Things are a little hazy right now, at least in terms of musical progress.

The other day, I found out that one of my near field monitors wasn’t working correctly, so I had to send it off for repair. Also, the compressor issue I wrote about in June still exists. So, I’m a bit hamstrung right now. Which is odd, as I’m usually working on music 5-6 days a week. Several almost-finished projects depend on that monitor, and I refuse to start something new until more progress is made on them.

Soooo, the path forward feels about as clear as the one in this photo. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, things will be clearer.

Peace.

Continuing my effort to fill out my options in outboard gear, a new compressor arrived yesterday from Golden Age Project. The Comp-2A is an Opto compressor, which are often used to smooth out transients and kind of glue the various elements of your mix together, making it sound more cohesive. I actually used it on Day 1 as part of an effort to add some nice analog warmth to a track that I’ll be releasing as part of an EP at the end of the month.

Thought I’d share a track which I did in January. It was done for the Disquiet Junto, which encourages artists to respond to a simple prompt sent once per month. January’s prompt was to record the sound of ice in a glass, and go from there. When I finished the track, I could no longer discern the sound of ice in a glass, but I liked where the track ended up. I hope you do, too.

For me, it is quiet, contemplative, textural and mysterious.

Also, an image I made which was inspired by the audio.

Transcript

Highlighting a recent studio addition: ADAT lightpipe. I’m befuddled by how this technology works, but somehow eight tracks of audio can hop on a beam of light (literally), and go from my DAW (computer recording interface) to my mixing desk.

I got back into music-making eleven-plus years ago, doing everything via software. About five years ago, I began transitioning from software synths to real ones, but kept my recording / mixing tasks in the computer (referred to as in the box). Then a little over a year ago, I began transitioning from software to hardware for that.

So, this is the latest addition. Always learning.