Hi folks,
I would like to share a story about how I produced my third album, Euthymia.
It was around the middle of the year, a transitional period from spring to summer in 2024. I was feeling overwhelmed and stressed out while working on my O-1 visa application. Getting this visa would mean so many things to me: it would grant me permission to stay in the country for more years to come, allow me to reunite with my family in Indonesia after almost nine years, and, most importantly, it would serve as an acknowledgment (a badge of honor, I would say) of the work I’ve been doing as an independent artist. However, the process of working on the visa application wasn’t a walk in the park. I dealt with a lot of rejections and feelings of abandonment. To be honest, that was probably the moment when I felt most disconnected from everyone around me.
Amazingly, this was also the period when I felt a strong urge to get creative and write something. As a first step, I took on a 7-day songwriting challenge, where I committed to writing a full new song every day. This challenge helped me tremendously by pushing me out of my comfort zone, especially in terms of lyric writing. During this challenge, I focused on infusing more ‘storytelling’ elements into my songs, making them more personal. By the time I finished the 7th song, I was happy with everything I had written that week. In the end, 4 out of the 7 songs really stuck with me, and I felt they would be great material for the new album. Those four songs are “Letter for a Friend,” “Never Wanna Change,” “One-Way Conversation,” and “Tired of Being Left.”
“Letter for a Friend” was the first song I recorded. It’s an imaginary letter to express my feelings about wanting to outgrow a close friend of mine. The next one, “Never Wanna Change,” was originally supposed to be a piano ballad, but I decided to go with an alternative rock style instead. This song was inspired by a friend who went through a failed marriage and fell into a deep depression. For the next two songs, I touch on some political themes. “One-Way Conversation” was inspired by footage I came across online showing heated debates that felt more like people talking past each other than actually listening. It also gave me the chance to record a killer guitar solo at the end, which was a highlight for me. “Tired of Being Left” reflects a point when I started rethinking my outlook and questioning where I stood. Musically, it carries a bit of a Beatles-esque vibe, and it ended up being one of the most enjoyable tracks for me to record.
After finishing these four songs, I hit a writer’s block for a while, and I was tempted to release my new work as an EP rather than an album. At this point, I considered adding my previous singles, “In Spite of All the Danger” and “Come Home (Acoustic Version),” to increase the track count and make it feel more like an album. In the end, I decided that “Come Home” didn’t share the same vibe or production style as the other songs. Meanwhile, “In Spite of All the Danger” had a very folksy sound and was performing well on streaming platforms, so I decided to include it in the album.
When November came, I was still waiting for my O-1 visa application. I tried to stay positive and hopeful, knowing that, in the worst-case scenario, I would get the results soon and could go back to Indonesia in January. This meant I had only two months left to finish the new album. While digging through my old music libraries, I found a song called “Faded” that I had recorded roughly and uploaded to SoundCloud back in 2017. The harmony progression and key changes are some strong elements in this song, and I have a very strong attachment to it. I decided to re-record it and include it in the album.
The next two songs I recorded were “Ready to Fall” and “Unraveling.” The melodies and structure of “Ready to Fall” had been practically finished and sitting in my Voice Memo folder for a while. When I started recording it, I had some doubts about whether the song would be any good. But once I tracked everything and started mixing it, I could hear a unique spark. I trusted my intuition and made it the opening track of the album, replacing “One-Way Conversation.” Writing “Unraveling” was particularly satisfying. Like “Ready to Fall,” I already had a rough arrangement in my Voice Memo. When I wrote this song, I thought of it as a ‘prequel’ to “Letter for a Friend,” adding a bit more context to what happened before. Composition-wise, “Unraveling” is very unconventional. It starts with a repetitive guitar strumming intro and chill, subtle melodic lines. However, the one-time chorus (or B part) really takes the song to a different level. There are no repetitive sections—just A, B, C, and D. But it already occupies 3 minutes and 22 seconds, which I think is a perfectly appropriate duration.
I finally received my O-1 visa approval in mid-January, and it was such a wonderful moment for me. I couldn’t help but get excited to go back to Indonesia as soon as possible. My long-awaited return flight to Indonesia finally happened in mid-February. But before that, I hadn’t yet finished the final track. I hate to admit it, but I rushed to get the track done and finalize the album’s mastering within less than two weeks. I was a little selfish in forcing the album to be finished before my departure. Honestly, I was scared that I might not be able to re-enter the country again. In the end, I only managed to track one final song, “Freedom.” This song is simply a ‘platform’ for me to voice all the feelings I’ve been experiencing since I first came to America and began pursuing my American dream. The album was released on March 14th, the same day I re-entered the country after my ‘homecoming vacation’ in Indonesia.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading the backstory of Euthymia. Don’t forget to listen to the album—it’s available on all digital streaming platforms. You can also purchase it on my Bandcamp. Thank you, and I’ll see you in the next post. Cheers!
Abhi Ananda