How productive have the Radical Extremist Sessions been?
My plans for late summer and fall of 2021 have totally changed in regards to releases. At first I was disappointed but then came to realize that there is no fan base or audience waiting on a new Darph release so it really doesn’t matter if or when I release anything. (That said, if you are a fan and want a new release please reach out to me on Twitter or TikTok to let me know you exist and maybe I’ll speed things up).
The original plan was to release the three albums I have already recorded between later September and November of this year. I may yet release some of that work before the year is out but right now my focus is on finishing the Radical Extremist Sessions. (Please note that these session names will not be what the final album titles end up being named).
Release prep
I just got done shooting about 6 rolls of different color and black and white film stock on an old manual, mechanical camera. I’m hoping that some of the photos will turn out well for use as album art when it’s time to release the couple of albums I don’t already have planned album art for.
Writing & Recording
I tend to write and record at the same time. That means I end up with a lot of material but not all of it is of a high enough quality to make the final cut of the album.
I’ve been writing and recording music nightly for the last two months straight. Radical Extremist (final title TBD) is a concept album and kind of a sequel to the Kokoro series that focuses more on my own personal struggles than the world at large and that, along with the different production techniques I’m using, are what separates this album from its predecessor. It’s kind of about being stuck, frozen in time, watching the world burn as the world tries its best to pretend that things are going back to normal.
What about the other albums?
Yes, there are three albums “in the can” just waiting to be mixed and mastered. There’s Metastasis, Revelation, and Meditations. Of the three, Meditations is the easiest to produce . It was recorded on a 4 track with all external, analog hardware so there is no mixing to do. All I need to get Meditations out the door is to EQ and add some post production sparkle for the streaming streaming version of the albums and then just go over that with a simple EQ for the tape release to compensate for the natural EQ of the tape I have set aside for it.
The other two albums, Metastasis and Revelation, both need a full mix and mastering job done to them and I may even need to re-record some of the bass tracks so even though I finished writing and recording those first I will be working on their releases last.
So that’s where we are with the releases so far. We have 3 finished and ready to go and one in the process of being recorded. And I must warn you that the Radical Extremist sessions songs form a concept album. I’m most excited about Helianthus, a song about the lifecycle of a sunflower that is also a metaphor for other things that I’m in the middle of recording now.
Anyway, for previews of new music, news, and just general fun, follow my TikTok account @thedarph. I occasionally also post on Twitter @the_darph but I’m much more fun and active on TikTok and hope to get the YouTube channel more active in the near future as well.
I hope that when these albums are finally released they’re worth the wait. Thanks for sticking around and remember: be cool or whatever.