D(O)UB(T) is (o)u(t) and ab(o)u(t) - 070913

Sponsored by "Music (random)".

So D(O)UB(T) has finally been unleashed on the world. And here it is in all its "sonic glory"...

The album is initially released via Bandcamp with a number of bonus tracks, full artwork and access to a free download (via Mediafire or Dropbox) of a full album mix.

I am currently uploading the album to CD Baby to facilitate release, within the next few days, via the usual major digital retailers. The CD Baby version will not have the bonus features, so if you really want those, ya gotsta go to Bandcamp, aiiii...?

In the meantime, if you want to hear streams of the full album mix, you can go to Soundcloud...

...or to Mixcloud...

...so you can't say you haven't got a choice, can ya?

I hope you get a chance to listen to the album. If you like what you hear, be sure to tell your friends. And let me know too...;-).

More news when I have it.

Regards,

djp

Release date and preparatory work - 040915

Sponsored by "Music (random)".

I can now confirm that D(O)UB(T) will be formally released on next Monday, 7 September.

The album will be initially released via my Bandcamp page. The Bandcamp version will have some exclusive bonus tracks and will also offer the purchaser the option of a separate (i.e. not via Bandcamp) download of a full album mix, with all relevant crossfades. The full album mix will be available to stream via Mixcloud also.

After the Bandcamp upload, I will be using CD Baby to distribute the album to a variety of digital retailers, including, principally, iTunes. The CD Baby version will be the basic version of the album. I have to say that, barring one issue which was my own fault, I have always found CD Baby very decent and quick to work with. The album should be available on iTunes within a day or two of uploading to CD Baby.

Once all that has been done, my promo work will start. I'll do the easy stuff first - Facebook and Twitter. Then comes the slog of contacting websites and blogs, via a contact list which I've built-up over the last few years. Truth to tell, those contacts have been next to useless for me in terms of getting attention/reviews/whatever, but I feel I owe it to the album to try and push it is as far as I can within the limits of my resources (i.e. zero resources). To that end, I have put together a press kit of the album, featuring high-resolution MP3s, graphics and pictures and a short one-page press release. This has been uploaded to Megafire and Dropbox.

I had to make a slight change to one of the graphics re. credits.  I also had to encode one or two tracks at 320 kbps (they were only at 192 kbps).

Speaking of graphics, in case you haven't seen the album cover anywhere else on the internet, here it is...

Just in case anyone gets offended by the use of Christian imagery on an album cover (there's no accounting for people's capacity to take offence), the Bandcamp version of the album will feature as a bonus an alternative album cover. I'm getting all Barney Bubbles/Do It Yourself on yo' ass...

The link to the Bandcamp page will go up on Monday, so be patient until then...;-).

Regards,

djp

Tracklisting/The New Number Two - 180615

Sponsored by "Music (random)".

Organised a tracklisting (two actually) for the full album mix in AA3. This involved me using metronome audio set to the tempo of each individual track, and then lining-up consecutive tracks based on the metronome. I think it works pretty well for most of the transitions, but I suspect there will be several tweaks between now and the release date. There's been one already...;-). Running time has been reduced to about 74:40. Bit of an improvement on 90 minutes, wha'...?

The album in its Bandcamp/iTunes etc.versions won't have those transitions. The tracks will be standalone, as it were. The reason for this is that streaming doesn't like crossfading and downloaded crossfaded tracks sound crap. So you will have to download the full album mix via Bandcamp (or stream it off Mixcloud) to get the full effect.

As I was going through the masters, I found an unpleasant hiss on THE NEW NUMBER TWO. Now, I know there are people out there (you know who you are) who got to great lengths to add tape noise to their tracks to create an analogue effect on digital recordings. I am not one of those people...;-). So go it had to.

Road trip over the weekend, so I'll be back in harness on Monday.

Regards,


djp

You'll Never Miss Your Mother Till The Well Runs Dry/Me & The Fly/I Choose Indecision/Tracklisting

Sponsored by "Music (random)".

...MOTHER...

Mixed/mastered 14 different mixes in CE5/AA3. The last one is the best. The balance got sorted fairly quickly, but I kept hearing these timing glitches and I think I've fixed as many of them as I could without actually re-tracking.

And that, my friends, is the last track on the album done and dusted. And to prove that point, here's a little screenshot of my progress spreadsheet, showing a very satisfying preponderance of yellow...:-

I had a lot of PC trouble this morning, which was really pooping on my party, but I eventually sussed that my problem was a Windows update which hadn't "taken" properly. Once that got sorted, everything went smoothly.

So all the heavy lifting has been done. The next step is to concentrate on the tracklisting and putting together a full album mix for inclusion as a bonus track on the Bandcamp release. I am also going to put the mix up on Mixcloud for your streaming pleasure.

Speaking of the tracklisting, I CHOOSE INDECISION isn't going to make the cut. The mix is weak, principally because of the drum parts. The track is totally rescueable, but I don't have the time or the inclination right now, so I'll revive it for a future release.

My Twitter promo campaign for ...FLY is still ongoing, but it's nearly finished now. I've been getting great responses to date, with hopefully more to come. Oh, and the drum & bass mix is in progress, so I'll see how that works out. If I like it, I'll add it as a bonus track on the Bandcamp release.

Tomorrow I will crack on with the full album mix and a spot of promo. After that, we'll see...

Regards,

djp

Tracklisting - 100515

Sponsored by "Music (random)".

Even though I am not working off a complete set of mastered track as yet, I think I have the tracklisting for the album pretty much nailed for the moment. 19 tracks - over 80 minutes long - I know, I'm an insaniac...;-).

As was the case for HELLHOLE, I plan to create a full album mix for the album, to compensate for the fact that I cannot crossfade the tracks on Bandcamp. The full mix will be included as a bonus track on Bandcamp. This time out, I also intend to upload the full mix onto Mixcloud (and possibly Soundcloud) for streaming purposes.

In order to get my crossfades sorted "properly", my plan is to upload all the tracks as a multi-track session file in AA3 and then use metronome tracks, which I recorded today in CE5, to line the tracks up to the optimum effect. I've done this type of thing for previous releases, but only "by ear" (without the metronome tracks). This should make things so much easier - or not work at all...

I also have the tracklistings sorted for 3 EPs to promote the album. More will be revealed closer to the moment.

Big roadtrip planned for the next few days, so you probably won't hear from me until the weekend.

Phew, sez you...

Regards,


djp