i n t r o d u c t i o n

introduction

Hey there,


My name is nathan arthur. See the picture over there? I'm the dude. That's my wife. We're cute.


Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog. I wanted to briefly explain who I am, how I got here, and what this blog will be about.

So, I started playing the guitar at a young age. Around 10 years old or so. I grew up listening to rock bands like pillar, anberlin, falling up, and the like. I was always pulled to the more heavy music. So when I was around 10, my aunt gave me my first guitar. It was a really nice black Yamaha acoustic. But I didn’t take very good care of it.. So it kinda died.. And by died, I mean broke in half. Oh well. I learned the basics on that guitar, and it was good enough for me.

After the untimely demise of my first guitar, I purchased my second acoustic, and shortly after, a cheap little bass guitar from a company called “Arbor.”. My house got a little noisier.

One day, at our public library (the place you went to get decent internet back in the day), my friend showed me Before I forget by Slipknot. I was hooked. I bought a cheap electric guitar and amp as soon as I had the money, and learned my first metal song. I couldn’t wait to show off my mad guitar skills.

And then one day, I was searching the old (OLLLLLLDD) iTunes store for Christian metal. I found Extol’s Undeceived album. After listening for a few minutes, I quickly concluded that I had found some dark cult-like sect of Christianity--not for me. I was worried that the music sounded too evil. But about a week or two later, I revisited with interest (as children often do).

Extol quickly became my favorite band. I did chores around the house for allowance and blew it all on “Undeceived,” “Synergy,” and “Burial.” I learned Extol’s entire discography by ear. To this day, I still credit Extol’s Ole Borud as my top musical influence and inspiration.


After some time, I began to try my hand at writing music. None of it was any good, but I was 14 at the time, and not as gifted as some. My aunt had an old 8-track laying around, and I was able to record some of my first music when I was about 15 years old. I still remember the feeling of immense satisfaction, after a day of hard work, listening to my first horribly-recorded masterpiece (no drums mind you, just one single mono guitar, and a few horrible voice tracks).


My sister was actually the first in our family to acquire a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). She got it for Christmas when I was 16 years old. I didn’t know such a thing existed. And when she opened her present, I still didn’t quite understand what it was. I thought that the process of recording music was all tied to these extremely annoying tape machines. Turns out the DAW rarely ever got used by my sister, so it sat inside our family computer collecting virtual dust.


I started using FL Studio around 17 years of age: after I had spent a year not understanding. Once I realized I could write my own music with drums and bass guitar--not to mention all of the amazing synthesizers and piano modules-- I was hooked immediately.


My first album “CAPSUL” was the result of five or six months of frivolous tinkering. I spent hours every day researching how EQ and compression worked; how reverb should be used, how a drum set should sound.

I quickly turned around and wrote my first Extol-inspired album “Frail”. This was the beginning of my solo artist discography which I named “Arthure.”

I went to college for music production and worked hard to learn the tricks of the trade. I made friends, got gigs, and eventually wound up working in production for my school and for churches in the area. All the while, Arthure was writing away. I was surrounded by talented people, and tried to learn as much as possible from them.

All of this to say, I think I got a very late start. And that's totally fine. You don't need to be some pro audiophile or some outstanding musician to make beautiful music. You just have to enjoy the process of sucking a bit less each day. And that's why I'm here to help.

See, there were many tips and tricks that I had to learn for myself. And there were many elements of mixing that I wanted to document. So, I'll be here, answering your questions, also my own. They say that teaching is the best way to learn.

I’d love to hear a bit of your story. Please let me know in the comments below what you're doing now, and how you got to where you are!