Ellis Easley - Day 1 river studio
I woke up to a chilly and clear 40 degrees today; having just changed the clocks back an hour this fell into the category of “bright and early,” and I felt pretty great. Excited to begin.
My dreams and brief tossings and turnings during the night were scattered with drum beat ideas, so naturally, that was first on the docket today. Once I kicked out a couple of complementary rhythms - one real, one virtual - I got into the body of a song called “The Watchful Giant.” It’s kind of quick, but I keep looking out the windows to remind myself to stretch it out. I’m really making an effort this time around to reach into the creative depths of subtle beat-making. Concurrently, of course, in conjunction with actual drums. I.e. a dominant drum beat played by me, a human, but supplemented underneath (and usually to the side(s)) by a synthetic one. It’s wonderful finding genuine interest in very specific techniques that may or may not feel like pulling teeth to the one listening or reading this.
When I catch myself rambling in words or musical ideas, luckily I’m surrounded by these big, bright windows through which I can look out into the trees and hit a brief reset button.
The beat for “The Watchful Giant” is determined and pushing ever forward, and it gave birth to swells, strings and eventually some low-key poppy synth arpeggios.
Roughly eight hours later, I’ve got a pleasantly unexpected six minute song that steps lightly in and out of deep catharsis and casual light-heartedness. And just as unforeseen as the rest, in order to get the song properly introduced, I ended up with a big, slow 1+ minute intro. Everyone hang in there! The strings come in beautifully. Possibly it was fated to be the opening track? Only time will tell.
One day down, I feel exhilarated, creative juices flowing like wine. Of course, I need to be a little careful with ear fatigue, being the only person involved, listening over and over with no other human input. But today’s end result has me feeling emotionally positive, and I’m loving the process.
Onto a new song tomorrow!
EE
