3 Aspects of Our Debut Album That Fill Me with Pride - Part 1 The Songwriting Process

In creating our debut album, I totally love the songs where we bounced ideas off each other and came up with something neither of us could've done solo. Previously, I've mostly written music on my own, so this was my first real taste of how great real collaboration can be. We didn't restrict ourselves to a particular genre of music and let the ideas progress however felt right for each song. The tracks that really stand out for me in this way are AFL2 (All Faces Lie Part 2) and Oh Sisyphus!

AFL2 kicked off with its odd 5/4 chorus featuring just drums, some keyboard, and vocals. I sent this over to GT (GlassTear), who quickly added three more sections for the song. I had a play around with the structure, and these eventually became the pre-chorus, post-chorus instrumental section, and the coda. I added in the 4/4 verses and fine-tuned the structure to fit the vocal ideas. GT added the vast majority of guitars and the excellent bassline, while I focused on the drums and synths. Eventually, we added vocal harmonies for a few sections, aiming for a big sound, without going 'full Steinman'. Even though it is a complex and proggy song, the songwriting process was fast and surprisingly easy.

"Oh Sisyphus!" was a bit of a different journey. I had the verse down, but it was pretty bare to start with. Originally, there was a totally different chorus based on a piano riff from GT, which sounded great on its own, but it just didn’t vibe right with the rest. We hit a wall for a couple of weeks until GT came through with a pre-chorus and sent over a version with some guide vocals and lyrical ideas. At first, I wasn't completely convinced, but then it clicked that the melodies and most of the lyrics were actually solid; it just needed a more intense and darker vibe. So, I tweaked some of the lyrics and re-recorded the parts with my more raw-sounding vocals, and it definitely felt better. But then the chorus seemed even weaker compared to the rest of the track.

So, late one night, I had this epiphany and came up with a chorus that was totally different from anything I'd done before. The vocals, backing vocals, and guitars all sounded terrible on their own, but together they were huge. Everything just clicked. I then went through all the sections adding a bunch of guitars, keys, strings, and a ton of other stuff that probably only I can hear. I worried I might've gone overboard with all the instruments, but GT loved it (even if my Mac and Logic didn't quite agree).

Debut album fills me with pride

I really treasure those songs and the whole process because we wouldn't have created them without each other. We let each other run with ideas and suggested improvements because we trusted and respected each other's songwriting abilities. We never just shot down an idea immediately. Our rule was to live with an idea for a few days before deciding if it was right. Sometimes an idea might seem strange at first because it's so different from where you thought it was going. Give it a few days, then decide. We all ended up loving stuff that initially felt a bit... out there.

Every song on the album captured that vibe, even when they were first shared in a more complete form. Sometimes, you step back when someone’s really into the flow, and then throw in your ideas when it’s time to tweak the arrangements.

This turned out to be a longer piece than I anticipated. Nonetheless, all of this is fundamental to why—ignoring streams, followers, and all the other non-artistic bullshit metrics—I listen to the album and consider it one of the most unique, accomplished, and honest debut albums. If someone else had released it, I'm sure I'd be raving about it. But we created it, and we did so entirely on our own, without any concessions to tailoring it to a 'market'. So artistically, I can boldly declare that this debut album fills me with pride.