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I have been living in Yankalilla for over 12 months now and in that time a lot of things have happened, some things have been good and some haven’t but all in all, my quest for living a slower, steadier, simpler and more silent life down in the Fleurieu has been a successful one so far.

I’ve managed to continue running my web design/online marketing business ZenWeb Systems from home as well as diving head first into the world of live performance again but this time taking advantage of the plethora of gigs that are available down this way.

I’m also building SongMachine, a commercially viable recording studio out the back of my house. This is about 70% done and with every day that passes my excitement for this new phase of my music career grows.

In addition to all of this, I haven’t watched the news/commercial TV since I got here and my life has been less stressful because of it. 

My motto is… If there is news that I need to know, I’ll know about it via social media and friends. If there’s news that has nothing to do with me then I don’t need to know.

Even though I had always considered myself a “city-slicker” I really don’t miss Adelaide at all and look for opportunities to NOT go over the hill into town. 

I’ve noticed of late that as I drive into the city I can feel the collective stress of Adelaide begin to course through me but when I leave I can feel that collective stress disappear as I pass Sellicks Beach and head towards the hills for home.

There was a huge speed bump in my progress though as halfway through 2023 I felt the effects of intense loneliness and depression which was a result of finally being able to come to terms with my grief and breaking through the fear of what a post-Mara life would look like for myself. 

Right now, I am now in the best place I can be

Another part of that speed bump is that my health needs to get back on track again. I have let things go a bit as I have attempted to just allow things to happen in the pursuit of slowing down my life and letting things “be” for the time being.

No health goals, no exercise, just aimlessly floating. This needs to change.

The end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 was also difficult because of the bookmarks that I needed to get through such as Mara’s birthday, anniversary of her passing and our wedding anniversary just to name a few. Christmas is never fun as well.

From going through those bookmarks I was surprised that even though it was a very hard experience to bear, I am having a better relationship with my emerging post-Mara life.

I am now feeling more “awake” to what is happening after everything that I have been through and I feel that 2024 is the year for me to start getting my life back in order again after allowing myself to aimlessly float in a holding pattern for a while. I am ready to really come back to the land of the living.

Just to recap, I have so much to look forward to…

  • I am happy where I am at
  • The gigs are building up
  • I am gainfully and autonomously employed
  • The recording studio (SongMachine) dream is almost a reality

This excites me.

I have a long way to go in attaining the slow, steady, simple and silent life I want but I’m glad to say that I am a long way down the path then where I was 12 months ago.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Finally, there has been some progress with the studio build now that Christmas, New Year and my birthday are now out of the way for the year.

With some help by the wonderful Henry Sweet, all of the walls now have a framework to put in the soundproof insulation as well as getting a start on putting ion the electrical cabling.

I’ll be getting the insulation this week and it’s my hope that all walls will be insulated by the end of the week.

It’s really starting to take shape and the light is starting to appear at the end of the tunnel.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

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Right now I’m sitting in front of my computer typing out this blog post and on the other screen is an open project on Logic Pro X and I’m really, really torn between completing this post and just doing some more recording.

However, there was a time not that long ago, that I couldn’t have imagined this scenario because back then, the thought of setting up some sort of home recording studio absolutely terrified me.

But what was I really scared of? I suppose I was scared that…

  • My music would sound crap and not sound like what’s on the radio
  • I couldn’t do it (record from home)
  • It would take too long for me to learn
  • My end product would be judged harshly by others
  • People won’t like my music (and therefore, not like me)

Of course, these irrational and illogical fears were a result of an unhealthy combination of way too much perfectionism, not enough confidence and a dash of low self esteem thrown in for good measure

I remember when I purchased my first iMac way back in 2009, I had included in the purchase a copy of Logic 9 (I had some experience using Logic 4.2 – before it was purchased by Apple from Emagic) and when I installed it onto my new system I left it sitting there all alone on my desktop, unopened for a very long time.

Eventually, curiosity got the better of me and feeling a bit brash one day, I opened it up and started to muck around with it.

The more I used it, the more I gained confidence in my ability to learn about and operate a piece of software that was almost like learning a foreign language. Then I discovered that YouTube had heaps of Logic 9 tutorials that enabled me to integrate more knowledge that I could use in my recordings.

It was around about this time that my decision to start collaborating with other songwriters in a big way took place and my new found knowledge of recording music at home had some sort of outlet.

Then Logic Pro X came onto the market. When I got that onto my system everything had changed. Now I’m a home recording studio junky and there’s no stopping me now.

The main thing I love about recording from home is the sheer convenience of thinking of a songwriting idea and then being able to flick on a switch and have everything at your disposal at a moment’s notice.

Don’t get me wrong… I still use and work in other recording studios big and small, professional and amateur, and feel that these facilities provide a much needed service however, with my home recording setup I am no longer at the whim of somebody else when it comes to recording my songwriting ideas and developing them towards a completed product.

Through this website, I’ll be sharing with you my home recording experiences, what I’ve learnt from taking a leap of faith into the land of home recording plus curating some fantastic content that I’ve found that has helped me along the way so watch this space.

Okay, now I’ve got that out of my system, I’m getting back to my recording…

Peace,

Corey 🙂