Hello! It’s my first post of the new year. I’ve been taking it slow on the creative endeavors as the year is getting going. But, now I am ready to start getting to work on things. 2023 has come to an end and we are now in 2024. Overall in terms of creative processes and music making I can confidently say that 2023 was a success for me. It was definitely one of my busiest in quite some time. Regardless of what I did I could call 2023 a success because my only gauge is if I did anything or not. There isn’t any need to be putting unnecessary pressures on myself.
But, looking back I am really happy with the things I put out into the world, the things I built to set up future works, and the connections with rad people along the way. To start the year I thought I would recap the things I am proud of from 2023 and also set some goals for myself in 2024.
2023 had lots of fun stuff! This isn’t a complete list, but here are a few of them.
2023 Recap
Multiple Releases!
To start, I accomplished my main goal for music making I set for myself (I only had the one) of putting out multiple releases. In May of 2023 I put out A Morbid Movie Joke and in October I released the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. Each of these releases got some really positive reviews and it seemed like folks listening really connected with the music. I hadn’t set any other goals and it feels great to have accomplished this one. In 2023 I really feel like I came up with some great ideas for how I want to make music that I can continue this year and well beyond.
Got Played on the Radio!
This happened a few times to my surprise. Music of mine was played on a few different stations in multiple countries. I got played on the local station here in Seattle, the wonderful KEXP (Expansions). I also got played on shows in Australia (Four Larks and a Wren), Berlin (Radio Irrtum), and England (Space is the Place). These were the more traditional and terrestrial radio stations. I also had the honor of my music being used as the setting for an episode of Zhen House set inside LambdaMOO streaming on aNONradio. Sharing my music with others is one of the biggest compliments someone can give in my mind and it is much appreciated that folks with an audience as big as these shows would do that for me.
Bonkwave!
Something amazing I found in 2023 was Bonkwave and all of the rad people of that community. From this I got to have a track of mine included on a Bonkwave compilation record. I am looking forward to what 2024 will bring in the realms of Bonkwave and Not Bonkwave.
Self Hosting Music and Blog!
Getting this site up that you are reading this post on is another highlight. I also have a music specific subdomain of this site where I am using Faircamp to share all of my music. Taking control of my content and sharing it how I want and from where was a big step for me in 2023. It took a fair bit of time and a good amount of work, but it was totally worth it to have the ability to do things on my terms going forward.
Overall, 2023 was a lot of fun for my creative projects. I am glad I accomplished my main goal of putting out multiple releases, but I want to challenge myself some this year. I don’t want to take on too much, but I do want to see what I can do now that I have a clearer vision of what I want to accomplish. With that I am going to set multiple goals for 2024. I’m not going to hold myself too accountable to them as I don’t want to put unnecessary pressure on myself. I am going to do my best with these goals and really just use them as guidance throughout the year to help keep me focused on getting stuff out into the world.
Here are my goals for 2024.
2024 Goals
Three Music Releases!
Last year I set the goal of “multiple releases” and now this year I am being more specific. This doesn’t mean three albums exactly. It just means doing at least three releases of music. This might be a collection of old tracks I’ve never put out or have taken down from other places(hint hint). This might mean a single track or an EP or a long form random improvised thing I do on a Saturday. If it is a new entry on my Faircamp page I’m counting it.
Perform Live!
This is a big one for me. I wanted to do this in 2023, but put it on the back burner to work on other things. But, it has been years since I have performed live music and I’ve never done it in my time living in Seattle. So, this year is the year I do it. This might be a small house show, a spot playing at a bar, or maybe even a slot on a show in a full music venue. I’m not going to be too specific here. If I play stuff for more than one person (two is enough) somewhere that isn’t my house, I’m good.
Create Two Live Setups!
This relates to my goal of performing live. I have a couple ideas of the general vibe I want to go for in a live performance. One is more beat driven and DJ like that would probably work in a setting like a bar or music venue. The other is more art and experimental focused that is probably best suited for a house show or a museum or something where folks know they are going in for a noise/experimental music experience.
Attend More Shows in Seattle!
As part of playing live I want to also be more a part of the live music scene in Seattle. I have found shows of experimental music in Seattle and I know there is a community of artists here doing it. I want to support them in their work and also connect with them as a fellow artist. Going to shows and seeing performances not only does that, but it will also be really fun.
Create Music Videos!
Now that I have my own hosting and this site I want to use it to share performances of my stuff that I create. This will help with my experiments in creating a live setup, but will also act as a rehearsal process of sorts. I also want to make more traditional music videos and art pieces outside of capturing a performance. This is something I hope to collaborate on with videos folks where I can create music for visuals they create, perhaps.
Blog Behind the Scenes!
In service of all of this I want to document my creative process and share that here on this blog. As I was setting these goals I saw how they are all connected and how they work in service to each other. If I am doing one of them I am doing things to help the others. Plus, I’m a big fan of learning out in the open and sharing my knowledge and discoveries with others. Writing posts here will be a great way to do that.
I am really excited for what I am planning for 2024. I don’t know what the year will entail, of course, but it feels great to be going into a new year excited for the things I can try to do. It should be fun!
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