Album Recording Begins
The emotional rollercoaster of recording an album was something I hadn’t predicted and there’s still a way to go with it. I thought if I had rehearsed and knew the songs like the back of my hand, if my voice was warmed up and I was relaxed, laying down the tracks would easy. But investing in yourself and in something so deeply personal, brought up a lot of self-doubt in the week preceding recording. The nagging anxiety made me seriously consider cancelling. I was glad to be able to reach out to musical friends who have been through this process and could reassure me that whilst they had been through similar feelings, it had always been the right decision to record.
When we began, I was familiar with all the songs, with the exception of one that I didn’t finish writing until the final day, so as much as they touched on some deep hitting subjects, I had moved beyond the initial emotional response they had conjured a while ago. But again, much to my surprise, in attempting to get the best vocal takes by connecting fully with the stories the songs were written about, I found myself in tears on more that one occasion. And how I managed to complete writing a song that week, perhaps the most vulnerable I have written, I will never know. I did feel sorry for my poor producer who prodded at me to dig deeper for the words, as I had been protecting myself and keeping it surface level. The prodding had the desired effect that I connected with the feelings and the words left their incomplete, awkward state and developed into something relatable and intimate, but they came with a side order of tears!
I was elated when I received the tracks in their incomplete, unmixed state. I was so grateful to be working with the people I had chosen and the decision to go ahead. I did have yet another wobble at this stage as in my excitement, I wanted to share what I had been working on, but couldn’t land on who that should be which felt somewhat deflating. I have since reached out to a couple of musical comrades which have been lovely experiences.
We still have musicians left to record and mixing still to do and a whole campaign to plan, (where does one even begin?) so there is still a fair bit of road up ahead to traverse. Very happy with progress thus far and excited to see it coming together.