Drawing on influences including classic rock, folk, psychedelic rock, ethereal wave, noise rock, dream pop, and shoegaze, I attempted to create a unique blend of these influences while utilizing a do-it-yourself approach. I wrote all music and lyrics, played every instrument, and completed all mixing and mastering, leading to a finished product that came entirely from myself. I tried to make the music and lyrics equally important, complementary without overriding one another. I utilized natural acoustic sounds, clean electric sounds, lush effect-laden sounds, and different microphone placements to create dreamy, encompassing textures with distinct and varied content between tracks. I tried to minimize editing as far as I could without sacrificing quality, include some form of improvisation in each track, and sing and play each part from start to finish in each track, even when they are repetitive, in order to create a raw, rather than overproduced, sound. The entire album focuses around the Awaken concept, a music based representation of different struggles, experiences, and emotions that came out of a rapid and powerful change in self-awareness and self-understanding. I hope you enjoy.