Written by Alex Sanford

EP Release and Giveaway

I’m very excited today to announce that my new EP has finally been released!

Check out the video below for more information. Make sure to watch to the end for an opportunity to win free stuff.

Check out the EP here: You Never Let Me Go

Comment below (instructions in the video) for your chance to win!

Update: Congratulations for Mark on winning the free copy of the EP Insider Pack!

39 thoughts on “EP Release and Giveaway”

      1. Great video Alex. I would loved to have been able to hear you play the drums too and of course hear what your room/ kit/ mics all around like without any other instruments.
        BTW I listened to your whole Ep tonight. Great job!

        Like

      2. Thanks man! Glad you liked it.

        Yeah, sorry I didn’t go into that sort of detail in that video. I do highlight some of that in the Insider Pack though.

        Have a good one!
        Alex

        Like

  2. I was one who bought your course when you were making it. I have yet to listen because I have been overwhelmed with “things”. I do sound at our church and would like to win a copy to leave in our sound-room so others might learn.
    Thank you for the chance to win a copy.
    Durward Pless

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hey Durward,

      Yes, you are one of the earliest “insiders”. Definitely appreciate your support!

      Things do get busy. Totally understand that. I hope you get a chance to go through the videos at some point! Let me know what you think when you do.

      I like the fact that you want to help others learn as well. Very cool 🙂

      Thanks for the entry!
      Alex

      Like

      Reply

  3. Hey Alex,
    That’s very cool !
    I’m a singer/songwriter/guitar player from France, and watching other musicians reach their milestones is incredibly motivating to me. First thing I always watch on concert DVDs and what not is the “making of” part. Studio reports, interviews, all that stuff helps me understand the artist better and eventually how I approach my on musical journey. Watching your series would be a great opportunity to relate to someone in a situation very similar to mine, as my band is really a live act and I work on the studio content 99% on my own. Also, I always get a motvation boost when I witness someone succeed. I’m 75% there on my first EP and I hope I can share the results in a couple of months’ time.
    In any case, thanks for the fun, informative, great content you share.
    All the best

    Chris

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris,

      Very cool man. I think it’s extremely helpful to watch another musician’s process. It helps you to connect with them, and learn from them. That’s really the whole point behind this video series. I’m totally in a very similar situation as you. I play mostly live (often at church events) and mostly work in the studio on my own. My hope is that by seeing how I do things, you’ll learn some new ideas that you can try, and you’ll be inspired to create your own music, regardless of your circumstances.

      Looking forward to hearing your EP! Keep at it, man. It’s a lot of work, but very rewarding when you can finally call it “done” and release it to the world!

      Thanks for your entry!
      Alex

      Like

      Reply

  4. Hey Alex,
    thanks for all the great info. I like your music , good job on the mixing.
    Some of the things I struggle with are # 1 finishing the song it’s self. As time goes by and I move on to the next song I realize I’m doing the same thing with the current song. I have noticed this pattern for quite a while and I’m beginning to think this is the process that works for me because , it gives me a chance to listen to what i’ve recorded and evaluate whats working and whats not.During this time I eventually finish the song and production.
    To sum this up a bit is that when I start to record an idea for a song , many or most of the time the song is now where near complete,most of that happens during the recording and production. Thanks again, have a good one.
    Jim

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hey Jim,

      Thanks man! Glad you like the EP.

      It’s interesting how different the process can be for different people. Thanks for describing yours. I think we all need to learn from each other.

      I think as long as you’re happy with what you’re doing, and you get the song done eventually, then that’s great. It makes sense to spend some time listening to the song and living with it for a bit to determine whether it’s working.

      The last song on my EP (Take My Heart) is one that I have played several times with a worship band that I lead. I don’t do that with all of my songs, but it really helped this one because we as a band could really flesh it out and decide where to go with it before I even started recording anything.

      As long as you’re getting projects done, then I think that’s great. If you’re not happy with your efficiency, and want to be able to get things done quicker, then you might want to think a bit about how to streamline your process and make sure you work it through to the finish. Don’t go for perfection, go for “done”. And then the more you get done, the better and better your music will be.

      Even if you don’t have a band like I described, just working with another person can help. They can give you a second opinion and help you get the song closer to finished before you start recording. In my first video of the series, I talk about pre-production, where I basically plan out the whole song before I start recording. At this point, the song itself is “done”, now I just need to record it.

      That’s what works for me, and I feel like it’s pretty efficient, and I get things done that way. But of course, everyone is different 🙂

      Thanks for the comment!
      Alex

      Like

      Reply

  6. Alex,

    Congrats!!! Listening Now!! You have definitely created some wonderful textures. I don’t exactly remember when I started following your blog but I know it was around the time I decided to do a song a month (8 months, 8 singles), this is the latest:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4TCMsBzLY .

    I love seeing people succeed in their goals! You are doing great things in your studio!!

    Peace,
    Josh

    Like

    Reply

  7. Hi Alex,
    Congrats on the release of your EP, and it sounds sooooo Nice! Some nice layers working there. Perhaps one day I may be brave enough to put an EP together….emmmmm!

    Well done !!!

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hey Clive,

      Thanks man. Glad you enjoyed it. I definitely did more layering on this one than I had before. I’m glad it turned out well. There’s always the chance that you’re just going to clutter everything up. But in this case, I was pretty careful, and it worked out!

      Alex

      Like

      Reply

      1. Your voice is similar to Michael W Smith!

        PS: Did u record electric guitars direct to your interface or did u run through an amp and mike them?

        Like

      2. Hey man,

        Thanks for the compliment! I certainly hope that my voice will sound as awesome as his someday! 🙂

        I recorded guitars through my Line6 amp emulator pedal, and then direct into the interface. So I didn’t use any mics for my electrics in this one.

        That’s one of the things I talk about in the video series 🙂

        Alex

        Like

  9. Hey Alex, your EP is finally here 🙂

    Just took a listen, and sounds great. An improvement from your first EP in every way, which is already a huge step.

    I particularly like how your voice sounds, crystal clear and full. And also the drums and the acoustic guitars. Mix is awesome too.

    Good job man! Favorite track: I will lift you up.

    Remember I released one on July? Maybe you haven’t had a chance to hear it yet, don’t worry. But if you still want to: lound.bandcamp.com

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hi Esli,

      Thanks man! I appreciate the comments. Glad the voice was nice and clear for you. That’s one of the most important things for me. The vocal really sells the song.

      I do remember your release, and I totally planned to listen to it! I guess I got so caught up in my own stuff that I didn’t get to it. I will totally have a listen soon!

      Alex

      Like

      Reply

    2. Hey man,

      Just had a listen to your EP. Wow, man! It sounds really great! It had my foot tapping as soon as the first song started. Love the guitar tones. Great harmonies too!

      Great job man!
      Alex

      Like

      Reply

  10. Hey,

    I work as a Student Minister and a substitute teacher and play in the worship band at our church. Right now I’m working on a couple of songs that I’m hoping to be able to release Nov 10th. This package would help me to have a more clear and concise workflow and equip me with tools to help me make better music, not just be a better “mixer”.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hi Joshua,

      Very cool, man! You’re right. Although becoming a better mixer is important, it’s just one piece of a much larger puzzle. And arguably not even the most important piece!

      In the video series, I spend one video talking about mixing, whereas I spend SIX videos talking about recording. Getting a great recording is really the key. Then the mix comes together easily.

      Thanks for the comment, man! Good luck with the release. Great that you have a deadline too. That helps with motivation 🙂

      Alex

      Like

      Reply

  11. Hey Alex, I’m really impressed with your EP! The mix sounds great. I’m struggling (like you’ve talked about) with finishing mixes. I record my own live drums, guitars, bass at home and use my DAW as a means to keep re-arranging my songs to try and settle on one good arrangement… but I end up with endless different versions of one song – all with unfinished mixes! arrrgggh. So your insider pack would really help me see the full process for how you got it finished, plus show me the mix techniques you used to produce these excellent results. I especially would benefit from learning about the EQ/comp concepts you used to see how I could achieve similar results at home. Thanks for all your hard work. Mark

    Like

    Reply

    1. Hey Mark,

      Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad you liked the EP.

      Oh man. Finishing projects is hard. And it’s so important!

      It sounds like the issue you’re running into is that you are leaving too many options open for yourself. One thing you’ll notice in my video series is that I basically nailed down the musical arrangement, lyrics, chords, transitions, etc. for all of my songs before I even recorded a single track.

      That may not work for everybody, but here’s my opinion. I heard one of my favorite artists say in an interview once that if a song isn’t great with just a single voice and an acoustic guitar, then it isn’t a great song.

      So what I try to do is make my song as great as I can with just simply that: my voice, and my guitar. Once the song is finished and sounding great as a “bare bones” song, *then* I start thinking about recording and production.

      It’s a mindset shift. I know that there are plenty of people who do songwriting in their DAW by recording a bunch of stuff and moving it around to play with ideas. But frankly, unless you have a clear strategy for calling it done and moving on, I think you’re doing yourself more harm than good.

      Get the song done first. Then think about recording it.

      In the EP Insider Pack, I start with Pre-production, where I write down exactly how each song is going to be arranged. Then I stick with that arrangement the whole way through. Even if I had decided later on that it would have been better some other way, I know that “done” is better than “perfect”, and so I just run with it.

      In today’s world of digital recording and endless options, our biggest problem is getting ourselves overwhelmed, and shying away from commitment. But I think that moving in logical steps, from one phase to the next, nailing things down and eliminating options along the way, is a fantastic way to get things done.

      And when you get things done, you always get better along the way. Plus, you get the joy of releasing your music to the world, rather than having it sit unfinished on your hard drive.

      Thanks for sharing, Mark. I hope my comment has helped you out!

      Alex

      Like

      Reply

      1. Hi Alex, Thanks very much for replying – yes that is very helpful indeed. I know you’re exactly right – it is better to have something finished but I’m never satisfied with a song if I know deep down that I preferred the newer adapted version… I’m my own worst mix enemy! Yes, I agree there are too many options and I always get caught up (yeah and overwhelmed!) not making a decision and sticking to it. I’m going to take your advice, plan a strategy (A-team style) and finish. I love it when a plan comes together! cheers – Mark

        Like

      2. No problem, Mark. It’s definitely hard.

        It’s always a battle between “getting it right” and “getting it done”. Gotta find a balance in there somewhere. You definitely want to spend time creating music that you’re proud of. And often it does take lots of time and effort. I spent quite a lot of time on my latest EP, trying to get things right.

        But yeah, at some point you have to say “ok, I’ve spent enough time on this, it sounds good enough, let’s move on”. Could it maybe sound better another way? Probably. But at some point, getting it done is more important.

        A nice hack for this is to set yourself a deadline, tell people about it, and stick to it. That way, you know you only have a limited amount of time before you need to be done. So you can only spend so long on each part before you need to move on, in order to meet your deadline. Might be something worth trying on your next project.

        Have a good one!
        Alex

        Like

Leave a comment