Zach here đź‘‹
Since releasing The Call of Raven's Hollow, I've gotten loads of questions about what's next for me artistically.
And while I've shared little bits and pieces across the internet and among friends, most people have no idea just how deep I've gone.
When I began Raven's Hollow, I thought I was simply writing an album—a little personal project designed to help me feel re-inspired, hone my voice, and recharge me for my client work.
However...
Unlike the albums I'd written before, Raven's Hollow didn't come from a desire to show my skills, build my portfolio, or land new work.
It came from a place of deep rememberance.
I didn't prep by researching music or tweaking my template—I took long walks in parks, read fiction books, and redesigned my studio to look like a cross between a steampunk archive and a Victorian library.
(These were the sorts of things I loved doing as a kid, well before I was trying to get my foot in the door of the entertainment industry.)
And because of all that—
Because of the personal nature of my work and the intrinsic values behind my process...
I wound up creating a world that I loved so much that I simply couldn't let it go.
Now, with Raven's Hollow actively in my life, everything is inspiration.
→ I keep a dream journal for tracking weird environments.
→ I people-watch to hone the details of my characters.
→ Cool words I learn get added to a compendium for written lore.
But that's not all...
Because Raven's Hollow isn't just a vessel for my inspiration—it's a vessel for my expansion.
Music has always been my most comfortable method of expression as a storyteller.
But the Hollow demands more than just sound.
So, to accomodate, my skills have been slowly expanding: I now spend my free time outside of client work exploring narrative fiction, puzzle design, world mythology, and stretching my skills far beyond music.
The creative expansion that's required of me to bring Raven's Hollow to life has been more challenging—and more creatively fulfilling—than any client project I've ever worked on.
Here's just a few screengrabs of some things I'm developing:
(This is the graph view of my story-in-progress, courtesy of Obsidian...)
(These are early ideas for an oracle deck I'll be developing with my artistic wife...)
(And yes... there's more music coming soon. 🙂)
In short:
Raven's Hollow is no longer an album.
It's my life.
And if you'd like to go deeper with me, you can hop on my Patreon or create your own Hollow with me this fall via mentorship.
Now...
Time to pack some boxes and continue the adventure.
More soon 🎶
—Zach
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