The Collaborator
On the road, as I think I have thought about in previous posts, I knew I would find it hard to write music...
But I truly had no idea, that on a trip which is about music, how little I would actually get to play! Perhaps it would be different if I was a guitar player - I could pull out my guitar wherever we happen to be, with no need for electricity or amplification. But with my electric piano, no matter how much I love it, the number of times that I have been able to get it out just to play, practice, write... well I can count them on one hand...
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The Words vs The Sounds
When I was younger, and I first started out writing songs, I never cared about the lyrics.
I wrote, experimenting with music and songwriting, and filled the lines with school-girl poetry. Not surprisingly, my first songs were almost laughable subject matter. I remember, at the age of 13, writing a song with my best friend that started with the lines:
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Song of the Week
Driving through the changing landscapes of this beautiful country, my song of the week this week reflects both the subtlety with which the nature around me is changing, and the layers upon layers of matter that are pouring into me.
Neverending Fountain is rich, layers of sumptuous sounds; strings that are plucked, strummed, teased and shimmering, Carey builds bricks of sound that create a fortress of light.
Do You Know Who You Are?
This question sums up the struggle that we as artists face constantly, daily even, in creating authentic art for ourselves and our audiences.
And it was the question that I was asked by a music producer during our first meeting. It took me by surprise; perhaps I was hoping for some concrete advice, like “you need to work on this...” or “have you tried that...” or even “let me introduce you to...”.
But he simply asked me if I knew who I was.
I was surprised to find myself answering that Yes, I know who I am, and I think I could say with some clarity and conviction. In fact, I wouldn’t have been sitting in front of him if I didn’t know who I was. It is precisely because I know who I am that I have chosen to come on this journey and pursue music full time.
But on the other hand, my authenticity has not been really tested or tried yet. I am sure that plenty of artists start out full of high ideals and unwavering commitment to the purity of their art form, but as time and opportunity and influence and responsibility and practicality keep pounding upon them, they are slowly worn down to just produce what sells, what is safe, what is expected.
Where does compromising your value as an artist start? If I change the structure of a song I write to make it more listenable by adding a chorus, is that compromising my value? If I adjust the melody to create a better hook, is that selling out? If I water down the lyrics to make it more acceptable, is that hiding my identity?
It is a fine line. And I hope it is one that tI walk for the rest of my life. Because it actually shows a deep commitment to making art that people want to access, as well as making art that rings true with my soul.
Creating requires that we look inside ourselves and examine what we find. I read a beautiful article that says “Creation requires us to dig deep within ourselves, to face the things we’d rather ignore, to confront our inner brokenness as well as the beauty stored up within.” And it necessitates knowing what we actually want to say through our work. Art without purpose is just form.
Art, like just about everything in life, is compromise.
But when you know who you are, you know the lines that you will not cross.
Lyrics - Make It Right
I wrote the first part of the lyrics for this in January 2014 when we were in the mountains in Poland and were walking by the light of the moon, along the crest of a mountain between Poland and the Czech Republic. I had never known the moon to be so bright; it created the perfect light for our midnight walk and set the scene for a song that I would write months later. This song is about a couple who are fighting to save their relationship...
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Open Mic, Open Heart
New York City. In some ways it feels cliché, trying to get started with music in the Big Apple. In some ways it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack... except that I’m the needle... and I don’t know who is doing the searching...