Alan studying lyrics during the final vocal sessions

We recently recorded the final vocals for Alan Ruffin’s demo, or album, or whatever it is. I’ve been working to incorporate those into the 8 tracks we’ve produced.

Alan’s the kind of musician that doesn’t really care to name his songs before he’s done (presumably because all the important info is already inside the song) but he definitely has a plan for marketing and circulating his work. He has good connections with people, and by that I mean not only with key individuals, but those relationships are good quality. It’s probably because Alan is a good-natured friendly guy; it just feels pleasant to be around him. He’ll be handing out his demo at his Radio Head shows too, which have gathered a sizable following.

We’ll be finishing it up soon, but looks like he’s already created a Facebook page for the project, so you can peek ahead.

Today I downloaded The Chemical Brothers new album, Further. In these days of being able to preview entire albums before purchasing, it’s a no-brainer that I like it. But my reason for doing so is that the album is a reminder of the epic electronic music I love (not too surprising, since it’s the Chemical Brothers), but don’t often find done well. Further even has musical motifs that are exactly like some favorite old Orbital lines. The “album” aspect of Further is also intriguing, even critical. I wouldn’t say there are any smashing singles here, but taken as a whole the collection is a great piece of work.

Tiny Steve Jobs with iPhone

The iPad is a product in search of a purpose. I think it’s best used as a giant iPhone to showcase a mini Steve Jobs.

winter photo from a real estate website

The quest for space is a long and arduous road. I’ve been looking a long time for studio space. Art studio, or music studio, nothing ever quite fits the bill. Can’t be messy enough, can’t be loud enough, not enough space, not enough light, too much mold… yuck. But I finally have a music studio space that I’ll be happy with. Plenty of room, and an ability to be loud. Maybe not full-on band performance loud, but loud enough to mix and record without disturbing anyone. And plenty of light for that matter. Near some great bars and restaurants. And I owns it, so I can modify it as I see fit.

I’ll be putting my studio back together in the next couple weeks as I get settled in, get my audio interface back from Black Lion, and plug everything back in. In the meantime, listen to some songs, and go get some beats.