10 Tracks 10 Weeks Week 3 – Contains Nuts
2nd August 2010
I’m told that if you’re on the right path in life you won’t procrastinate.
But I’ve never believed it until now. Before I could start on this weeks track I had to complete some other studio work (the increasingly rare kind that pays money) and procrastinated terribly until I could no more and just about hit the deadline on Friday. While doing this work I felt listless, uninspired and that irresistible urge to catch up on the goings on in Ramsey Street and Summer Bay.
Contrast that with my demeanour from Friday onwards where I couldn’t wait to get into the studio. We all have to do stuff that we’d rather not, but the difference in my attitude and general work rate was startling.
I’ve yet to work out what part of this project is getting me so energised, whether its immediacy, the freedom I’m allowing myself, or the feedback, but I think for now I’ll just go with it. This music lark is fun innit?
So when I finally got around to it on Friday my challenge was to write a piece of music that would appeal to a house or techno DJ but which would also work on a home listening album. The problem I have with most albums by artists who usually write for the dancefloor (and I include myself as one of them) is that what works in your average house or techno club simply doesn’t translate well to the home stereo. Unless you’re having a party in your kitchen.
So why bother writing any house or techno for this album at all? Or why bother writing an album, why not stick to writing tracky tracks?
Because if I’m to follow through with what I said in my style vs genre piece, it should be possible to write house or techno that fits my vision. And with “Contains Nuts” I feel I have, or at least gone some way in getting there.
Stuff I Learnt This Week
1/ Writing music is like being in love. You know when its right because you won’t care about anything else.
2/ The number of hours spent writing or producing a piece of music is not proportional to its quality. Its more likely that the opposite is true.
3/ Too much leaves one wanting less. On Sunday I wasted a good few hours undoing what I had done on Saturday evening. I must continue to stop myself from over-producing. And yes, I’ve said it every week so far.