From Rough To Release - new song-writing blog series

 I am pretty terrible at self-promotion. 

I really should have mentioned a week ago that I've started another blog series focused on helping people take those scraps and ideas and turn them into finished songs.

It's called Rough to Release and you can find the first entry (and subsequent ones) here: https://roughtorelease.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-pitch-taking-your-song-writing-from.html

Want a free mix?

 The offer

Beginner / intermediate mixer / producer looking for musicians to work with to build my portfolio.
You provide the music, I provide the mix.
I see this working as a collaboration rather than a transaction: there'll be some back and forth as I get to grips with things but at the end you get a free mix and I get chance to do some production and develop as a mixer.

My experience
I've been working on recording / mixing / production for nearly 10 years now but have been focusing almost completely on my own music. I'd like to grow my skills by working on some different material.
My material is generally in the Americana / folk / indie-rock genres so probably best not to stray too far from that initially but I'm willing to give anything a go.
You can find my work on www.drewstephenson.bandcamp.com or on the streaming platform of your choice.

Technical details
I work entirely in the box and use the Reaper DAW. So stems or tracks in WAV form or Reaper project files is probably the best starting point.
I have a treated room with monitoring that is flat (+/- 3dB) from 22Hz to 18kHz and would be happy to get involved in the recording side as well for anyone in the York area.

Caveats
I'll be doing this on a best-endeavour basis. I won't take on something if I don't think I can do a good job on it.
If you're not happy with the end result then you walk away with no loss, if you do like it, all I ask is a formal credit.
If you're half-happy then I'm happy to pass on whatever I've done to another mixer with no reservations or conditions.

Interested?
Contact me on 'info@drewstephenson.com'

The Story of Curtis Stirling or A Tale of Three Brothers

Back in 2008 I released (with the kind help of a local label) my first EP.

Last month I released my most recent album.

Across those releases, and every EP and album in the 16 years between, has been a sub story that is finally complete.
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3AlSu ... gM5IeeNKgX
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 3rgBG0ePGI
Tidal https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/f30ef ... 624c31b768
Bandcamp https://bndcmpr.co/c5a7b74b


Apologies in advance for the inevitable variation in recording and production quality. Hopefully by using one of the above streaming service links it will at least be loudness normalised across the tracks.

Album launch party!

 Well despite an erroneous copyright claim from a certain major label, we are still on for our launch of 26th April.

And to celebrate this momentous occasion we're having a virtual launch party on youtube.

So at the prescribed time of 8pm (BST) simply click the link above and it'll take you to a page where we'll listen through the album together, I'll talk a little bit about the songs and the creation process, and you'll be able to ask any questions or make any comments. Rude as you like. ;¬)

Songs From The Distant Borders

 Hold the date! 26th of April. 

Now that mastering is complete I can confirm that we are on track for a virtual listening party at the end of April.
Giving you plenty of notice because this album features several other musicians doing their level best to rescue my terrible songs and somehow make the whole thing listenable.
Have they succeeded?
You'll have to wait to find out I'm afraid, but it is a mighty challenge they've embraced. 

Having looked at a number of options I've chosen Youtube as the main platform, but obviously high res versions of the song will be available from BandCamp and Tidal as well.
I will share the relevant links nearer the time.