Somehow, without my knowing it, a new album snuck up on me. And then, it turned into a double album. Dear sweet baby jesus, I’ve got some work to do.
The album will have two sets of tracks with complementary but very distinct moods. Each set (currently, Hollow + Friction) will have its own sound world. (Thanks to Greg Wilder for encouraging me down this path!)
I’m going to try to patch my studio so that both albums can be recorded mostly live (with lots of sequencing and prep work, naturally). Meaning, I’ll lock in the sound for both Hollow and Friction, then I’ll complete all the music. By the time everything is ready to go, I’ll be able to turn on the computer and multi-track everything all at once, fairly quickly. But getting to that point will be a marathon.
How I’ll record this
When I get to the point of recording, I’ll record each instrument in passes, one at a time, performing on knobs and instruments as appropriate. But the entire form will be set in the Hapax sequencer beforehand, so I’ll be able to record each track start to finish, one after the other, and I’ll be able to multi-track sequenced instruments alongside live performances, hearing everything rocking out together all the while. It’s been quite a process figuring out how to make this work, but I’ve got a great way to do multi-tracking now, and it maintains a very “live band” kind of feel.
To do this, I first have to get very, very close to knowing what functional parts I need (e.g. drums, bass, hooks, etc.), and what instruments/studio chains will be contributing those parts. I’ve already mostly created one track for each side that’s got the mood and sound I want nailed, so I’m starting from those two tracks.
Drums: a concrete example
For example, the DSI Tempest will be providing the bulk of the drum sound. I’ve had a song, Hollows, kicking around for a couple of years. I absolutely love Hollows. I can’t wait for it to be in the world.
So I’ve filled out the Tempest drum kit to have everything I might need for the “Hollow” side of the album, and will be starting with that kit for every other beat I create. That means :gasp: the drums on the Hollow side will all sound the same. (This is literally the opposite of how I’ve done my solo albums since I came back around to music a few years back.)
Just make a spreadsheet, yo
I’ll use a similar process for each part, and my plan is to stick very close to what I lay out at the beginning of the process. No more patching, no more effects! (Unless I REALLY REALLY want to.) I’ll have some freedom in hooks and lead sounds, but overall, I’d really like to keep the sound world tight for each side.
I just started planning in earnest for this today. Here’s a snippet what that plan looks like so far:
What about the songs?
I pretty much never stop writing, so I have a LOT of material in mind for the album already. It’s all at various stages, from “acoustic guitar + voice, kinda drunk in my living room” to “this is basically done.”
I’ll write more if I want/need to, of course. There are a few conceptual ideas I have that I want to try out when the studio is set. But overall, I’ve got plenty of music to work with.
So, off I go! Like I said, this is going to be a marathon, but it feels great to have a framework and a way forward. I couldn’t be more excited to figure out how to get this music into the wide world!