[Wicked Deeds]

How has your musical year been?  Perhaps your passion has exploded, resulting in many, many new songs and productions. Perhaps you've experienced writers block. Maybe you have rediscovered yourself as a writer or joined forces to collaborate with marvellous or  not so marvellous results. This is the thread to reveal all.

I've been driven by life events. I always have. When life is going well, I become more creative and inventive in my approach. When I experience difficulties, my writing becomes introspective, precise and very emotional. I began the year, writing a handful of songs that were deeply emotional and filled with hurt. Then I began to heal and move on. I eventually wrote an album of songs, all inspired by the beautiful French woman who brought me into her life and helped me find happiness again. .   This allowed me to also express hurt and anger that I had masked/buried. A few months ago, my friend Andy Cruise @Kafla reapeared on the forum and that helped me to raise my game, almost like I needed to prove myself again but off course, I didn't. I note that others are writing and producing to a really high standard and that too helps me to improve. I feel like I'm in great shape and getting back to my old self. A big part of me wants to push the boundaries and shout 'hey, I really am back' but I'm also at a crossroads as my work (day job) demands so much from me.

It would be great to hear about your musical journey this year. What has happened, how do you feel, what have you set your sights on?  I'm really looking forward to reading  about your journey this year. Let it  unfold in this thread.

Paul

[Sterix]

@Wicked Deeds

  Lolz! I was just going to create this very same topic and found you'd beaten me to it! I'd got my post typed up in Notepad... spooky!
-----------------
We all know 2020 sucked plenty! But their were SOME bright moments in the darkness.

It's great when I hear my lyrics being vocalised along with actual music, and this year I'd been lucky enough to pursue that somewhat.

Back in the early part of the year I had a 4-song collaboration with Shadowfax (Breaking Up / High and Dry / After The Storm / Final Dance) and this is where I'd started to feel more a part of the forum.

Then, Boydie knocked up a song which not only included my lyrics but my music too (I'm hoping to get my missus "relaxed" enough - read "drunk" - to record our own vocal version this Christmas). About the only thing holding her back really is the fact she keeps dissing my lyrics as they're "not the same" that we sung all those years ago. I lost the original lyrics but these are pretty damn close from memory!

That was a special moment, hearing that for the first time.

But, of course, I did get my arm twisted into providing vocals for another song when somebody suggested (despite hearing my caterwaulings on the rough vocals I'd provided!) turning my lyrics into one of the contributions to the album. I can't believe I'm on Spotify!

Of course, that wasn't the only time I provided vocals when I also joined in the Binladeda challenge.

Zoom reared its head and I got to "meet" some of the members of the forum. That led to a couple more collaborations using my lyrics.

I've rigged up a few other collaborations through the forum, with either less frequent visitors or others who only came to the site to look for a lyricist, liked my work, and PMd me. One of those has been on-going for 2 years now (can't believe it's that long!) where I'm writing the lyrics for most of their album (all-but-one song I believe). That's coming to a head in 2021 (it was a leisurely pace for most of it - and then suddenly it's come down to "can you write the remaining half of the album before the end of January?" o_O ).

Note to self: check up/chase up the other collaborations. I don't do this for the money but I do want to be recognised for my work (in terms of "I WROTE THIS!").

Other feats. I've written over 200 lyrics this year. Which I'm still cataloguing online on my own forum (which is really just a place where I can gather them altogether for musicians to peruse them).

And there we have it. I'm getting stuff out there and I'm pretty proud of myself.

As for 2021... well I'm hoping to get more stuff out there, obviously. More collabs hopefully. What I'd really like to do (and maybe now I have the confidence to ask) is team up with someone to create an "album" of some of my older songs (which I have tunes for).

Well that's my year (I've probably forgotten something - my memory is very poor).

[Wicked Deeds]

Sounds like you've had a busy snd productive year. Steve's challenge was a great exercise that produced so many good songs. It must have been very confusing for Steve to hear so many different interpretations of his music. The Friday night zoom chat has been a lovely extension to the forum.