In late 2024, at 27 years old, my brother Zach and I had started playing music together again. Wow, come to think of it, that was a really special period.
A couple times a week we'd play for an hour or two at a downtown Toronto jam-space. We had played in a band together in highschool, he had tried supporting me as a drummer when I had left University but that crashed in an ugly way. He has helped me very much in my life. He is a special guy. Brothers, it is a complex relationship. He went his own way.
Anyways, after I had made 'Auto Hypnosis' I was mainly focusing on 'growing up' and 'career' for some years. I was working in tech. Meanwhile quietly crafting all these songs, mostly on acoustic guitar. Some of the instrumental pieces I've been carrying around for G-D knows how long.
In early 2025 I had fallen in Love with an Israeli girl who was living down the block from me in Toronto. She was going back to Israel in a couple months. I decided I was going to go with her.
Then I wanted to do something with the songs — and soon sparked the inspiration for an Album. It was about 4-5 weeks maybe before my flight.
I took some vacation days off work and recorded all of the guitars and bass heard on the record through my childhood Line 6 amplifier plugged directly into Ableton on my Mac (via a Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface).
This time around Zach and I decided to spend some money on studio time. We booked 2 full studio days at Taurus Records, Downtown Toronto. I had found Recording Engineer Jesse Turnbull on Instagram and decided I wanted to work with him purely based on his Moustache.
On these two days, we recorded most of the drums heard on the album and the vocals for 4 of the final 7 tracks. I recall Zach and I driving back home from the 2nd studio day, listening to the demos in the car, and laughing out of pure joy. A lot of the finishing touches of the writing for the album came together in this period too.
I had set my mind on an album, I wanted more songs. In the coming week I tracked myself the instrumental for 'As You May' and the album's closer 'Epilogue', as well as some others that didn't make the final cut. I booked an 'Iso-booth' in Toronto at about 10$/hr and it was there that the vocals for these final tracks were recorded. Finally Zach and I booked one more studio day with Jesse to finish up the drums.
The Mix I ended taking on myself some time later.
Sonically, in comparison to 'Auto Hypnosis', this project was not trying to be this 'new' or revolutionary thing — it is mostly one guitar part, one bass part, drums, and vocals. Some audio tracks. Maybe some doubling. Simple. Familiar sounds. I felt the songs were strong on their own, they didn't need to be 'dressed up' too much. I wanted it to be raw. Also the 'rawness' was sort of out of necessity. If we had all the resources and studio time it could have been something else. But it was just 2 guys — we funded the project out of our pockets and it was made with minimal studio time. I used my childhood equipment. There is a beauty in that simplicity and rawness.
The full-length Album 'Shores Of The Motherland' was released on April 12th, 2026.
After I left school, from about 20 - 23 years old I had made an endless amount of promising music but overall I failed to make anything quality. I was doing everything all on my own — the vocals, instrumental, production, mix etc.
It's kind of stupid but hey — the motto is 'Do What You Can With The Resources You Have'.
I was also living with my parents at this time and was a destructive person to say the least. My Body and Mind and Soul were at War.
But then there were glimpses of beautiful inspiration and creativity toward the end of this period — and that was 'Auto Hypnosis'.
When I got back into the Tech world, was able to support myself, moved downtown Toronto, and sort of got my sh*t together, was when I actually finished the mixes on this batch of songs.
Zach played the drums on the track 'Shivers', other than that, it is an entirely solo effort.
In retrospect I appreciate this project a lot. I may or may not do something as 'electronic' and 'other-worldly' again. I find it to be its own little World.
