In this four part series Opal Dar discusses the process of writing and producing their first single You Ate Me a Thousand Times while processing the grief of a parent who the song was written about.
Now available on all platforms
Part I
Part II -
Part III
Part IIII
The Euphoria.
The excitement to finally be in a room with qualified folks who know how to put the music down properly.
I've wanted this all my life and have never had the funds until now. The Canada Council For the Arts has really come through for me here.
I'm feeling incredible about the choices I made for the album.
I'm learning as I go how a human goes from making music to building music into sharable form with other people. There is a lot to learn! Please ask any questions I"m more than eager to share what I've learned with others, always.
The project started with the songs I wrote and the decision to dedicate to daily practice.
Are you practicing daily? Start. That's the only way to begin. I took the advice to practice into a home studio so I could have a handle of how to sing into a microphone before going into a studio.
My community fundraised for me to buy what I needed to start doing that and every day I sang into my microphone.
Eventually I had some demo's and wrote a grant proposal and won the grant!
The people who wrote letters of support to be included in my project deserve some light and praise. Without all these folks, this would have been a much different outcome and I'm so glad we made what we made. It's as beautiful as the process.
Todd MacDonald
Producer and Artist Todd MacDonald was instrumental in helping me plan this project over hours of phone conversations from Vancouver Island to Toronto the year prior. Todd's attention to detail is outstanding and all the way down to the guitar strings, the project was planned with the two of us together.
So much gratitude for that administrative and emotional support.
Todd is known for many things like his awesome band Silver Pools and Producing the House of Strombo, but we don't talk enough about the wild mandolin cello duo The Winks he started and toured internationally with in his 20's. I can't be the only one who still hums Snakes! by The Winks. Legendary.
East Vancouver Punks have the softest part of my heart. We understand where we come from together.
Todd is a multifaceted musician and does this neat thing where they play a drum machine live with us and it was very inspiring to watch him program it and play it live in rehearsal and the studio.
Veda Hille
When I was a teenager I went to Europe to work as a Production Assistant and Au Pair for a Creative working with esteemed writer Ivan Klima in Prague on an adaptation of one of this short stories. We traveled through Southern Bohemia visiting locations from his stories and the rural town he wrote of. As we drove by endless fields of sunflowers I carried my walk man around faithfully. In it was a mix tape that included Mazzy Star, Pearl Jam and one of my personal hero's Veda Hille.
When Veda heard my demo's and agreed to come on board I knew in my heart that this was going to work out just how I hear it in my mind, no question. I was right to have such confident faith. What an honor to have her extraordinary gift of understanding, compassion, wit, genius and sparkly light with us on this journey. speaking of East Vancouver Punks, she is the OG.
Naomi Kavka
From it's inception, there was no way this project was happening in my mind without Naomi Kavka by my side. Naomi is an elite, world class composer and musician who is capable of great things like leading orchestras, writing epic albums of original music to their awesome cello performance on Wax Mannequins The Red Brain to touring with Kym Gouchies Juno Nominated Children's album.
Naomi is a dynamo.
When people say nobody can make it in this industry, i point to Naomi Kavka to prove them wrong. I see them working hard and steady in every festival I wish to go to and every city they possibly can creating music and community. Even through the pandemic, Naomi continued to create safe environments for people to enjoy live music and perform, donating seats to front line workers.
This kind of community action you would never hear them brag about because they are quite humble about their philanthropy, but I see how they move through the world and I hold a great amount of respect for how Naomi is never without their humanity in all aspects of their art.
So grateful to have their incredible mind and talent on this project.
I flew Naomi in from Smithers, BC where they reside to Gabriola Island. Here they are landing !
Rehearsing for 4 days
Once we all gathered in the beautiful oceanfront home my community found us to rent, we began working.
Before arriving I was the only one who knew my songs. I struggle as an instrumentalist to convey what I write in my mind. I'm self taught and don't have the skills to write in the language of music.
Teaching my songs to people with education and language for music that far surpassed my self taught instinctual ways was a challenge. Now I'm addicted to the process of collaboration and what can come from listening to the minds around me and trusting them and also telling them when to trust me. A wild and beautiful way of communicating and an exercise in trust when the topic is your soul art. We all did so well in 4 days learning my songs!
It was incredible to step outside and be on the soothing ocean and gorgeous lava rock
of Gabriola, right around the corner from the famous waterside formations called The Malaspina Galleries. Perfect for taking a dip on break.
The Noise Floor and Jordan Koop
I found the Noise Floor by looking into who produced and recorded some of my favorite artists and then checking out their discographies. I latched onto a 2019 album by Rae Spoon called Mental Health since it's release that was recorded and co-produced by Jordan. Mental Health has been played a hundred times in my car with me and my kiddo singing at the top of our lungs. During my deep dive i also discovered an album that became my new hyper-fixation-panic attack-calming album Big Blue by Dead Soft that solidified my choice in Jordan. He's great with voices and also knows how to find that sweet spot with distortion that makes me able to listen for long periods without sensory overload. If you are Autistic and sensitive to sound, you'll understand what I mean. I hear lights too. We are special and it's okay to be sensitive.
Little did I know we were being welcomed into the most lovely little family's wooded home by the sweetest couple. Jordan and Terry put all my worries at ease and made the experience as gentle as possible for me. Even if that meant I was bouncing on a ball over Jordan's shoulder to encroach on his sound 'sweet spot' or flat out on the awesome carpet under a table or curled in a ball on the floor wrapped in blankets with my stuffed Cow, they put me at ease that I was just where I should be.
I will go back again and again and again forever. The Noise Floor is My Place now. I think a lot of people feel that way when they realize the caliber of humans nestled here.
Just look at this short list of albums they had a hand in.
Jordan Koop and I got along so well that I asked him to mix the album and we were a stellar team and worked really hard producing this album together after our first studio session. I went back solo for a second session to change some lyrics and add some vocals, guitar and keys where I had originally written them in. It all came full circle that day.
From start to finish, I've been eternally blessed by the most loving, gracious team I could hope for as a disabled artist. I certainly didn't make it easy on anyone in my state of grief and wicked diaphragm charlie horses and rib cage spasms I was contending with throughout the week while being away from home for the first time since 2019. I was shook spiritually. Held physically. Having my mind blown daily. I got a lot of cheer leading!
Recording 7 original tracks with 4 days of rehearsing them for the first time and 8 days to record is NOT bad! I hear not everyone can manage this kind of timeline, especially for a first body of work and I should be very proud of how hard and well I worked. I feel that too!
I worked as hard as I humanly could to bring my art to you through my physical , emotional and financial barriers and I felt like I was doing what I'm meant to do. It's hard work to accomplish and I did it with all of these people's help and support.
Not to mention my amazing caretaker at home looking after my kiddo and taking care of the home and pets.
All of it. All of you. I'm proud of us, y'all.
We made a "Masterpiece" as Susan O'Grady called it. I agree!
Love,
Opal
The day you've all been waiting for is now announced!
May 27th my debut album Birds Hurting Birds Who Hurt Birds hits stores and all major streaming services!