Well, the short story... it's an instrumental album book-ended by two vocal tracks, with a greater emphasis on guitars and improvisation than my usual mess of processed sound.

The longer story is where things get a little messy.

Without getting too much into private matters, my anxiety and related concerns had been ignored and allowed to build up for such a length of time that it was necessary to start taking SSRIs, at least to bring things back down to normal, and see where we go from there.

Two interesting things happened. One, I began to look back on where I'd been a few years ago, and realized the degree to which I'd flip-flopped my attitudes on math, science, philosophy, art and so on. Truly, I'd become the other half. The other thing that happened was that, within a week of going on medication, I'd started writing songs again.

The songs on this record were inspired by my attempts to find a balance between the new me and the old me. The scientist and the artist. The brain and the heart. The Yin and the Yang. etc.

The sound of the record, meanwhile, was influenced by a significant downgrade in my digital audio workstation, which meant I couldn't just pile on a hundred different sounds, nor a circus of effects. Every layer of sound had to be carefully considered. No room for waste.

The result is something that I hope is pleasing to the ear.

sincerely,
JV "Jave" Despres

--- Lyrics ---

- I was once the other half

i was once the other half
used to be spirit and soul
used to be "feelings" and poetry

i was once the other half
now it's all science and math
now it's all "evidence" and medicines

i was once the other half
used to have so much to say
used to say something on everything

i was once the other half
used to be colours and tones
now it's all numbers and codes

i was once the other half
i was once the other half
i was once the other half

i was once the other half
i was once the other half
i was once the other half

- Coda

got no more songs left to sing
got no more feelings left to feel

got no more songs left to sing
got no more feelings left to feel

don't know what I'm gonna do
don't know what I'm gonna do
don't know what I'm gonna do