ost (full album)

Hello! Thanks for checking out "only some things". This is a low-resolution version of the 56-minute album, which is my first in five years (since 2018's "loaner"), and primarily produced with the teenage engineering OP-Z and OP-1 field instruments.
The 15 tracks are varied in tone and optimism, and all represent small slices of my creative mind at any given time. Mostly produced in the spring of 2023, I took advantage of a new workflow with these new instruments, and learned to incorporate unique sampling techniques to pair with my well-defined palette of tone, reverb, atmosphere, and emotional resonance.
"only some things" refers to the incomplete, unfinished nature of our lives. We are always progressing, always discovering new things about ourselves. And this collection of songs, and the parts within, are assembled and presented in organized form, to both marvel at its' miraculousness and also acknowledge its' simple existence. The things that brought me comfort while working on these songs were simple - a cup of coffee, a comfortable set of headphones, and plenty of time to reflect, react, and revisit to get it in its' current form.
If you've never heard my albums before, there are a few unique things that I believe distinguishes this album from the others:
- More prominent drums, and intentional use of bass;
- A stronger sense of theme building and better tonality, separating from the familiarity of samples;
- Clearer and more intentional vocal sampling (from both active and passive perspectives);
- Shorter songs (typically between 2 and 4 minutes);
- Serious, intense, and even fun at times!
Here are a few things that remains pretty much the same as other albums:
- Building the front-to-back track list with intentionality; "slap af" is the true centerpiece to the album and revolves around a live edit of the track which I recorded in February 2023;
- Lots of ambience, especially on "everthink", "look out", and "face the other way"
- Lots of emotional poignancy throughout, including "make bliss", "life that was", and "yarn"
- A ukulele solo and a couple of guitar beds buried in the mix.
I have a lot of neat things planned for this album (including a really cool physical release), so I'm eager to get your thoughts on how cohesive it sounds to you - whether there were tracks that caught your ear a bit differently, and if there are some concepts or emotions that emerged as a result of listening to it. If you get through a listen, please drop me a line and let me know how I did!
Tracklist is as follows:
00:00 - make bliss (01)
01:35 - happy heart (02)
04:45 - look out (03)
08:24 - get it (04)
12:52 - halves / some things (05)
17:06 - face the other way (06)
20:36 - everthink (07)
23:00 - slap af (08)
32:21 - sunken (09)
34:58 - heart purpose (10)
38:12 - life that was (11)
40:22 - methods (12)
44:46 - a little love (13)
48:13 - tilt (14)
54:02 - yarn (15)
If you like this album, please consider the following albums in tandem:
- Autechre: Amber
- Plone: For Beginner Piano
- The Orb: Pomme Fritz
- Boards of Canada: Tomorrow's Harvest
- DJ Food: Kaleidoscope
- Cocteau Twins: The Pink Opaque
Sincerely,
james bittancourt (generalmusician)