A year ago today, I began work on We Are Rising, an album I would write and record in 28 days. I generated a ton of images, video, and audio documenting the process, all of which NPR kindly hosted. To follow sequentially and relive the album coming together, start at the bottom of that page and work up.

In this InDigest Magazine article, I describe the reason I decided to make We Are Rising. It wasn’t on a dare, as some have said, from NPR. It was an intriguing challenge I chose to undergo, which placed the limitation of time at the center of my creative process. From the article:

I slowly realized that I’d always assumed the slow way was the only way for developing Son Lux material. That was kind of stupid. Not that I suddenly think the slow way is inferior. Neither approach is better, they’re just different. There’s something to be said about a piece of music culled from a long, deep process of experimentation, and there’s something else about a burst of unjudged, unfiltered creativity. They both have the potential to be great.

In a way, without realizing it, I had made Time a fundamental, self-imposed limitation from the outset as Son Lux. It’s just that I had always insisted my process be labored, thorough, and informed by constant exploration, right up to the end. The time-it-takes had to be long. And in February, I finally tried the opposite.

This month, I’m closing a chapter of sorts, on We Are Rising. I have tons of exciting news and music planned for this month, so stay tuned! Some of it may surprise you…