I'm starting to think my lack of experience might not be a good thing

For the last 2 months I’ve been waking up at 4am to record my album in silence in my parents’ basement. At first, I was optimistic. I’ve been in countless recordings, I have a microphone and an interface, I can figure it out.

Well.

Not only do I not have knowledge of home recording, I barely have the vocabulary to google things. “what to do when the sound isn’t coming out of the thing” is only helpful insofar as sometimes I go through life feeling smart and I’m sure it builds character to have that reminder sometimes that I’m actually stupid and everything is impossible.

First it was just learning the program. (re)learning what I took classes in years ago. Then it was realizing that my equipment is not ideal for this. I had an idea for a DIY shoestring project but I’m finding that there’s a fine line between tasteful, raw grit, and just some shitty, thin-ass recordings. It actually sounded flatter, detracted from the emotion in the same way I was trying to avoid with over-production.

So I’ve decided to bite the bullet and pay someone to do this. It hasn’t been a complete waste of time, trying to record myself, but it hasn’t been entirely productive either and at this point I’m glad I know more than I did about it but for the purposes of finishing this project before I’m dead, it might expedite the process to find someone who knows that the fuck they’re doing. I know more than I did before, and for that I’m grateful. I know now the basics, which will make it easier to convey ideas and write music, so there’s that. But there comes a time when you have to ask yourself how much time you’re planning on investing in a skill you’re not especially interested in. For me, that moment came this morning.

I was really into the idea of doing this new album myself. I wanted the rawness and loneliness to come through and I thought that basement recordings would enhance the emotion. As it turned out, I’m not sure how I expected that to work. I kept trying to use what I had, but my skills aren’t such that I can turn a cat turd into a diamond, much less a sick Americana masterpiece. So, my skills are better applied elsewhere. I’m loathe to spend the money on a studio when I have the potential to make an album here in my living room, but after banging my head against the wall for two months I’d rather pay a professional to help me finish a project I’ll be proud of rather than something I have to settle for just because I made up my mind and already invested too much time to back out now.

So, we’re moving on from the whole DIY thing. At least for the recording part. I’m still planning on doing the art and promotion myself. So it can be a hybrid, a collaboration. As with harmony, blending is what its all about. There’s a sweet spot out there, and I’m going to find it.