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T shirts came, in, now gone out mostly. Yay.

Opted to re-record vox on a Proper Mic at Ben's place 'cos'. Was worth it.

Big diaphragm mic. I have one so I coulda but I didn't, so I did. But there. No fan noise from my PC, etc etc. Ok.

Also this mixing thing is doing my head in. In a good way sort of. Ish. The technology is amazing but flying on your own is scary. Each album is its own trip so yeah ok, great, we can consider this another in a long line of experiments but really? I reckon we'll get away with it as when I reach the limits of my knowledge other people may confuse it with intent, thus I can go yeaaahhhh i meant to do that. thing. Whatever it was.

Sooo....self aware moment in seeing how the way you make the album influences it and...this is still kinda cool cos we're getting stuff we wouldn't have tried otherwise. Why? cos we're cheap, I mean, frugal. I mean, inexpensive. Ok so we're like the Coupon version of a mixing band. Aldi mixing so to speak. And now? No Frills Mastering.

Do I know what I am doing? Nope. not really. Sort of. Well I googled it. 

Will I get away with it? Well. I have sinned before. So far so good. I mean it is a legit new tech thing and that's been our bag a while so...ok I guess? I mean, I have got a lot of buttons running at present. 

Back to the what-is-an-album...thing...eek. I have one track ready to release. Or is it? Did the mastering thing work? Can anyone tell? Can I tell? Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.................(small explosion of brain).

I am at the point of not being able to work out whether I am making it better or need to stop and maybe thats when you are done. I think I'm going to be happy when wiser hands are doing this part of the job, it's just...BUTTONS. The guys might be fools for guitar pedals but I may have found my kryptonite. Extra drop down menus.

I mixed my song so long, done made my shoulder sore, eh Chester?

Back to the salt mines. gig this weekend. Run of t shirts almost sold out, a few left at the gig this sat.

Have we evolved beyond albums? I had my data put right by someone in the know the other day. It's just that I am not sure that I know what they know, or that they know what they know. Or that any of it makes sense.

The video clip is dead, unless it contains actual Dragons. Albums no longer exist. It's now just playlists. 

There were a few other suggestions but...meh...what do I know. I guess I have always been a song by song kinda person. There are only a few artists who I wanna hear the whole thing through, cos they write a bunch of good songs.

All this review is in light of the fresh produce coming out of the greenhouse. Do I release them one at a time or wait or...does it even matter? (it doesn't).

Oh. Guess I answered my own question. Mind you, i feel better when they are done cos it clears headspace and as long as I am manning the desk, I can only fit so much in the noggin at once. Still, thanks to our alter egos in Skypta Vind, I had a new thing come up which begat another new thing and...Doing this 'right' is kinda an art. When to push, when to let it sit.

Meanwhile, my head is exploding with new info and mixing stuff cos the tech has evolved again and now there are even more buttons I hadn't dreamed of.

I may never use these buttons. They may never suit what is being made. And yet....so many buttons. Shiny. With noises. and filters. and stuff. I love stuff. Love it. It's like being thrown into a ball pit.  

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I bought an inexpensive (on special!) MIDI controller because I need more buttons

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Ben approved my mix and master of Dreams of better days so YAY. Considering how much impostor syndrome I was experiencing, whew a relief to get a tick from someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Thus embracing buttons, I have more. If we're gonna hit our target of two releases this year I gotta get a hustle on. Bass is on for next week for 'Head in the clouds' (new one, it's pretty, you'll like it) and inspired by my online mate Tommy, I had a crack at another tune and for the first time, I played Synth!

Meaning i pecked at the keyboard for ages and then moved everything on the timeline with skills I actually possess, like editing ( i also make a fine pepper jelly, to borrow from American Splendour ;) ).

In a moment of Stormcellar Milestone, Mr Wizard listened to the new track and pronounced 'it's....good?' in genuine surprise, as of course, how can it be good until he gets there? ;) I got a head start. BUTTONS!

Had a chat with unofficial band archivist, Nick T, who pointed out we have hit 156 studio tracks. My sheet shows a few more, Nick has had to update his spreadsheet. We got to talking Music etc and it's fair to say that the 20th century is now almost a quarter of a century ago. How music works, how we make it and survive whilst doing so is vastly different. Using the logic of yesteryear doesnt work in an age where 2800 plays on YT = 16 cents...

At the same time, there have never been better tools more easily available to make stuff. 

The rules are dead, long live the rules. Meanwhile, as the world has plenty of time to work out its own stuff, we shall remain dedicated to the practical. Making stuff as best we can, when we can, as well as we can, while we still can ;P

Support us at paypal.me/stormcellarband or come to a gig or buy a T-shirt or...:P Meanwhile, I have stuff to get on with.

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