I set a few parameters when I went to record "-x+v". I believe that having healthy limitations and restrictions will not only help you to be effective but will force you to be more creative with the tools you have. My wife and I built a small home recording studio in our barn. This was my first time recording away from the east coast. Writing and recording in the mountains and being surrounded by nature has had a huge influence on this album. Each song had it's own set of parameters. Just to give you an idea I will list just a few of them: "Birds" - I was not allowed to use full chords on any of the instrument. It is a collection of small sounds and layers. In " "Anniversary X" - I was not allowed to repeat any of the sections of the song. It ends up having an A,B,C,D structure. "Complete control" - was to be sung primarily by a sound that would alter my voice. "Lost at Sea" - I had a time limit of 3 hours to write all the parts for this song. "Conversation between a father + song" - The song was to be a dialogue between two people instead of my normal lyrical style of self reflections and thoughts. Although I enjoyed working with these parameters, they are not the reason why I wrote these songs. These songs reflect personal struggles and triumphs over the past 10 years.