New: Yes indeed! Still have yet to make four songs (that I have full rights to) since rejoining. February Album Writing Month should fix that soon! 8) Don't really wanna pull stuff in straight from SoundCloud when I feel like I may improve it someday, and it would throw off the chronology…

Sound crafting: Thank you! I always aim to include some rich textures and fine details. I get particular about minute variations in notes' placements in time and space here and there, but I've also come to *love* RNG as a middle ground between settling on one timbre (etc.) and endlessly overthinking automation. It also buries "flaws" under the movement it creates, and uncovers tones or artifacts you might want to deliberately incorporate or exaggerate.

Mix: Honestly, I don't plan things out much with regards to how instruments' frequencies may fit together - it's all carved out by ear in the moment, and I'm *way* more conscious of the natural space-giving tendencies of stereo delay width, and using volume to dictate rhythm and brain-filtering. Most care I take with ranges is really just second-nature sound design, or purely additive to the mix. And lack of conscious effort comes from a mix of "can't" and won't. I think the snare might not be clipping (the video game way) with other things here as much as it should be... bit noisy. But I'm not sure how best to modify it so that I'd feel more certain about it. I could just end up gutting it in an attempt. Also not very conscious of phase cancellation. or compression artifacts. or all those things you hear to watch out for.

I don't regret trial-and-erroring my way to where I am, or focusing on experimental and unconventionally-mixed music. I'm sure it's left me with a unique distribution of values in my music enthinkulators, and the journey has felt rewarding. But since that foundation's pretty well set-in by now, it might be time to experiment with more tools of convention, and actually try hearing through others' ears...

That aside, I have to say I love "subliminal" stuff - quiet, buried, distracted away from. Really adds to a sense of depth, rewards attention, and when a bold sound and a concurrent subtle one share several attributes, if your brain tunes out the subtle one, it can create this aura where you can't even consciously hear something, but it lends an intangible magical quality to the music. I kind of tried to employ that here by taking an overtone in the bass and making it a clear, quiet synth layer transposed +14. Might've been better to push it slightly quieter and/or lusher.

souuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh appreciate your thoughts and the excuses to dump some brain!