“After a summer of living out of a suitcase, I was able to set up my “studio” for the first time in months, take advantage of my temporary solitude, and schedule spontaneity every morning by rewinding my alarm clock by an hour — an hour a day for 6 weeks which became ~45 minutes of music.” And it’s those ~45 minutes, that became the 35:40 you’re listening to.

As usual, I’d been naming tracks after stray words in my head e.g. Maintenance (from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), Positivism (from a philosophy podcast), or Yoshimoto (the surname of an author I’d recently read). Although arbitrary, it was only when I listened from back to the bounces in operating-system alphabetical order that I realised that it was an album.

Further more, the continuous stream seemed to transform what would have otherwise been left yet another unfinished folder. I have a hard-and-fast bad habit of starting another project in the face of finishing one, but for whatever reason this time I felt differently. Perhaps because of the 6 week time limit, the simplicity of my approach — often finishing a track in one sitting, using only my Korg Minilogue and Volca Beats — or maybe I’m just ready to improve in public.

Dedicated to my dad James, for his endless generosity and understanding, and the view from his flat.

TEMH