Year's End: Two Perks before 2023
We’re almost there!
I’m channeling the kids here. Even our 19 year-old son still gets excited about Christmas. Ok, yes: so do I.
A Journal
I recently included my Inspiration Journal as part of the 2022 Favourite Stuff list. This is a very personal "visual garden", and not something I overthink—if I like an image, for whatever reason, I send it there. I still pre-curate in my mind, to maintain a certain order and avoid what could quickly end up as a cluttered mess, but I minimize analysis. This comes later, when I sit down and annotate the year's content.
I mention it again because I've decided to share the journal with you. Actually, two year's worth: from January 2021 to December 2022. I'm not including the annotations, so you can add your own if you feel like it. It's basically a mood board, filled with photography I reacted to.
Be advised however that some of it is NSFW. Artful, obviously, but consider this a warning in case nudity bothers you. The journal is on the Benefits page (under FILES), but here's a direct download link to it as well.
A Pre-Release
Moving on to something entirely different: No Hollow Wave. First released in January 2019, the album never made the transition to streaming platforms, and I eventually removed it from the website. The plan was to remaster the songs (they tended to be way over-compressed), but this became a much longer undertaking than expected. I'd try for awhile, and ditch the results, unhappy. Then I took a serious break from it.
When I returned to the project I scrapped the remastering idea, went back to the original mixes, and started from scratch as if these were entirely fresh tracks. Over many, many months, it became a new album for me—at this point I don't even remember where the old one ended and the new version began.
No Hollow Wave will see a 2023 release with new cover art, new pacing, and brand new mixes all around. It even opens with a previously unreleased song. The album still sounds scruffy and DIY, but I'm really happy with it. I think the sound stage is clearer and more expansive, without sacrificing the live energy it was originally destined for. Some parts that were previously lost in the mix have resurfaced, especially on denser tracks (like Kamaitachi or Greer). It's still meant to be played very loud.
I'll be sending it for distribution after the holidays, but you can listen to a pre-release version here if you like. I’m not making it available for download because it may still change (never over til it’s over). It's not exactly Christmas music... but what the hell ;)
Speaking of which: all the best and here's to a kickin' 2023.
