And the timing couldn't be worse đ
I'm actively packing and gearing up to travel across the country to attend Burning Man 2023, and because everything hits at once, this also happens to be the week that my mastering engineer is able to get me the final deliverables for the album! đ
Since this is my first public release of anything noteworthy, frankly I'm not too worried about being immediately inundated with messages I'm unable to receive. I think more serious promotion will happen in the weeks after I return from the trip.
It would have been great if the release were ready *NOW* so I could give it propper attention before disappearing off the face of the earth for 10 days, but hopefully that's not a death sentence for my career or anything. I think attending a thing like burning man will be good for me artistically and professionally in a variety of other ways (even if it means I can't be glued to my computer the moment Warner calls and tries to sign me đââď¸ /j)
I'm doing my best to keep my modest goals in mind as I get ready for release. I really just wanted to make something that was artistically and personally meaningful, and felt real. I wanted to make something that I could actually feel comfortable and confident releasing publicly. And honestly, I think I did! I'm super happy with the way everything turned out, and I'm able to live with the small imperfections I know are still there.
I've learned a TON about this whole process and I understand much more clearly what I can do to make things run more smoothly next time. It feel like ages since this project first started to take shape. Every step I thought would a week, took a month, and every step I though would take month, took a year, lol.
I have lots of plans for future endeavors in music and art, and releasing this album is a huge step in the right direction as I figure out what it means to be an artist who actually publishes their work. I'm excited to get to use the platform I've built to release so much more in the future! Things are bright! I have a lot to look forward to, and so many exciting projects to work on next! â¤ď¸
I've started putting together a Tarot deck using the illustrations and things I've made for/ with my music so far. I've had a little experience with tarot before, but I have a lot of friends who will help me ensure my interpretations and manifestations of the cards are acurate and meaningful to the broader Tarot world.
I'm sort of treating this process like a mix between a reading for myself, and a negotation with the established meaning of the card. There's practically an bottomless world of interpretation for Tarot, and it's fun for me to use this as a way to learn the cards more intimately.
I think three of the four suits fit pretty nicely into the concepts I've been thinking about for future albums. The Queen of Time fits Cups, Invertebrate Waltz will fit Swords, (whatever I name the I dogs/pets album) will be Wands, and some 4th set of songs I've yet to write will probably be Coins.
My goal is to do about one card a day for now, (but so far I've been able to do more than one most days). This project won't be coming to fruition any time soon- but it's already giving me ideas, and challenging me as an artist and a songwriter to understand, synthesize, and present intentional meaning in what I am making.
I'm planning on posting occasional progress updates here, on my blog, and here, on my instagram feed. Be sure to keep an eye out if this is something that interests you! â¤ď¸
I am waiting... on the final masters for The Queen of Time... and I can't believe how much delay there is between every step of this process. On the bright side, now I know what to expect for the future, and how to better budget and allot time for all the things that need to happen. Making changes on my end of the project (the actual writing, and mixing/production of the songs) causes everything else to take... at least twice as long. Yes, you can technically go back and change things before it's officially released... but realistically those changes ADD UP. And cause huge delays in the project's timeline.
In the grand handing-off that is music production involving multiple engineers, the ability to give the next set of hands a *truly finished* thing is invaluable. Doing absolutely everything you need to do *before* handing off to the next person can save everyone a LOT of time and money. The sooner you realize something needs to be fixed, the better.
That being said, each step actually reveals new things, and that's part of the advantage of working with multiple people. Going blind to your own mix is a common problem in music production, and getting someone else to make changes and listen fresh is really important. Hearing your mix again for the 1st X 1000th time actually allows you to listen fresh, too.
I'm don't regret the path I chose for this album. I think it benefitted a lot from every step that it took to get here. I just wish I (as an artist) were still as excited about the project now as I was 2 years ago when the songs were being written/worked on, daily...
Releasing the thing is going to be difficult for me, too. I've always had a lot of trouble publishing work and declaring it done - but that's a topic for another blog post.
In other news, my adventure to Black Rock City to participated in Burning Man 2023 is less than a month away! It's hard to believe it's actually happening! I've been preoccupied lately with packing and making sure I'm properly prepared for extreme desert heat and dryness. There's a lot to know, and a lot goes in to simply not dying while spending 10 days in the middle of the Nevada desert. My goal was to have the project out well before leaving so I'm not concerned about missing emails and things while I'm away- but that's looking more and more difficult to control at this point đ