Album-in-a-month, week 1 check-in!

We're one week in to album-in-a-month February. How's everybody doing?

What have you gotten done so far? Laying down tape? Scribbling on napkins? Totally planning to start working on something any day now? Dish!

posted by cortex (10 comments total)

Not a thing is done. I've come up with a title for my Doomsday Clock-based, Eno-esque ambient piece, and the ideas for how to notate it are almost ready to be put to paper. Most of our album, it seems likely, will be improvized solos--though we'll, hopefully, have a bass duel.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 8:27 AM on February 8, 2010

I really needed to get some better software to record with, so week one was dedicated to getting my new copy of SONAR set up and learning to work with it. Had major problems with dropouts using my POD as a soundcard, so I switched over to my old TASCAM interface and things seem to be OK now.

I came into this project with one song written (except for lyrics); it's really too long as is but it has two distinct parts, so it's becoming two songs for this record. I've got scratch guitar and vox tracks down for that, along with a first take at the rythym track. I've also got scratch melody & guitar tracks down for a third song, and am starting a fourth. My goal is the get the structure & melody down for rest of the songs by the end of President's Day, then start working on the final music and lyrics.
posted by InfidelZombie at 8:42 AM on February 8, 2010

I'm going to have to go with the "Totally planning to start working on something any day now" option. We decided our first idea of a rock opera would not be completed in time, so that was shelved for now. We'll see if a few drunken nights in the studio produce anything.
posted by thequietriot at 9:38 AM on February 8, 2010

10 basics (drums, rhythm instrument, and vocals) done - there may be more, but i've decided to work on what i have first
posted by pyramid termite at 10:03 AM on February 8, 2010

It's funny how my just-for-a-lark iPhone effort is turning into something I want to take a little more seriously; creating ambient works that are actually compelling is more difficult than one might think. And I'm using JR Hexatone to create some glitch/techno beats in order to mix it up a little.

I originally thought I'd crank most of it out in an afternoon, but I'll probably finish up on the 28th, as usual. The IRC channel isn't really helping with productivity, though it's a lot of fun!
posted by malocchio at 11:20 AM on February 8, 2010

I'm sort of barreling at the thing flat-out at this point to try and get as much work done early as I can, which seems to be paying off. I spent yesterday recording demos of everything I've got so far, which is probably 4/5th of the final album in terms of raw material from my current perspective, and I just posted a roundup of the demos over on the new music blog.
posted by cortex at 7:15 AM on February 9, 2010

Okay, we finally had a session tonight with Demons of Gyrophonia and the Rotatable Tremulant All-Stars (3 special guests) tonight, and got at least two great tracks down, possibly a third (I'm not certain since I haven't had a chance to check out the mix yet).

Also, following a mostly sleepless night, due to the ideas I've been batting around for the better part of 6 months, I've finally typed up the "score" for my second composition ever--a (hopefully Eno-esque) serial ambient improvisational piece for indeterminate ensemble of up to 20 people, based on the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Doomsday Clock. Hopefully, we can try to give it a go next week. It should include some 17-tone viola, e-bowed guitar, synth, bass, and a few other fun timbres.
posted by askmeaboutLOOM at 11:16 PM on February 11, 2010

Day 12: i wrote a bit of a song last night. which is number 7. (although soem of the others are not quite complete. and I do need to mix everything properly.) but going rather well.
posted by mary8nne at 8:09 AM on February 12, 2010

I have no recording whatsoever done but I have two skeletons of ukelele songs a couple of ideas for ambient pieces and one full song that's been forming in my head for years that I've never gotten around to doing. Now I just need to learn how to write lyrics.
posted by minifigs at 8:45 AM on February 15, 2010

Not gonna get it done on time this year-- had a nasty cold for about a week, so I just got through the initial writing yesterday. Listened to it all this morning, and while I really like some of it a lot of it is very similar. So I decided to abandon the deadline and work on the best stuff first. Better to take an extra month or two and try to do something good, not just rush it through.
posted by InfidelZombie at 12:18 PM on February 21, 2010