Far Away Dreams (2014) - 01 Far Away Dreams

Far Away Dreams
You learn a thing or two, and suddenly you think you can do it all, just like the best of them. That’s the Dunning-Kruger effect in full swing. You start a few projects, make some cool sounds, but never actually finish them. Then doubt creeps in, and you wonder if you can really pull it off. Your inner perfectionist cripples you. You get caught up in perfection, never satisfied with what you create or achieve. This leads to never finishing what you set out to do.
Sometimes, you have to set a goal and commit to it, never quitting until it’s done, no matter what. Even if it’s not perfect, even if you know you could do better with more time. Sometimes, you just have to get a project to 100% within a limited time, even if you’re not totally happy with it. Then you realize there’s another level of challenge in working on that front.
This journey teaches you, helps you experience and become more self-aware of your abilities and shortcomings. It proves to yourself that you can create something real and shines a light on what you need to work on and learn.
“Far Away Dreams” was an attempt to reach a dream that seemed distant. A project started around 2013, aiming to create a proper Trance album within a year. As in most fields, the last 10% of the work takes the majority of the time, but you don’t know that until you try. There were ups and downs, but eventually, the project was completed on time, bringing with it new experiences and valuable lessons.
On a technical level, every decision, no matter how small, matters. From picking the right sound to bigger decisions like the arrangement. The way you lay out a plan and organize your workflow, the way you layer sounds, how you mix, EQ, compress, and eventually master. And most importantly, the way you manage your time and stay motivated and consistent. Sometimes you’re not happy with what you have, but you have to stick with it and get it done.
What I learned along the way was more valuable than the product itself. When you start, as a beginner, you don’t have the sight, you can’t see the bigger picture. You’re caught in the technical aspects, like learning your first chord on a guitar. It takes a lot of effort. Only when you repeat the same task enough times, when you practice until it becomes second nature, do you unlock something greater. It’s only then that your mind opens up. You start feeling it rather than thinking about it. You can’t be creative and make beautiful art if you still have to think about how to use your tools, or worse, don’t know how to use them. That is exactly what this album was-a chance to practice, to master the tools and techniques, to get past that technical barrier.
Perhaps this is why these aren’t the prettiest, catchiest, or coolest tracks out there. My ears hear the flaws, and my mind easily finds the spots where they can be improved. I would change a lot of things if I made them now. But more than 10 years later, I am separated enough from my own work that I can appreciate and respect the effort that went into it. What I’ve learned is that when you spend enough time on something, when you work hard on it, when you pay attention to every detail, you kind of brute force your way to a higher league than your own. Doing it enough times, you get more experienced, sharper, and more optimized, and maybe one day you’ll find yourself in the major leagues.
If you’re reading this and you also have dreams that seem far away, set a goal for yourself, focus, commit, and do whatever it takes to see it through. Whether you reach the goal or not isn’t important. You will learn and improve, and that’s what matters the most.
Rahman Fotouhi