‘Space Tours: The Legacy of Phoenix’ is the extraordinary new concept album from Mitch Wellings. Based on the fictional backstory that his label Space Tours is the world’s first intergalactic travel agent, the album positions itself as a company propaganda piece, telling the transformational journey of one passenger on the first-ever Space Tours flight.
Photo Credit: Mitch Wellings – Official
From boring 9-5 IT guy with no purpose to being completely reawakened with an entirely new outlook on life due to his experiences in Space, the story of Phoenix is told using a choice selection of voice actors from around the world, supporting Welling’s singular musical vision.
The word ‘journey’ is somewhat overused when it comes to describing electronic music sets and albums, but it is entirely appropriate when used in the content of ‘The Legacy Of Phoenix’. Encompassing elements of house, electro, garage, disco, funk, breaks, and ambient, the album is a trip in every sense of the word, with Wellings creating both an incredible sense of place and a narrative thrust that keeps you completely engaged throughout.
To celebrate the release of ‘Space Tours: The Legacy of Phoenix’, Mitch Wellings invites EG into the studio for 5 mental tips.
1. Psychology is key
Something that isn’t spoken about enough is that the key areas around being successful in music production are actually all based on psychology. Things like: finishing tracks, allowing vulnerability, and handling rejection; believing in yourself, being consistently creative, accepting that perfection isn’t possible, constant motivation/dedication, and more. It’s all a mental game, with battles happening every day. Look into psychology. Find strategies and mechanisms that work for you to aid resilience. Learn more about yourself and people in general. Practice mindfulness. Be self-aware. If you can recognize where/when/why these psychological battles occur, you can learn to come out on top.
2. Separate your workflow
Treat production and mixing as separate processes. I teach both production and mixing as part of my day job. One of the biggest mistakes I see is people overlapping the two and it is killing their workflow. Production should be about letting loose with creativity, getting as much of your best creative ideas down as possible, and not worrying about whether your snare sounds too harsh at 5k. Save things like EQ and compression until you’ve got a finished arrangement. Mix it on a separate day altogether on fresh ears.
3. Just be you
Don’t get caught up chasing “current” sounds. Aside from the fact that you will never sound original, you’ll always be too late, as trends move really fast. An analogy I like to stand by is to have one eye on the future and one eye on the past. The present is going to be old news by the time you manage to make something like that and eventually get to release it. Especially if it’s with a good label, there’s generally a release queue. There is also a pressing queue of around 3 months if it’s going onto vinyl. Just be yourself and put the time into creating original music that means something to you. That will stand out more in the long run. Eventually, if you’re doing it right, people may actually want to sound like you.
4. Better yourself
Don’t compare yourself to other artists. They all have different backgrounds, bank balances, networks, and experiences. The only person you’re competing with is yourself. It’s easy to get brought down by thinking somebody is doing better than you who maybe shouldn’t be, if you’re willing to let that bother you. No matter what, there will always be people out there who achieve more than you with a fraction of the work. Only worry about the things you can control, which is ensuring you are constantly working on the best version of yourself by putting the hours in making music or practicing on the decks. Music is hopefully the reason you got into all this in the first place. Love the process of bettering yourself as an artist.
5. Stop, collaborate, and listen
Collaborate with others. Whatever their ability level, whether they’ve released music or not, there can be things to take from stepping out of your own comfort zone and studio space to work on something new with someone else. Fresh perspectives, techniques, or even just inspiration for your own productions can be found. You don’t have to release anything together. Just enjoy trying to create something and be open-minded enough to exchange knowledge or just mutual appreciation of what you both enjoy. Great things can happen. And, so what if they don’t?
Mitch Wellings’ ‘Space Tours: The Legacy of Phoenix’ is out now via Space Tours. Purchase your copy here.
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