Friday, 31 July 2009

Mixing the Album: The Second Half



Track Six: Pathways

Track Seven: Everlasting rose

Track Eight: Fire-lights

Track Nine: For you

Track Ten: New morning

Track Eleven: Dorothy's arrival




So... I had 3 days rest after my last post and re-entered the studio on Tuesday 7th July and from then until Tuesday 28th July I worked twenty hour days three weeks.

I have slept and ate very little and felt quite hallucinogenic because I also attempted juice fasts and removed meat from my diet completely because being "full" on food gets in my way of connecting to "IT".

That may sound a little over the top but it is true.

In those three weeks I have completed the album mix.

I have followed the album as a journey and the mix unfolded in front of me, It is very complex but I know things have happened as they as should have.

I have definitely not mixed this album, I have removed my opinion from it and allowed it to breathe as a piece unto it's own self - A very hard level to achieve as a producer is to resist the want to make things sound "better" and to rise up and treat everything with the respect that it deserves as a document of a period of time.

I have done the exact opposite of what anyobody else does I have NOT tried to make this sound GOOD. It sounds like what IT is.

It is sad that so may people confine music to "good" or "bad".

I worked hard and worked fast on purpose trying to make myself mix a track every two/three days because I believe that when you move fast you can bypass the brain and connect with magic better.

This has proven to be true.

Because of the speed and intensity of which I have worked there are a few loose ends to tie up, tiny little things like audible "hiss" coming in and out in some tracks which I will be working on because it actually gets in the way of the experience plus it's not true to what was there "in the moment" on the day it was recorded.

I did not document it here day by day because I felt that talking or even recognizing what I was attempting to do would have jeopardized the point so I put my head down and here I am.

A few days of tieing up ends in the studio and then I am onto the mastering stage.

I am ehausted a little insane but definatley on the right track, I can feel the train coming and I will be leaving with it.

8 comments:

L-A said...

CONGRATULATIONS are in order for getting through this monumental stage of finishing your album! I have read every entry and to tell you the truth I was a little nervous as to why it has been a while since your last post on Pretty Lights. But I now understand that you were only trying to not be too "conscious" of the process. It has been a fascinating journey to read and I look forward to hearing about the mastering stage.

LA

Anonymous said...

Where do we go from here? UP

WOW

Sooooooo excited!

Anonymous said...

I'm on that train

Gemma said...

Interesting how you say that you have tried to stay out of the way of the art. Let it develop and grow to itself. Feel rather than think. Let the music tell you what it wants.

Enjoy the journey, you'll only be here once!

Two said...

I think it is fab that you are competing this album, me and my partner have been waiting for this for nearly two years!

Classic said...

This album has all the makings of a classic.

Jennifer B. said...

What a journey!!!!!!!!
I really want to hear this album. The anticipation is intense! I dont think I have ever really been excited for an album release until this. But I really like your music and your story.

Dez said...

I'm impressed by your stamina and your creative determination. Best of luck brother.