More music tweaks today. I re-recorded the vocals for Lullaby From Your Cells To Your Mind; this time relaxed and gently, as though singing a lullaby itself, which really improved the song. I panned the vocals quite hard right, which I'm unsure about. It is unusual (which is a positive), and perhaps emulates being sung a lullaby, but can be a little distracting and uncomfortable when listening with headphones.
I've also completed the internal tray art, and CD disc art. I probably will print some CDs, although none of my albums have sold more than five copies, in recent memory. I think it's important to have a physical entity of music though, this is the art, and it is a way to share the music and the art in an engaging and attractive way.
One issue concerns me. Some tracks are very short, a few seconds, by way of an introduction to the different sections, like chapter headings. This can work on a CD, but for a download album might not be permitted or cause other problems (can someone buy one of these 9 second tracks?). I don't know what to do about this. I could merge adjoining tracks, but it feels artificial because these headings are different in tone to the tracks either side. I don't want separate track lists for the CD and digital versions of the album (that would be an administration nightmare).
All of this reminded me how unusual this album is. I'm making highly polished recorded music at a time when musicians are caring more about live performance and hardly recording at all. When they do record, it's short, simple tracks (not months in the studio, this has taken me four months) that can catch on, or music developed to support a live show, like merchandise rather than the product itself. Big label acts must make music, as ever, then spend a year or two touring to promote it, which I have no interest in doing.
This album isn't like that at all, it's more like the complex rock and pop music of the 1970s by bands like Queen, Kate Bush, Genesis, Electric Light Orchestra.
My music is also designed to be listened as an album rather than individual tracks, and is rather long. This is in complete opposition to current trends, where Kanye West releases albums of under 30 minutes. My best single-candidate track is nearly 7 minutes long, and several tracks are under 20 seconds.
Well, this, if anything proves that I'm pushing at some boundary. I'm very pleased with everything so far and will certainly create more albums in the same style, but I will have to think about the track length problem.
