About the Project
Seven Years Behind was my solo music project, which for over 12 years existed as a way to express some of my creative energy in a constructive way.
During the pandemic in 2020, I had a number of unfinished demos which I’d abandoned 3 years prior, and I wanted to spend that time indoors doing them justice and releasing them to the world as a sign off to a music project that didn’t really fit me anymore.
Failure Season was the result, 4 tracks of self-produced angst, joy, doubt etc and put to a DIY lime green cassette for people to enjoy.
Failure Season was released on limited edition lime green cassette, with only 25 copies made. Each order comes with a “Failure” or “Success” print of choice.
Visuals
The Process
I can’t remember exactly where the title Failure Season came from, but it demonstrated the main message of the record: what exactly is failure and do I meet the requirements?
All four songs in some way deal with that question, so from there the messaging started to come through and the visual design of the record started to become clearer.
However, tied with that was one visual cue established early in the process: a mask of my face used on my stag do.
Seven Years Behind had been dormant for a couple of years, and it didn’t feel like it fit anymore. This mask was a way of putting on that old persona for one last uncomfortable ride.
As a result it became the visual centrepiece of the record, used throughout the artwork, the promo photography, the music videos. It became a way to personify old, negative habits and my own inner battle throughout the record.
It seemed fitting, therefore, to add a mask of my face to every order of the record, alongside framed prints of two key lyrics demonstrating the duality of the record.
How it Went
Well, this record certainly kept me busy as I stared at the walls of my house for weeks and months on end.
At least for me, it was a good place to finally draw a line on the Seven Years Behind project, which I’d been jumping in to on and off for 12 years at that point.
The contents of the record and what it really meant never really hit until 2 years later either, and it certainly gave me a lot of perspective.
Artistically and professionally, it challenged me for sure, recording, filming, editing and creating everything while being locked in the house with minimal resources available.