Ian Curtis

About the Album

Jump to track list

I wasn't going to make another album. You wouldn't believe how much work it is to put together an album (and my last one was only 10 tracks!). But a series of events led me to do so anyways. Let me list them:

  1. In Fall 2018, I become (re)addicted to listening to Broadway soundtracks
  2. Around September, my friend introduces me to the Mean Girls soundtrack
  3. I decide I really enjoy said soundtrack and listen to it non-stop, admiring the very talented cast: Erika Henningsen, Taylor Louderman, Kate Rockwell, Ashley Park, and Kyle Selig to name a few.
  4. I follow the above on Instagram; Taylor Louderman posts about a Write Out Loud contest, I decide to participate
  5. The song I wrote for the contest (The Light Never Dies) makes me itch to write more music and boom, new album ideas.

I didn't win the contest, nor should I have because the original version of The Light Never Dies was not good. The lyrics are close to the same but I really did not sound good in terms of vocals, nor did I have the instrumentation settled. But I did get back into writing music.

This album was written and recorded before I bought Apple's Logic software and my knowledge of how to create music was limited. As a result, the tracks are not mastered, many of the instruments are not locked in everywhere, and my vocals need some work. Sure, the lyrics aren't that great and many of them don't rhyme. I re-sing each chorus instead of copying over the first one. It sounds like I recorded them in my bedroom (which I did!).

This album is, however, another step in my learning process. I overcame a huge mental hurdle by publishing my vocals online (something I never thought I'd be able to do) and I got experience in working with writing lyrics and accompanying vocals.

I didn't want to write any songs about love and relationships because so many songs out there are about those things. However, as I was writing and struggling to come up with ideas, I realized that love is kind of everywhere, but not always in ways that we expect. As such, I decided to pick out things I loved for reasons other than romanticism. Once I found a goal for the album, the specific subjects for the tracks and the album name came quickly.

Subliminal Affection is devoted to passions and emotions. It serves to honor the things and people in life that we love in a non-romantic sense as sometimes love appears without romance.

The image for the album art was taken by me on a vacation to the Grand Canyon. The sunsets over the canyon are stunning.

Track Listing

  1. March Forward, Look Back (Affection towards yourself)
  2. S.H.
  3. To Someone (Affection towards those you have yet to meet)
  4. C.V.
  5. Nothing's Stopping Us (Affection towards others)
  6. L.T.
  7. Merci mon ami (Affection towards French)
  8. K.B.
  9. A Powerful Force (Affection towards music)
  10. J.M
  11. Sadie Rose (Affection towards pets)
  12. C.C.
  13. The Light Never Dies (Affection towards yourself)