Ethereal Kicks

Ages of quiet contemplation kicked down endless corridors. Sound once confined to empty space now vibrating earthly molecules. A shiver down the spine, or a lump in the throat. The proverbial twig snapping in the forest. Something that has always been there, in the darkened corners of your imagination.

Ethereal Kicks was born from a need to shape the intangible. From thoughts and ideas that appear at impossible distances to the frightening and beautiful things that flow through our minds. From how strange it is to even consider your very existence. The Pacific Northwest provides a grand stage for these ideas, with its buzzing metropolises and marvels of nature. These seemingly conflicted entities make way for a separation of the mind; one part believing that we are all worthy and connected to the higher power, the other believing that existence is nothing more than a cruel trick of the brain interpreting the senses.

A meeting of these minds is where the shaping begins. Where do these thoughts come from? Do they resonate through us from another dimensional plane? Is it a two way spiritual highway? Or have we been arbitrarily dropped into a churning Sea of Disarray?

Part of the joy of getting a new record is the album art. It can broaden our perspective on the messages within and take our imaginations to exciting new places. I have often daydreamed about what my first album cover would look like, if I ever made one, and I can say that daydream is real today. Here it is, the cover for A Sea Of Disarray:

In or around October of 2016, I decided I wanted to professionally record some of my songs. I had been writing songs since my childhood, and a lot of the ones I wrote along the way ended up being pretty good, I thought. I never made many attempts to play out so most of this writing and recording was done behind closed doors, or for friends and family. But I had always loved recording.

I remember buying my first 4 track at 16 and recording my songs using my guitar, a bass, and a drum machine. I'd create more and better tracks over the years, and dreamed of releasing a proper album. In a moment of clarity on that October night, I knew what I needed to do: I had to make a professional record. But where to start? Making a record is expensive. 

Although it's always the case, we live in strange, wonderful times. These days you can buy a car, see any part of the world, or even crowdsource the funding for your album from your couch. Which is exactly what I did. Thanks to amazing support from my friends and family, I raised enough to begin recording the album. Which brings us to now. The record is almost finished and we are moving to the mastering phase soon. I am getting ready to procure the album art, and have started planning the release party. 

Which brings me to the reason for this post. I keep the backers of the project updated as to the status of the album, and I wanted to share something I wrote to them today about the creative process: 

"I like to think about the recording process as like ironing a shirt. It starts out rough and full of wrinkles, and you just iron each section out until it looks good. Then, you look even closer and find even smaller wrinkles to iron out. Small, subtle changes that a lot of listeners might not even notice, but as you continue to make these changes and refine further, the shirt looks even better."

I can't wait to show you how my shirts came out.