Original music: "Perceptions"

I'm a music teacher in Pakistan, and I produce electronic music on the side. In the past, I had experiences releasing my music on online stores and streaming sites, but I haven't done any such releasing lately. I lost interest in releasing because it wasn't making sense to me financially. The cost of getting music on those platforms was bigger than the revenues, unfortunately.

But I've discovered Steemit through @graphicalx and I began to think it could be nice to share my music with this community. So here goes my first track. I'll paste the Youtube video for quick listening, as well as download links below.

This track is called "Perceptions", and it's about how each person has a unique way of understanding things. The same thing can be interpreted quite differently from person to person. In addition, the same thing can be perceived by the same person differently, depending on when it is perceived. The way I see things today is remarkably different from how I saw them 5 years ago. The music is about how human cognition is still a mystery and it continues to surprise us from time to time.

It's in the style of Techno, House and Trance. I hope it's your cup of tea, and I hope I've done a good enough job to make your listening experience pleasurable.

Download links

If you're on a computer (as opposed to a phone), please download it in the AIFF format here. AIFF is an uncompressed audio format and it's the highest quality I can offer. You may get an error that says "Your browser is unable to play this audio file", but when you download it, your computer will be able to play it. Most computers can play AIFF.

If you're on a phone or if you'd prefer it in smaller file size, please download it as an AAC file. The AAC format is designated as a successor of MP3, and has been standardized by International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission. AAC is more efficient in compression and provides more functionality, when compared to MP3. It's supported by both android and iPhone.

Why I thought this would be a good idea

So, am I doing this thinking I would make money? Not really. I mean it would be nice, but I don't imagine myself suddenly getting rich sharing music on Steemit. Like many other musicians, I make music because it's a sort of therapy for myself. I have a need to expel the demons from my mind, so to speak, and music works as the best vessel. This is a lonely process at times, and I want to know there are people who listen out there.

How (and where) I make music

To me, producing music is done in two stages - (1) composing and creating and (2) mixing and mastering. Composing and creating means to come up with ideas and put them together. This process doesn't require special facilities other than your laptop and a music application - Apple Logic in my case. Since this can be done practically anywhere, I often go to a cafe (such as Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in F6 Islamabad) and work with earbuds. It's more fun than working alone in my apartment for hours.

The second stage, mixing and mastering, does require dedicated monitor speakers, such as the ones you saw in the photo at the top. You also need to place those speakers in a room with the right kind of acoustic treatment so they can reproduce the sound as accurately as possible. Without acoustic treatment, the sound will get influenced by room reflections and whatnot. (Surely you know about the "echo" in a room.)

I don't have such facilities of my own because my objective in life is to travel around the world and live in different places as much as I can, and therefore, the idea of accumulating heavy assets in one city doesn't appeal to me. So I searched for a music studio in Islamabad that can allow guests to come in and do mixing and mastering, and I came across Artsmith Productions by someone's recommendation on facebook. It's located in F8 Markaz, and they let me use their studio for a very affordable fee. I feel thankful for their friendship and I wanna give a big shoutout.

Anyway, thanks for reading this post. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments on the music. I'll be as openminded as I can and enjoy what you have to say. Cheers.