I haven’t been writing many essays this year. In 2025, all my creative juice got sucked up by massage work, home construction, community protests, and music. I also turned forty.

Decades ago I envisioned myself publishing some books by thirty, then as time crept consistently by, I made a new goal. An album by forty. So in March I approached my music producer with five songs I wanted to record and shape into my debut EP (which stands for extended play, from the record-printing days).

At the same time, our small surf town erupted in demonstrations around a poorly planned coastal bike path, which would tear down community forests and destroy classic surf spots and marine reserves. All while I pushed to maintain motivation with my daunting construction project.

After long days of picketing and protesting, or bending electrical conduit and hanging ceiling fans, or working with clients to pay for all my endeavors, I found solace in the cool, quiet recording studio.

Over six months of recording and mixing, over a hundred hours in the studio, and working with a variety of professional musicians, I learned tips and tricks of the trade, like a semester of “Production 101”, with mini lessons throughout on the classic technology and techniques.

Then there were the hours at home studying websites and social media, another side of the trade I’d like to get locked in (so I can get back to making music).

I didn’t get to make a big forty birthday announcement, as creativity (and life) don’t seem to follow the timelines we assign, but finally here we are! My first ever album, “Gemini Moon”, is available for purchase on my fancy new website. It is a five track album of cathartic love songs, in a style that I dub “island folk music”.

http://michelledaviesmusic.com

Social media strategy suggests that the best approach is a slow release, song by song over a few months, and so track one will hit streaming platforms (except Spotify) on December 26, with the rest to come out month by month after that.

But! If you’d rather not wait, you can buy the entire album now on my website, in CD form or digital download or both (there are also stickers;)

Plus! If you sign up on my music site for the mailing list , you get a free listen of the first song. I will also be doing some promotional runs where I offer listens or downloads for sharing, etc…so stay tuned! You can also follow my music instagram page @michelledaviesmusic