For anyone who has liked, or visited this page, generally I post whatever it is I’m working on (Music, video, writing, etc.), and more or less let the work speak for itself. Sometimes people notice, most of the time they don’t.
As everyone should be aware, the world has changed irrevocably. And for better or worse (most definitely worse) it has deeply affected me and how I create and communicate. Various things converged with the shift in the world, including my studio, which seized up and stopped cooperating. While a new laptop and studio set up would seem fun, it wasn’t. I’ve never had so many hard drive failures, or lengthy issues trying to get things working correctly.
Before “the” election, I already sensed the world was tilting off its axis. And of course, it did tilt. Bigly. Electro pop dance tunes just didn’t feel right. My songwriting became more personal, and the music became darker. I pulled out guitars, distortion, reverb and lowered the BPM’s a bit. Also, while I loved vocoders (duh, I’ve been using them for over 20 years), after rediscovering the work I did in the eighties (the NINETEEN EIGHTY SOMETHING album), I’ve forgone vocodering (at least for now) and have my own voice front and center.
I also have clear memories of artists (mainly in the 60’s) who wrote about the times and challenges the world faced. That type of musical reporting, while still existing in certain pockets, has fallen out of the mainstream. When you look at the top selling artists today, they have what I call the FF (Fuckable Factor).
Style over substance wins the day. Again.
I’ll soon be gathering up by batch of darkness and pull it into a (hopefully) cohesive package in the quaint bundle that used to be referred to as an album.
Some of you may come along for this darkest of ride, most of you won’t. Either is fine as we all have our own preferences and need to do our own thing.
Darker. Heavier. A bit of goth. Somewhat alternative. Personal. Political.
Hopefully I’ll see everyone on the other side of the tunnel…
Darkness Beckons arrives on all major digital and streaming platforms on 4 July 2025!