I remember finding your blog when I started my Nord Modular G1 learning experience in 2013. A decade later and I have no better idea of what i'm doing than I did then. The best advice I ever got related to the "Helsinki Bus Station" analogy. Stay on the bus - keep working on what you're doing - you will get better. I haven't followed this advice. But i'm going to share your video with my students as it has a perspective I don't hear everywhere.
@@brainlego ah amazing to think you were about in the blog era, that was a hugely important moment for things. There is definitely something to take from staying foolish, it’s almost like a quick catch all to counter complacency. I often find myself concerned when things do well in a certain way, as perhaps it’s not experimenting enough at that point. The bus analogy is a good one actually, I haven’t heard that one, but yeah, just doing the work, much like a builder adding bricks, something will get built eventually. Keen to learn what your students reactions are. Where/what do you teach?
@@ExpectResistance Teaching Sound Design at JMC Academy in Australia. Mixing sounds for release is becoming more like a game of "Katamari Damacy". Rolling up a whole bunch of disparate layers of audio into a Frankenstein assemblage. Certainly not best practice but how else to demonstrate "Professional Development" and justify my employment?
Hahaha! I love this. I started at Point Blank Music School Oct last year and enjoying it loads, especially after previous jobs mainly around Service Transformation, which I didn’t want but also felt I needed to constantly justify my employment. That can be tough. Luckily not feel this at all in the new job, and working with sound and getting paid for it, is kinda surreal. Really nice to meet you and good luck with tweaking those students minds. ✊
This video resonates with me a lot, and goes over my big problem with the music I make. After I record it the art process is over and I don't really care to listen to it again or market it or master it or deal with the 100 other things that are outside of the initial creative process. I don't know if I'm liberated or held back. It's a weird place to be in.
Glad it resonates. Agree, it can be a tough place to move within and arguably the most common issue i find when working with others. Mostly from a pressure to do something in a certain way, “professional” or “successful”. I feel i definitely need to talk more about this, so many areas to cover and experiences to kick around. Thx
Hey, thanks for the video! That is exactly my problem with my music. I have piled up a lot of songs and just struggle with my perception of what it is or how it feels. Your thoughts are really helpful. Keep it up!
No probs. Glad the video is helpful. Making music can be hard on so many levels. I’ll definitely be talking more for sure. Thx for the support, it’s taken a while to decide to do this.
Hey man, thanks for sharing your thought and experiences. I can really relate to a lot of what you're saying here. Curently being in this creative block having set a goal to work towards a live set where I struggle with my expectations of what my music should sound like and what actually comes out. Trying to find that playing child in me who doesn't think so much but just goes out and do. It's crazy what overthinking does to your creative condition.
Yeah totally agree. The biggest thing I found useful to me, what getting myself i.e my mind, out of the effing way, and just playing, documenting and reflecting, and doing it often. Preparing for live stuff is a whole other nightmare, especially as you have to stand next to what you create, and the immediate environment is not always in your control. Still, I have found some things that help in that area.
To me it’s Interesting that a lot of these things need to be said since I come from diy hardcore punk. Bandcamp is the only platform we use and we just throw shit on there once it’s made and recorded
Love this. The moment I decided I just wanted to release music and I didn’t care what other people thought about it led me to releasing it in the same way.
@itsritmu Totally. Just putting the music out there is so great. I classically had more issues with it being liked than disliked haha, but have happily got over that. I might have to do something on DIY actually.
@Sevensilverkeys The DIY and punk scene is really inspiring. I wish id mentioned that actually, hell, there is loads i could have said actually haha. Thanks for reminding me. Bandcamp definitely helps towards more independence than most other platforms for sure. It’s not perfect but it’s what we use as well.
The layers and sublayers created with the music stereothypes and the "norms" are non-sense and toxic. For me creating music is the need for expression and the journey of doing it! The rest for me like expose the tracks, marketing and be "successful" it is deteriorating. I dont wanna fit that profile, plus it drives my mind insane. I also identify a lot with the process of when a theme is ready Deep message! Cheers man
Good discussion, personally I have literally no interest in releasing music, I just want to play live and not involve myself in releasing "dead" artefacts.
Yeah fair enough, i hear this a lot. It’s definitely got a load of baggage attached to it that a live event doesn’t. The live environment versus that in a release space have many differences. Have you released stuff before and choose not to now? Or always been drawn to live performances more? I have my struggles with live, although when good, it’s really good.
@@ExpectResistance I released quite a bit of IDM style stuff back in the day under a different name, but these days I make techno specifically for live sets & also jam with an indie band just for laughs.
Niice. I need to play live more. The last time i really enjoyed it, which is rare for me. A bunch of us traveled together so it was like a band but we all played solo.
I actually am stuck between going from pretty decent stuff on hardware and multi track recording all good but what to do with it best practice wise eludes me so making anything worthy of “release” is the issue
I know that issue, but when you really listen to all the music out there, even those that tried really hard to be “worthy” can still sound meh to some and often to the creators. I feel it’s not helpful to think about it being worthy or not really, i mean why does it need to be worth anything? If anyone decides the worth, it’s the listener and thats a personal and subjective thing anyway. Some of my favourite releases are these little ideas that are so simple, yet the creator to the plunge to share it. My first release on the label, i was quite apprehensive about, so decided not to master them, that way, anything afterwards would sound better haha. Yet i really like those early ones now because of what it is, trying to be crap, and kinda failing in the process. Of course my thinking of these tracks is just me, everyone else makes up their own mind. Some might assume the master is terrible and some might assume it’s raw. Getting some hardware jams recorded, put in some sort of collection/order, enjoy listening to them and then maybe at that point it’s ready. The tracks are the same, but you have got your head around them.
Comes down to people’s idea of “professionalism.” For some it’s about creating the perfect product that stands up to posterity (whoever that is). Others want to just mess around and put things out there and maybe feel like,in the process, they’re part of a loosely connected community of similarly enthusiastic and like-minded folks. Regardless, having gaining the financial support to maximize your time and focus doesn’t hurt.
For sure, earning money from doing what you enjoy means you don’t need to earn it elsewhere. The balance of earning enough and still enjoying what you do needs constantly engaging in i feel. I find almost caring less, because we can care so much, can sometimes be helpful, even if just to show us what happens and how we feel about it and not get stuck over thinking.
I remember finding your blog when I started my Nord Modular G1 learning experience in 2013. A decade later and I have no better idea of what i'm doing than I did then. The best advice I ever got related to the "Helsinki Bus Station" analogy. Stay on the bus - keep working on what you're doing - you will get better. I haven't followed this advice. But i'm going to share your video with my students as it has a perspective I don't hear everywhere.
@@brainlego ah amazing to think you were about in the blog era, that was a hugely important moment for things.
There is definitely something to take from staying foolish, it’s almost like a quick catch all to counter complacency. I often find myself concerned when things do well in a certain way, as perhaps it’s not experimenting enough at that point.
The bus analogy is a good one actually, I haven’t heard that one, but yeah, just doing the work, much like a builder adding bricks, something will get built eventually.
Keen to learn what your students reactions are. Where/what do you teach?
@@ExpectResistance Teaching Sound Design at JMC Academy in Australia. Mixing sounds for release is becoming more like a game of "Katamari Damacy". Rolling up a whole bunch of disparate layers of audio into a Frankenstein assemblage. Certainly not best practice but how else to demonstrate "Professional Development" and justify my employment?
Hahaha! I love this.
I started at Point Blank Music School Oct last year and enjoying it loads, especially after previous jobs mainly around Service Transformation, which I didn’t want but also felt I needed to constantly justify my employment. That can be tough. Luckily not feel this at all in the new job, and working with sound and getting paid for it, is kinda surreal.
Really nice to meet you and good luck with tweaking those students minds. ✊
This video resonates with me a lot, and goes over my big problem with the music I make. After I record it the art process is over and I don't really care to listen to it again or market it or master it or deal with the 100 other things that are outside of the initial creative process. I don't know if I'm liberated or held back. It's a weird place to be in.
Glad it resonates.
Agree, it can be a tough place to move within and arguably the most common issue i find when working with others. Mostly from a pressure to do something in a certain way, “professional” or “successful”.
I feel i definitely need to talk more about this, so many areas to cover and experiences to kick around.
Thx
Hey, thanks for the video! That is exactly my problem with my music. I have piled up a lot of songs and just struggle with my perception of what it is or how it feels. Your thoughts are really helpful. Keep it up!
No probs. Glad the video is helpful. Making music can be hard on so many levels. I’ll definitely be talking more for sure. Thx for the support, it’s taken a while to decide to do this.
Hey man, thanks for sharing your thought and experiences. I can really relate to a lot of what you're saying here. Curently being in this creative block having set a goal to work towards a live set where I struggle with my expectations of what my music should sound like and what actually comes out. Trying to find that playing child in me who doesn't think so much but just goes out and do. It's crazy what overthinking does to your creative condition.
Yeah totally agree. The biggest thing I found useful to me, what getting myself i.e my mind, out of the effing way, and just playing, documenting and reflecting, and doing it often.
Preparing for live stuff is a whole other nightmare, especially as you have to stand next to what you create, and the immediate environment is not always in your control. Still, I have found some things that help in that area.
To me it’s Interesting that a lot of these things need to be said since I come from diy hardcore punk. Bandcamp is the only platform we use and we just throw shit on there once it’s made and recorded
Love this. The moment I decided I just wanted to release music and I didn’t care what other people thought about it led me to releasing it in the same way.
@itsritmu Totally. Just putting the music out there is so great.
I classically had more issues with it being liked than disliked haha, but have happily got over that.
I might have to do something on DIY actually.
@Sevensilverkeys The DIY and punk scene is really inspiring. I wish id mentioned that actually, hell, there is loads i could have said actually haha. Thanks for reminding me.
Bandcamp definitely helps towards more independence than most other platforms for sure. It’s not perfect but it’s what we use as well.
The layers and sublayers created with the music stereothypes and the "norms" are non-sense and toxic. For me creating music is the need for expression and the journey of doing it! The rest for me like expose the tracks, marketing and be "successful" it is deteriorating. I dont wanna fit that profile, plus it drives my mind insane.
I also identify a lot with the process of when a theme is ready
Deep message! Cheers man
Nice one. Hugely appreciate your comment. I totally agree. Glad to hear i’m not speaking into the wind.
Keep doing what you’re doing. Cheers.
Good discussion, personally I have literally no interest in releasing music, I just want to play live and not involve myself in releasing "dead" artefacts.
Yeah fair enough, i hear this a lot. It’s definitely got a load of baggage attached to it that a live event doesn’t. The live environment versus that in a release space have many differences. Have you released stuff before and choose not to now? Or always been drawn to live performances more?
I have my struggles with live, although when good, it’s really good.
@@ExpectResistance I released quite a bit of IDM style stuff back in the day under a different name, but these days I make techno specifically for live sets & also jam with an indie band just for laughs.
Niice. I need to play live more. The last time i really enjoyed it, which is rare for me. A bunch of us traveled together so it was like a band but we all played solo.
I actually am stuck between going from pretty decent stuff on hardware and multi track recording all good but what to do with it best practice wise eludes me so making anything worthy of “release” is the issue
I know that issue, but when you really listen to all the music out there, even those that tried really hard to be “worthy” can still sound meh to some and often to the creators. I feel it’s not helpful to think about it being worthy or not really, i mean why does it need to be worth anything? If anyone decides the worth, it’s the listener and thats a personal and subjective thing anyway.
Some of my favourite releases are these little ideas that are so simple, yet the creator to the plunge to share it.
My first release on the label, i was quite apprehensive about, so decided not to master them, that way, anything afterwards would sound better haha. Yet i really like those early ones now because of what it is, trying to be crap, and kinda failing in the process. Of course my thinking of these tracks is just me, everyone else makes up their own mind. Some might assume the master is terrible and some might assume it’s raw.
Getting some hardware jams recorded, put in some sort of collection/order, enjoy listening to them and then maybe at that point it’s ready. The tracks are the same, but you have got your head around them.
Thanks mate and you’ve gained a follower for life
I’m in the sharing sketches phase on SC, BC and here (mostly here :). )
Ah appreciate it.
I will have to check out, good to get the sketches out there in some capacity.
Comes down to people’s idea of “professionalism.” For some it’s about creating the perfect product that stands up to posterity (whoever that is). Others want to just mess around and put things out there and maybe feel like,in the process, they’re part of a loosely connected community of similarly enthusiastic and like-minded folks. Regardless, having gaining the financial support to maximize your time and focus doesn’t hurt.
For sure, earning money from doing what you enjoy means you don’t need to earn it elsewhere. The balance of earning enough and still enjoying what you do needs constantly engaging in i feel. I find almost caring less, because we can care so much, can sometimes be helpful, even if just to show us what happens and how we feel about it and not get stuck over thinking.