Welcome to this week’s edition of Rough Draft, a newsletter for unfinished electronic music. If you’re interested in submitting music for the newsletter, reply directly to this email or get in touch with me directly. If you’re new to the newsletter and want to listen to any previous editions, you can find them all here. I’m always happy to pass on any feedback. If you’re not a subscriber, consider subscribing using the button below.
I absolutely cannot believe this newsletter is already ten editions old. Ten weeks and 128 subscribers later, I’m very happy to see this experiment continuing to work. Thank you.
This past week I’ve received some really excellent pieces of feedback from a few readers that I’m sorting through now. If you sent in feedback, I can’t thank you enough. If you’re someone who hasn’t left feedback yet, or is afraid of leaving “wrong” feedback, I can’t stress enough how valuable any sort of impression is. When I work on music, the one thing I wish for is the unaltered opinion of a stranger. What does someone listening to my music for the first time feel?
I’ve been playing around with the app-version of one of my personal favorite synths: Moog’s Model D. It’s free for iOS for the time being, so it may be worth the download if you’re bored.
If you’re feeling generous this week, consider donating a little something to the Freelancer’s Relief Fund. If you donate any amount, let me know — I’ll pick someone at random at the end of the month and send them a $20 Bandcamp gift card.
Thanks for letting me ramble a bit. Time for some music.
As always, I’ve included links to three tracks below along with details about what kinds of feedback each artist is looking for. Listen, enjoy, and if something catches your ear, reply to this email with your thoughts. Each track is hosted on SoundCloud, so if you’d prefer to leave comments there, you are welcome to.
Chorist — “200314-000”
Textural, fast-paced, and floating on a layer of breaks, this track explores complex melodies and grooves far more developed than its deliberately-temporary title. Chorist is based in Austin, Texas. All feedback is welcome. Listen here.Jamal Dixon — “Chord 4”
Chord 4 is an airy and nuanced dance that catches you with a swung rhythm and keeps you around with a teasing backbeat. Jamal Dixon is based in New Jersey and is open to all feedback. Listen here.Mischa Lively — “Western Medication”
Western Medication is a tribute to a band of the same name, and uses lush, organic samples to weave a fast, rhythmic dance together. Mischa Lively is based in Nashville, Tennessee and has asked “if I should remove parts, rearrange it to be more DJ friendly, [or] make it less goofy”. Listen here.
That’s all the music for this week. As always, if you have thoughts about the music, this newsletter, or anything else, reply to this email and say hello. I hope you stay healthy, happy, and inspired, and I’ll see you soon.
— Salem