2019... Was it an EPIC FAIL?

Hi there, Kian here!

Wow… it’s 2020! Happy New Year and all the best for our next go round on our beautiful planet.

I know we’re a week or so into the new year now, but I wanted to leave it a few days to help me reflect further on my journey. Lots of review videos have gone already and I was, as always, interested to hear how my friends and peers had grown through the last year. But I wanted a little more time to reflect...

2020’s gonna be a busy year for me and my music and in this month’s Blog I look back at the epic journey of the ‘Comfortable Skin’ album, Computer viruses and the importance of mental health before looking forward to what’s to come this year…

Watch the Blog here ☞

BUY THE NEW ALBUM on CD >>>> HERE <<<<<

So 2019, was a hectic year… it was really the year of THE album… 🤣 LOL!  It really wasn’t meant to be that way though … The only way to explain it really is … it was an EPIC FAIL! I’m really comfortable saying that, and I’m proud to be strong enough to admit it! I FAILED to meet my own target… but nobody got hurt and the art was the better for my honesty and belief in not allowing it to just be. I write this as an artist/musician, but also as a man, who has struggled with his demons before and who is extremely proud of my achievements in 2019. ☺️ SO, WHAT HAPPENED? Well, the ‘Comfortable Skin’ album was planned to be released at the end of May 2019 – I had 80% of the album written and ready to record, so I thought this should be do-able… this should be the easiest album to get down – I’ve got the songs, have released 2 albums & 1 E.P and have thousands of hours in the studio to learn from… so let’s do this… this'll be a doddle... right! 🤔 Then ‘stuff’ just… happened!  Life got in the way – I’m pretty sure you can relate to this! Dealt with… it's life! ✅ Then, the worst nightmare for a studio/musician struck … my studio computer – the heart of my studio – got sick! Then my ‘head’started a cycle of: self-doubt, procrastination and ‘just-wanting-a-bit-more-from-the-songs’! Funny really that this album was called ‘Comfortable Skin’ – a very apt title! And then… time just kept on tickin’ away! A SICK MAC… Yep, my computer, an iMac, a super-dooper-silly-complicated silver-machine, got sick! Yes a Mac got sick… I spent multiple-hours on the phone, and virtual-chats, over several months with Mac support (who have been amazing) running through their troubleshooting checklists in an attempt to get my 'Mac Back'!  So after months of limping through this project – as I was reluctant to risk reinstalls/rebuild as I wanted to get this album finished; and I always worry that something will go wrong - everything is backed up (x3) but you never know, right!  As a freelance studio too, I needed my Mac for my business! Anyways, come November I'd had enough... I had to be brave! I took the step of reinstalling my Mac's OS. Still the same... DOH!  So we ran Malware software... and sure enough, 2 nasty-little viruses were discovered! Mac support were shocked, I was shocked, the dog was shocked and yes, even the computer was shocked!  Anyways, I sent the computer-marines in and they destroyed the Viruses and restored peace to the computer-scape. I have noticed an immediate improvement and to say I’m relieved is an understatement! Thankfully, I can now move forward with recording more music. A cheeky little RAM update is coming and then I’ll be back into studio-mode for the next album in late-January/February! MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS Working with an ultra-slow, 'poorly' computer really doesn't help the creative process and I was finding my frustrations were starting to feed my self-doubts and fears! I’m proud to say that I recognised my mental health needs and made sure that I was actively taking care of myself… making sure my own 'Comfortable Skin' was fitting well. Hitting the gym (hard), talking to my family and friends as well as making sure I listened to LOTS of music helped me to keep away from the dark-side. Mental health matters - please take care and always look after 'YOU' and each other! Talking about things can really help... don't bottle it up! Shout if you need help! ❤️🕊 So 2019 was a roller coaster - running the highs and lows of making music and art… being creative is tough sometimes, but I wouldn’t change it for anything though – honest! I love what I do, and feel so lucky to be able to do this! HERE’S TO THE FUTURE… 2020 is going to be another busy year for me and my music! My 4th studio album is a priority – I just have too many songs that I need to get out of my head and I just love writing, playing and recording music.  I’m also working on getting a LIVE band together to help promote my music on the live stage, where I have always felt incredibly comfortable, too. Hope to see you out there! LIVE SESSIONS My weekly LIVE Sessions will be back, too! Every Tuesday LIVE from my home studio (TheToneShack) on Facebook LIVE @9pm GMT. Come and join me live, if you can, or catch the replays on my Facebook Page here >>> HERE <<< 

Thank you for all your support and until next time... enjoy the music!

Peace 🕊

Kian 🤘