Many songs describe feeling like a stranger in a place you used to belong.

My song “Redshift” reckons with the fact that so much of who we are—so much of who our friends, family, and neighbors are—is shaped by the push and pull of forces that are blind, random, predetermined, and far beyond any of our individual control.

In astronomy, “redshift” refers to the way that wavelengths of light stretch over time, and appear redder as objects move away from us in our ever-expanding universe. (Here’s a visualizer from NASA). I first learned about this in a college class, and I’ve never quite shaken the sensation that, with each passing second, the farthest fringes of the observable universe are sliding irrevocably into darkness.

In America, “redshift” refers to a far more immediate slide into darkness.

I feel tugged between these two poles moving through the verses of this song: between the cosmic and the terrestrial, between the abstract and the material. I am occasionally paralyzed, dumbstruck by the notion that we are not beings moving through our lives, but rather that the universe is a thing that moves through us.

But… down here on earth, when we’re lucky, able, and clear-headed enough to recognize a choice between fear and love, we have to choose the latter.

Redshift

I fell in love with many of my favorite albums on aimless drives on the back roads in Michigan. I wanted a song that would soundtrack a drive like that. I found this hypnotic groove and ghostly soundscape that induced the trance-like state I get in on those sorts of drives. I wanted a chorus I could scream-sing along to, and an outro that would get me slapping the steering wheel. The central image came from a drive in Northern Michigan one winter. I saw fresh flowers on a cross on a nowhere road and thought of the person who laid them there. I imagined both had dreamt of leaving home, but now neither would get the chance.

A Cross On A Gravel Road

(The Graves of the Glaciers)

Till the End Time Begins

Hallelujah Clouds

A Trusty Lie

A simple, windswept tune about surviving miserable shit (Chicago winters, existential crises, etc.) individually, together.

Cracks

The Life I'll Leave You

Days Burn Down

Old Bruise

Welcome to *Random Patterns*, an open notebook for human storytellers, songwriters, album makers, filmmakers & other DIY artists to talk about the art of making art in a world that makes making art harder.

Hosted by Jordan Keller, songwriter/producer of The Okay Lakes and all-around, craft-obsessed creative dweeb, this podcast dives into the slow, unglamorous, unprofitable grunt work of pursuing creative labor under late-stage capitalism.

In each episode, we explore the deeply personal, often frustrating, life-nourishing work of crafting songs, films, stories, and more. No woo-woo (well… minimal woo-woo). Just engaging conversations with independent artists who refuse to let money dictate the value of their craft.

This podcast is for the artists working to maintain a sense of purpose to their creative work in a world increasingly dominated by AI, streaming, and tech giants. Expect seriously stupid discussions with stupidly serious artists who define their identity through their creative work.

In this intro episode, Jordan introduces the motivations behind the podcast and sets up an upcoming teaser of a conversation with filmmaker Andrew Adams, writer/director of *American Meltdown* (2023). The subsequent episode will explore how Andrew created such a polished, personal film on a shoestring budget, and dive deep into his process of developing the seed of his story, crafting his script, and putting it all together in production and post-production.

Whether you're an artist or someone who just loves to learn more about the creative process across a wide range of disciplines, stick around.

And if you think AI can make art? Beat it, ya big doofus.

000: Welcome to Random Patterns, an open notebook for human storytellers, songwriters, album makers & other DIY artists

songs to soundtrack late-night, moon-silvered drives on the patchily paved back roads of the Midwest

debut album coming in '23

📍made in Chicago

The Okay Lakes

Popular tracks