Happy new year! I haven’t really made any big resolutions, since they tend to be forgotten after 2 weeks anyways.
Instead, I’ll continue what I’ve started last year, which has helped me improve my music a lot: weekly uploads. Soundcloud still is the main platform used by undiscovered musicians, so I set a personal goal of uploading a new sketch every sunday. I started simple with very basic beats, because they can be done in a very short time. I didn’t even have time for proper artwork, so I just uploaded a colored square instead.
There are a ton of benefits from doing this consistently. First and foremost, my workflow improved massively. Since I had the weekly deadline in the back of my head all week, I started setting up default templates in my DAW to reduce the number of clicks I do for every project. My sound design skills improved as well, especially once I switched from making hip hop to the music I personally wanted to make (but found quite difficult): dark, textured drum and bass.
Another benefit that was a bit unexpected: I started gaining followers! I was a bit afraid of the quality of my uploads at first, but at the time I had nothing to lose. Now, with about 300+ followers on Soundcloud I have a bit more pressure to improve my sound, but I’ve noticed this happen automatically, as my skills improve.
A couple djs I look up to messaged me, asking for tracks they could play in their sets. Completely unexpected, but humbling to experience. In November I was even asked by a label to put together an EP for a proper release! I planned to finish it in December, but it’s taking a bit longer than expected.
As soon as the EP is done, I’ll focus my energy on weekly uploads again. Until then, I’ll leave you with a playlist of my past weeklys.
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