Chasing Soundwaves...

Folk #1: We are working on a long-gestating musical project. I play guitar and write songs for a very loud, anarchic, garage-rock band. The lead singer, my bandmate & musical collaborator, is also a fabulous lyricist. His lyrics are always edgy, funny, insightful.  I come up with chords & riffs to complement and propel these lyrics into the atmosphere. The bands consists of the two us, plus another guitar player, a bass player & a drummer. Excellent, full-on, rocking musicians all. The five of us, have melded over time into quite the powerful unit. We finally, after many, many years of playing small clubs and bars are recording an album. We have ten original songs that we laid down in incredibly well designed & appointed recording studio. We are in the process of mixing now. You would think it all be quite straight-forward, but, funny, this process is always a bit of a battling windmills, Quixotic-quest; a certain endlessly-expanding, deeply disorienting, rabbit hole. Chasing soundwaves. There is a little bit of science, and a little bit of art in the doing. Trying to nail down something that can't be nailed down. Soundwaves are complex & interesting. You'd think it would be easy & logical, putting all elements in their right place, but turns out, there is no "right place," instead, the process is sort of mysterious & spooky. We all have various devices & systems to listen to mixes, and there is no consistency across stereo systems, or headphones. There are dramatic differences. Each device has it's own unique tuning which emphasizes different elements. All of our choices, preferences, and judgements alter the end result. Everyone in our band has listened to various stages of mixes, and we all hear different things. It's another case of the more you pay attention, the more you focus on something, the more close-listening one does, the more it all gets murky, hazy, uncertain & fungible. Finally, you just have to make solid choices, drawing a line in the sand, throwing down a marker. Emphasisng one element can crowd other elements. Certain instruments & soundwaves emerge & some disappear. So strange. There is a lesson there. No doubt. Finally, you just have to decide, to make the call. Deciding on one bold choice after another, out of ever-expanding, uncounted number of choices. Ultimately, you have to say, damn the torpedoes, this is it! Finishing the project is just a matter of  determination & will. The road taken, and all the many roads not taken. You know what you have, and you know what you have left behind. It ain't easy, but it's very much the life we live. It's all in the mix.