Composing music vs Producing music...
Hello world.
This is likely to be not much more than a private journal, but anybody who stumbles over my blog is welcome along for the ride. I make no promises as to whether it becomes interesting at any point, but who really knows?
I'm an Australian composer, or at least I used to be before I got into the music business..... what I mean by this is, producing music for a living does not feel in any way the same as composing music. I write music for film and television, as well as co-write songs with up and coming singers.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE producing music for a living....hell it's better than digging ditches as they say. But like many vocations, time can sometimes shroud ones original reasons for pursuing a certain career. In my case, it's music.
I discovered music at a young age, and seemed to have a natural flare for it. I also loved the music technology that seemed to explode in the eighties. So it is no surprise really that I would wind up involved with both.
INSPIRATION
Back before I was paid to make music, I wrote, played and performed it at every possible opportunity. It was my hobby, my passion.
I can vividly recall the feeling of inspiration, when even eating and sleeping felt like mildly annoying distractions from the process of making music. I wonder how many people have had the pleasure of experiencing this. I'm not a religious person, but I must be spiritual in some way. I won't try and explain my composing process now, but there is definitely a spiritual element required. Without it, we can only regurgitate old sounds and noise. Like any creative person will tell you, be it a writer, a painter, or a dancer, you KNOW when you have created something special, something new. There have been one or two occasions in my life when I have created some music that seemed to have come from the bottom of my soul. These pieces seem to have had the greatest impact on people. My goal as a young writer was always to make people cry. Ok that doesn't sound particularly nice, but in hindsight I know what I meant by that. I wanted to touch peoples soul.
Well it has been many years since I have allowed myself the time and headspace to write an album of music for no other reason but for my own creative expression. So I am going to do it!
MY PLAN
My wife has a temporary job in the USA from March to May 2010, and I am going along too, as a way of escaping my studio, my normal life, friends and family. I am going to be able to isolate, meditate, and compose to my hearts content. I'm putting together a portable studio to take with me, and plan to take full advantage of free accommodation, meals and transport during my stay. Meanwhile my savings will cover mortgage, rent and bills back at home.
Some might consider this to be self-indulgent, and I think that's true, but if I never give myself this opportunity I think I could easily live with a lot of regrets. Who knows what I might be able to achieve.
So this Blog starts now, and I will endeavor to keep adding updates as regularly as I can.
I'm tipping that my blog writing skills will improve as time goes on, and I will be more concise.
PAX out.