Tired Lands Album Project (Must be UK-Based/using Logic Pro)

Music Producer is needed in United Kingdom.

Respectfully please no applications from outside the UK. Please also listen to the demo samples below, as this is key

Hi, I’m Robbie. I’m looking for a long-term UK-based collaborator on a slow-burn home concept album project called ‘Tired Lands’. As a project of passion it’s about creativity and process, rather than any commercial appeal - so I’m looking for someone willing to craft something over time, more so than adeptness at offering a slick professional turnaround. The themes of the album are deeply rooted in healing, nature, relationships and spiritual practice, and I try to embody these as I work. The intention is to offer something to my Buddhist mindfulness community and beyond. As it’s such a personal journey of me, I’d love to work with someone who might also get something meaningful out of it. I haven’t collaborated with anyone before so it’s new territory.

I have a background in location sound recording, musicianship and home production, as well as a PhD in ethnomusicology. However, I’m housebound with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and recognise I need help to move things forward. I’m progressing very slowly, with long gaps, so wanted to reach out now and see what support might be available, and at what stage. I’ll certainly want help with mixing and mastering, but there’s also space for arranging, sound design and co-production - both technically and conceptually. I’d love another set of ears and eyes on it to help bring it together.

Alongside CFS, I’m also neurodivergent (as I think many people in this world are!). As such, I respond very visually to the aesthetic textures, colours and materiality of sound, as well as to depth and space. However, my technical skill-set around this is underdeveloped so there’s plenty of scope here for input too.

A few important things:

• WE’D NEED TO USE LOGIC PRO, as that’s my platform and it won’t just be stems.

• YOU’D NEED TO BE UK-BASED as I’d like to discuss the possibility in-person recording support due to health issues.

• I have a scattering of fuller demos, proof of concept sketches and phone play-throughs, all in different states, some of which have changed a bit since recording. There’s 10-15 tracks in all I’m working with (including shorter interludes) so the strongest can be chosen from that pool.

• HERE’S SOME EXAMPLES: ; as well as a video of me playing through a song:

• The songs span a diversity of styles: singer-songwriter (guitar/voice); live folk-band style; synth soundscape; more jazzy with world influences; sampled beat grooves; more poppy; and so on.

• I want to gel them together with a sonic style and aesthetic: thick, warm, organic, rich and immersive. There’s plenty of scope here for exploring different mix/mastering styles. I’m not looking for ‘polished’ or ‘slick’ as much as ‘meaningful’ and ‘striking’.

• I’m not a strong or confident singer, or had any intention to sing the songs myself. But such is the way, and the presence of my voice now feels important with such a personal project.

• Here’s a mood board of some tracks and artists I love the sound of: ‘Dancing With Ghosts’ - Hania Rani; ‘Unstoppable’ - Lianne La Havas; ‘Silver Joy’ - Damien Jurado; ‘Bladerunner Soundtrack’ - Vangelis; ‘McCrimmon’ - Sam Lee; ‘Bissaï’ - Blick Bassy; ‘Ho Hey’ - The Lumineers; ‘Pink + White’ - Frank Ocean; Laura Mvula; ‘Man on Fire’ - E. Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros; Anna Mieke; ‘Hiatus (Waiting)’ - Raven Lenae; and of course Hendrix, Stevie, Jobim, as well as the poems of Mary Oliver.

To sum up: I’m looking for a soulful, creative, technically competent collaborator with a mindful connection to nature, who’s able to work alongside neurodivergent aesthetic and sensory preferences, as well as being CFS-friendly. They’d need to be experienced with live recording. Not too much to ask!

If you like the sound of the project, the songs speak to you, and think you’d be interested in connecting, for now in an advisory capacity to scope out the possibility of working together, I warmly invite proposals of how you might want to approach it and what you could bring to the fold.

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Budget range:
Large project (£3,000 – 5,000 GBP) tbc

About the client
I’m a 50 year old white male from the UK. My background is in location sound recording, playing in bands, writing songs and home-producing music. I have a deep mindfulness practice (Plum Village Buddhism) and incorporate this into my music. I’m also currently house-bound with Lyme disease/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) so am working at a slow pace.