Elements to Reject

I remember after music theory class one day Prof. John Covach said to me "Your musical tastes are defined not by what you accept, but by what you reject."

This quote struck as odd back then, but recently it I have come to agree with it quite a bit. I still reluctantly enjoy my two most recent albums "Speak Away" and "Nine Questions," but they clearly suffer from a lack of focus. I was trying to cram too many styles into one disc. But if you try to do everything, you will do nothing well. The style of "Hydrogen" must be focused an consistent, and out of necessity, something has to be sidelined.

So after some consideration, I have made a list.

"Elements to Reject":
-Folk songs with only guitar and voice
-Very heavy rock
-Instruments drowned in digital reverb
-Political music (for now)


That's not to say that I don't like these things, but focusing on too many elements will cause things to get sidetracked. The removal of political music is a strange choice for me, since so much of my previous music is political, but after doing two albums about the world and all of its problems, it's about time I did an album that was about me, and all the dissonant harmonies going on (or not going on) in my head. I actually find this change of focus a tad selfish, especially since I believe we need political music now more than ever. But don't worry, I will be back.


Elements to include:
-Jazz chords
-Authentic instruments: acoustic piano, organ, and guitar (recorded clearly)
-Contagious and "non-cheesy" electronic beats
-Unusual sound effects