Ive been on a crazy scifi movie stint lately, and this is the result of its influence on me haha!  I wrote the very beginning part (before the drums come in) about 2 months ago, then listened to it again in my scifi mood, and really wanted to work on it.

0:00 - 1:56
The Journey - I wanted to make this sound like a journey through the "nothingness" of space. Its very spacial / minimal. The melody has a bit of dissonance, how I sonically represent the weightlesness and "chaos" of the lack of gravity. Theres the underlying, constant resonance of the bass, like the slow progress to a planet, while the drums are much more frequent, because in reality it appears like youre going slow but its actually like 17,000 miles per hour. I tried to blend them enough to where both mix well and create the image of the journey.

1:57 - 4:45
First Sight
This is the cadence to the journey, the resolution to the long, slow progression. I think of how I would feel being the first human ever to see an earthlike planet, and how regal and humbling that would be. I tried to reflect that in the major key tonality and simple 8th note steps. As all the instruments come in, I imagine that as being through Triton's atmosphere and seeing liquid water and maybe even vegetation - a hope for the species that already destroyed a whole planet. Onward!

Triton - The Approach

I have to thank Chris Nielsen for this song. He had just gotten a computer and was wanting to start making digital music - like Owl City / Breathe Carolina. So I tried to make some of the sounds he showed me in a song he liked. At the end of the day, I really liked what I had started, so I continued it. 
Theres not a whole ton to lay out about the instruments of this song just that I really wanted something upbeat. I was really pleased with it once I added some extra atmospheric sounds, it just made it more complete. Also, at the time I was writing this, I got really into trap music, so I nonchalantly added a trap-bridge right after the first chorus (if you dont know where that is, listen to the song when you have good bass. Youll find it.)
The lyrics - Hopeful, just like the music. Things arent bad all the time, and once you see a bit of the upswing, it helps keep an eternal perspective on things. The chorus is about realizing dreams, taking the "castles in air" that we all have, and give them a foundation and releasing the unseen abilities within ourselves. 
I also thought since it sounded Owl City-y, I might as well try to mimic the vocal style. I ramped up the autotune on it, but it still didnt sound right. Just recently I read that he uses Melodyne to do the midi tuning of his vocals, so be sure to look out for that on upcoming songs :)

Lyrics:
What is light? 'cause I think that Ive found it.
It lifts me up, while its keeping me grounded.
In a sense, it is living defying gravity.
Is it fast? 'cause it feels like slow-motion
Belly up on the waves of the ocean,
With the fingertip rays of the sun upholding me.

Everything that once doubted is fading,
What was dark now has light emanating,
The windblown seed now has roots catching ground.
I implore this relief be not fleeting,
For The Hurt can be all but believing,
Guide the glimmer of anticipation safe and sound.

Castles in air,
Built upon the clouds
What livest there
But prospects unendowed?
Settle them sure,
Founded and sustained,
Open the door,
Release what was contained!

Castles in air,
Built upon the clouds
What livest there
But prospects unendowed?
Settle them sure,
Founded and sustained,
Open the door.

Castles In Air

A song about the repentant. Better than "He Hears ME" by Hillary Weeks anyway :)

Sleepwalking

One night I was trying to finish a punk song, but this happened instead haha. I didnt mix it or master it too well, but it was done so I figured i might as well upload it! Hope you like! Compare it to the original!

Open Water (Thrice cover)

Everyone gets to the point where you just want a solution to all the problems you're going through. This song is about that. How to find the solution, or how to be okay with knowing you're in good hands until the solution comes. 

Weary Spirit

Ask me if you want the meaning of the song.

Exodus

Tell me this doesnt remind you of melting during the Canicula or hating to answer your phone because it was the ZL's :)

Globo1

Five versions and 6 weeks of mixing later, I finally have to just walk away from it haha. Its not perfect, but its the best job Ive done mixing. Pretty proud of it.
The song is about finding the good in the lessons we can learn when sudden things hit us. A loved one being ripped away, lost opportunities, and repentance. If the song touched you in some way please don't hesitate to let me know on Facebook (or here if you have an account.) You are the reason I write music, so knowing it actually connects with people spurs me on to continue writing and bettering my writing and recording skills. I love you all and hope to hear from every one of you!!!

Now for the nerdiness :)  So I wrote the verse on guitar about 5 some odd years ago, but then went on my mission and didn't progress much with it. At one point the lyrics were about "looking up at the moon" and had a much faster rhythm. But I wanted the lyrics (or the verse at least) to contrast the staccato-y rhythm of the guitar line, to demonstrate the point of the song, that things can seem to move quickly but slowly float as well. For the chorus, I liked the sound of it going to the minor to also contrast the upbeat melancholic sound of the verse. It kind of brings one out of a reflective state (verse) and "slams" you into now, the present, the reality of it, as happens in life. When I was playing the chorus, the words "a shard of broken glass" just seemed to fit perfectly, so I took that and had to think of a positive coming from such an emo/dark sounding concept, and the spectrum of light that passes through a piece of glass fit the description perfectly. Yet another contrast: the title of the song to the overall positive message of the song. I relate this to how we can see things in our lives, as either the painful, superficial value (title) or look deeper, experiment and ponder a little, and see the light and wisdom that can come from hardships (the song). Coupling this feeling of reality, once we have things happen to us, we can either stay and dwell on it, or continue on. That's why I added the quarter note bassline. I think it adds movement and progression. The idea for that came from a memory I have of my buddy Dearden listening to a song in Mexico and when the chorus came, he did this little choo-choo kind of dance haha, and me, wanting to add movement, just kinda pulled from that. Now the chorus at the end is possibly my favorite part. I took the idea of going from a minor chorus the first time through and then resolving to a major key chorus the second time through from the song "Words in the Water" by Thrice. The first time I heard it I was amazed. It was so relentlessly epic! Now, mines not "epic" but I think its more like the feeling of seeing the sun break through the clouds after a long, dark night. Just hopeful, I guess.

Anyway, that's the kind of thought I put into my songs, which is probably why it takes me so long to write and record them haha. I find creative freedom in this kind of constriction I place on my songs. Only the best for my awesome listeners!!!!


Lyrics: A Shard of Broken Glass


Take a deep breath, in the wake of it,
Here's the real test, what you make of it.
Though the sun shines it looks different; I know.

It's just like that ringing left in your ears
when the song that made you sing disappears.
Motion pauses for a moment or two...

But then, as the world keeps spinning on, as it has forever done,
All the discontent will wane.
Because the light from a shard of broken glass and the spectrum that it casts
tell a tale to us that it is never

what's been given, then was taken away,
But what we've taken from whats been given our way.
Take or leave it, choose to grow or give in.

Looking back in an existential embrace,
as a moment, something that cant be replaced,
do not pine it; just let it carry you on...

But then, as the world keeps spinning on, as it has forever done,
All the discontent will wane.
Because the light from a shard of broken glass and the spectrum that it casts
tell a tale to us that it is never
just a meager lapse of time, as our clocks and hearts unwind
and the trials come our way.
Open up your eyes and seize the day! Though the world spins on its way...

Take a deep breath.

Much Love
JAmes

A Shard of Broken Glass

A remix of the awesome song on the game Super Hexagon!

jameshawken

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