It’s a strange feeling, working on a record for so long yet getting so little done. I’m in one place, writing and recording, and then months later, when I might feel like a completely different person, I’m still working on the same song. It’s not perfectionism, it’s just that I might record one part in January, and then not feel well enough to record the next part until March. I don’t recommend this way of working, but it’s the only option I have right now.
One way I try to keep myself grounded is with playlists. I can sort of document the music that was speaking to me when I initially wrote some of the songs that I’m recording, and I can simultaneously add a few new ones as they move me. Hopefully, I can hold on to that initial spark yet continue growing.
It’s strange. I can’t listen to a lot of new music, because I can only really handle one or two songs at a time, and then I just have to stop listening for a while. I can’t relax and put on a new album and listen all the way through. Listening to new music is almost more of an intellectual exercise. I still feel that pang of excitement & connection, but only briefly, I don’t really get to revel in it. So my musical evolution is much slower these days. I still care about it. I still like to hear the latest tracks. I just can’t sit with them as long as I’d like.
In any case, I just posted this Spotify playlist, VIBE. I think it gives a pretty good picture of where my head is at.
