Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

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milo
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Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by milo »

Hey all. I finally finished a solo album I have been recording off and on for 15 years. Many of the songs I have posted to this forum before, but I spent all year remastering them, and the last couple of months recording the title track.

Here is the album page, with download links: https://alansanderson.band/albums/lost-and-found/
Here is a blog post with a bit more background and production info, including a changelog for all of the remastering: https://alansanderson.band/2019/12/14/my-albumatross/
Lost_and_Found-front_cover-right-500x500.jpg
Lost_and_Found-front_cover-right-500x500.jpg (185.39 KiB) Viewed 1420 times
Many thanks to all of you for your helpful and constructive comments. I have learned so much about this craft from reading these forums. And a special thanks to the software developers on this forum, whose tools have made this album so much better: Guitarix, AVL Drumkits, qjackctl, Dragonfly Reverb, Linux Studio Plugins. You guys rock!
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by folderol »

Quite enjoying these
The Yoshimi guy {apparently now an 'elderly'}
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by ufug »

Congratulations on getting this out milo! It sounds lovely. I may be back with comments after digesting it more, but I'm not sure if I'll have anything to add--these sound like honest, personal songs sincerely performed and well-produced. Isn't that what we're all going for in the end? My hat is off to you.
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by Babarosa »

Dear Milo!
I post very seldom, but after listening to your album and especially your family singing "Silent Night" I had to!
I am from the small city named Hallein, where this song was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber. I enjoy your version very very much - this is the way this song has to be performed!
Your guitar/harp (?) reminds me of my father playing the traditional alpine instrument "Zither".

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!
Hallein in wintertime
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Heartwarming greetings, Michael
Last edited by Babarosa on Thu Dec 19, 2019 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by milo »

Thank you for your comments, everyone. I was hoping that this album would hit an emotional sweet spot for a lot of people. Everyone knows what it's like to feel a little lost, and the joy and relief of finding your way again.

Barbarosa, thank you for your comments, and for that lovely picture. I will surely share that with my family. The third verse is a nylon stringed guitar, played by my son. The other verses used a piano played by another son. I tried to merge the two, but it sounded bad because the piano was a little detuned, so I cut out the piano for the third verse and left the guitar by itself. This is a song that I love, and always will. It is a great gift which your town has given to the world, and we thank you for it. The title for my Christmas album is taken from the English translation of the lyrics: "The Dawn of Redeeming Grace."

We are already working on our Christmas recording for this year, and will probably have it finished in the next week. I'll post it here for you. Merry Christmas!
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by turbidh20 »

Congratulations! You are rightly proud of your new baby! The album sounds great :D
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by Michael Willis »

Great work! Even though you have shared earlier drafts of some of these, it was fun to finally listen to the whole album.

The first time listening through, Alpha was my favorite track. After listening a few times... Alpha is still my favorite. It is super fun and bouncy; it can keep my head bopping through the entire four minutes. Did you use LMMS for Alpha, Lullaby, and Omega? Those three have a similar style that is a bit different from the other pieces, I'm curious about how you did the synthesizer sounds.

Of the vocal songs, I think U-Turn is my favorite, maybe because I've had a number of experiences in my life similar to what the lyrics express.

You give me courage to keep working on getting more music out of my head. Sometimes it seems like it takes so long given all of life's responsibilities, but if you can keep at it for 15 years, I can push forward on my music.
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by Openmastering »

Thanks for the album
For me, the world needs more of those. It's good honest music, produced "at home", just with the joy of music behind.
If you want some feedback on your new album, send me a message, I'll be happy to help.
Audio mastering for open minds: https://openmastering.studio
I master music using only free/libre softwares and DIY hardware.
Contact me for a free mastering sample.
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by milo »

Thanks for your comments, all.

turbidh20: I love your Hendrix dragon avatar!

MichaelWillis: Connecting best with an instrumental piece I think is a true mark of being a music geek! Yes, those three songs used lmms, and the TripleOscillator synth was the backbone of all three. I had a lot of fun shaping the sounds, as I had never done anything like that before.

A bit of background: I recorded 3 tracks during 2005-2007 when I was in medical school. This was back when I was a Windows user transitioning to Linux, but I didn't have a working audio interface on Linux. My music production ground to a halt through residency and I gave up on ever finishing the album. Near the end of residency I came across a $10 49-key midi controller at a yard sale, and couldn't pass it up. By then I was a 100% Linux user, so I went searching for a way to use my new toy and found LMMS. This is what got me back into music making, and when it came time to record the guitar part for Alpha I was ready to invest some cash on an audio interface. Also, one of the lead synth voices in Lullabye was done in Ardour using Amsynth, because I just couldn't get the sound I wanted in LMMS. I found that the hybrid LMMS-Ardour workflow was annoying, so in my more recent tracks I used synth LV2 instruments in Ardour tracks instead of LMMS so that all of the music is in one application. I still like a lot of things about LMMS, but I much prefer mastering in Ardour.

Openmastering: I am honestly quite intimidated to have my basement recordings scrutinized by a professional, especially when I knew virtually nothing about mastering music just a year ago and still feel quite clumsy at it. But I'm interested in learning and curious to hear your thoughts. I'll message you. Thanks!
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by psyocean »

Great work. 15 years - strong! Sound - clear flower. What said else. Wonderful!

Midi controller so userful. My first - children synth with midi-output :mrgreen: Than I buy M-Audio midi-keyboard 61-keys. But I wont more :D In last year I targeting take 88-keys on Fatar pianistic keyboard. Most wanted :) But I got at the flea market and buy on lowest price - 88-keys Kawai mp4 grand piano with midi-faders for control. So, I can recommend Fatar or Kawai, or other with 88-keys and high quality keyboard.

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Guitar and synth tales... https://www.youtube.com/user/Psyocean/
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by milo »

Thanks, psyocean! I always smile at the pictures you post with your comments.
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by GMaq »

Hi milo,

I've been away for a while and am relieved I haven't missed this!

Catchy songs and turnarounds! Very much enjoyed the DIY Indie-folk vibe, very engaging to listen to. I like how you've programmed some of the drums, a close listen indicates they are programmed but you're doing interesting things with them!

Congrats and great work!
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by milo »

GMaq wrote:Hi milo,

I've been away for a while and am relieved I haven't missed this!

Catchy songs and turnarounds! Very much enjoyed the DIY Indie-folk vibe, very engaging to listen to. I like how you've programmed some of the drums, a close listen indicates they are programmed but you're doing interesting things with them!

Congrats and great work!
Welcome back! I'm glad you like the tunes. Your comment about the drum programming means a lot to me. I've never had any sort of instruction on drumming, but I used to pound on a real kit years ago and it was fun. I sure am grateful for your work on the AVL drum kits. What a fantastic tool!

Thanks for the comment and the listen!
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by Basslint »

Sorry for the late bump, I actually had your album bookmarked and was waiting to have some spare time to give it an attentive listen, since I often like your stuff.

And predictably, I like it a lot! The solos, the introspective lyrics, the acoustic guitar passages, the arrangements, the overall mood...really excellent stuff, this is truly inspiring, to know that someone with similar tooling as myself has made something so moving, thanks! :D

I also enjoy your blog, keep it up!
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Re: Lost and Found - My "Albumatross"

Post by milo »

Thanks, basslint! I'm glad you like the album and the blog. Moving people is one of my primary goals in my music and writing, and I'm always happy to hear that it works for at least a few people out there. Thanks for listening and reading!
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