One reason I haven’t been writing much the last few weeks is that I’ve been creating music. So today I’ll update you with some of the new stuff coming out at Anderhill.
You might know that Anderhill has it’s own website where you can learn more about each release, but as creativity is part of who I am, I still like to post information about Anderhill here, too.
Creativity Can’t Be Forced, but It Can Be Given a Little Push
Forcing creative projects rarely works for me. But gentle pushes work well. Two weeks ago, I had no clue I’d create a bunch of new music, but I did something I often do when the creativity isn’t coming. I returned to some older works.
I took a couple older tracks and created extended versions. Both tracks come from music I composed in the early part of the COVID-19 quarantine. As a drone musician, I knew my tracks Pandemic and Glitches in Time would both make good extended pieces. Click the links below to listen on SoundCloud:
- Pandemic (original)
- Glitches in Time (original)
- Pandemic (extended)
- Glitches in Time (extended)
Reworking those old compositions seemed to get the creative juices flowing again.
Finding Music in Everyday Things
Shortly after reworking Pandemic and Glitches in Time, another short project jumped out at me. I was taking one of my daily walks with Shep when I heard the huge air conditioning units roaring and rumbling at the old abandoned hospital. It reminded me of a train, and that sound people say they hear right before a tornado.
I had to get a sample of that sound. So I ran home and grabbed my iPad Pro and went back and recorded the massive hum from several different angles with the idea to mix in some subtle tones and create a drone piece. And that’s what I did. However, the air conditioning units sounded more awesome in person. So I decided to create a second track using the same samples. But this time I would manipulate the sound, cut things up, and add harmonica, and some vocals. And so Hard Times Drone 1 & 2 was born. Click on the links below to listen on SoundCloud:
As If that Wasn’t Enough… Introducing the OWG
I played acoustic music for many years before I started experimenting with electronic music. My two main instruments are drums and guitar. From time to time I program “beats.” But I’ve never felt comfortable sharing them. But a few days ago I found myself creating some tracks that surprised myself.
But what’s the OWG? Well, that’s a little inside joke between my daughter and me. At the start of her Freshman year in high school one of her friends would come over frequently. One day he heard me programming some beats. He said I should rap to them. I laughed and said, “nah, I’m too old to rap.” He continued, saying, “man, you’re the OWG.” I asked him what that was. “It’s you rap name, “he replied,” the Old White Guy.”
Don’t worry, I probably won’t be rapping soon, but I might play around with some vocals for the OWG tracks.
And so I’d like to introduce another one of my musical selfs. Yes, I suffer from MMPD: Multiple Musical Personality Disorder. This music is predominantly drums and bass with some subtle higher-end notes and effects thrown into the mix. It’s simple, uptempo, and the beats are relentless. Here’s five new tracks from the OWG. Click below to listen:
There you have it! New music from Anderhill and the OWG. So next time you feel like you’re lacking creative motivation, go work on something you’ve already created. You never know where it might lead.
de
