I just recently finished off a new compilation. I haven't actually done an "official" compilation in several years. Interestingly, I recognize that this will likely be the last CD compilation that I make, since CDs are on the way out. While on one hand it can be frustrating, I think there is also a benefit to working with the time constraint of a CD. It really forces me to narrow down the track list to the best stuff.

Originally, MARC stood for "Modern Alternative Rock Compilation". I've generally tried to keep compilations centered on one genre. However with MARC V, my main desire was to highlight artists that I've been digging over the past couple of years (much like with MARC IV). To do this, I felt the need to go outside the bounds of modern/alternative rock in a few cases. I believe I was still able to put together a good compilation though.

For those not familiar, I put a lot of work into making a compilation. I start with a general theme—usually a genre. I then go through my music and get a broad selection of artists which I think might fit. This list of possible songs can sometimes contain several hundred entries, so I begin gradually narrowing down the track list. I normally try to narrow it down to one, maybe two songs per artist. Once I've done that, there are typically still too many tracks to fit on a CD, so I continue cutting until the time requirements are met.

After that, the next step is to come up with an order. For me, making a compilation is just more than just throwing some songs I like on a CD. I want to have a CD that I—or someone else—can stick in and listen to all the way through, and that will have some cohesion to it. So I look for a song that sounds like a good first song, and then try to find another song that goes well after the previous one.

Now that the track list and order are selected, I import all the tracks into ProTools. I then make precise adjustments to the transitions between songs, sometimes cross fading, in other cases, making sure there's just the right amount of space between tracks. I also do some important mastering type things, such as matching the volume on all the songs, and on rare occasion, even re-EQing a track. After this is all finished, it's just a matter of exporting (as one file), splitting the songs into what will be tracks on the CD, and then burning.

The last step is listening to the final mix, just to be sure I'm satisfied with it. In the case of this comp., I did decide that there was a thing or two I wanted to change. Originally, The Felix Culpa track has more music on it. However it's a different musical "thought", and it didn't seem to flow well with the rest of the comp. So I decided to cut it out. Anyway, I guess that's just a little insight into what goes into my compilations.