Hey everyone — Adam checking in here.
One of the most underrated aspects of publishing a weekly newsletter… is that the act of writing a newsletter is a forcing function.
Forcing function for what?
For making power moves, establishing deadlines, idea generating, completing tasks as well as, at times, reshuffling our priorities.
Last week I promised you a brand new mix.
“Next Thursday — September 2nd, 2021 it is my plan to release the latest of my BARTYDARTY mixes: featured exclusively on my SoundCloud.”
Today I sadly will not be releasing a new BARTYDARTY mix :/
I will however… include the link to the playlist of groovy tracks I was planning on mixing. Let these be your Labor Day Bangers.
I won’t even try and lie to you all…
A LOT MORE WORK GOES INTO AN ALBUM THAN I INITIALLY THOUGHT.
This is why I am setting my main focus within the next 116 days to creating my debut album.
As a reminder, here is the initial goal I laid out for releasing an album.
“It is my intention to release a new album filled with original tracks by my 26th birthday: December 27th, 2021.” - (The Power of a Countdown)
I have found producing legitimate original tracks to be quite the grind… yet as the time progresses that I have spent on these.. I have been finding much more success.
The wonderful thing about creative experimentation is that it leaves the door open for changes if necessary.
When you set a date for something and are unable to complete it at that point in time…
Recognize that life happens.
Don’t shy away from the challenge you have laid out.
Acknowledge your misteps.
& share what you have learned.
This is a big step in striving towards personal growth.
Shifting from a short-term goal to double-down on a long-term goal is an important shift to undergo.
Especially when you have big dreams :)
ALBUM UPDATE (116 DAYS UNTIL RELEASE)
Do you ever wish that your favorite artist revealed their toolkit as it relates to their creative output?
Sharing what has worked, what didn't work, as well as their future ambitions and the tools/tricks they have learned that helped them in their creative pursuit?
Imagine if (insert your favorite artist here) did this as they published their first album at the inception of their career?
Learning about musicians thoughts, such as Kygo, Moby or RAC, on creating their debut album would be quite inspiring to me as well as many others. As there’s curated content out there on their creative process, but not necessarily from the artist themselves.
Not only would this make for quite the comprehensive learning resource for newcomer musicians (like myself).. but it would also be a piece of history.
A piece of history chronicling the self-education of a creative determined to do the unthinkable. How inspiring would this be?
It would have been an act of Learning in Public.
An act in which makes the internet that much more of a valuable place to tinker in, while concurrently giving individuals the opportunity for legitimate learning.
It is my plan to build in public, sharing the artifact of a behind-the-scenes look of what goes into creating an album, all throughout the process leading into the eventual release of it.
This is a declaration to build as well as learn in public.
The working title for my debut album as of now is.. “beyond words”.
Thus far, I have created several original tracks which I am incredibly proud of. I have begun to play these tunes intermittently at social events, and the reception has been relatively hype. This has me very optimistic for the future work I am going to put in on these tracks.
Here I’ll detail a rough tracklist of the songs that I’m planning to include in the album. (*track names subject to change).
without u
let me go
piaNu house
interlude
alarm clock
john lenno
sunshine
timebender
The tracks listed above are the ones in which I have been spending an ample amount of time working to perfect… as well as experiment with, as I strive towards developing a sound that is genuinely my own.
As far as how many songs I would like to include in a debut album… I am thinking at the very least 10+ songs (there is a certain pride in reaching double-digits - right?).
Increasingly, I am facing a rift in which I have tracks that I am very excited about that are created over my DAW (digital audio workstation)… versus tunes I have written on my piano.
There are some songs that sound immensely better without the production on Logic Pro (my DAW), and sound great with just the raw piano tone to it.
Which then leads me to question - is it worth it to include songs on just the piano?
How will I record them?
These are the types of questions I’ll be looking to explore in the following weeks.
Reprioritizing creative goals
I’ve been pouring my heart & soul into creating an excellent album, and have found myself astounded by the progress I have made over the span of the past two months.
A big part of me not wanting to push forth with a brand new BARTYDARTY this week, is a result of myself doubling down on creating my own music versus mixing someone else’s track.
I am going to continue to build out a catalog of my own music, music that has me genuinely proud of where I have come to as a musician.
I won’t give any more excuses.
Now is the time for excitement.
BUILDING IN PUBLIC OATH
It is my promise, leading up until the release of my debut album, to chronicle what I have been learning amidst this journey.
I often wonder what the learning experience for a newcomer musician (like myself) would look like if they did a comprehensive detailing of what actually goes into creating an album.
It is my goal to create this learning resource as a journey through the ups-and-downs, the realms in which I am finding motivation from, and to share these findings publicly with anyone with an internet connection.
As a matter of fact, I’ll declare it my Building in Public Oath.
I’ll disclose publicly what I am learning about the music industry, music production, piano, how to apply web3/cryptocurrencies to creative work, building a brand… as well as setting outrageous goals.
"At the heart of the creative's practice is trust: the difficult journey to trust in your self, the other hidden self, the unique human that lives with us."
- (The Practice) by Seth Godin
I may slip and fall along the way. However, I promise to always get up. I promise to trust in myself. As well as to keep fighting towards my dreams and doing so publicly.
Creating a debut album is a HUGE next step for me as a musician. I am so eager and excited to build this out publicly with you all!
DEAR READER
If you feel so inclined to hear the progress I have made with my new music - reply to this post and I’ll send you a private link of one of the original tracks I have been working on.
It is my intention to build this album in public, while also having my closest friends/family/fans directly interact in this process. I am open to any and all feedback on this (it really is appreciated).
Love you all.
Cheers to lifelong learning,
Adam Bartley
PARTING NOTE
If you're enjoying “The Freelance Graduate Student” newsletter, I would really love it if you shared it with a homie or two. You can send them here to subscribe. I try my very best to put out creative ideas each week, and I hope you have as much fun reading them as I do writing them.
If you find anything relevant to the previous writing I have put out, or just additional links you would like to share on this particular topic, reply to this post!
Love the love you have for the process. Hit me with that link!