Approaching Nirvana

New Release - Morning Twilight

Annnd I'm back with a new release! I originally wrote this one a few months ago in August. It is reminiscent of Regrowth, but it's got a really funky and somewhat dark bass line. Those two elements...

Dec 4 - Love Again

I'm really happy with this week's song. I started out with a pretty specific idea of what to write and it came together nicely. It's got a strong melodic house vibe but still retains a lot of Appro...

Nov 27 - Forestalling

This week I have a drum and bass idea that took awhile to come together. After my initial session, I wasn't super happy with it. After cleaning it up, I think it's actually pretty decent. The intro...

Nov 20 - Dreams of City Nights

Fresh back from my trip and I'm back at it with some cinematic drum & bass. This idea came together nicely and I particular like the drum layers (well except for the kick, maybe). There are a l...

Nov 6 - I'll Find Your Light

This week's idea is a drum and bass track that came together nicely. It has some nice atmosphere, a cool vocal phrase, and a great vibe throughout. I like this one enough to try and finish it so I'...

New Release - Ephemeral Voices

This song was originally written September 2023 and became this year's theme for Love Tropics - a charity...

Oct 30 - Listen to the Melody (Deep Inside of Me)

This week's song came together well and channels some spooky October vibes. It's simple, but I like what's here. It's missing a lot of layers (FX, transitions, automation, etc), but I think the son...

Oct 23 - World Out There

This week's session is an interesting one. I wanted to combine some tech house and progressive vibes with some Approaching Nirvana nostalgia and I think it came together pretty well. If I finish th...

Oct 16 - Just Out of View

This week's song isn't as strong as last week's. After my session yesterday, I wasn't too excited about it. But listening back this morning, it's not bad. The chord progression definitely has some ...

Oct 9 - What I Feel / More than Once

It's not often that sessions go this well and I am really happy with this idea. The vocals are placeholder, but I like the overall rhythm and melody in them. The whole song is simple, but it's catc...

Fall/Winter 2024 Merch Item

Hi everyone - it’s time to talk about merch options for Fall/Winter 2024!

I want to keep it simple and do something cool that we haven’t done yet. The options below will all be standard l...

Oct 2 - Never Let You Go

This week's song came together nicely and it's a very promising idea. This is my first semi-serious foray into stutter house. It's got a bit faster, has a vocal focus, and plays heavily off of the ...

New Release - Fleeting Memory

Memories may come and go, but they stay with you forever....

This song gives me a nostalgic, reminiscent vibe and brings up memories from the past every time I listen. The melody is pretty ca...

Sept 25 - Far Away

This week's song combines progressive house anthem vibes in the drop with a breakbeat groove in the intro. It has a bit of a unique spin and I like some of the layers in it, but I'm not sure the ov...

Life Updates

2024 has been an incredibly tough year for me and while I always try my best to separate my personal life from Approaching Nirvana, it’s had such a profound effect on everything that it feels nec...

Sept 18 - Miss You

This week, I sat down to write some drum and bass. I liked some parts of the idea like the drums and piano melody, but it didn't really feel like the idea was coming together well during the sessio...

New Release - Crossroads

This song didn't make the cut for the Better Days EP, but I still felt it was strong enough for a free...

August Song Poll

I didn't have a specific song lined up for release this month, but I'd like to do a free release next Saturday. I have a few songs finished that haven't been released and I thought it would be fun ...

Aug 21 - Water's Edge

Gotta be honest with this one - I'm not feeling it. There are definitely some interesting ideas here... the drums are mostly foley & mouth noises I recorded on stream and some chord layers as w...

Aug 15 - Contrast

This week I was limited on time so it was time to speed-run a song idea. I only had around 90 minutes, but I went in with an idea of what I wanted to write and I think it turned out pretty good. I ...

Aug 7 - Scarborough Fair Remix

This week I wanted to try something different. I was browsing through vocalists on TikTok & Instagram and came across Malinda Music who has a nice solo vocal cover of a small section of "Scarbo...

July 31 - Meander

This week's idea has a lot of Deadmau5, trance, and melodic house influences. There are 2 chord progressions in this - the 1st progression I wrote initially on stream and the 2nd progression (start...

New Release - Sonar

Take a dive beneath the surface and explore a whole new world...

I really like how this one came together - it's like a combination of Underwater Echo from Blocking the Sky and Stop from Reb...

July 24 - Keep on Dreaming

I'm back at it and this week's session was a bit up and down. I tried several different directions and nothing felt quite right. I went back to the 1st chord progression I wrote and tried a faster ...

July 18 - I Want More

As many of you know, I've been taking some time off for health reasons. I had a procedure done last week and I am currently recovering. The last couple days have felt a bit more normal so yesterday...

July 10 - Chrysalis

This week was a lengthy session but a good one. I wrote some nice chords, decided on a drum and bass direction together with chat, and let the vibes just carry the session. I'm really happy with wh...

Coasters have shipped!

All packages have been sent out. Please check your messages (Discord, Patreon, or email) for a tracking number. If you did not receive one, please reach out to me on any of those platforms. Thank y...

July 3 - Vanishing Point

This week, I started out designing some atmospheric layers and then wrote a few chord ideas. After choosing one, I started adding layers to flesh out the idea. Coming out of the session I am pretty...

June 27 - When Will the Storm Let Up

This week, I used some atmosphere samples I made in another session as a starting point, wrote some chords, and started adding layers. I leaned into the piano vibe, took some inspiration from Regro...

June 19 - Hope for a Future

This week I returned to a familiar style and channelled some strong emotions. It starts out a bit somber, but has a lot of uplifting vibes to it. This song centers around the theme of hope...