Writer, musician, wizardly guide to platform independence
This week started with bean dad, and ended with an attempted coup. Thousands of COVID-19 deaths. Talk of impeachment.
They’ll be talking about these event 100 years from now. Well, probably not bean dad, but still.
For the week ahead we’ll all try and show up for work as if any of this is normal, dealing with the ambient dread however we can. Lots of coffee, mid-day walks, mid-day naps – whatever. Wild times call for wild coping strategies.
Sit down, do the work. That’s the running theme throughout ‘Turning Pro‘ by Steven Pressfield. Don’t wait for inspiration to strike. Get your ass in the chair and work.
Sure, I’ve been playing bass since 1991, but the past TWO DECADES have seen me doing everything but making music. Several stops and starts, of course, but I’m trying.
These Daily Loops are a by-product of sitting down and doing the work. I’ve been showing up, opening up Abelton Live damn near every day the past few months, and just trying to crank out something.
Sure, the goal is to someday release an album on Bandcamp, but I don’t even know what that would sound like. In the meantime, I’m going to ship. If I wait, it dies. If I hesitate, I’m gonna fall right back to sleep.
It’s like writing. Best to do it every day. Stretch, eat well, drink water, floss. The every day thing adds up. That’s my Daily Loop. My work.
Is it my job? My career? No, but why else am I here? To update Google Docs and answer emails?
Our work is to delight, bring joy, create goodness. It’s 10 days in and I feel pretty good about this.
Video by Madam M.A (Akari M.) from Pexels
I believe this my longest mix yet, at almost 49 minutes. A mix of older material like Mortem Obire from 2017 and Demian Johnston from 2010, to just release this week, like Andrew Everington and exit eternity.
I’m an absolute new-comer to everything about dark-ambient, but I know what I like, and these mixes are a reflection of that. I hope you enjoy.
All music sourced and purchased via Bandcamp. Browse my Bandcamp collection and find something nice for yourself.
After the week we’ve had it was time for some beeps, boops, and coffee. Saturday morning sampling, some vocal tracks – this was a fun one.
Seeing (and hearing) how so much of this stuff is just layers – build them up, remove them, build an entire scene from just a few ideas.
Nearing 10pm at night and I’m just now getting up this Daily Loop. I figure since it’ll be months until thing ever get back to even 10% of normal, and since I spend so much time in front of my computer anyways, there’s really no reason why I can’t keep getting these posted.
Lost some audio in Abelton today, which is a bummer. A minor file management snafu, just being too quick and careless. It’s okay, since I wanted to redo it at some point. Lesson learned.
Tape video via Pixabay.
Daryl Murphy has ran a 5K every day for over 265 days in honor, and silent protest to the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and way too many others who’ve been killed by police. Now he’s onto his third fundraiser, using his running for another great cause:
The goal of Miles For Justice III is to raise $10,000 to bring 10 Little Free Libraries filled with books that feature POC authors and POC characters into communities with limited book access. Each library will be placed in a highly visible location with ample foot traffic that’s easily accessible for all members of the community.
Right now he’s at about $1,000, so if you can contribute, do it. If you can’t just share the link: https://pledgeit.org/milesforjustice/
I posted a few of these clips to Twitter in the last week or so, and didn’t really get the idea to put them on my blog, so I’m fixing that now (1/7).
My brain exploded when I figured out how to do sampling with Abelton Live. Sure, I’ve messed around with a TASCAM Porta-4 about 30 years ago, and who hasn’t spent some time with Garage Band?
But Live is a special beast.
For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to just make something each day. The drum beats, the bass lines, and the samples. Usually I’ll go on YouTube and sample old TV commercials, but lately I’ve been capturing the audio from Instagram Stories.
As I thumb through the never ending videos, every so often a few audio clips collide and make for something interesting. That’s where the beeps and boops above come from.
As a bass player I always enjoy getting these bass lines to pop out. I mean, I’m still a total novice with Abelton Live, but I’m having fun, which is the point.
Stef from @pexels
Photo via @DrDenaGrayson
Can America sink any lower? It seems the depths that this country will fucking sink is without limits.
For years, Mr. Trump had built his influence with rapid-fire tweets and by reaching out to millions of people on Facebook. Since losing November’s election, he had used the platforms to challenge the election results and call them fraudulent.
NYTimes
From Seth Godin, who I’ve been reading and following since about 2003.
“The blog you write each day is the blog you need the most. It’s a compass and a mirror, a chance to put a stake in the ground and refine your thoughts.”
That Tweet or Instagram post might get 10 likes, but will it even exist in 10 years? You can read Seth Godin’s first post from 2002 on his blog right here.
Social media is the the box of sugary cereal, being that you have to eat a whole box to feel full, but it just leaves you feeling like garbage 20 minutes later.
