Stepping Stones

I am one month and 13 recorded experiments into my brazen return to music. As I walked a friend through some basics of Logic Express two nights ago, it occurred to me that I have rounded up quite a bit of knowledge in a short amount of time.

Ask me how to send a signal to the sidechain of the EVOC Vocoder or how to dump samples into the ESX-24 Synth. Inquire about sending audio to a bus for effects treatment or boiling down all the tracks into a MP3 bounce. I will be able to explain, and the answer I offer will be at least somewhat more substantive than moose poo. Progress.

With each new effect, synth, and recording trick I tuck into the toolbelt, it is apparent that endless possibilities tempt the great danger of overproducing. A familiar ailment from my early days as a graphic designer, I used to smother my projects with every possible plug-in, from drop shadows to bevels, from inner glows to noise overlays. Sure, I could click buttons, but was I exhibiting any taste, any restraint, any thoughtfulness in my selections?

This is why you, the listener, are essential to the success of this initiative. In the scratch recordings posted here, do you enjoy the ones with a raw sound? Do you like any that have heavy voice effects or vocoding? Do you prefer the instrumental tracks? The found-sound experiments? The lighter songs?

Joining my continued efforts in songwriting and scratch recording, the next step for the Redline Project is to draft an overall approach for the final product; a set of guidelines that will steer the artistic direction of the final piece. There will be plenty more to which you can listen in the coming days, though the focus of this project will start to shift from experimentation to conceptualizing the actual album.

Now is the time to scratch on the Facebook group wall, bombard the email, click away on the 'comment' button. What's working, and what does not come together for you? What keeps you coming back for more? What sounds scratch away at your nerves? Sincere thanks for all who are reading along and offering feedback. The Redline Project is nothing without you.