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Edible
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Another couple of weeks, another day! One thing I’ve grown to really love (but may have to give up due to a change in diet) is Bingsu! I’ve never been a huge fan of icecream, but Bingsu is something else.
Tea is extremely popular here in Vietnam - not just as a hot drink, but a flavored drink. There are literally tea shops (think Boba-esque tea) EVERYWHERE.
Bingsu isn’t anywhere near as abundant as Vietnam tea shops being a Korean dish, but there happens to be an awesome Korean dessert bar a short bike ride away from my apartment.
My first Bingsu experience was with a red bean medley. I knew at once that we were meant to be and we were united in 3 - 4 swift minutes.
My second experience (same city, same street, different shop) was of mango. This one happened to have cake chunks nestled in the milk, icecream, ice, and mango chunks.
SO. DANG. GOORT!
(the cake was a’ight)
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Arrangements
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PAST
The past few weeks has been me buckling down to finish work for Gigabuster. Right now, everything is falling in place:
Guitar sheet music (guitar is finished, bass will be finished this week)
OST prep
Extended Soundtrack Guitar/Bass Recordings
Aside from that, I have been spending time getting my live streams up, running, and consistent.
I must admit, I was a bit scared about exposing my compositional process, but now, I realize I actually enjoy it. No one really watches at the moment, but the purpose is to have an outlet that people can view my work through. An imperfect outlet. In a world were the prime and primped versions of everyone tends to be on display, I enjoy throwing a bit of fumble into the mix.
FUTURE
FINISHING UP OSTS!
The next two weeks will be me focusing on 2 things:
Giga mixing (EP) and mastering (FULL OST/EP)
The EP for Giga is smaller than I expected, but the original soundtrack only consists of 20 - 21 pieces.
Unlike Ciel, a lot of the extended Gigabuster OST consists of pieces I created to help get me in the proper headspace for pieces that truly melded into Gigabuster’s world. So, despite these additional compositions straying from what I believe is the true Gigabuster feel, I am proud of them and am eager to have people listen to them.
2. Getting Ciel Fledge and Gigabuster ready for streaming services.
I am super excited for these two projects, and they will be my first set of works to find their ways on a professional streaming platform.
I want to be honest, though -
I don’t want to use Spotify.
I am trying to think of alternatives (outside of Bandcamp), but the main reason for putting these albums on Spotify is visibility.
Doesn’t change the fact that residuals are meager.
RUMINATIONS
I think a lot of my ruminations this month have revolved around self-confidence and feeling comfortable making myself visible as a composer.
I’m not sure how other composers view their music, but I have moments were I really, really enjoy what I create, and days where I feel as thought I’m immersed in mental fecal matter
I have to remind myself that I am a good composer, but also remember not to compare myself to other composer’s careers, or become hyper focused on how my voice (or lack thereof) may be prohibiting me from ascending in this profession.
I tend to over-exaggerate my short comings and undervalue my strengths. It’s one reason why I am hesitant to be consistently visible. I have to remind myself that musical waves of gold will not always waft out of my laptop speakers. I have to remind myself that being imperfect is human, and the more I put those imperfections on display (looking at you live stream) the more bold I become!
That is why I have decided to embark on a big personal project - one that I will use to prove that I am a great composer, one that will involve me writing for myself (something I haven’t done for years), and will also help give me visibility in this digital age, in a way that is authentic for me:
Album Documentary
45 MINUTES OF MUSIC IN 7 WEEKS.
I have put a lot of thought into this, and have created a separate blog post to talk more about it.
I plan to announce it on twitter later this week or early next week.
For those interested in learning more about the challenge, check out a separate post: