The process began with working to decide what kind of sound world I wanted to create for this EP. I experimented using my acoustic guitar and looper pedal and created the extract below as a proof of concept for the tone of the project. I then began to look at songs in my catalogue that might fit this stylistically and in mood, settling on a few to experiment with. ‘Can’t You Tell?’ would need to be adjusted in both arrangement and instrumentation to bring it into a more ambient and less industrial place. ‘Silence is My Pain’ would need to be re-written for a full band as, at this time, it has only been played in the acoustic guitar and looper format. Links to both these tracks in their original forms can be found below.

Proof of Concept: https://soundcloud.com/jed-robertson/proof-of-concept-loop/s-iPcP6

‘Can’t You Tell?’ original arrangement: https://soundcloud.com/jed-robertson/cant-you-tell-original-arrangement/s-hmUbk

Silence is My Pain live at Immersed! Festival 2018: https://soundcloud.com/jed-robertson/silence-is-my-pain-live-at-immersed-2018/s-3dNkD

In these early stages, I have also created a Gantt Chart in order to manage my time effectively throughout the project. It is highly likely that this will change when I obtain information such as the printing turnaround time and the availability of collaborators. However, working to targets helps to maintain efficiency.

Creating a Mood Board

I decided that it would be a good idea to create mood board using Pinterest that I could use for inspiration. I filled it with pictures of places such as the Baltic coast, Lyme Regis and other seaside locations since I will be writing a track based on this idea. It also contains ideas for album artwork, images of houses, radios and other inspiring images that fit the aesthetic of the EP. I will continue to add to this as the project progresses.

A live link to the mood board: https://pin.it/cqtortp6s3mdou

Musical influences:

Steven Wilson

Porcupine Tree

Pink Floyd

Opeth

Auri

Arctic Lake

Daughter (ambient layers)

Johnathan Cordy (lead guitar work)

Beau Diakowicz (harmonic stacking)

Tesseract (ambient guitar work)

This blog will discuss the processes undertaken as well as my own intentions during the creation of my concept EP which, while officially untitled, is carrying the moniker of ‘The Voices EP’. It isn’t uncommon for artists to release self-titled or unnamed records, both Donavan and Bob Dylan have done so.

During the creation of this record I will attempt to adhere to the following criteria.

• The entire work will act as one immersive experience when listened to end to end.
• The individual tracks will be just as effective when listened to in isolation.
• The style will be akin to 70’s progressive bands with influences from post-progressive and ambient music.
• The record will follow the concept detailed later in this blog.
• The tracks will explore a range of human emotions without seeming jarring to the listener in a negative way.