journal: last night's recording session! (Patreon)

I know I had initially posted on social media that last night's session was going to be the last for The Grand Scream, though it turns out my estimate was a bit off! After last night, we'll still need a few more recording sessions at Wyatt's studio to get everything done.

Earlier in the day, my morale was low, but I powered through it and was more or less fine by the time I got to Wyatt's studio.

One of my favorite things about this album is how playful I've been able to be, especially with hyper-expressive songs like Angels Like You, Bedside Manor, and Call Me Dracula. Experiencing moments of joy while recording vocals, forming ideas on the fly, or cracking jokes has been a true oasis for me, and I'm so grateful for this.

We completed all backing vocals for Angels Like You last night. We quickly developed the formula to triple or quadruple every musical backing vocal part (as opposed to spoken backing vocal parts, of which there are many - those got as many as 10-20 layers!) by recording the same line three or four separate times and stack the recordings. We wanted to create the illusion of many people singing at once. Wyatt had the awesome idea to add another track on top of those, either a character voice or purposely nasally take for added whimsy or to alter the timbre. I commented at one point that the tone of the vocals we were recording reminded me of the scene in Over the Garden Wall where Greg is dreaming!

At times, I did a lot of running back and forth between the piano and the mic to create vocal harmonies on the fly. There were some harmonizing lines that I made that sounded really weird on their own, but I knew they would work underneath the main backing vocal melody. I felt so proud when we played the parts back through the speakers and they sounded perfect.

I left the session feeling so fulfilled and very proud of the ideas I had. It felt like I was expressing joy or liveliness that had been buried for a while, that I didn't know I still had.

I also discovered the joy of lemon seltzer - I'd never had it before but it is now a top 3 beverage for me.

Behind the scenes, I'm working at getting into a rhythm of self-care that will be beneficial for both me and my career. I can't express how much I want to put my best foot forward in releasing this music, sharing it with my audience, and introducing it to new people, and to feel good while doing this.

I've also been wanting to engage more with my hobbies! I miss crocheting, drawing, and mending so much. Working with my hands to make something is so calming and fulfilling and generally eases my anxiety. I also have a 35mm camera that I need to get fixed, and a Celtic harp I need to string, tune, and fix.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more updates. If you don't already know, I typically post on Tuesdays and Thursdays!