It’s been 5 months since we’ve released Then we saw the Stars again, and as most artists will tell you, you’ve got to be ready to move on to something else fast, or face the sophomore slump. And of course, there lies the trick: do you try and get the word out as much as you can and promote your current stuff, or do you follow suit, and come up with a new offering, because after all, it’s just a debut album? Is there a popular critical mass to be reached before you can decide what the next step should be, or do you keep pressing on?
Play it and they will come?

Either way, it’s been hard to really find the time to make music for long stretches of time. Somehow there is always music flowing somewhere in my head, but it’s more a question of whether I’ll have the chance to sit down and get some sketches done. I can’t blame the kids for this, of course, but whatever free time we get is usually after 10:00 PM, after a long day of work…which might explain why I’m more attracted to simpler songs at the moment. In a way constraints are good, they make you challenge yourself, find new ways to consider your musical ideas, strip things down a bit.

The following is one of the recent exchanges I’ve had with Darren. We’ve been sketching most of the music for the show, and we have come up with half a dozen scenes already. A lot of the music is based on some live loops, which we complement with improvised playing, on all sorts of instruments.
woolgathering - amberhaze

We’ve set up a routine of late: I send a demo, and Darren adds textural sounds and treated melodies on top of the original structure.
While it could seem contrived at first, it’s surprising to see how much our soundscapes complement each other. We hear, and see, things differently, and that’s what creates the magic of this little project.
woolgathering - sonicbrat/amberhaze

We have only really jammed once besides our little postal service method, but we’ll go in full gear from next week onwards. In fact, I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s session! Who knows, maybe something new will come out of it?

Keep posted!