My daily jam-challenge is still ongoing. I make a little beat everyday, but since a few days back I have taken a break from posting them. Making the jams is great practise, I make new discoveries. But naturally it’s not in many people’s interest to look at someone else’s attempts, or push-ups.

I still plan to post them as proof 😉 – but I don’t really see the value of spamming someone’s RSS-feed with something half-assed that I’m throwing together just before midnight.

So far, I’m on my 27th day of daily jams. I’ll push through til 30, but from then on it makes more sense to putting in a bit more work in every piece. To break the stalemate I had found myself in, the challenge was the right thing.

The Op-1 and I had been on a hiatus. But being forced to come up with something every day it soon became the first tool to reach for. I don’t love everything about how it sounds, but I love how fast and playful it allows me to move forward. Ableton Live + Push could of course be just as fast and more powerful. But the great thing about the Op-1 is its limitations that forces you to make decisions and move on. There’s very little room for editing. It’s either keep or re-record.

Forcing myself to make something with no or little idea is interesting. In general it starts pretty uninspired, an-uphill creation. But pushing on, there’s always something unexpected that happens that makes me a bit excited.

Since starting to blog earlier this year it seems I’ve been trying different approaches. At first I wrote more about creative strategies, and lately about the nitty-gritty of music making in my jams. Neither one seems like the right subject for a blog. I’d rather engage in those discussion among peers, such as in the lines forum. I think/hope I can focus this blog on putting my music out in the world, rather than staying in the workshop.

I think I will try to turn it more towards lyrics. Towards feelings and thoughts, in contrast to the jams of the last few weeks that for good or bad have been pretty thoughtless.