How Do You Know What You Are Supposed to Do in Life?
As someone who doesn’t believe in fate, predestination, or absolute free will, I don’t think there’s a ‘supposed to’ anything. As time passes, there’s only what you choose to do and what you’ve already done.
This year has been significant for self-reflection (yes, even more than usual!). Looking back, I continue to choose music. In many respects, it’s not an easy choice; often, my self-expectations exceed my abilities, leading to frustration, failed efforts, and sometimes feelings of defeat.
The Challenges of Creativity
Creativity is usually the first thing to go when time, physical, or mental capacity becomes constrained. Music creation involves many disciplines. It’s not just about needing ‘inspiration’ to deliver the next idea. Even with a fully honed craft, the mechanics and process of writing, producing, recording, and performing are complex and time-consuming.
Alongside the challenges of capability and capacity, there’s an elephant in the room: there’s virtually no money to be made in original music. The financial return on time and money invested is tiny, relegating music to “a hobby” in a world where you need a “proper job” to be taken seriously.
The Unanswered Question
Over the years, there have been extended periods of inactivity and slow progress. Despite this, whenever I consider giving it all up and pursuing something more productive or rewarding, I can’t. I keep coming back to music
So the question is “Why do I keep coming back for more?”
In part, it feels like unfinished business. There are songs that exist because of me, which I believe, in the right form, are worthy of sharing. More than specific songs, each return to music brings me closer to an acceptance that, despite a successful career in another field, I am a musician in every sense of the word. Embracing this as part of my professional and personal identity has been a long time coming.
The Journey into Collaboration and Beyond
Over the last few years I’ve learned the value of seeking out people with complementary skills and experience to help realise my creative vision. Initially this was a tentative toe in the water of getting a mix engineer to take one of my demos and give it the filter and polish of some professional ears (Hat tip to Joe Sage for his help).
Ultimately it was a full-dive into finding and engaging a producer to take the demos along with “creative influences” direction and craft each of them into fully grown musical entities. Phil Taylor’s experiences as a touring musician and musical director for over 20 years along with the talented musicians he has pulled into the project have been invaluable in not only delivering on the dream but adding character and original hooks and riffs throughout the album.
Working collaboratively for the last 3 years with someone who understood where I wanted to go and helped me not only chart the course, but also reach higher ground than I could initially see, has finally brought me to the point of being able to ‘sign off’ on songs that have lingered in demo form for nearly 20 years.
Now with the debut album on the verge of completion, it’s time to sing about it and perform it live. Saturday’s forthcoming album preview is the first step on the next part of that journey. You’re all invited, but don’t worry if you can’t make it; it won’t be the only chance you get…
The link for (free!) tickets is below