1st Recording Sessions. Coffee. And Kung Fu…

This has been the first week of recording sessions for the album.

The time has been a crazy process of……discovery, hard work, and acclimation.

Discovery, because this is the first time I have gone thru this process.  So as well as doing the work I am building the pipeline; I am discovering how to do the work.  This is almost as exciting to me as making the music itself. (Almost, but not quite;-)

Hard work, because there is a lot of grind and crazy rolling strategy that needs to be employed if you are doing absolutely everything yourself.  You have to be on top of writing the pieces and progressing them, you have to keep yourself healthy and awake so you can deliver good music, you have to setup and run efficient recording sessions, and you have to stay on top of the mountain of editing and mixing that needs done.

–  This is a hard way to do things, but ultimately the most rewarding because the finished product is undeniably your own.  There is no part of it which is influenced by anyone else.  And, in truth, I really enjoy all of these areas.  All it means is that I am doing the work of more than one person.

And Acclimation because, as well as acclimating to the new work routine I have also had to drag the carcass into a radically different sleep pattern.

My ‘studio’ is really just the spare room of our flat, with a bunch of audio equipment stuffed into it.  The walls are now hung with different materials, scavenged from around the house (I have even co-opted my cat’s blanket); this helps deaden any sound reflections whilst I record, but in terms of soundproofing it’s fairly wide open.

So I do my editing during the days, then record at night between 01:00 and 04:00 (because there is no ambient sound).  It’s like soundproofing using time.  (Fun fact: This is the reason they used to film old kung fu movies thru the night in Hong Kong.)

It is hard on the body, but it works really well.  Especially if you have good coffee.

I am now counting down the time until I release the record in days, rather than months or weeks.  [82 days and counting].  I am finding that the deadline helps me focus and work harder.

Last night, I listened to the very first music that will be on the album.

It sounds like nothing else I’ve ever heard.

And it sounds really, really good… ;-)

Soon. Soon. Soon.

My name is James Radcliffe and I am a 100% audience supported independent artist.  If you like what I do (and can afford it) then please consider buying some of my music.  Each purchase really makes a big difference to me and 10% of every sale goes to a charity which: houses, feeds, clothes, and educates orphaned children in Nepal.

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