They Keep Getting Better

6 months.

18 unique themes.

2-4 practice sessions per week.

1000s of songs listened to.

100s of songs chosen.

And an immeasurable amount of time, energy, and deliberation poured into each mix.

———

Mixes are the foundation of my music project, Siren Jinx.

But they’ve been labelled with coming soon for so long. Too long.

Without real, live, shareable mixes, I can’t show the people in charge of booking artists and promoting shows what kind of sound and energy I could bring to the room.

Without my mixes living somewhere public, I give people no reason to find me.

I’ve been so close so many times to pulling the trigger and releasing this mix or that…

But each time I get close to release, I discover something new: a deeper layer to consider when assembling a mix, songs that are a better fit for a mix’s aesthetic, a new artist whose stuff is more aligned with what I’m making, and the list goes on.

There’s the technical learnings too.

Out of the 18 mixes, 6 are just about ready, in theory. But each time I practice them, which is often, I find new ways of blending, layering, transitioning, sequencing…

I’m keenly aware that I’m toeing the line between executing my vision, and procrastinating via perfectionism.

I think there would be less friction if I wasn’t learning and improving every time I pull out my mixer. The constant sharpening means there’s no plateau to settle into where I can put forth my best effort, and rest easy knowing that’s the best I can do for now.

This is a rare but real creative tension I’ve never experienced before.

Each mix just gets better each time through.

Which is equally lovely and frustrating.

———

Playlist 51.

Subterranean Soul.

Celestial Ceremony.

Spiritual Expansion.

Gravitational Pleasure.

Stranger Seas.

They’re all so, so close. 

In the relative blink of an eye, I could have six mixes, roughly three hours of lovingly crafted musical expression, alive, wriggling, and findable for people to listen to.

For you to listen to, perhaps.

———

Despite taking what feels like forever to share the creations I’ve been agonizing and delighting over for months, there’s not a scrap of self-doubt to be found in my body.

I’ve listened to enough music…

Been to enough shows…

And spent enough time with these mixes of mine to know that they’re sound.

I also recognize that I’m not world class. I’m not a prodigy or a savant or whatever.

But my mixes are coherent, intentional, and precise. 

They’re not a pile of top 40 edm songs or dubstep festival bangers mashed together.

Each song in each mix was chosen because of its contribution to the story.

I passed over many songs I love because they just weren't a thematic fit. 

I abandoned countless ideas that I wanted to work, but didn’t.

I won’t put a timeline on when these mixes will come.

I’ve learned that music arrives when it arrives.

But their time is definitely drawing near. 

And they will be glorious.

(At least if you’ve got the ears for deep, strange, heavy, wubby bass music that’s often laced with messages of personal growth and spiritual expansion.)

With love from the forest,

~ Alexander