«Escaping Ixtlan» was born on a 16-track recorder, around the turn of the Millennium (couldn't resist describing it that way), with an electric 12-string guitar (Gibson Eds 1275), a mandriola (12-string mandolin), and an unintuitive drum machine/sampler (Yamaha Su-700) .
The mandriola didn't make it to the final release, and the drum machine lost the battle against real drums (the mandriola part was cool though).
It was the sound and concept that was conceived at the time. The rest of the song was completed for this occasion (as with so many other songs in this project).
As usual, there are no samplers or keyboards on the final release. This is not a principle for me, I love synths and keyboards. But as an arranger and producer, I like to look elsewhere for ingredients. Making my own «sauces» is more gratifying than going for «prepared food».
It's also pretty boring to use the same sounds that everyone else can use.
Especially since everyone and their mother can make something plausible with samplers (and even apps these days).
It's no wonder that the music industry has lost some of its mystique and appeal, (even though this argument, surely plays a rather a small role in it's demise).So, for me, it's part of the music making process, to develop your own sounds.
And luckily, for many people, music still is a highly developed form of art and craftsmanship. For many artists it’s the adventure of a lifetime, a spiritual journey, a way of expressing things not possible with words. But it is also hard work and self- discipline. But most of all: it’s about spontaneity.
In some ways you can compare music to good wines (or whatever you want, for that matter). You might not like the wine, but it counts for something, when the « winemaker» has put a lot of thought and effort into it, maybe decades. At the very least, it adds to the atmosphere.