Jun 21, 20232 min read

The making of A Still Voice by The Lifted Index

Huge thanks again for all the support and lovely comments on The Lifted Index’s album - really has been wonderful to see it so well received.

Daniel put so much work into this album and the evolution of his sound, so really pleased to hear all the love and positivity back from the community.

https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/album/a-still-voice

Digital still half price just until the end of the week and CD stocks getting low x

He’s shared a few words about making the album, the ideas and processes behind it.

—

The making of A Still Voice came at a bit of a creative crossroads. I had made five albums revolving around some very large, external themes, and I felt I had taken that to its logical conclusion.

I wanted the next album to be inward-focused. I think I may have also been craving some slowness in my life after a couple of years of this forced return to normalcy in a supposed post-COVID world. I wanted the music to reflect the way I was feeling: introspective, a little bit unsure, but filled with anticipation and hope. Most tracks began on the guitar, heavily effected with pedals from Chase Bliss Audio, Pladask Elektrisk, and Glou Glou FX. Samples and loops were built up, arranged, and further manipulated using the Elektron Digitakt.

For melodic content, I turned to my favorite synthesizer, the Digitone from Elektron. Most of the sounds are fairly simple, with long attack and decay times. The music needed to feel like an ocean: dense, always churning, expanding, and contracting, but smooth and serene on the surface. The album’s sound was rounded out with bass from the Moog Sub 37.

The decision to not include any vocals on this album was intentional. It contrasts my previous albums and further underlines the feeling of disconnection and quiet expectation that I wanted to convey.

I spent a lot of time editing and mixing these tracks. The dense layers of guitar and synthesizer needed to be carefully shaped with EQ so they wouldn’t compete with each other for sonic space. It was definitely the most mix intensive project I’ve tackled to date.

—

Check out his Instagram feed for more chat about specific tracks and more.

https://www.instagram.com/thelifted.index/

Big thanks again to Daniel for being a part of the label and delivering such a perfect addition to the series x

Here are the pictures that inspired and were used in the making of the artwork.

—

Also want to show my appreciation again to everyone that’s supported quiet details so far, we’ve got such an amazing set of fans already and it’s so cool to see comments, pictures, mixes including the music and all manner of good vibes back.

Here’s a little snapshot -