2025 was the year
@ianbarnett_drums and I had our special Istanbul wedding, a lovely Kapadokya trip with family and friends, and a sweet honeymoon in Montenegro. I spent some quality time in familiar places like Bodrum, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Houston, visited Niagara Falls in New York and Winter Park in Florida... Attended a bunch of weddings… Released a song called “Beyaz” that I wrote for my own wedding… I guess you could say love was in the air!
This was also the year my first
@splice pack, SIRMA’s Vocal Palette, and my second
@bandlab pack, SIRMA Presents Vocal Chords, dropped. I lent my vocals to the
@goturkiye miniseries, Istanbul My Love, on the beautiful score composed by
@oguzkaplangi &
@serkan_celikoz . Featuring on
@oguzkaplangi ’s
@creativescots - funded records “Sirens and Statues” and “Not Walking Away”, and toplining a track from
@bibliothequemusic ’s Adventures in Anatolia compilation album titled “Ah Sevda” (produced by
@krol_scharber ) were among the highlights of the year.
In 2025, I stepped into my role as a record producer a bit more confidently.
@aegeamezzo and I worked more closely together. She released the first batch of songs that she, I, and so many other talented musicians have been working on for a while: “Night Shift”, “Come and Find Me”, and “Bul Beni.”
There were a few other notable moments, too. I was very grateful for each opportunity to geek out about music technology in my articles for
@rolandglobal ,
@musictech_official , and
@dreamtonics . I taught a couple of workshops, had some private students in songwriting and music production, all of which were rewarding experiences.
And yet, despite all the good, I spent too much time worrying about the future, getting hung up on frustrating exchanges, or errors that could’ve been avoided. I lost my cool and perspective more times than I could count. In fact, I had one of the worst days of the year this past Sunday, which almost made me forget all the good things that happened this year. Crazy how quickly that can happen sometimes if you let it.
May 2026 be the year I learn not to lose sight of the good things.
Thanks for being here & happy new year! ♥︎
#2025
