Another year has come to a close, and while I haven’t released much new this year, I still wanted to share some related updates and some plans for the future so you’ll know what to expect going into 2023.
To emphasize my previous post, this was a dead year as far as my music-making goes. I had a lot going on behind the scenes that made it hard to focus on music as much as I did during 2020-2021. Lots of appointments to keep, a chaotic work schedule, surgeries, car breakdowns, a new house – the works. I’m really hoping God cuts me a little slack this year 😛
Now, with everything going on, I still managed to achieve some noteworthy things. For starters, I purchased and tested a new Viking-themed VST (“Groth” by Wavelet Audio) and posted the results to my SoundCloud.
This will be great for future Northsong tracks! I’m considering combining this kind of music with metal guitars for a true Viking Metal vibe. It’s an exciting prospect.
Next, I wanted to share some pictures of my new little home studio.
Here was how my setup was before I made any adjustments. Not much but a laptop on a small IKEA desk and a dresser with a TV on top.
Then I added a white L-shaped desk with a little shelf. Still stuck using a laptop, though.
After that, I invested in some music gear – studio monitors and stands, a new MIDI keyboard, and some (cheap) studio headphones. I also upgraded from my laptop and built a new PC myself.
For the final touches, I repainted the whole room, moved the dresser out, mounted the TV on the wall, added a few shelves for decoration, and got a futon. Here’s the final result:
This is the first time I’ve had a bonified home studio, and I’m really happy with the final results. I’ve been messing around a little bit here and there with everything, but I can’t wait to really get down to creating tunes with all my new toys!
Finally, I do have one announcement I believe I’m ready to make. Although it’s still in the beginning stages, the first expected release I’m going to put out in 2023 is a remastering of my Shadowforge EP. I felt the mixing and mastering of the original is a little lackluster, and the flaws become more and more obvious to me every time I listen to it. I feel like I need to add some extra “oomph” to the mixes to really make these awesome songs shine, so that’s what this little venture is for.
This will be the first time I’ve ever remastered one of my previous albums without completely rerecording them, and I’m excited to learn new mixing and mastering methods. This will require me to dive deep into new and old plugins alike so I can learn how to use them with maximum efficiency. It’s a big undertaking for me but it’s necessary – not just for this remaster, but also for everything else I put out after this point.
That’s all from me. I hope you all had a great year and that you’re going into the new one refreshed and ready to meet new adventures. Keep watching this space and I’ll see you all very soon – HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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I also have individual Facebook, Twitter, and Bandcamp pages for Northsong, Ebon Arcanum, and Shadowforge. Just check their pages!
Cortland Runyon Music 