Okay, I'm lying. It was actually uploaded on December 7th, 2023, not December 6th — but I’m way too lazy to wait another day to post about it.
Dusting Off The Desert Sand holds a special place in my heart - not just personally, but also in relation to this site. It was the first song I created that was acknowledged, frontpaged, and featured by none other than Tom Fulp himself! At the time, it being an incredible feeling. I don’t want to come across as a massive fanboy going “OMG TOM FULP I LOVE YOU FOR THAT!” - heh - but it truly meant a lot, especially considering what was happening in my life then.
Just two weeks prior, I’d gone through a difficult transition, moving from a safe, comfortable living situation to... well, a living space. It wasn’t unsafe, but it wasn’t great either. The hardest part being the adapting, constantly reflecting on what I’d lost. My thoughts keeping me awake at night, making me sink further into a mental fog. But one morning, something shifted. I got up, made a cup of tea, and for the first time in a while I could let my creative mind take charge. I opened FL Studio and started laying down random notes. Two hours later, Dusting Off The Desert Sand was born. In that moment, I knew I was finally moving forward. The creative spark that normally grounds me in reality — and yet allows me to escape — was back.
Creating The Song
What inspired me, and how the track was meant to feel.
Creating Dusting Off The Desert Sand was such a fun experience. I wanted to capture the essence of the new age music I was immersed in at the time, heavily inspired by artists like David Lanz and Paul Speer. Another major influence was the fantastic Seth Nova, whos is well known for making amazing music using only one synth, it gave me the idea to approach this song doing such. For this track, I used only the M1 VST, focusing on the MPC03 card specifically - though I did make one exception later on, that being the guitar, recorded from my Yamaha S30, which I thought blended perfectly with the M1’s sound palette, giving the track a nice, cohesive feel.
The song itself starts with an unusual time signature, something I stumbled upon by accident but decided to embrace. It adds a subtle, uneven rhythm, reminiscent of the curves of desert sand. But there’s this distinctive set of beats that hit almost like the surprise of spotting a cactus and thinking, “Don't wanna touch that!”. Around the 40-second mark, the track shifts, introducing a serene set of chords played by an electric piano. To me, this section symbolizes the progression of a day. It feels like late morning - the sun is high, and you're moving forward. You’ve had your wake-up moment! As the song unfolds, it gradually transitions to some more cool (as in awesome) feeling melodies, evoking the feeling of the sun dropping in the sky, casting long shadows as the day winds down. The S30's guitar to me symbolizes the sun dipping below the horizon, making its graceful but awesome exit. The song settles to end, back to how it started, giving you the impression that things are going to start again.
The End
Lil charming Soapbox, If that's how that term works?
These days, I no longer feel the way I did when I wrote Dusting Off The Desert Sand. I’ve not only gone and dusted off the desert sand - I’ve picked myself up far beyond how much I thought I would and moved way, WAY forward... and this song to me will always be a reminder of where I once was and how far I’ve come. A year on, I find myself in a much better place, soaking up the leaves instead and truly enjoying life. Maybe someday, I’ll write a song about that one too. Who knows?
