Yesterday we spent our time in a recording studio, working on a batch of new songs. One track at a time. It's called "mixing" but that really is a misnomer. More like "sound sculpting." You have the raw tracks, the sounds - guitar, drums, bass, vocals and maybe an extra instrument like an organ or a double-bass. And then you lovingly and obsessively work over each and every little detail. In our session we had three sets of sharp ears listening to every last sound. And it turns out the more you listen, the more you hear.
We are committed to our "band's sound," real instruments in real time, but how the elements fit together, what goes where, what emerges, what is emphasized, what is de-emphasized, what is left out, is all left to what feels right. What's best for the song? There are lots of "in the moment" ideas and inspirations. Quick, intuitive decisions that give the song life.
Such a cool process. So fun and engaging. It's an art form itself. Sort of like being the Director/Editor of a film. Telling a story with a handful of elements. A couple new songs emerged into the light. Some surprises along the way. It's was like we "discovered" a song that was laying there in it's raw undifferentiated state, waiting to be heard.