Atypical

I’m not sure where they all came from, but I currently have seventeen (!!) tracks set up that will probably be a part of Results Not Typical. Of those, I have thirteen finished and four more to complete the recording, mixing, etc. These numbers are a little surprising to me, especially since this is coming less than a year after I put the wraps on halt. I guess that makes this album all the more atypical.

Part of what’s helped in this case is the stripped-down production and raw aesthetic I’ve been going for in this album. It’s not sloppy, really, but it’s a lot less tweaked-to-death than I usually do. And in general, I’m really liking this way of working. One of the hardest things to learn when making music is knowing when to stop, and that’s a lesson I still haven’t totally figured out myself. Sometimes, I push things past where they should have been, and sometimes I stop a bit too early and always wish I’d gone back and fixed that one bit that bugged me. But one thing I always do for sure: once something has been “released” out into the world, I leave it alone. I think it’s the most fair thing for the music, to let it have a solid definition at some point in time and space and embrace that. Maybe one day I’ll look back at these old recordings and decide to do a fresh “remixed and remastered” version, or something. But for now, what you hear is what’s there.

There are a lot of things coming up on the calendar in the next couple weeks for me, but I’m hoping to really start getting these last four songs tracked. Already have a decent scratch track set for “Dustwood”, and sketches laid out for the other three; I’m going to call that a good start on them. After all, I don’t want to have to leave anybody behind.