• Post published:November 15, 2023

Moving forward is impossible when progress is impeded by the past. How can new work be created when old work continues to demand one’s attention? While it is true that all art is never completed – it is merely abandoned – recorded music’s technical aspects sometimes require a reworking, if only to lift a veil to reveal the true intent beneath. In order for me to move forward with new work, I had to revisit two of my previous recordings, in an effort to move my vision past the limitations that my meager skills and equipment had at the time imposed upon it. Taking the lessons learned from reworking 2015’s Erased, I have now completed re-tracking, re-mixing, and re-mastering 2020’s On Darkest Wings.

On Darkest Wings was initially recorded during the pandemic lockdown, written and tracked over a period of six months. It is a mostly xenharmonic piece, utilizing microtonal and fretless instruments of my own design, in addition to standard intervalic instruments. This record also incorporated drum machines extensively – a technique that I had heretofore rarely explored. The mangled drum loops and electronic textures informed the writing process, leading me to delve into unfamiliar, and – dare I say it – danceable territory. If one can dance in 13…

This amended recording is the last time I will delve back into my previous work (unless some well financed record executive opts to have a professional mix engineer remix it). My skills as a recording engineer have improved greatly by revisiting these records, and I hope to utilize those new found skills in future endeavors. For now, there is no more looking back.

It is time to create something new.