It’s that time of the month again when I shoot you some new music, except….well, there’s nothing this month.
BUT, I have been busy…very busy! You will know I’ve had an intention to play my music LIVE for some time now, but have never quite managed to get the momentum with that, as I have in the production space. Well 2018 is going to be different. It’s all about LIVE this year.
And to achieve that, I’ve turned my whole production approach on its head. Why would I do that, after so many years honing an approach? Well, I kicked off the year with JAMuary a daily live Facebook feed of me jamming tracks… LIVE. I realised during that process that I was doing things backwards…write a new track, mix and master it, then get the mix down…and then rip it apart again into the key elements for a live rendition, by which time the track was a bit too locked in to allow the level of manipulation and improvisation.
So….now it’s all done at my LIVE rig with all the toys and controllers I use for the live show. New tracks take shape within live jams. My thinking…
- If the aim is to play the tracks LIVE, produce them LIVE
- If recording a finished track removes so much of the flexibility, don’t do it
- Electronic music controllers combined with keyboards, is like a whole new instrument, produce music intended for that instrument
- Every LIVE jam is recorded, all those happy mistakes and weird discoveries are there for reuse.
- And probably the best reason…Making music by doing what I have always done (live improvisation), is FUN (perhaps a bit too much fun, I often have to stop myself 20 minutes into a jam…”get back to work”!)
Here’s a sample of that work in progress (also the name of a new series of live feeds I’m doing Pottz: WIP):
So, I think I have turned the learning curve (too many mixed metaphors maybe?), and March should be packed with plenty of new production, all prepared LIVE, so keep a look out for some updates throughout the month.