As a creative person I find myself starting projects and leaving them open-ended more often than not. The thrill of starting something new and making it come into fruition is the petrol to the flames but those blaring flames burn out quickly.
What I have found (and I hope this helps all the others aimlessly running around starting little fires and neglecting them until they turn to ashes) is you almost have to create smaller goals along the way that create excitement throughout the longer journey. You start with the big goal, in my case this would be creating an album. Then you break it down into little steps and milestones that you will reach along the way. I think it would be best to actually walk you through how I intend on creating a whole bleeping album.
Step 1: Organize Your Thoughts
Ok, so now I want to present to the world a body of work that reflects me as an artist. The first question I ask myself is: do I even have enough material to work with? In my very specific case: yes I did. I collected about 200 song seeds from the past 4 years and made a giant spreadsheet of all the songs I ever wrote along with voice memos of the ideas, whether a fully written song or a smidgen of an idea (even those can be useful). I then ranked them from highest to lowest. Highest being a song I want to scream into a microphone at Wembley stadium. Lowest being “did I even spend any time studying music or did I just stumble across it and then this happened?” Once ordered, I selected 30 songs that set my soul on fire in some kind of way. From there, I narrowed it down even further to the ones that brought tears to my eyes or made me want to jump on a trampoline. I landed up with 15 songs that I absolutely adore. Already we’ve accomplished step one. Treat yourself to something cute. I treated myself to sushi.
Step 2: Structure Your Time
I have a basket of songs but none of them are ready for release. I need to figure out a way to produce and record them. Here’s where the studio comes in. I rent a studio in Soho called The Thin White Duke. It has become a home for me and my creativity. I think as an artist it is important to feel creatively stimulated by your surroundings. The studio is gorgeous and warm and everything I could want in a studio. I am someone who works well whilst collaborating with other people. It helps my flow to speak my thoughts out loud and bounce them off someone else. That’s where the engineer at the studio comes in. I feel so comfortable to express myself authentically with him and he helps me to consolidate ideas and reel me in. No idea is too outrageous either, he jumps on board to all my wild ideas and having someone to support your creative flow can maximize your creativity exponentially and keep you going when your energy starts to dissipate. Going into the studio I always know what I am going to work on. I have structured which songs need production, mixing and mastering. Everytime I progress on a song, I write it down and write down what needs to be done for it to be completed. I map out how many sessions I have during the month and plan which songs I will have done by the end of the month. I don’t put too much pressure on this part though because I would rather feel like I have the freedom to create without limitations. The structure is a guideline. If I feel there is too much pressure, I won’t want to do it at all. I am creative for a reason and if I wanted to have hard deadlines I would become a surgeon. I use timelines to keep me on track so that I can build a great big bonfire for people to roast smores on.
Step 3: Collaboration and Opinions
I know that for many creative people it is sometimes difficult to hear criticism but this is actually vital for the betterment of the project. I have a select group of people that I love and trust. I know these people want the best for me and I also know that they are not just going to say what I want to hear. When I think a song is at the point of being almost ready, I send it to these loved and trusted people to get their opinion because it is possible for me to miss something as I’ve been listening to the song for too long and can’t hear it from any other perspective. I usually ask specific questions about what feedback I am looking for so that they don’t go in and change up the whole song. I know that everyone is going to have a different opinion but if the whole lot of them land up having similar things to say then I’ll know what I need to do. I will always follow my heart anyway. It is during this phase of the song creation process that the tiny details and bells and whistles get added or taken away. This is an intricate portion of creation. You have to get into the right mindset for this part because it requires a lot of attention to detail yet detachment from any personal feelings (leave your personal feelings with the initial song idea)
Step 4: Make it Shine
We are now at the point of finishing up the product. We can be proud of how far we have come. This is the final step before releasing our baby out into the world. This is the hardest part I think. Many people don’t make it past this step as it requires a lot of confidence and belief. I see a lot of musicians (including myself) that have products that are good enough to release but never release for whatever wonderful excuse they can imagine up. At this point I have made all adjustments and refinements to the song and it is ready to be mastered and made to sound like how driving a Rolls Royce feels (I assume). This is such a fulfilling moment in the process. Sitting in the studio listening on the big speakers to the final song is actually more than enough for me. I could stop right here because all the fulfillment and pleasure of making the art has been had. But we don’t stop here! No sirree! There are other people who deserve to feel what you’re feeling as well. I often receive messages from people who say my music resonates with them on whatever level and this almost always surprises me, not because I don’t think my music will resonate but because I don’t think too much about what happens when the music is out in the world. By that point it is no longer my own personal song. It belongs to anyone who listens to it. Everyone who experiences music is a maker of that music themselves. I can’t tell you how to experience my music, I can only open myself up and be vulnerable enough to put it out there for you to do whatever you will with it.
Step 5: Release and Let Go
We have made it so far now. Don’t let the admin and long journey of finding a way to release the art deter you from putting your art out there. This is laborious, I get it but that’s life (as Frank Sinatra so elegantly puts it). Put on some tunes, treat yourself to a coffee or tea or whatever you enjoy and get to work at finding the best route for you to distribute your art. It is time for the world to know just what you’re made of! Put in a couple hours. Have a gift or treat ready for yourself when you’re done with this process (it will make it more enticing). For me I just keep in my head what the end goal is and I plow on. Once everything is set up and ready to release and you’ve done the hard work of promotion, content blah blah blah.. ENJOY IT. Release it and have zero expectations. You’ve done everything you can to get to this point and now it is out of your hands. Let the universe work its magic but don’t think that much about it either. That might sound brutal but this is where you’ll find the most peace. I don’t really pay attention to people’s opinions because those are theirs to have not mine. Obviously it’s flattering when people compliment you but that shouldn’t be the reason you do what you do. All the fun was already had in the process of making it.
With all that being said. I hope you find it in your heart to even attempt step one. Just know that it is never too late or too early or too right or too wrong to start. But if you do start, finish. This is your life. Enjoy it. But also have something to show for it.
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