My favorite thing that I released this year
Happy Bandcamp Friday! In honor of this most sacred of holidays, I thought I'd talk about my personal favorite release from this year: my EP, Moons.
Moons was many things, but mostly it was an opportunity for me to finish and release 3 unearthed tracks, half-finished things that were sitting on my computer after I was struck by inspiration and then moved onto other things before seeing my ideas through. So rather than the usual, "hey, I want to release a thing about the moon, let's make some tracks that fit that," it was more of a, "hey, I want to finish and release these 3 tracks that don't have a home, and they all sound vaguely lunar to me. I'm going to turn them into an EP."
Lunarian
The most neoclassical sounding of all the tracks, "Lunarian" features strings, piano, celesta, and flute, but all of them varying levels of weird. Otherworldly. Lots of fun delay effects and EQ experiments. It was also the most complete of the 3 tracks. I only had to add a bit to the end, adjust the mix, and master it.
I had originally named the track "Sapphire Dust." I was picturing people exploring a barren, flat, lifeless moon, but instead of the usual gray moon dust we think of, it's covered in a sand made of tiny shimmering blue crystals. To fit into the EP, I decided to change the track title to something more moon-ish and came up with "Lunarian." Honestly, that was a last minute decision, and in hindsight I kind of wish I had stuck with "Sapphire Dust." Oh well!
Cliffs and Craters
I have a confession to make. When I originally started writing this one, it wasn't about the moon or even about space. It was called "Crow Mountain," and I first started making it when I was on a big horror movie kick. I definitely hear the influence from Disasterpeace's It Follows score and John Carpenter's catalogue when I listen to it now.
But I'd had this track sitting on my computer for a few years, something pretty different from my usual style, and I really, really wanted to do something with it. And after I had decided to make an EP, and I'd realized both "Lunarian" and "Moons" could fit with a lunar theme, I listened to what was then "Crow Mountain" and realized that it was vaguely sci-fi sounding. And I could make it even more sci-fi.
I pictured astronauts on some kind of lunar rover, exploring a vast moon full of, well, cliffs and craters. There's an element of danger there; they're not sure what exactly they may encounter.
My favorite part of this piece is the distorted cello. It's so crunchy. That, and the entire A section, were already done when I went to expand the track for the EP. I added the B section because the track wasn't long enough, and also I wanted to add a fun synth arp section to keep the sense of urgency but really emphasize that yes, this track IS spacey. And then I wanted to make it even longer so I just did a classic A-B-A structure. Boom. Done.
Moons
Well, here it is, folks. My favorite track from my favorite release of 2024. If somebody asked me to show them the one track I've written that most sums up the kind of music I love writing, what my musical voice sounds like, this might be it. I just love it.
This one is about our moon, and it's about looking at it from Earth. That awestruck, dreamy feeling you get looking at the full moon on a clear night.
I had started writing this one when I first bought Noire and was playing around with all its features. I feel like a shill for Native Instruments and Nils Frahm anytime I talk about Noire, but god, I love it so much. It's by far the best VST piano I have ever used. I also did one of my favorite things in this track-- a quiet, restrained solo piano section after a bunch of fuller synth stuff. I probably overuse that trick, but I just find it so effective.
Also, quick shoutout to my husband Alex, who is also a musician. I knew I really, really liked the big thick fuzzy synth around 1:40, but I couldn't figure out how to get it to come in without it being too jarring. He helped me figure it out. Everyone clap for Alex.
So, that's my Moons EP! I really like each of these tracks individually, and even though they started off as 3 disparate ideas, I really like the way they all flow together as well.
Before you go, I have one thing to ask of you. As I mentioned, it's Bandcamp Friday, which means Bandcamp is waiving their revenue share today so all proceeds (minus Paypal fees) go to the artists directly. We musicians make music because we love it, but it's also a ton of work. So if you have the means, consider supporting me or another musician whose work you enjoy on Bandcamp today. In a world where streaming pays so little, direct support helps us out immensely.
Thank you so much!