Wasn't really the original plan, but the creative center of my brain apparently disagrees with that. Hues, Vol. 2 is well underway. I have a majority of the music planned out already, should only be another month or two until it is ready for release. Definitely the quickest I've ever got something done from start to finish musically. More info coming soon, but just as the first Hues, we're looking at 5 tracks, all centered around a central theme of color.
So my plan of having an album or EP done by the end of February is falling apart somewhat. The past few weeks haven't been all that productive in the studio(being sick is a bitch), though I have come up with some ideas that I feel are pretty interesting.
Before I progress with any of them though, I'm taking myself back to synthesizer school. I've always felt I've been pretty knowledgeable about how my synth and VSTi's work, and how they make the sounds that they do, but I could probably use a refresher. So my goal for this weekend's studio session is to sit down with my Blofeld(and possibly its manual), as well as a few select VSTs, and just work on writing my own new synth patches from scratch; to really understand everything a little bit better. As a bonus, I'll get a nice handful of my own custom patches to work with in the end as well.
From now til the end of February, I'm going to attempt to write a completely new EP (not including the mixing and mastering parts). Similar to the RPM Challenge, but different rules. Doubt I'll make it to 10 tracks like the Challenge, though that would be really nice. I have a really cool track started using the new Tattoo drum VSTi from Audio Damage with a really cool Absynth pad. Really cool and chill so far. So I've got things started.
If all goes well, I'll switch gears for the month of March/April and try to jam out a chiptune album under a new moniker.
By then, Pennsylvania will be thawing out, and I'll begin to think about live shows again. Hopefully there will be someplace cool to accommodate us this time around.
In gear news, I will be receiving the final parts to put together my Arduinome 128 by the end of this week. Lots of soldering to do, and I still have to work out my enclosure for it. Got a faceplate though at least.
Audio Damage's new drumsynth/sequencer called Tattoo is very close to completion. It's also going to be VERY fairly priced (I'd even go as far as to say UNfair to AD). It looks absolutely amazing and very fun to play with.
http://www.audiodamage.com/instruments/product.php?pid=AD024
Another uneventful evening in the studio the past week, and I'm not entirely sure when I'll get the chance to sit down in there again in the next couple weeks. Friday's are typically my day for this stuff, but Xmas and New Years both fall on that day. Might still be doable, but we'll have to wait and see.
I do, however, have some new toys to play with once I do get the chance. I installed the new Ableton Live 8.1 update last night, along with Max for Live. I'm greatly looking forward to toying around with SevenUp and Stretta's Max for Live suite, with my Arduinome.
Speaking of Arduinomes, Sparkfun's Free Day is coming up, at which point I will be trying to get the remainder of the parts I need for my 128 at shipping cost.
As the title of the post states, I may need to make a divergence from new album business, and concentrate on putting together a proper Live show. As it stands now, I only have a few songs from Hues set up to run in the old SevenUp Live. One of them turned out really well and could be a great opener, while the other two need some work. I also might work on some new Live only tracks, stuff to keep the listeners interested, or some remixing.
Going to continue getting some new ideas for melodies and such as they come to me. The past few weeks I've been almost bored in the studio. After the time spent on getting Hues all together, I think my brain has been enjoying its time off a little too much. If I can't get things jumpstarted on a new song, maybe some remixing of Hues will be in order.
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