This is a new kind of project for me - while it’s primarily a project to write and record new music, it’s just as much an outlet for building and writing. These have all been enduring passions of mine that I’m trying to combine:

• 🎵 Music: I started playing music almost 20 years ago, and have since learned to play guitar, drums, bass, and cello, as well as training on vocals. I’ve learned to compose and record, and currently play in an established band and any pop-ups that come along.

• 🔨 Making: I built my first guitar body in between high school and college, and have tinkered with different instrument and electronics ideas on and off ever since (and finished my first electric guitar built from scratch late last year!).

• ✏️ Writing: I wrote a blog in college about technology and design, but kept it oriented toward software engineering as I tried to break into that industry. I came back to this a few times, but that sort of writing hasn’t been as interesting lately.

Recently, I’ve been looking for a way to combine my passions into a common outlet. The past couple years have driven me to think more about what a creative’s role in their community should be; both our political environment in the US and the rise of generative AI have added fuel to those questions. We’re going to have more hard choices about how we live than any time in recent history, and that requires more participation from as many voices as possible. I think creating art that explores these choices, putting that work out in the world, and talking about the process is the best way for me to engage and contribute to that conversation and build a stronger voice of my own.

These crafts will feed into each other: my music is my main focus, and I plan to build more instruments and experiment with more music technology to push these songs forward. As I try to build new tools to accomplish this, I plan to share progress and write about what I’m learning. And, as the world continues to evolve around us, I plan to use my experiences in both my art and my work as a software engineer deep in the maelstrom of AI advancement to reflect on what’s coming and how we can thrive in this world.

Listen to the first single on Spotify!

On that note, the music I release is all hand-made… it’s a strange thing to have to say, but that’s the era we’re in.

Put clearly: I do not use AI to generate any part of my music, and reject the idea of doing so. AI is a powerful tool for certain things, but it can’t be used to express. I do plan to write about the other ways I embrace it and how it interacts with our role in the world, since I think it’s increasingly important to address. But, creating my art is the purpose and joy of this project, and I plan to document parts of that process too.

Specifically, my songs for this project all have the constraint of being able to be performed with a small number of other musicians - ideally a trio. I want to see how that constraint leads the art, and hopefully perform live with a few other musicians every so often after I have enough material (and can showcase others’ art as well).

To anyone subscribing and coming along for the ride: thank you, and I hope to become a part of your community and share something that spurs an idea or two. I’m excited to share more music, instruments that help push that music’s boundaries, and ideas that can help us all connect with our art in a new way.