What makes Cincinnati’s music scene so authentic, is the amount of creativity and discipline each artist puts into his/her album that is released. Joshua Deitner, a Cincinnati musician with his debut album Future is Fine under the stage name Ditner, is a prime example of what being a creative is all about. The albums lyrics and instrumentation are very important to the album as a whole, as each song keeps the listener wanting more.
“I'm not sure that I was going for anything in particular”, said Deitner. “More than anything, what I'm trying to do is create something new. I allowed myself to not worry about what this is, and just be authentic in the creation process.”
Deitner wants his audience to know that when listening to Future is Fine, there is no specific message behind the songs featured within it. He wants his listeners to come up with the concepts on their own.
“This album is not a message. To me, it's just a collection of connected textural, compositional and lyrical ideas,” said Deitner. “I hope that, just like my favorite recordings, different people can take different meanings out of it. And I do hope that someone out there gets something from it because each song is intensely meaningful to me.”
As this is Deitner’s first solo album, Future is Fine and the recording process behind it, went through many stages, as he came up with all of the ideas on his own.
“The final and title track, "Future Is Fine" was nearly a complete mix back around January 2021, I think, but I didn't have anywhere for it to go. I didn't have much other new material written at the time,” said Deitner. “I probably worked on that track leisurely over a few weeks. Earlier this year I started feverishly writing new lyrics, maybe over 30 songs over a couple of weeks. Then late summer, I got the sudden urge to stop creating material that would just die with me and to put everything out as commercial recordings. Not so much for the commercial aspect, but more as a legacy, or as a personal validation. This album really was conceptualized out of that existential crisis. I took those new pages of lyrics and created the rest of the album in September in just three or four weeks.”
When asked what Deitner’s favorite song of the album is, one in particular stands out more than the others and I would have to agree.
“It's probably "Give Me the Hours." After it was worked through and the recording put together, I was really pleased with the way the alternating meter interacted with the straight chord changes,” said Deitner. “It resulted in a lilting, off-kilter feel, that worked with the lyrical rhythms.”
Deitner is currently working on other albums, as well as a collaboration EP due to be released in 2023.
“After mastering Future Is Fine I immediately started writing and recording new material, and right now I have two new albums and a collaboration EP nearly finished”, said Deitner.
