Water bottles have been shipped. Please check your messages (Patreon or Discord) or email for tracking numbers. So now it's time to move forward with the next merch run - Spring / Summer 2023!
We're doing a 7" lathe-cut vinyl that can hold 2 songs (1 per side) up to 6 mins. In the poll below, I'm including a selection of my most popular songs. Vote below on which song you want to be on the vinyl!
Note that this poll is open to Music Producer tiers and above - ...
2023-03-27 20:12:40 +0000 UTC
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During my session this week, I tried out a bunch of different ideas. I focused mainly on writing melodies, but this one chord progression I tried at the end had some promise. I wanted to write something similar to Snowfall and this is definitely in that direction, though a bit different.
I like this idea and I think the chord progression and melody are good, but it definitely feels like something I've written before. I'm not sure if that's good or bad? But for that reason, I'm not sure ...
2023-03-23 14:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Welp, sometimes a blank slate yields a really unique idea but other times the session lacks direction. This idea seems like the latter. I like both of the piano ideas that I wrote (you can hear them at the end of the preview above), but I don't think the main idea is very good.
I do like parts of it... The melodic house and chill vibes are good. And overall it's grown on me after sleeping on it. But I don't know if it feels strong enough to spend more time on. But what do you th...
2023-03-16 16:33:06 +0000 UTC
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Water Bottles are shipping out over the next week or 2. I'll be sending everyone tracking numbers via DM, Patreon Message, or email - whichever I've had responses from you before. So make sure to check your messages periodically :)
And it looks like the 7" Vinyls are our spring/summer 2023 item! I'll be posting a poll next week on which 2 songs we will include. Suggest your 2 favorite songs for ...
2023-03-10 18:02:00 +0000 UTC
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This week I started out with some piano ideas, chose one, and ran with it. I settled on an intense progressive house direction and wrote the intro/build/drop you hear in this version.
I think this idea has promise, but it feels dated. A strong melody and emotional chords are great, but I think it needs a different sound palette (genre or sound design? - not sure) to really sound good. That said, it's giving me "Not This Time" vibes and I really like that.
I'm not sure this one's h...
2023-03-09 17:15:16 +0000 UTC
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This is the 1st official release of 2023. I originally wrote this back in October 2021 and it went through a couple of rewrites since then, but I'm very happy with where it landed. It's my first song with electric guitar and I think those parts turned out great. Adding in my usual pianos with a revamped drop and this song reminds me a lot of "Falling Down" and it releases publicly on Friday!
...
2023-03-08 16:36:29 +0000 UTC
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This is the 2nd release of 2023 and it's a future chill/chillstep song. I originally wrote this last summer and it's been on my list to return to since. This song is really has a chill and warm atmosphere that you can just sink into. I found myself listening on repeat just vibing out when I was finishing it.
Mp3, 24-bit wave, & artwork are attached - Release Archive has also been updated for Patrons. This is available to Patrons today and releases for free for everyone tomorrow.
...
2023-02-24 18:01:02 +0000 UTC
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I'm making progress off stream on the February songs you voted for so yesterday I wrote something new. This idea developed from the failure of another and I'm really happy with how turned out. It's unique because it has a 6 bar chord progression (usually EDM is 2, 4, or 8) and I think it gives the song room to breathe a bit more.
I really like this and I will definitely be returning to finish it soon. I don't think it needs much - maybe some atmosphere, transitional elements and some su...
2023-02-23 15:01:00 +0000 UTC
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As the bottles are shipping out to you, I want to get your thoughts on the next Patreon Merch item, so we can start the process ASAP. Some pretty cool things in there - vote below!
Also, if you haven't confirmed your address for the bottles, please check your Patreon messages!
- Andrew
2023-02-22 15:00:04 +0000 UTC
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This week, I polled Twitch chat for a genre and we went with Liquid DnB. It's been awhile since I've purposely written some DnB, so it was fun to return to. After a drum beat, I wrote some chords and a basic melody and added a few more layers.
I tried adding more, but the song just felt too busy. It's a bit simplistic and certainly needs more detail and complexity in the types of sounds... but I do like the emotion of it. I think a vocal would really round out this type of song nicely (...
2023-02-16 17:19:48 +0000 UTC
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I never thought that Ant Man would make for good movies, but here I am looking forward to Quantumania this week. The original theme is super unique and was really fun to put into an EDM format.
Mp3, 24-bit wave, & album art are attached. And as always - a massive thank you to all the patrons supporting me here!
Thanks for listening, enjoy the music, and have a great day!
- Andrew
Latest Release: 2023-02-12 16:59:21 +0000 UTC
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This week, I worked on a catchy piano melody and paired it with some chill house vibes. I wrote a few of those ideas on stream, then picked one and ran with it.
Although it's very basic, I like this idea. I'm not sure it's high on my list to return to but it's easy to get lost in the bouncy atmosphere of this one. What do you think? - Is this kind of piano melody with house something you'd like to see more of? Let me know in the comments!
Download attached & W...
2023-02-09 15:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Time for another poll! Which song do you want me to try and finish this month?
The follow up sessions on the project may or may not be streamed on Twitch - it will depend on what kind of sessions the song needs to progress.
I've attached a short mix of all 4 songs and linked all the original WIP posts for reference!
Vote Below!!
The laser-engraved S'well water bottles have landed! I've just received them this week and I'll be starting the process of shipping them out to you ASAP. I'll be reaching out over the next few days to confirm addresses, please make sure to check your messages/email early next week!
Here are some more pics:
2023-02-03 21:39:52 +0000 UTC
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Most sessions I have a plan going in, but sometimes starting with a complete blank slate produces a really promising idea. That's what happened earlier in January, so this week I started with a blank slate again. Welp... that didn't work so I struggled through the session trying to write something that sounded cool.
The piano piece at the beginning is great and I love the emotion in it, but I...
2023-02-02 16:56:43 +0000 UTC
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Time for the first release of 2023 - Driftwood! This song was originally written last September and all the patrons voted for me to finish it this month. My return sessions went smoothly and I'm really happy with the final result.
Mp3, 24-bit wave, & artwork are attached - Release Archive has also...
2023-01-27 17:30:06 +0000 UTC
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Since I finished the production on Driftwood over the weekend, I wrote something new this week. I just played for a bit until I found some chords I liked. Once there, I tried a few different directions and ended up with what you hear above.
I like this chord progression a lot and I'll probably return to it. But I'm not sure exactly what the final song would be. So during the session I settled...
2023-01-26 17:19:08 +0000 UTC
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Hi Everyone!
I've received confirmation that the custom engraved S'well bottles are in production and will ship to me soon. Once I have them, I'll start shipping them out to you myself. Expect an update asking for confirmation and/or updated addresses soon!
With that being said, I wanted to reach out to all Patrons for some feedback and ideas on what our next item will be.
Let me know in the comments below what kind of custom Approaching Nirvana merch you ...
2023-01-24 15:00:04 +0000 UTC
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This month I'm focusing on finishing the song you voted for - Driftwood. I originally wrote this back in September of last year and it's a really cool chillstep/melodic dubstep instrumental. This week was my 2nd session and I revisited a lot of the mixing, sound design/layers, and arrangement.
I think...
2023-01-19 16:44:59 +0000 UTC
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This week's idea is pretty solid. I started out making some atmosphere for inspiration (you can hear it in the intro) and then messed around on the piano until I found something promising. Once I got something decent, I ran with it and a whole song developed.
This one reminds me a bit of Clearings from October and I'll definitely be returning to it. There are a lot of FX, layers, and subtleties missing, but I like this a lot and think the final version could be really cool. But ...
2023-01-12 15:31:00 +0000 UTC
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I hope you had a great holiday and the new year is treating you well!
Because of your support in 2022, I was able to release 13 free songs, a 7 song DnB EP, and 2023-01-11 15:30:00 +0000 UTC
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My focus for the 1st half of 2023 is to finish as many in-progress projects as possible. So we're going to switch up polls for a bit. I've chosen 4 projects of a similar genre/vibe that are on my list to return to. The top option I will be working on and hopefully finishing during January.
The follow up sessions may or may not be streamed on Twitch - it will depend on what kind of sessions the song needs to progress.
I've attached a short mix of all 4 songs and linked all the orig...
2023-01-10 20:50:09 +0000 UTC
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It's that time again to ring in the new year! Last year's recap mix was well received, so I put together another recap of the last year's ideas.
The 2 hours of music in this mix are the ideas I felt had the most potential from the 2022. Some of them have already been released, some of them I'm in the process of finishing, and others I'm already planning on returning to. I'm not sure exactly which ideas from this year (or last) will see a proper release, but you can always access all the...
2023-01-06 18:11:47 +0000 UTC
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This week's idea developed a lot differently than anticipated, but I really like where it went. It's been awhile since I wrote some Drum and Bass and although I didn't start the session wanting to write DnB, it felt the most after I wrote the chords. An arp lead, some drums/bass, and a guitar in the intro and I ended up at the version you hear above. Not bad for the 1st idea of the year!
I don't intend to write a whole lot of DnB over the next few months but I like this idea and think I...
2023-01-05 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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This week I wanted to really hone in on the drive and motivation vibe of an idea. I started out with some heavy inspiration from "Stop" - a song I wrote awhile back that I think has a big driving feel to it & just ran with it to end up here.
It's not complicated but overall I really like this idea. I can see myself returning to it, but it has a lot of work left to be done. But what about you? - Is this style something you enjoy and would like to see more of? And would you like to se...
2022-12-29 15:30:01 +0000 UTC
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This year I put together a minimix for Christmas! The video is live over on YouTube but you can download the mix here.
I also repurposed some of the Blocking the Sky Redux assets to put together a quick remix of Jingle Bells (which is in the Minimix). It's not a legit remix by any means, but I thought it was something fun and extra for the Holiday.
I've attached a download of that as well (and you can hear it in the preview on this post).
Last, but not least......
2022-12-24 15:50:59 +0000 UTC
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More darker themes this week! It was also my first time recording guitar on stream and it went... okay haha. I want to evolve my sound moving forward and similar to last week, this is an experiment in that direction.
Although it's missing a lot, I like this idea. I'm not sure if it's super strong but both sections (verse / drop) are decent and with some sound design and FX could be really...
2022-12-22 15:30:00 +0000 UTC
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This week's idea is a bit different. I wanted to keep with the driving/motivational vibe and write something darker. I started off the idea with some melodic techno vibes at a slower bpm and ran with the idea from there. After some ups and downs during the session, I think the idea turned out pretty good!
This is a pretty different sound and I like it so I can definitely see myself returning to it. But what do you think? - Are these darker vibes something you'd like to see more of...
2022-12-15 16:47:27 +0000 UTC
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I originally wrote this song in January and was on the fence about finishing this one all year. I like how it turned out and while it's not the best song, I really like the atmosphere in this one. It's also a nice change of tone from Blocking the Sky with some darker vibes. This one was named for Kalm town from FFVII - if you've played the game you'll definitely get the vibe.
Mp3, 24-bit wave,...
2022-12-14 17:15:01 +0000 UTC
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This month we're writing motivational/driving/persevering songs and while this fits in that category, it's definitely on the lighter/uplifting side. My starting point for this song was melodic dubstep at 100bpm, but I'm not sure how well it worked.
I like the intro & verse enough but the "drop" isn't strong. While FX and automation would definitely fill this out, this isn't my favorite recent idea. This gives me Awake to Find vibes and I might return to it at some point, but i...
2022-12-08 16:05:28 +0000 UTC
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