a free electric piano VSTi. It really helped to get some lower mids, and to give the live acoustic piano some shine.
If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them!
Love those Dean Markley pickups. I'm surprised that you didn't run into more phase issues mixing the mic with the pickup that way- these guitars sound crystal clear. On a related note- the fact that "And Became Invisible" has 200 tracks and still sounds as focused and coherent as it does speaks volumes of your production chops. Gaddamn.
Never worked with Reaper- how's the learning curve? More importantly, is it affordable?
Thanks, it was quite an ordeal.
I actually shifted the guitars to match eachother phase-wise after recording. There was a slight difference on time, but it wasn't too hard to fix.
Reaper is awesome, I can send you some good resources for working with it. It's also FREE (or $60 for the full version). I love it. I think it's a lot like pro tools, but its the only DAW I've used, so idk if thats true.
flac, this is amazing. And Became Visible is a beautiful track, there is a lot of power behind that one.
Buying this tomorrow, about to go sleep. So, so stoked to see a finished product!
Thank you!
The album art is a photo I took on a long, long train ride. I figured out that you could get some cool glitch art by taking a panorama shot while moving on a train, and I really liked this shot.
I picked it for the album because I think that a pretty pastoral scene that is a little warped and off-kilter when you look closer feels like a pretty apt choice for the tone of the album.
This is the information I am looking for. This article is clear and easy to understand. I'm learning more about this. Hope you bring more things related to it. Thanks a lot.
https://www.finansialku.com/cara-mengecek-saldo-jht-bpjs-ketenagakerjaan/ --
http://tempattidurjual.com/ --
https://www.jualsofabandung.com/ --
http://kangarooindonesia.id/ --
http://www.percetakansurabaya.com/ --
https://www.maskersusukefir.com/ --
http://www.konveksisurabaya.web.id/ --
http://trikmudahseo.blogspot.com/2017/04/web-hosting-murah-yang-bagus-di.html --
http://www.crystalxptnasa.com/2017/01/jual-blumen-nasa-obat-kuat-pria-harga.html --
http://www.herbalnasa.com/moreskin-night-cream/ --
http://www.rebateforexfbs.com/ --
https://rinjanibackpacker.com/ --
http://webhostingmurahbagus.blogspot.com/ --
https://idcloudhost.com/domain-murah-indonesia/ --
http://www.mj-506.com/product/grosir-celana-training-murah --
http://www.toyotamurahpontianak.com/ --
http://www.infoteknobaru.com/ --
https://idcloudhost.com/promo/ --
https://www.penginapandepok.com/penginapan-murah-di-depok/ --
http://seminarkitmurah.com/ --
https://www.supplierfotocopy.com/ --
http://www.kalsiumpeninggibadan.com/ --
http://jasacucisofa.org/jasa-cuci-springbed-jakarta-murah-bergaransi/ --
http://negeribunga.com/toko-bunga-jakarta/ --
https://www.bungaucapan.net/toko-bunga-jakarta/ --
http://www.outboundpuncak.id/ --
http://download.ipeenk.com/windows-10-terbaru.html --
http://creamcordyceps.blogspot.co.id/ --
https://www.distributorprodukabe.com/obat-pelancar-bab/ --
http://kesehatanpasutri.net/agen-fiforlif-blitar-jual-fiforlif-blitar/ --
http://www.indonusa-conblock.com/2012/03/harga-paving-block-2012.html --
http://www.indonusa-conblock.com/2016/04/pagarpanelbeton-precast-harga-jual.html --
http://www.indonusa-conblock.com/2015/05/boxculvert-harga-jual-ukuran.html --
http://www.indonusa-conblock.com/2013/10/buis-beton-harga-jual-ukuran.html --
http://www.indonusa-conblock.com/2013/10/u-ditch-harga-jual-ukuran.html --
http://www.indonusa-conblock.com/2012/07/kanstin-ukuran-jual-harga-2012.html --
https://jasa-translate.com/ --
http://adicihuy.blogspot.co.id/ --
https://www.herbalsabun.com/cara-memutihkan-wajah-secara-alami-pakai-sabun-muka.html --
http://vimax-supplement.com/ --
http://ptksdterbaru.blogspot.co.id/ --
http://www.mawaddaholshop.com/grosir-celana-kulot-murah/ --
http://www.pembesarpenissolo.com/ --
http://www.primabatamerah.web.id/ --
http://www.mj-506.com/product/kaos-seragam-family-gathering --
http://download.ipeenk.com/internet-download-manager-terbaru-full-version.html --
http://original-herbal.com/klg-asli-usa-obat-pembesar-penis/ --
I regularly visit your site and find a lot of interesting information.
Not only good posts but also great comments.
Thank you and look forward to your page growing stronger.
This is beautiful stuff. I've had it saved to return and listen to in my browser for ... a month now. Congrats!
Everything's strong, feels well put together, spare where spare feels good, rich and textured when layers are welcome. I like the dimensions/shifts of Helen particularly.
Very impressive vocals. It makes me feel somewhere between Stornoway and Beirut, which is a great place to end up, IMHO.
Buying the album shortly with the intent to make it my go-to car/study music. Went through the album a few times already when I first saw the notification. For whatever reason, Helen was the first song to play and it's stuck with me a bit... really looking forward to more listens. Saving this post for later, after the songs are ingrained in my brain so I can better appreciate the bonus content you've provided in listing the songs. I'm sure there's much more praise to come. I had a goal of saving up my badges... but guess I'll have to start again with that tomorrow, hehe.