2012 was a huge year for me, even though I was completely MIA until september. I was ready to give up music altogether, sell my gear and find a new hobby. I was dreading production, nothing I made worked and I ended up getting so frustrated I completely stopped producing. I started making some tunes last summer and fell in love with production all over again. Here are some highlights of my year (some stretching to the beginning of this year, but hey, whatever)
-Released my first album (free download)
-DJ'd for the first time at a house party
-I was asked to be on a label and invited to collaborate with some up and coming artists
-First proper live jams as well as falling in love with resampling. Evolving each sound throughout a song, rather than just making a 2 bar loop out of it
-First bit of analogue gear
-Took my Korg KM-202 out of the attic and got it all hooked up now
-Buying used gear, building my set up and hopefully adding some reverb and delay pedals soon
-Deadlines are a b!tch
-Inspiration always comes at the most inconvenient times
-Keep practising. Never can you do that enough
Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
thank you, and you're welcome back anytime bro, it was great meeting you at last,lem wrote:
Thanks man x
.
and i'd like to say that seeing some of you guys at Freerotation last year was really nice, great bunch of blokes !
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
Careful mate, I might take you up on that!steevio wrote:thank you, and you're welcome back anytime bro, it was great meeting you at last,lem wrote:
Thanks man x
.
and i'd like to say that seeing some of you guys at Freerotation last year was really nice, great bunch of blokes !
Yeah it was great to meet a few of you at Freero. Shame I missed some of you... but then there is always this year!
-
pafufta816
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 542
- Joined: Wed Jul 02, 2008 1:51 am
- Contact:
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
i learned that no matter how much free time or drugs i have that i still record the same amount of music. i no longer hunger to produce and write/compose music, but i do see a future in learning PureData and streamlining my live performance workflow. recording is not for me, tweaking knobs is, and here's to 2013 being the knob-tweakinest year of them all!
-
John Clees
- mnml admn
- Posts: 7712
- Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:21 am
- Location: walk the e[art]h : detroit-metro.
- Contact:
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
I forget how much knowledge is really in this section. to my loss, I nearly completely skip most of the time. thank you everyone who spends the time to make a difference in someone's life by posting something that may help someone else.. it's truly what this forum is based on ...community..
things I've learned in 2012:
- not to give my energy away. I feel I've given it away for so many years... never really allowing myself to be truly fulfilled. allowed myself to have personal balance. eating healthy, getting proper sleep, and making time to work out. some people do work out, some people need to work out.. I feel Im the type that needs to work out. I have a lot of stress I pick up on my job in sales and if I don't have a physical outlet, the rest of my body/life/people around me suffer.
- never knew being sober would demand so much productivity out of myself.. having only one day off in a row, the only day I can do daily household choirs, be on top of my things for work, and then feel inspired to work in the studio stops with the weekend substance endeavors. I've had so many year after year, this year I quit drinking again.. will be a year this april again.. ( I quit 10 years ago for 5 years). also stopped smoking tree's for the 2nd time in my life. was a daily smoker for nearly 15 years. the two times I quit I pressed records, and was flown to moscow. so I have a strong pattern with doing more music when I do less partying. partying become such a ritual sometime over the course of a few years it became nearly first before expression and that is something that need to be address.
I've only sent my material to 3-4 labels in 15 years. it's been by choice of course. it's just been a part of my life for so long sharing it doesn't/didn't really concern me all that much.. just in the past 6 months, of being completely sober, I've sent it to 3 labels.. you mind is a muscle .. so my mind is demanding stimulation ..their is a gigantic difference with how I apply myself & my energy to what truly makes me eternally happy vs. donating my time to be around people that will be partying every weekend for the rest of there life. it's good and healthy to go out, here in detroit there are lots of events, however I may only truly get excited to see someone a few times a year. also going out sober, drinking energy drinks, I never suffer the next day and don't lose two days straight trying to recover from a few hours of "fun"... having a full time job that is very draining, and wasting time/energy/$ on just an "ok" night out I can't take it any longer. not judging or preaching but just sharing something extremely personal on how it's corrected my life for the better ... and how I let years ago by before realizing a nonproductive pattern I slipped into for about 7 years.. whoops.. haha.
really great topic. I wish everyone a blessed, productive, and inspirational new year...
things I've learned in 2012:
- not to give my energy away. I feel I've given it away for so many years... never really allowing myself to be truly fulfilled. allowed myself to have personal balance. eating healthy, getting proper sleep, and making time to work out. some people do work out, some people need to work out.. I feel Im the type that needs to work out. I have a lot of stress I pick up on my job in sales and if I don't have a physical outlet, the rest of my body/life/people around me suffer.
- never knew being sober would demand so much productivity out of myself.. having only one day off in a row, the only day I can do daily household choirs, be on top of my things for work, and then feel inspired to work in the studio stops with the weekend substance endeavors. I've had so many year after year, this year I quit drinking again.. will be a year this april again.. ( I quit 10 years ago for 5 years). also stopped smoking tree's for the 2nd time in my life. was a daily smoker for nearly 15 years. the two times I quit I pressed records, and was flown to moscow. so I have a strong pattern with doing more music when I do less partying. partying become such a ritual sometime over the course of a few years it became nearly first before expression and that is something that need to be address.
I've only sent my material to 3-4 labels in 15 years. it's been by choice of course. it's just been a part of my life for so long sharing it doesn't/didn't really concern me all that much.. just in the past 6 months, of being completely sober, I've sent it to 3 labels.. you mind is a muscle .. so my mind is demanding stimulation ..their is a gigantic difference with how I apply myself & my energy to what truly makes me eternally happy vs. donating my time to be around people that will be partying every weekend for the rest of there life. it's good and healthy to go out, here in detroit there are lots of events, however I may only truly get excited to see someone a few times a year. also going out sober, drinking energy drinks, I never suffer the next day and don't lose two days straight trying to recover from a few hours of "fun"... having a full time job that is very draining, and wasting time/energy/$ on just an "ok" night out I can't take it any longer. not judging or preaching but just sharing something extremely personal on how it's corrected my life for the better ... and how I let years ago by before realizing a nonproductive pattern I slipped into for about 7 years.. whoops.. haha.
really great topic. I wish everyone a blessed, productive, and inspirational new year...
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
I think this is really important. Especially if you spend a lot of time trying to focus your mind on something creative.john clees wrote: - not to give my energy away. I feel I've given it away for so many years... never really allowing myself to be truly fulfilled. allowed myself to have personal balance. eating healthy, getting proper sleep, and making time to work out. some people do work out, some people need to work out.. I feel Im the type that needs to work out. I have a lot of stress I pick up on my job in sales and if I don't have a physical outlet, the rest of my body/life/people around me suffer
I used to go for runs all the time and I found it much less frustrating to be creative. Need to start running again. Please stop raining!!
You too mate! I thought it was a good idea for a topic. Sort of thing I think we could all learn something from without obvious influence. Kinda wish more people replied to it.john clees wrote: really great topic. I wish everyone a blessed, productive, and inspirational new year...
-
Phase Ghost
- mnml maxi
- Posts: 712
- Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2009 2:19 am
- Location: Pittsburgh, US
- Contact:
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
Getting outside and being active is important to my process as well. I love getting in the studio after a round of golf. Especially one where I shot well. 
Re: Then end of 2012 - What have you learned?
Intereesting thread, really a good read.
I have a 100% job, 2 kids in very young age and make sport. I try to combine this with the start of my netlabel Wondermachine, stay trained playing acoustic instruments, produce, remix, collaborate with collectives and learning something new every time it is possible.
The thing I have developed most last year is the work with checklists. It is vital in my case, sometimes not funny as jamming, but very effective, and even so, I pretty almost end jamming.
I’ve also learned to listen more to myself than to the others (in terms of music orientation and projects).
And I can recognize myself on some of the points already posted like:
- Gear is not the most important, important is what you do with it
- Not to give my energy away
- Record everything
- Delete everything
- Streamlining workflow
And with almost everything pointed out by Opuswerk
I have a 100% job, 2 kids in very young age and make sport. I try to combine this with the start of my netlabel Wondermachine, stay trained playing acoustic instruments, produce, remix, collaborate with collectives and learning something new every time it is possible.
The thing I have developed most last year is the work with checklists. It is vital in my case, sometimes not funny as jamming, but very effective, and even so, I pretty almost end jamming.
I’ve also learned to listen more to myself than to the others (in terms of music orientation and projects).
And I can recognize myself on some of the points already posted like:
- Gear is not the most important, important is what you do with it
- Not to give my energy away
- Record everything
- Delete everything
- Streamlining workflow
And with almost everything pointed out by Opuswerk