ARENTUMINE On the Making Of ‘Wasting TIme’
What was the creative process like for this particular album?
This album is the culmination of six years of work, a back catalogue of more than forty songs I wrote and produced in my parents’ house. I whittled that down to twelve core tracks and spent the last year of 2024 turning songs that were roughly seventy percent finished into their final forms. Creatively it was a big shift because instead of constantly making new tracks I had to push, pull and refine what I already had. Every song needed something different and most of my time went into vocal work since I always save that for last. I like to be fast and loose when I am laying things down to find the structure, then I disappear for many hours to fine tune the messy bits. Normally to give each song a body and a place I take a walk around while listening to the track. Changing the environment usually opens up an idea I had not heard in the studio and points me toward what the song needs. For me, the creative process is one of discovery. I rarely sit down with a finished song in mind. I follow what the song wants to become and keep reshaping until it clicks.
Can you describe the emotions or feelings you hope 'Wasting TIme' evokes in listeners?
‘Wasting Time’ is a big release of emotion. While making the album I was in a rough patch, feeling directionless and coming out of a long term relationship, the music became the place I could throw feelings at the wall and see what stuck. Visually I kept picturing myself floating on a river and looking up at the sky, sometimes at night seeing the stars, sometimes rising up and spinning out amongst the clouds. That floating feeling is how the songs move for me, a mix of drifting and sudden weight. I wanted the music to sound raw and big enough to match the swirl in my head. There are moments of desperation, and then a kind of peace that arrives near the end. Sonically I tried to make it a journey, with lighter, brighter moments early on and darker textures as it goes through.
Which song(s) from 'Wasting TIme' do you think best represents your artistic vision?
The title track "Wasting Time" probably represents my artistic vision best, but it sits with another song on the record, “Crumble.” I love the lyric link between them, in “Crumble” I sing from my perspective, "Why can't I just let you be, I want to be your history, but I can't get you out my mind, your heart is breaking over mine." Then in "Wasting Time" you hear the Ex’s side saying, "Why can't you just let me be, I was part of your history, but now I want you off my mind, my friends all said I wasted time." That call and response made the album have deeper interconnectivity and felt complete. "Wasting Time" asks listeners to lean in, more than some other songs, but it rewards patience with a layered wide sound which still moves me today. For me, it is both a goodbye and a look at the memories you carry forward in your life journey.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
I have always been into the arts, but it was not until I found Ableton as a teenager that I realized music could be made the way I wanted. Before that I honestly thought music just appeared out of thin air. Ableton opened the production world to me and I would tell anyone to try it. What started as a spare time hobby slowly turned into years of making music, a lot of which lived quietly on hard drives until I decided to make an album out of it.
Do you aim to convey any specific themes or messages through your music?
I like the tension between small, intimate sounds and loud, emotionally sweeping choruses. You hear that in songs like "ARENTUMINE" and "Wasting Time." I like to pull the listener in with something unexpected, let them relax a little, and then hit them with a chorus that surrounds and lifts. Thematically, this record maps a breakup: the panic, the pleading, trying to change, and finally the acceptance. That movement from confusion to acceptance is what I wanted to show.
Fun little secret:
I may or may not have sampled the shouting "HEY!" from the old Lego City commercials and tucked it into "Let Loose." See if you can spot it in there.
