Six months ago I wrote about my plan to release five separate mini-albums for an eventual full-length ‘box set’ of each release. Last month I put out the first of those releases. Unfortunately, that was the first and last of the If Nothing Else… series. Fortunately, I’ve decided to switch over to releasing singles and to ditch the album concept altogether.
It’s been something I’ve been thinking about since I decided on the segmented album format — a singles format just segments it to the song level. Originally, my idea was to release something more than a single but less than an EP or full-length. As I wrote back then:
First, writing, producing, recording and mixing 10 tracks all at once is a ton of work. Second, the current state of digital distribution just begs for a more frequent release cycle.
That still holds true. Realistically, though, releasing singles means twice as many releases, half the wait between releases and, hopefully, releases that stand on their own instead of as a bundle. Creatively, it means that I can focus on one track from start to finish instead of the jumping back and forth that I fall into when working on several songs at a time.
Who knows… I could wake up tomorrow and decide to go back to the album concept, scrap everything and start over. But it seems to be working for me so far and right now I’m sitting on one song that’ll be released on its own in the near future. Here’s to hoping that it turns out to be a good one.
