JANUARY 1, 2020 | Sitting in my window seat in Seattle with a cup of Yerba Mate
Happy new year :) This morning I'm starting my Ableton practice again. I took a break over the holidays and I've been preparing the cover art for my new album which I'll release next month. So it feels really fresh and exciting to be back in Ableton. I'm reminded of this important mantra for those of us on a hero's journey -- 'don't quit, take a break'. Before the break, I question if I seriously still want to produce music. After the break, I'm like FUCK YA! Let's go! I produced for 45min and live streamed the entire session on Twitch. I'm not talking you through this. I'm just letting you watch me work.
My approach this morning was to listen to sounds in Splice...just enjoy listening and finding new sounds. Sounds stimulate my imagination. I don't have to know what I'm going to create or have a plan at all. Splice is a wonderland of inspiration. I just start clicking on samples and I close my eyes and listen to what I hear. What images pop into my mind? What mood does each sound spark in my chest? Could it go somewhere?
When I find a sound I like, I drag it over into Ableton. I keep searching until I have a few sounds layered on top of each other and I'm starting feel a pattern or a groove emerge. This morning, the pattern showed up at 90 BPM in C#m. I was inspired by the chill vibes of low-fi music which I've really enjoyed working out and flowing in yoga recently. It's so relaxing and energizing at the same time. I also loved the tight snap and snare sounds that gave me a feeling up snapping along and dancing. And of course, I integrated some female vocal samples that sound like birds screeching in the desert sky which makes me dream of music festivals and feel free! I'll come back to this later and probably record my own vocals and write some poetic lyrics -- either later today or tomorrow. Now it's time to go do yoga.