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Name: Cody Currie

Nationality: British
Occupation: Producer, composer
Current Release: Cody Currie's Lucas LP is out via Toy Tonics.
Recommendations: Colin Doerffler he’s a graphic designer/artist who designed the Lucas album.
I’ve been listening to Z.F.E.X at the moment. A band from Australia, my close friend Ziggy is the drummer / leader of the band. Top tier energy.

If you enjoyed this interview with Cody Currie and would like to stay up to date with his work, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started producing around 7 years ago, during my foundation year at art school.

I think the first inspirations were the textures and soundscapes of Burial, Four Tet etc ... so I spent a lot of time trying to emulate their sound.

Sometimes showing friends and pretending it was an unreleased track to see if they could tell, haha!

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

It’s a very euphoric feeling that comes over me. Usually, if I have made something that I really enjoy, the feeling will stay for days. It’s incomparable to any other natural feeling, I find.

I usually can tell if the people will like the song, as I will be dancing without noticing in the studio.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

I think as a few years have passed, I’m really intrigued by the musicianship and songwriting aspect of music.

Harmony has been one of the main focuses of mine for the last 2 years. Also, experimenting with vocals and harmonies within vocals as well.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

I think a lot of my identity comes from London culture.

Being away and travelling has made me realise that the mix of styles and cultures really adds to the taste of the people.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Study your idols.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

I find that being inspired by people before me has always been my main source. Pushing the boundaries is definitely needed for growth but I’m also a big believer in that a good song is a good song.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

Piano, guitar and voice have been the main focuses these last 2 years, singing the melodies with my hands had gotten a lot easier. It opened up a world for me.

I usually start with an 8 bar chord structure and work from there. I find I get the richest melodies that way.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

I start usually by listening to what I made the night before with piano and tea. Business calls for some hours of the day, then studio till 3am.

At the moment I’ve been getting back into sketching and fashion, it’s good in the down time.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

Most of the writing and recorded process for Lucas was done in many studios around the world. I think this was something really interesting for me, as the influence of the city and music of the people there added a real uniqueness to the music.

For example, I was recording with my friend Tino Valentin in Mexico and learnt a lot from his knowledge of Latin styles.

It was too hot to record inside so we recorded on the roof haha!

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

Writing music by yourself I think is integral for finding your “sound”. But I also think music naturally is collaborative, so by working with others there is so much to learn. It also opens up maybe different ideas about playing styles, textures, melody, harmony the list goes on.

Surround your self with people who will push you!

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

Well I think music is in almost everything, even the vowels and in the way languages are spoken – as they usually revolve around pitch and rhythm.

Your heartbeat is a rhythm so I think humans are naturally inclined to patterns in life.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

It’s one of the only releases that works for me actually, I think the act of creating something turns that negativity into some melancholy or positive.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?  

I think they are very closely related, many processes in music require science all the time. You see science in the mixing process a lot, from fractions in delays, how a phaser works, stereo spread etc … The list goes on.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

A person passionate about coffee might find similar joy in such tasks. Personally, writing is the highest point of emotion in my life. I think because it’s such an intense feeling for me sometimes it numbs other parts of life.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

I see the length of a song like a empty canvas and it’s up to you colour, texture and guide the listener.