2024·Indie·Paraparaumu, New Zealand
RobC
Frog Salad! The Rough Reel Production Month Attempt
EPAbout
In this month, I decided to use RPM as a springboard to record ideas - not complete or listenable works - to jumpstart production of "Frog Salad!", with the final production deadline being 30 September 2024, in time for Zinefest 2024. After that it'll be available on Bandcamp. Frankly, after my abortive attempts to make electronic dance, and my current complete lack of inspiration to continue the invisibl nudist project (at the moment), "Frog Salad!" seems closer to my real musical talent. I'm rather pleased to have got so close to 10 ideas recorded in this time, fighting stress, migraines, the demands of work etc. All with the assistance of cheap guitar, ukelele, mellotron sample banks, and expensive Ableton DAW. Inspiration came from early 90s Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs, Wendyhouse, and James Kochalka. While "What's Inside..." is probably the most popular, "Lubberland" is closest to my intended sound. Oh well. At least I know what I'll be doing over the next seven months: polishing these turds.
Favourite Moment
I think a crucial moment was when I decided to forget about listen-ability and just "sing", if you can call it that, and mangle guitar. By now you'll have worked out I don't really play the damn gitbox, I just record chords and splice them together like Delia Derbyshire. Runner-up would be coming up with "Cheese on Toast for Breakfast" in the shower after doing just that.
Advice
I think I finally understand what Mike Monday means when he stresses quantity over quality when coming up with ideas. Frankly I was paralysed from perceived time pressures until I remembered that the R in RPM stood for "Rough". I just had to get the ideas out, skill and polish be damned. I'm an amateur, at best, why do I try to hide that?
