Post Traumatic is the debut EP by Mike Shinoda as a solo artist. It was announced on January 24, 2018 and released the following day at 10am EST and 7am PST with accompanying homemade music videos for each song.
Background
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".[1] Over the the remaining of 2017, he kept working on new music.[2] 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."[3] 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,[4] and part of "Over Again" was actually written and recorded on the day of the show.
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 what the fans would like him to keep going.[5] Regardless of that, he said there were already more music and visuals in the making,[6] including the studio version of "Looking For An Answer".[7][8]
About the musical elements of 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)."[9]
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.[10] 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.[11]
Gallery
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Standard cover
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Mike Shinoda's signature used on the artwork
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Announcement letter
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Release letter
Trivia
External Links
References
- ↑ Linkin Park Live on Twitter: "🙌🏼… " ., August 11, 2017
- ↑ Mike Shinoda (@m_shinoda) on Instagram, December 13, 2017
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Linkin Park & Friends Celebrate Life in Honor of Chester Bennington - LIVE from the Hollywood Bowl - YouTube, October 27, 2017
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "Yes. I’m not ready right now, though. Still making more music and visuals.… " ., January 25, 2018
- ↑ Mike Shinoda Live On Instagram 19/12/2017 "LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER" - YouTube, December 19, 2017
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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