Invertebrate Waltz is in Production!
My next album is officially underway! I had a meeting with my co-producer John Caviness last week, and just finished filling out all the work order forms to start the next phase of production on the album!
I'm so excited to finally get to showcase these songs to the world. They've been in development on and off since about 2022, and some of them are just dying to be heard. I'm so excited to see how everything takes shape.
Releasing my first album, The Queen of Time, was a huge step for me and my journey as an artist and creative person. I never expected the project to achieve vast commercial success or notoriety (and it hasn't, largely because I really have done little to nothing to promote it), but most of my personal goals came true. I feel 7/8ths confident that all the songs are good, appreciable, meaningful and thoughtful pieces of music that can and will continue to exist in perpetuity. While it didn't open a lot of doors for me professionally (again because I never really asked it to), it did open doors in my personal life and I feel like it gave permission for me, and the people around me to see me as a real, professional artist- and that's huge! When I get stressed out and feel like I'm not doing enough or I haven't made anything that matters or gets finished- I can look back at that album and say "That's done. That happened, and everyone said it was good and real."
Producing an album is expensive and difficult, and I'm keenly aware that I have a number of other financial and personal goals at the moment- but continuing to make and release music is important to me. The sense of purpose and relief I feel for having published even one album is massive and helps me feel like I'm not wasting my time or potential by continuing to write and make music and art. Even if no one ever sees 90% of the things I make in my life, I'll be happy knowing that at least some of what I've made can appreciated and seen.
This has all been very top of mind recently as I sign contracts and work out budgets and expectations for the next project. The value of having another set of smart hands and ears is huge- not to mention the magic way that two people inherently create constraints and timelines that propel things to actually get done. I'm so excited to get work underway on these mixes! I feel like this album is equally as strong conceptually (if not stronger) than The Queen of Time, and I'm so excited to take what I learned from the production, technical, and organizational aspects of that project and apply them to this one from the start. My tentative timeline is to have the final mixes done by sometime in October or November 2024, but it all depends on me and how quickly and confidently I can make the last few decisions that need to be committed before the mixes gradate from Demos to Tracks... There's a lot to do, but I can't wait to make it happen!