buzz forums

Some of you may remember that every year I participate in the online songwritting challenge: February Album Writing Month (FAWM). The challenge is to write & record demos for 14 songs in the 28 days of February. The challenge sounds daunting, but the trick is these are demos - not finished pieces. They can even be sketches. Of course, if you want to post a fully mastered song, there's no one stopping you. There's a great community that is super-friendly & supportive. The community also offers chances to collaborate, to partisipate in skirmishes & even offers sub-challenges to help keep you inspired. I've been doing FAWM since 2010 & it's really helped me focus my inspiration & build a catalogue of songs that have continued to inspire me to experiment & develop new techniques. I've even been known to step outside of my comfort zone & do songs in genres you'd never believe I'd tackle (e.g. I did a Drum & Bass tune a year ago ). All in all, it's a fun challenge that is one of the highlights of my year.

It would be great to see more Buzzers Rok'n FAWM. If you're interested, check out the site: www.fawm.org . Even just register to listen to new songs & comment. There's many members who do just that.

Maybe I'll see you FAWMing!

See You In The Shadows…

Album in a month? I can barely manage one per decade!

I double FAWMed (I wrote 30 songs) & double 50/90'd (wrote 100 songs) last year. It was a non-stop song-writing marathon. You have to remember, FAWM & 50/90 aren't about finished songs (Mixed, Mastered & ready to press to your favourite media), it's about getting a demo recorded & then moving on to developing the next thread of inspiration. With luck, your Muse goes into overdrive (like mine did last year). At worst, you get a few ideas to build on & develop further. It's a personal challenge (not a competition) designed to inspire. And as I said, the community is amazingly friendly & supportive (sort of like this one )

See You In The Shadows…