My latest recording, "Playfully," was made with the intention and purpose: of lifting people up.
I wrote it as a specific response to what I had been seeing and hearing out in the world: the world is TIRED and SAD and in need of a "pick-me-up." People are burnt out from years of back-to-back draining events, that are ongoing.
How do we not only get through tough times but thrive? Inner strength. When tough times are constantly bombarding us, what do we need to maintain inner strength? We need to take in some energy to refuel.
I set out to give everyone energy and create a sort of re-fueling station for the psyche. I set out to acknowledge that life is hard sometimes, and at the same time, there is magic in it. The wholeness of life includes all elements at once. Sometimes it's helpful to just take a break from the tragedies that we are unable to ignore, to observe the sublime beauty that exists everywhere. Acknowledging the uplifting and positive elements of life gives us the strength to face the harder elements of life.
When people say to me, "I am so drained." My response is to honor their truth, and to reflect a side of them that is full of life: "You are magic," and "I see it in you, the kind of playfulness in a prism's dancing light." I close the album with "Whole And Resounding Love," which is what I wish for everyone. It is the thesis statement of the whole project. I wish you all manner of healing beauty.
This album was designed to build people up and also to meet them where they were. It's okay to be tired. It's okay to "Slip Out" in order to take some space. "Sometimes the tide is high... sometimes the tide is low." It is acknowledgment. It is comradery, and it is a wish for ultimate happiness and fulfillment.
So how did I go about that?
When I write music, it's partly about channeling meaning: the idea flows through me. It's also partly sculpting: using tools that I have in my tool kit. And, it's partly experimenting. So when I have an intention for the music that I want to write, the first thing that I do is create a set of parameters:
What is the point of the project?
Why am I making it?
How is it meant to serve others?
What form does that service take?
What is the energy behind it?
Who is it for?
Defining the parameters defines the boundaries of the exercise.
For example, if the project is meant to soothe, the music will be calmer and likely spend most of its time in a major key. If the project is meant to facilitate mourning and the release of grief, the project would go into deep languid poetic spaces, and there would likely be more minor elements.
Once the basic parameters are set, it's almost like the parameters become a prism through which I channel the music. Now with a bespoke prism, designed with intention, where some channels are open and others are closed, what pours through my prism will serve the intention of the work.
This may sound esoteric, and I suppose it is an esoteric process for me, but it is done with intention, and methodical process.
Speaking of comradery and support...
Are you a songwriter looking for support with your craft? Do you need help applying this technique as you begin writing new material? Perhaps you need help refining a project you're in the middle of? We all need support sometimes. In addition to vocal coaching, I also work with artists on their songwriting. If you need support, you can book sessions with me online.