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Exciting news: Announcing the debut instrumental Jabun album / EP (Pics +demos too!), World Mental Health Awareness Day + Better Than The Book is hosting an 'Ask Me Anything' to celebrate 100 followers on Twitter!

14/10/2016

14 Comments

 
It's certainly been an exciting week since the last update and I have some BIG news to share with you all. No delays, let's get straight into it!

So firstly this week, I am pleased to announce that last weekend I started work on the first instrumental Jabun album / EP! It's been long overdue and I'm so excited to be working more concentrated on the Jabun project again. One of my goals for this year was to release something from Jabun, and with the "(Feels Like) Heaven" remix, and "The Ocean Above" I feel I've accomplished that, but I'd like to push the boat out even more and write and release a full length album or EP too! It's still partially in the planning stage and not all the details have been figured out, but I can tell you some things about the album already:
          Firstly, it's going to be strictly instrumental, though I will leave the door open to vocal interpretations of the songs later. Secondly, it's going to be mostly electronic with some orchestral / acoustic elements but on the whole I'm going for an organic, and chill vibe. Thirdly, since the album has no lyrics, I'm very aware that I DON'T want any track just to be some beat you can bob your head along to; I want each track to represent and evoke a very deep emotion or feeling. Because of this, I know and am prewarning you that this album will not be to everyone's taste. It's going to be a little more experimental, it's going to be a little more adventurous, and it's certainly going to be different! I hope though that for those of you it does resonate with, you appreciate that in this album, I'm not trying to be in any specific genre, I'm not trying to recreate a style, I'm simply digging deep DEEP within myself and creating sounds / tonalities which convey something words could not alone. THAT is my goal for this album: to be able to move people without words, and with only the simplest of sounds.
           Progress on the album so far: Last weekend I composed one new track by the working title of "Palindrome", which just needs a final mix and master later, cleaned up an older idea which has been sitting around for a little while, but I'm very pleased with, and started on one more new track too. By popular demand and a Twitter vote too, the new album / EP will include remasters of my old singles "Distance" and "Home" which fit the same themes and vibe I'd like to convey with my new work (chill, emotional, deep). Feel free to listen to them below for a taste of what's to come! I'm not sure exactly how many tracks the album will be or how long, but I'm aiming currently for around 10 tracks and definitely 30+ minutes of music. Whether I manage to get that done before the end of the year will be a little more tricky to answer, but we shall see! Anyway, I hope you're intrigued, excited and wanting to know more, and I shall leave you this week with a photo from the end of Day 1, and links to listen to "Distance" and "Home" for a taste of what's to come! I'll keep you updated on progress as and when and certainly, get ready to chill out and (mostly) relax!

Picture
 
Next this week, on Monday it was World Mental Health Awareness Day, and for those of you who know me well, you'll know I've had my fair share of demons in the past (not quite as much now thankfully), and it's been evident in the lyrical content of my music since the very beginning of BTTB. I feel very strongly about this topic, as it's not only effected me, but also friends of mine in the past too, and I know that while it can be a difficult topic to bring up, it something we all have to talk about to be able to break down the stigmas. I won't go on a full length discussion on it here, but I urge you, if you do have something on your mind, please talk to someone, don't bottle it and make sure you get the help you need. I'll just leave it with a quote from something I wrote on the Better Than The Book Facebook page, and I hope it inspires you to know, that you can bring out change in your own life and other people's and that you are not alone: 

"Remember, it's ok not to be ok, that you are never alone (someone's is going through or has been through what you have), and that there's always someone to talk to. I use my music as catharsis for my own demons, worries, self-doubt, anxieties etc..., with the aim being to show people that they aren't alone, to help inspire and to help motivate, as well as to get people moshing and put a smile on their faces :)
          "Don't let your demons control you. Own them and turn them into something which will inspire change in the world. You are in control. Fear may be the gunner in your back seat, but you are driving. Be better than what that little voice says is written for you. Even when your heart is racing a hundred miles an hour and your path might not be so clear, don't let that stop you. Live for just this moment. Find and chase your dreams. Don't let anyone or anything hold you back, even when you feel so small trying to stand above the crowd, don't let your fears and doubts control you. Keep holding on even if just barely and keep your head above water. Success isn't about where you get to, it's how you go about getting there, so just enjoy each single moment while it lasts. And when it feels like your just staring into headlights, just overwhelmed, remember THIS IS YOUR LIFE, and you have the power to keep on running. It all starts with one small step.
        "That's my 2 cents for today, and that's what it means to be me."

Finally this week, I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who's supported Better Than The Book, and to announce that we just surpassed 100 followers on Twitter! As a celebration, I'm letting people ask me anything until the end of the weekend, so please, if there's something you'd like to know about BTTB or me personally, then send in your questions, here, or on the BTTB Facebook Page or on Twitter! Looking forward to your questions and thanks again to everyone who's helped support Better Than The Book over the years in reaching this goal! Next stop 1000!

That's about it for this week. I'm back to Burgess Hill again next weekend, and it'll likely be the last time before Christmas, so I'm going to have to make the most of it. Hoping to do some more work on the Jabun album this coming week, as well as more reaching out and connecting with people as my notes from the MusicLaunchSummit suggested. Certainly exciting times on the horizon and I'll keep you updated as usual on all the goings on! Hope you all have a fine and dandy next week, and thanks as always for supporting Jabun, JabunAudio, Better Than The Book, and all my other audio endeavors! Take care!
14 Comments
Cyber link
16/10/2016 21:00:56

Ah, I remember Home. Nice track. Distance was nice too, very feelgood ambience, good background music. Question: the occasional snippets of voice in that one: are they you?

As for the offer on Q&A, here's a few: Which instrument was your first to learn? Which is your favorite so far? Do you have any particular inspirations among producers or other behind-the-scenes music-making-personnel, whose influences might be heard in your productions?

Also Congrats on the 100! :) Good news overall, and good quote on those 'ol demons. Wise words.

Reply
Jabun
17/10/2016 10:46:00

Glad you liked the tracks, Cyber! To answer your question, no, the voice samples aren't me, they're actually a speak'n'spell toy :D

Ooo! I'll be happy to answer as best as I can:

1) Piano was the first instrument I started learning (at age 6)
2) I couldn't begin to choose which instrument is my favorite, but I tend to gravitate towards specific ones depending on what I'm working on at the time.
3) Tricky question. I'm definitely a huge supporter of Ian Shepherd, a UK mastering engineer who's trying to get more people not to crush there music needlessly loud at the expense of dynamics and quality. I'm also a fan, certainly as a starting point, of the less-is-more philosophy of people such as Rick Rubin, though he funnily enough has been criticized for driving UP the volume of music (in a bad way) so I tend to ignore that part of him.

Thanks for the congrats and glad you liked the quote! Hope to spread more good news next week!

Reply
Cyber link
18/10/2016 13:01:55

Oh, cool, a speak'n'spell toy of yours though?

That's an early start! :) Alright, and good info on those people! Wonder if you've ever tried Ian's Perception plugin (did some reading after the response)?

Reply
Jabun
18/10/2016 15:34:16

Ah no unfortunately. I stumbled upon a free sound pack library of speak'n'spell words, so that's where the samples came from :)

Early start indeed, and certainly although I'm doing much different music than I started off playing, it's certainly given me a strong foundation of music history and theory to build upon :)

I haven't actually used Ian's Perception plugin (not even sure if my computer will run it...), but I am a big fan of one of his old favorites the TT Dynamic Range Meter. Super helpful for all types of level metering and has really made a difference in the way I master certainly. I'd recommend it to anyone. Bear in mind though that neither loud nor dynamic are necessarily ALWAYS better, and these tools are there to help you make decisions rather than make them for you, so it's always great to have good meters, but you need think WHY you're doing something rather than just blindly follow them.

Reply
Cyber link
18/10/2016 17:46:04

Definitely. it's great to get into things early on, so it becomes like a second nature. I wish my parents would've kicked me into some martial arts classes when I tiny, but maybe I wouldn't have been very happy about it now if they had. :)

Good to know!

Reply
Jabun
19/10/2016 10:46:47

Agreed. I used to do Judo as a child but I got sick of the nosebleeds, and I wasn't very athletic... I think a push in the right direction can be good, but certainly there's no point trying to force a passion on someone. Even when I was 6 I really really wanted to play the piano, and with my parent's support that's how it happened, rather than being forced into it :)

Reply
Cyber link
19/10/2016 18:20:24

You lived my dream! XD Sounds like pretty wise parenting, though also martial art classes with a bit excessive violence? I did Jujitsu a couple years, but that was in collage. No nosebleeds then though. I don't even remember getting bruises, though I do get bruised easily... maybe exceptionally friendly?

Oh, nice. Wonder if you remember why you wanted to play the piano btw? Did you have any super-early inspirations you know of?

Reply
Jabun
20/10/2016 10:33:58

Heheh XD I'm not sure about excessive violence, I think I was just good at getting thrown down on my face XD I guess children can be more brutal than well adjusted adults? That'd be my theory!

Honestly can't remember an exact motivation for playing the piano initially. I imagine I just wanted to make music, and the piano seemed like the way to go? As for early inspirations, I listened to a lot of "Queen" when I was young :) Can't really think of any other huge childhood inspirations

Reply
Cyber link
21/10/2016 12:07:31

A rare but useful talent there... maybe you could've become a stuntman! ;) Yeah, that seems like a reliable theory. Kids can be pretty mean! And not know their strength too, I guess?

Ah, we had Queen in common there, albeit at varying ages. :) Good knowing.

Reply
Jabun
21/10/2016 13:47:01

Hahah, kinda don't see that happening somehow... XD Too true. I feel like adults have subconsciously learnt to restrain most aspects of their being (whether for better or worse), but children have yet to figure that out. Unlearning those self-limits is a job and a half too!

Indeed we do :D Great to know too!

Reply
Cyber link
21/10/2016 19:20:56

That's true! A lot of the restraints we pick-up aren't all that fun to live with... it´s pretty fun being a blank slate. :)

Reply
Jabun
22/10/2016 00:36:35

Yup constraints and conformaties... strangely, the more I seem to learn, the less I rely on instinct. That's something I really want to take control of and undo in this Jabun album. Don't make what I know will sound good (like I do for client work), but try to make something different which simply sounds good but isn't following a formula that's tried and tested. Should be interesting!

Reply
Cyber link
22/10/2016 11:20:23

Sounds like something that'd be applicable to unorthodox rhythmical structures and beats to. ;) Good plan! Hope you manage to get onto more unchartered grounds.

Reply
Jabun
22/10/2016 13:59:22

That's exactly it! Trying to steer away from the tried and tested Verse Verse chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Chorus Chorus type structure (which works well, but I want something moore), and stuff like that. Thanks for the well wishing sir! I hope so too :3

Reply



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