Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later, but the songwriting and recording process is just about finished now. Below is an attached file of the ending solo for the song, Sleeping Awake, and above us here is the completed demo version of the same song. However, it is not the finalized finished version as it will still need to go through the studio production team to work on post-production, finish it properly, get the vocals in and send it off for mixing/mastering before we get ready to release it to the world.
The experience has been really amazing thus far, having worked with some really wonderful studio musicians, and I want to personally thank Paul, Brandon and Mark for all the hard work they did to make this song and the other song, Shades of Myself, something that we can all really be proud of, and stand behind the material for when it's released soon. I never thought I'd cross paths with a group of people who could really capture the essence of the songs, and to be able to convey the emotions of the lyrical content that I've written for both songs, and to be able to tell a story throughout it all with a point to make in both songs.
Sleeping Awake and Shades of Myself has been songs that I really wanted to work on for a while now, because I felt that they had real potential to become something better than its original basement demo versions back then, and to have an official version that really can do some damage and be able to capture the audience and perhaps turn those music listeners into permanent fans of our music someday. I hope that happens, because we've spent a lot of time working on those two songs, and I am personally happy with the direction we've gone into for both songs. Now, Shades of Myself is not 100% finished yet, but the songwriting and recording process for that particular song has been amazing thus far, and I cannot wait to see how it turns out in the end when we've finally finished it.
Anyway, it's quite freeing, to know that we were finally able to finish at least an completed demo of Sleeping Awake, and so without further ado, enjoy this completed demo version for the time being - we'll be back soon with an official, finished version, complete with lyrics and vocals! Thanks for your continued support here on Patreon - it means a lot to me and the entire crew at SoundBetter.
And to add an final note on a thought I've had, I wanted to say this for a while now since we started working on the songs: when I was writing Sleeping Awake, I wanted to tell a story about all the traumas, the pain, suffering, tragedies, about the people that I have loved and lost along the way to untimely demises, and mistakes I've made that I have grown from on my way to becoming a healed, happier, stronger and better woman. It was not an easy journey in the past decade or so, and it was one that I would not regret at all, because it was a journey that was absolutely necessary in order to figure out where I would go from there. At a crossroads of my life, I had to ask the question that was important to ask if I was to be able to get anywhere in life and to really move on:
It was a pretty tough question to ask, but in the end, it was worth getting the answers to said question, split up into parts, and then eventually, Sleeping Awake was born. It was a song that really spoke about addictions, pain, trauma, grief and loss and how I can wake up one day and finally say, \"I've had enough\" and just go home and be alright. It was a real healing process, and the mess I've made to get there and finally heal throughout the entire songwriting and recording process - well, it was a mess worth making, because it taught me some new lessons that I got to learn from, taught me to grow into a better human being and that it's truly okay to be imperfectly human. Mistakes will be made, but it's what you do with those mistakes that will determine whether you will turn out to be just fine, or if you'd turn out to fall apart and never get back up again.
I'm really glad me and the crew got to work on this song. Sleeping Awake will be a song for the ages for sure. Especially for those who are a little lost along the way and struggling with mental health issues, addiction issues and mistakes they've made along the way as well. I hope this song will give people some hope at the end of their journeys from hell so that a new positive journey can begin for them, just like this song has been a new beginning of a post-healing journey for me after a decade of being on the road, being traumatized, being lost along the way and finding myself again just to make amends, find that peace I've heard so much about and to say, \"I'm okay. I really am. Thank you for being a part of this with me.\"
Anyway, enjoy the new demo version, and we'll be finalizing the song very soon in post-production. Take care.
One Love,
October.