A quick scan of the blog archives indicates that I was a bit lax with the blog writing in 2011. Perhaps that had to do with being busy actually making things happen - or at least trying to. It was an eventful year, one that really had the feeling that things are slowly starting to come together and fall into place. And what exactly did happen? Let's take a look...

- Things started off a bit slow, but the idea for a 4 song E.P. from Paul E. Phonics was developed and work began on "A Fragile Peace".

- A new project started that involved going back and reworking older songs in a more traditional form. These were meant to be included in a songwriter portfolio and no official release was planned. That idea has changed a bit and will be explained.

- During this time, new pieces were being created and added to Union Of Resonance on a monthly basis - so all in all studio work was being carried out on three fronts. A very busy time.

- "A Fragile Peace" was released on May 12th.

- In June I headed back to the homeland to visit friends and family and attend North by Northeast. It was my first experience with a music conference. Some aspects were interesting and useful, others not so much. But I did get three great nights of concerts included with my pass which made it all worthwhile.

- Upon my return I knew I had a lot to do. Paul E. Phonics T Shirts were designed and soon made available in the shop. I started with more live booking efforts which were not so fruitful but did result in one really good concert. More on that later.

- The summer in Europe was pretty poor which ironically fit well with a new single Paul E. Phonics had just finished during the "A Fragile Peace" sessions. I decided that a quick spontaneous release of "The Summer (That Never Was)" might have good results considering how relevant it was and I was right. This release got more attention than any other so far and was profiled on several blogs and played on quite a few podcasts.

- Paul E. Phonics live at Madame Claude in Berlin on Oct. 22nd. A great little club and a fun show. Made some new friends, got offers for remixes and recorded some live video footage. All in all a success.

- A lot of studio work went on from September to December to finish off even more Paul E. Phonics material. These new songs are all basically finished and definitely mark a new chapter in the Paul E. Phonics repertoire. Release will be some time in 2012.

- During these final sessions, two older songs were remixed (and to some extent re-recorded). One shall remain a surprise for some time early next year, but the other is obviously "The Chameleon (New Skin)", the first anniversary remix of the title track from last year's E.P. It was released on Dec. 13th as a free download and has garnered a bit of attention so far. A little holiday gift from Paul E. Phonics and 5th Estate Music.

- During the second half of 2011 Union Of Resonance took a back seat but there were still a few pieces added to the collection.

- And getting back to the songs for the songwriter portfolio. I mentioned something in the last post about a "new project" and this is where it comes from. I actually thought it would be out by now but I decided not to rush it and instead it will be revealed in January. 5 of the 7 songs recorded during those sessions will be included along with a thorough explanation of where they come from and why I am choosing to put them out there now.

And that about says it all. It's been a great year. Thanks to all of you who helped out with your support!

Happy Holidays!  See you in 2012!