"5240" is not an album, per se. It is an experiment I'm conducting this year - writing, recording, and releasing a new song every week for the entirety of 2009. If I'm successful, that means I'll have made 52 new songs in one year. I don't think I've ever finished ten songs in one year before.

With the completion of this "volume", I've already beaten that record.

This is a collection of the first 25% of the project. I'm grouping them in this way to make it easier for people who are interested, but maybe late to the project, to be able to download the year's output thus far in one big lump. I'll make a new "volume" every quarter.

This volume is called "Winter" mostly because it was winter while I worked on these tunes. Not a very original name, I know, but it is descriptive, at least.

Most of these songs were recorded by me in my apartment. Two of them feature my rock trio Half Zaftig ("Help Is On The Way" and "Sometimes Just Makin' Out Can Be Fun (Sometimes)"). On those songs, I still recorded all my parts at my place, while Pete Johnston and Lizzy Daymont did theirs at various locations. A few tracks have a couple of guest performers.

Except for the two HZ tunes, I mixed everything. I have no real experience with engineering recordings, or mixing them - and I think you can hear me improving as the weeks wear on.

I hope you can find some songs you like in here, and I'd love to see you come by Monday mornings to www.shawnfarley.com as each new song is "released." There's still 39 more tunes to go.