Whew. It's been over two years since I started working on the Rewired radio play, and with its conclusion last week, I am beginning work on my first full album of new matthew show music in over a decade. Even when I made Memphis, the wind was blowing towards singles rather than collections of songs, but there's an itch in me to present this newest batch of tunes in a unified format. And when was I ever known to go with the prevailing tides?
All that's been done so far is some drum tracking and a few basic beds. This week starts the process in earnest, and to be honest, I'm super excited about going back to my roots. Most of my musical output the last few years has been done in larger studios, which is very unlike how I got started in the early years of the matthew show. I've missed tinkering at my house, taking the time it takes, not being on anyone's clock but my own. I feel like that approach engenders the greatest amount of uniqueness and creativity in the final result. Production perfection is one thing, but wabi sabi is another.
That said, from watching the pros at places like Ardent, Sun, Cloudland, and others, I've learned quite a bit about how to optimize my own recordings. My gear is better than it's ever been, as is my knowledge about production. I will make the bold prediction that this album will sound as good as any I've ever released. Maybe even better.
I'm going with a loose timeline of a year to get it all done. While this may sound ambitious, consider that for the past two years, I've been producing the equivalent of 26 EPs or short albums. Knocking out a 45-minute album should be cake. However, it is a different beast, and I want to get it right. If we go over a year, it's not the worst thing. But heck, we may beat that clock entirely and have something by the end of 2024. Who's to say?
One thing that will help immensely is your support. If you haven't already joined my Patreon, please consider doing so. For as little as $1 per month, you can get advance access and become part of a great community. Investing in independent artists pays big dividends in an increasingly corporatized and robotic creative landscape. There's already a members-only video up about future plans for other audio dramas and other wild projects. I would love to have you on board.
More soon, don't touch that dial…