Last night was our last scheduled studio session. It's as if the three days from the 26th to the 28th of January have been one continuous stream. I spent the day of the 26th finalizing my recording agenda. We spent the evening tidying up the pre-mixes. There are two types of adjustments by this point in the process. One type are performance issues that still irritate me whenever I hear them, an example of which are sub-microtonal pitch problems. The others have to do more with taste than errors, like instrument levels and dynamics. But while the average passive listener will hardly notice these things, I want to get them out of the way because I will have to live with these recordings for the rest of my life. I prepared a list of specific items to work on, and we finished everything by midnight. Vin apparently texted me with some observations at 2am as I arrived home from the previous night's session. But I didn't notice it until I woke up at 5 , having turned off my ringer because I desperately needed at least a couple of hours sleep before taking my family to school. I wondered if Vin had gotten any sleep at all. I then spent the whole morning reviewing the previous night's work. Vin texted me again later that morning with the same comments. I finally answered him, a 3-part message explaining several issues. By then, I had also written down the final round of needed adjustment, and texted Shinji the agenda for the evening. I got to the studio at about 7:30pm on the 27th, just in time to catch Buddy Zabala and Sancho Sanchez wrapping up their session with Silent Sanctuary. Abe and Rica were there, and we started work at about 8pm. We finished this phase of the evening at about 11, at which time Vin showed up. For some strange reason, we all felt unusually hungry even if we had all had dinner before coming to the studio. I decided to take a break and order out for some food. Simon and Tonie showed up at the same time the food arrived. Kakoy begged off because he wasn't feeling well. I instructed Shinji to set up all the songs in sequence so we could hear the entire album for the first time. We grabbed some beers, and I told everyone that no one would leave the room until the album was finished playing. Everyone was silent as the album unfolded. You could say that it was like we had all run out of comments and suggestions. But another way of looking at it is that we could finally kick back and enjoy the fruits of five months of labor. After customary congratulations and chit-chat, Shinji burned us some listening copies, and I left after at about 2am. I got home and managed a couple of hours sleep before taking my family to school. I can't bounce back as quickly as I could when I was younger, so I spent the rest of the day recovering from the sleep deprivation by taking cat naps throughout the day. It was a long 72 hours, and I'm rather relieved its over.
Even before we started recording last August, I had already written down the sequence of songs for the album. Up until last night, Vin asked if we could make some changes. But I have resisted, because I was sure of how I wanted the album to flow. Assembling an album is the final act of production, and it is not unlike making a set-list for a gig. Even if it is not a "concept-album", the sequence has a logic and flow that must retain the listener's attention. But this has become increasingly difficult, given the changing habits of most listeners. It is unfortunate that the ever-increasing pace of life in the 20th and 21st century has caused people to subdivide music, time, and life in general, into short, detached "periods" that lose their context and meaning. When I was a broadcasting undergrad, I remember how we studied how radio DJs would play only enough of a song to establish one verse and chorus, then rudely segue into the next song in an effort to play more songs in their shift, and thus collect more payola to quench their greed. It is also slightly disconcerting that in this iPod generation, most people will pick out only a couple of heavily promoted or hyped "hits", and never give themselves a chance to hear the rest of the songs from the album from where they came. But like all the albums I've produced, I always recommend it be experienced at least once in its entirety. This is why I feel an album is only completed after I have heard the final mixes continuously from start to finish. So after the last strains of Kakoy's guitar feedback on "Walang Kapalit" faded into digital silence, I asked Vin if he finally understood the placement of each song in the album. His simple "yes" was an affirmation of my belief that an album is more than just a bunch of songs thrown together in a recorded medium. Vin said it is a very easy album to listen to, and I agree. It never hits you over the head with a sledgehammer to get attention. Its like the ocean which ebbs and flows with some kind of rhythm, each wave having a unique way of advancing and receding. It unfolds with the logic of a mathematical equation, the creativity of a chord progression, and the organic timelessness as ocean waves.
It took a year and a half from the time I first heard the demo versions of songs on this album to the time we entered the recording studio. It took another five months to complete the album. And it will probably take a few more months for release to the public. Regardless of how long I work on an album, I usually don't listen to it for at least a month due to sheer physical and emotional exhaustion. Most people perceive a producer's work as logistical and technical. But for me, record production involves art, and passion is a major component of artistic work. As with the past two albums I've produced (Flipino and Talaarawan), I asked for a listening party after the last session outside the studio, something like a cast party for the participants and close friends. This is so I could release all my pent-up emotions over the past two years working with Peryodiko, and give the people involved with the production a chance to finally hear the completed work, since all they had heard prior to this were isolated components and drafts. Unfortunately, everyone outside of the band was apparently busy, and the party didn't happen. So because I didn't get a chance for release, my emotions are kind of ruffled, raw, and fettered right now. I guess I'll get over this in time, which will probably be the same time I voluntarily listen to the album again.
But my work is done. It will be passed on to the executive producers to market it, and the artists to continue playing the music in their gigs.The album is beautiful. It challenges my mind, stimulates my senses, and stirs my emotions. I trust you will all get a chance to hear it soon.
