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This EP, Dreams Might Transform, closely follows the release of my previous EP, DEATHBOXES, because, hey, why not? The two EPs are conjoined twins that have been successfully separated through nerve-wracking surgery. They will always remain by each other's side, though, so maybe that surgery wasn't so successful after all. Six tracks apiece...so iconic.
My latest two releases (DEATHBOXES and Dreams Might Transform, in case you've forgotten already) are a bit different to others of mine from the past three years in that there's no unifying theme to the songs on either of them. Yeah, a bit of a hodgepodge, innit. There also exist no unreleased or unfinished songs from this now-current period—the twelve presented among the two EPs are it. I actually haven't not finished a song I've started working on for a long time now (I wish I could tell that to myself circa 2003).
Starting with my 2020 album The Sound of One Hand, I changed production methods for mastering my tracks. Now I first create a preliminary mix that is run through my own mastering process that I've been honing in over time. I'm getting more adept at all of it. Cohesive tonal balance has been a focus—for this EP, I was conscious of not making the high end too bright, as may have been the case in previous releases, even though treble is objectively better than bass.
I made the EP's cover art...wait, I've made all my cover art, do I really need to mention that? It was based on an idea I had about...uh, something or other, I forget.
1. "I've Never Been Happier"
The working title to this song was...no, I'm not gonna tell you, it was terrible. Its official title, like that working one, can be interpreted in different ways, which leads to some ambiguity. I felt that was important for this track, given its opening forty seconds (which, yes, took six hours to produce because I guess I wasn't paying attention).
The song is sort of a return to the stuff I was making in 2015. It's also about playing around with melodies and countermelodies, that sort of thing. And, hey, chords are cool, too, even if Taylor Swift never uses them in any of her songs.
(More of my back catalog will be on streaming platforms eventually, OK? I know you can only listen to Words Never Spoken so many times.)
2. "Your Life Is a Green Day Album"
What if you and Billie Joe Armstrong kissed in the moonlight? 🥹
OK, first of all, I haven't heard any Green Day albums since Nimrod., so please forgive me for that. This song is the best friend of the previous track, the "BFF," as it were.
What else can I write about this one? Um, let me think for a moment...I wanted the first two tracks of this EP to be "typical songs," which would hopefully forgive the flaky whims of the rest.
I recorded some audio outdoors with my binaural microphone for this track. I tried to remain motionless while doing so but then a flying insect of some variety landed on the hand holding the portable recorder, which caused an itch. You'd best believe I blew that sucker off my hand as soon as the recording was finished.
3. "All My Facebook Friends Are Dead"
This song is the evolution of "Ghostwritten" from my 2020 album The Sound of One Hand, although it's technically more akin to tracks from my 2021 mini-album Mettadata. It and the track that follows are connected—they're two sides of the same coin, a coin that cannot be exchanged for goods and services.
Yes, the ending is the best part, you're right.
4. "Didnotget"
I did not get vegetable oil.
I did not get, um, some pumpkin seeds for my mom.
I did not get ketchup.
I did not get cocoa powder.
I did not get barbecue chips.
And...
5. "Why Do Things Keep Evolving Into Crabs?"
This song was made with certain special music-production software that I'd never used until, well, making this song (I've had a running joke with myself about creating an entire album of songs with it). The name of the software is...oh, sorry, that's on a need-to-know basis. The software is super limited: you only get a drum track, a bass track, and two other instrument tracks. No VST plugins, no fanciness, no nothin'. I had to make two separate projects with the software and then mix them together to create this song. I really like how the track turned out in the end.
The title of the song comes from YouTube (public-access television that's available 24/7 equals "Yes, please"). The "algorithm" once recommended a nature video to me with this title and I thought, "Oh, kinda cool," so I added it to my Watch Later list. I did not, however, watch the video later, but still it continued to be recommended as I watched others. I haven't watched the video to this day. It gets recommended from time to time.
6. "Starving Artist"
I originally had an idea for a third section to this song but then scrapped that after realizing it would have completely ruined the track. Is this song happy or sad? I can't tell, maybe it's a bit of both.
The working title to this song was "Money Ruins Everything." I feel its official title conveys the same intention. People are forced to endlessly toil and earn "money" in order to literally survive in this society, and artists' visions are often sacrificed in favor of commercial viability, typically resulting in slight variations of the work that was most profitable. What's "popular" is often a driving force behind people's creations, giving rise to meaningless trends. What value is found in this homogenization?
I've always held the idea that my music is only meant for myself. Selfish, perhaps, but it's the truth—my music is simply me thinking, "Hmm, what would that sound like?," and then finding out what it sounds like. There once was a period where I thought I'd never finish a single song, let alone complete entire albums and earn money off them, and my mindset has honestly not changed much since that time.
I don't earn much money from my music. I don't make it for the money, though, and I don't even want money in the first place. I worked a menial job at a hellhole of a library for eleven years—I finally quit in 2019 because that job was murdering me. In the years since, I've lived what I suppose could be considered, if pressed, to be a "starving artist" lifestyle. I don't go out much. I hate the predominant, cancerous way of life of the society I live in. I make music and VST plugins, and sometimes play video games. I drink water, coffee, and alcohol. I have to wash the sheets on my bed.
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