Bird’s Nest

Bird’s Nest is now the first track on the Lot EP

Last night after dinner I opened Garage Band and picked up the guitar. I haven’t written or recorded a complete song in quite a while; I wanted to compose but was without direction. Lack of direction meant lack of pressure. I didn’t want to fuss about with the external USB condenser microphone or setting up the mic stand just so to get the optimal recording—I just wanted to create.

So I quickly comped out a simple progression, leaned into the laptop and hit record, laying down a basic drone. Then I doubled the drone in a higher octave. Track after track flowed effortlessly, slowing building up texture as I shunted evolving complimentary parts to the left and right channels. Aside from the bass part (and percussion) which was written and recorded last, each track enters the finished piece in the order it was conceived.

Once I put the guitar down I repeated the process for percussion, each new part emphasizing or countering an existing rhythm. I tried to introduce a new voice every couple bars, careful not to add two at the same time to give each a chance to breath before being absorbed into the wall of sound.

After a couple of hours I had a satisfying, if short and unpolished, instrumental.

Over the past two days I’ve noticed some variety of black bird—which may or may not be building a nest in one of our gutters—flying to and fro. Given the piecemeal production process on this track, “Bird’s Nest” seemed an appropriate title. So with that in mind I revisited the last couple of bars, pruning the layers back to emphasize the ascending line, as if the bird, its task completed, is flying away.

All that’s just to say, “hey, check out something I made for fun.”

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