gearing up for ep2
so, ep2 “When all that’s left is waves” is on track to be out on 8.8. four of the six tracks are pretty much mixed and, while one of the remaining two tracks is a mixing monster job (and ideally i’d like time to have another run at one track to see if i can do a better job of the mix), overall, i’m feeling pretty relaxed.
i don’t imagine i’ll ever be one for saying ‘this track is about….’ but i don’t mind saying that the ep as a whole is series of reflections on technology and our interactions with it. some of that is positive in terms of what we can achieve by utilising technology - we can now reach across the world and the stars, solve seemingly intractable problems and access learning and tools like never before and this creates opportunities to lift us up in ways we can’t yet imagine. On the flipside though, sometimes it’s negative - there is an accelerating danger that our progress risks bringing - our burning through resources gets ever faster and is creating feedback loops of destruction, our lives are overstuffed with things we either don’t want or don’t need and as a species we seem hellbent on finding novel ways to inflict suffering on everything around us either intentionally or inadvertently.
it won’t come as any surprise to you that whilst i enjoy technology and what it enables us to do (i wouldn’t be releasing music or communicating with you without it) it seems increasingly clear to me that we may well be headed for the end of the road (or at the very least a major downsizing) as a species. i try to take a relaxed view of this, we have no more right to existence than anything else and our minuscule impact on this ever spreading universe when looked at across the vastness of space and time is a very minor crackle of distortion on a distant amp at very best. we are tiny dots on a tiny dot - so long as we don’t suffer too much as we approach the end and don’t take the other inhabitants of the planet (animals and plants) with us….. sadly, i’m not even sure we’re capable of delivering that. well, i figure we’ve had a good run.
don’t get me wrong, it would be good if humankind survived for millennia to come but i’m not optimistic.
lightening the mood a touch, i’d suggest the new ep is ‘musically’ more varied than the first one. i’ve worked to expand outwards in terms of sounds and experimentation. the first track - 1202 - which i’ve put a rough (but near finished) version of in the music section is probably the ‘straightest’ track on the ep and the closest to the notion of tunefulness. as such, it’s maybe a bit of a red herring in terms of how things sound on this ep - but i don’t think any single track feels like it is ‘representative’ of any sort of emerging overall sound yet - others may disagree.
i am really pleased to have musical contributions from people outside t.o.s. on this ep - it’s always been part of the plan that there should be a floating membership for this thing and it’s nice to see that coming to fruition. i’m hopeful there will be more input on the next ep.
speaking of which….i’ve learned while wrapping up the last ep that it’s wise for me to call a halt to starting new tracks while finishing off the old ones - it stops me from getting distracted but i’m certainly looking forward to getting back into creation mode again. i’ve got a number of different ideas bubbling around already. my hope would be to have ep3 out before the end of the year. i also appear to be establishing a tradition that I buy myself a new bit of ‘kit’ after i wrap each ep - last time it was the Discover version of the Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra - an amazing bargain at £/€49 - you’ll find it slathered all over this ep and i can’t recommend it highly enough. i’ll keep what i’m planning to treat myself to this time round under my hat for now.