Post Traumatic EP: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:33, 25 January 2018

Post Traumatic is the debut EP by Mike Shinoda as a solo artist. It was announced on January 24, 2018^[1] and released the following day at 10am EST and 7am PST with accompanying homemade music videos for each song.

Background

The EP was released about six months following Chester Bennington's death and contains three songs composed by Mike Shinoda as a way to cope with the loss of his friend and to express everything he'd been going through over this period. In a release note, he wrote:

"The past six months have been a rollercoaster. Amidst the chaos, I’ve started to feel an intense gratitude--for your tributes and messages of support, for the career you have allowed me to have, and for the simple opportunity to create.

Today, I’m sharing three songs I wrote and produced, with visuals that I filmed, painted, and edited myself. At its core, grief is a personal, intimate experience. As such, this is not Linkin Park, nor is it Fort Minor--it’s just me.

Art has always been the place I go when I need to sort through the complexity and confusion of the road ahead. I don’t know where this path goes, but I’m grateful I get to share it with you."^[2]

Writing and Recording

About a month after Chester Bennington's death, Mike Shinoda started sharing photos of himself in the studio, doing what he called "music therapy".^[3] Over the remaining of 2017, he kept working on new music.^[4]^[5] He said, "On this project, I’m trying to work “in the moment.” I record a vocal or shoot a video while I’m feeling something."^[6] As an example of this, "Looking For An Answer", the new song performed at the Hollywood Bowl show in honor of Chester, was written only 8 days after Chester's suicide,^[7] and part of "Over Again" was actually written and recorded on the day of the show.

Mike said getting back into the studio and getting started in general was terrifying because the only person he had spent more time with than Chester was his wife.^[8] Luckily, he had a wonderful support system of friends and family, with vistors coming every day for the first two months to bring food and just listen to him.^[9]

Composition

After releasing the EP, Mike said he had a bunch of other songs, some of which were more finished than others, but he wanted to release those three first to see if the fans would like him to keep going.^[10] Regardless of that, he said there were already more music and visuals in the making^[11] (including a studio version of "Looking For An Answer")^[12]^[13] and he wanted people to see and hear each piece as soon as he completed them. ^[14]

About the musical elements on the songs, he said, "There are live instruments, of course. Guitar, percussion, piano, etc. I also feel like sometimes keyboard instruments sound better if I play them by hand instead of recoding and quantizing them (a fancy way of saying the computer plays them)."^[15]

Releases

The EP was released on January 25, 2018 exclusively in digital format. Both explicit and clean versions are available.

Track Listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Place To Start	Mike Shinoda	2:13
2	Over Again		3:50
3	Watching As I Fall		3:31

Personnel

All songs written and produced by Mike Shinoda
Vocals by Mike Shinoda
Percussion on "Place To Start" by Rob Bourdon
Track 1 mixed by Mike Shinoda
Tracks 2 and 3 mixed by Manny Marroquin
Mastered by Michelle Mancini
Artwork by Mike Shinoda

Promotion

Mike Shinoda did a Q&A on Twitter a couple of hours after the EP was released.^[16] He said he wouldn't be doing any interviews and the only place he would be answering any questions regarding the EP (including from journalists) would be on social media.^[17]

Gallery

Standard cover
Mike Shinoda's signature used on the artwork
Announcement letter
Release letter
August 11, 2017
September 15, 2017
October 31, 2017
December 13, 2017

External Links

Place To Start (Official Video): YouTube
Over Again (Official Video): YouTube
Watching As I Fall (Official Video): YouTube

References

[1] Mike Shinoda - Publications, January 24, 2018

[2] Mike Shinoda - Publications, January 25, 2018

[3] Linkin Park Live on Twitter: "🙌🏼… " ., August 11, 2017

[4] Linkin Park Live - Publications, October 31, 2017

[5] Mike Shinoda (@m_shinoda) on Instagram, December 13, 2017

[OverAgain-6] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "(1/2) On this project, I’m trying to work “in the moment.” I record a vocal or shoot a video while I’m feeling something. For example, I wrote and recorded verse one of “over again” on the day of the Bowl show, and did verse two the day after. #PostTraumatic" ., January 25, 2018

[7] Linkin Park & Friends Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington - LIVE from the Hollywood Bowl - YouTube, October 27, 2017

[8] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "The hardest thing was just getting started in general. The only person I spent more time with than CB was my wife (honorable mention to Brad and Dave). Getting back into the studio was terrifying. #PostTraumatic… https://t.co/EL8oXbQYg3" ., January 25, 2018

[9] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "I have a wonderful support system of friends and family. I think I had visitors every day for the first two months. They brought food and just listened, which was great.… https://t.co/busWFWZqHm" ., January 25, 2018

[10] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "I have a bunch of songs; some are more finished than others. I wanted to release these three today and see what the fans want me to do next. If you like these, I’ll keep going. #PostTraumatic… https://t.co/GvegLDLnUj" ., January 25, 2018

[11] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "Yes. I’m not ready right now, though. Still making more music and visuals.… " ., January 25, 2018

[12] Mike Shinoda Live On Instagram 19/12/2017 "LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER" - YouTube, December 19, 2017

[13] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "It still exists, I just want to figure out the right presentation! I made a version of it with lots of cool sounds, but that seemed to take away from the power of the song. Maybe I restart with piano only...?… https://t.co/Y7Kq5uiJP0" ., January 25, 2018

[14] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "(2/2) And I wanted to put this out as soon as possible because I’m living it, and a lot of other people are living it, too. I want people to see and hear it as soon as I complete each thing. #PostTraumatic" ., January 25, 2018

[15] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "There are live instruments, of course. Guitar, percussion, piano, etc. I also feel like sometimes keyboard instruments sound better if I play them by hand instead of recoding and quantizing them (a fancy way of saying the computer plays them).… https://t.co/FP4FQESLAT" ., January 25, 2018

[16] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "I’ll be on Twitter in 30 minutes to talk to you guys and answer questions about the new music and videos. Feel free to RT. #PostTraumatic https://t.co/mHvyjLaLVo" ., January 25, 2018

[17] Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "First things first. I want to talk to you directly, I don’t want anyone in between. So I’m not doing interviews for the time being, just using social media. If anyone (including journalists) has a question, you can ask me here in the coming weeks. #PostTraumatic" ., January 25, 2018

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@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 ==Writing and Recording==
-About a month after Chester Bennington's death, Mike Shinoda started sharing photos of himself in the studio, doing what he called "music therapy".<ref>[https://twitter.com/lplive/status/896186731699032064 Linkin Park Live on Twitter: &quot;🙌🏼… &quot; .], August 11, 2017</ref> Over the remaining of 2017, he kept working on new music.<ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BcqbBHdAGBv/ Mike Shinoda (@m_shinoda) on Instagram], December 13, 2017</ref> He said, ''"On this project, I’m trying to work “in the moment.” I record a vocal or shoot a video while I’m feeling something."''<ref name="OverAgain">[https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/956599358983626753 Mike Shinoda on Twitter: &quot;(1/2) On this project, I’m trying to work “in the moment.” I record a vocal or shoot a video while I’m feeling something. For example, I wrote and recorded verse one of “over again” on the day of the Bowl show, and did verse two the day after. &#10;#PostTraumatic&quot; .], January 25, 2018</ref> As an example of this, "[[Looking For An Answer]]", the new song performed at the [http://lplive.net/shows/db/2017/20171027 Hollywood Bowl show] in honor of Chester, was written only 8 days after Chester's suicide,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VoLHdADma8 Linkin Park & Friends Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington - LIVE from the Hollywood Bowl - YouTube], October 27, 2017</ref> and part of "[[Over Again]]" was actually written and recorded on the day of the show.
+About a month after Chester Bennington's death, Mike Shinoda started sharing photos of himself in the studio, doing what he called "music therapy".<ref>[https://twitter.com/lplive/status/896186731699032064 Linkin Park Live on Twitter: &quot;🙌🏼… &quot; .], August 11, 2017</ref> Over the remaining of 2017, he kept working on new music.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/lplive/photos/a.10152192184133267.1073741827.96571653266/10155721483278267/ Linkin Park Live - Publications],
+ October 31, 2017</ref><ref>[https://www.instagram.com/p/BcqbBHdAGBv/ Mike Shinoda (@m_shinoda) on Instagram], December 13, 2017</ref> He said, ''"On this project, I’m trying to work “in the moment.” I record a vocal or shoot a video while I’m feeling something."''<ref name="OverAgain">[https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/956599358983626753 Mike Shinoda on Twitter: &quot;(1/2) On this project, I’m trying to work “in the moment.” I record a vocal or shoot a video while I’m feeling something. For example, I wrote and recorded verse one of “over again” on the day of the Bowl show, and did verse two the day after. &#10;#PostTraumatic&quot; .], January 25, 2018</ref> As an example of this, "[[Looking For An Answer]]", the new song performed at the [http://lplive.net/shows/db/2017/20171027 Hollywood Bowl show] in honor of Chester, was written only 8 days after Chester's suicide,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VoLHdADma8 Linkin Park & Friends Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington - LIVE from the Hollywood Bowl - YouTube], October 27, 2017</ref> and part of "[[Over Again]]" was actually written and recorded on the day of the show.
 Mike said getting back into the studio and getting started in general was terrifying because the only person he had spent more time with than Chester was his wife.<ref>[https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/956595181037395968 Mike Shinoda on Twitter: &quot;The hardest thing was just getting started in general. The only person I spent more time with than CB was my wife (honorable mention to Brad and Dave).  Getting back into the studio was terrifying.&#10;#PostTraumatic… https://t.co/EL8oXbQYg3&quot; .], January 25, 2018</ref> Luckily, he had a wonderful support system of friends and family, with vistors coming every day for the first two months to bring food and just listen to him.<ref>[https://twitter.com/mikeshinoda/status/956596531313782784 Mike Shinoda on Twitter: &quot;I have a wonderful support system of friends and family. I think I had visitors every day for the first two months. They brought food and just listened, which was great.… https://t.co/busWFWZqHm&quot; .], January 25, 2018</ref>
@@ Line 81: / Line 82: @@
 File:PostTraumaticAnnouncementLetter.jpg|Announcement letter
 File:PostTraumaticReleaseLetter.jpg|Release letter
+File:MikeStudio081117.jpg|August 11, 2017
+File:MikeStudio091517.jpg|September 15, 2017
+File:MikeStudio103117.jpg|October 31, 2017
+File:MikeStudio121317.jpg|December 13, 2017
 </gallery>