Did the radio interview, due for podcasting/airplay 11th feb. Will post link.

I feel pretty darn relaxed. I am glad to have met 'a' deadline, and as Mr Wizard pointed out, we don't need the full 'mastered' version of the album in order to do a radio show. The differences in volume between the songs released as singles are not as obvious when they're sprinkled in other stuff, but as a cohesive 'album', they need to be conformed to a similar sound level. Some of that's maths, some of it's psycho-acoustics, some of it is Art.

I burned a test copy of the album to CD and drove around with it. I am not sure about the order, and there are still some mixing items to fix.

I'm pretty happy overall. I think the vocals are a bit high on a few tracks (downside of a vocalist mixing the songs bro), the levels a bit variable and I am also concerned that I may have made some questionable mixing choices. I considered whether I wanted to reach out for some help - there are plenty of good audio brains out there that I can seek assistance from...and at the same time...does it matter? What standard am I seeking? Who am I preparing this for?

'Technically competent' is my basic target. After that, it's artistic choice. The idea of making something, anything, to meet an undisclosed but assumed 'market' expectation assumes things not in evidence, to whit, that there is a market, or that you have an option of gaining their awareness.

To borrow from our own work - go and suit yourself.

next steps:

1. leaving the mixes with the guys for a minute with a 'last chance for input' alert.
2. listening and thinking, researching and thinking some more.

3. beginning the next technical phase of the mastering (already started)

4. Housekeeping - getting a limited edition CD together. Our mates at Troy Horse will sort a short run for us, I will post links online for some presales.

5. Initial basic promotion. There's a great deal of promo stuff that's either 100% BS, ineffective or time wasting that we have to avoid. There's a bunch of stuff that 'might be/probably' ineffective but we'll do anyway. Then there's the stuff that might help but costs $. Then there's the stuff that costs $$$ and doesn't help but you don't know it.

When we commenced back in 2007, we adopted a content rich strategy. The Promo is BS, do the work. Now the promo is still BS and the work (content) can be supplied by robot generators. I picked a bad week to give up sniffing glue, to borrow from 'airplane'

It's a heck of a time to be in this arena. Even so, you do it because you must.

Thus with a deep sigh, the Self Propelled Artists marketing department once again fires up the boiler on the marketing steam engine and with a few puffs of steam, goes chugga chugga up that hill. LOL

I'll spare you the White Paper on the state of play for music as an industry that the SPA boffins prepared for me, principally because I am that Boffin and I already know it.

The good thing about finishing is that it's finished. I for one am looking forward to at least 3 of the new songs in development and yes I expect us to be releasing more singles within a few months of releasing Juggernaut. It's what we do.

Thanks for your company on the trip. We have no fixed destination and a ways to go yet, stick around, we'll stop for snax.