Part 2
Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.
I usually have a little pug breathing on my face to greet me each morning. Always a beautiful start to the day.
Once she’s fed and has bravely chased the neighbourhood pigeons away from, it’s morning coffee (vital) and dog walk time. I use it as an opportunity to catch up on calls and voice memo thoughts for the day, song and melody ideas, to-do lists … once we’re home I hit the emails, reach-outs, post out any personable signed albums in the mail and work on any social content that needs to be posted that day. This varies from my own content to working with brands and other collaborators.
Leave ample room for lunch (and more coffee) then I jump into the studio to write. Depending on what projects I’m working on, I allot at least 1 hour of writing time a day. Some days I’ll have a window where I’m mentoring other artists helping them with their own projects which I love to offer my time to as well.
Around 6-7pm it’s dinner. Usually a healthy meal kit option. And then my evenings are either blocked out for gigs, family time or, most nights, my livestreaming schedule. A typical stream for me is 3-4 hours of live music on Twitch. After stream ends (around midnight/1am) I raid the fridge, binge a wildlife doc if I’m still wired and awake and then go to bed.
Early nights aren’t a thing really. My day-to-day is very focused around content and music. It can be an isolating job, so I make time for family, friends, gaming, shopping for more house plants I don’t need etc. to keep the balance.
Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?
My new EP Monsterverse is probably the most ambitious project I’ve ever worked on and has become one of my favourite records I’ve ever released.
I allowed myself to really let my imagination run wild and take on a new challenge of pairing my music with a first person visual experience for the listener. For most of the songs, they started out as a lick or recorded idea that myself and my partner James (also the producer for the EP) would evolve and add to over time.
‘Hex’ was a unique track for us as it was all recorded while I was out on tour in the US earlier this year. I was hauling around a mobile Pro Tools set-up to finish up the mix and master on time. We set-up at an airport gate lobby at one point, trailing cables everywhere to play in a counter melody on guitar and keys to finish off the track.
Travelling so much while this song was being finished injected a whole different energy into the EP. I think it’s my personal favourite because of that.
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?
Some of my favourite songs I’ve put out have been through collaboration. There’s nothing quite like bouncing off creative ideas in a room with someone else who has the same passion as you. But I also value the songs that I’ve written as a lone wolf. Both of those experiences to me are equal in that I bring the same amount of energy to the table.
I’m also always aware of a secondary opinion when I do write alone. I literally send out the tracks and a feedback form to trusted musical friends who I can count on for an unbiased opinion. I really take on board peoples feedback and first impressions. It’s a perspective you need as the writer.
So shoutout to my guinea pigs who listen when I need them to and tell me what I need to hear. Songs are precious to writers and it’s important to be willing to make edits along the way if you want to progress.
How does your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?
The content of my songs and the lyrics are largely personal, but I write them in the hopes that the listener can relate and apply the messaging to whatever they’re going through. My own problems and views I think seep into the material and so it’s an expressive perspective of how I move and live in the world, I think.
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 topics?
One of the most valuable things I’ve taught myself as a songwriter over the years is to tune into the moments that beckon a song. ‘Monsters’, the first track on my new EP, was one of those profound moments for me as a writer. If you were to plot out on a chart the songs I’ve written and how deep and personal they go … that song would be one of the highest peaks.
Probably because it’s about a mixture of pain, love, loss and how I’ve let a lot of the experiences I’ve had just sit in a cage in my head for too long. It was also a remedy and was very healing expressing myself in those lyrics in a dark time - it helped me to lift the veil on why I was drowning in anxiety and encouraged me to deal with it instead of letting it overflow.
In a weird way, writing that song demystified that pain I was feeling. It made it feel manageable. If you can tap into it, songwriting can be a superpower. But you still have to mine for gold to unearth the good stuff. I enjoy that challenge.
How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?
As a listener I look to music to change whatever emotion I’m feeling. So if I’m having a terrible day I’ll lean on a brighter playlist, if I wanna get amped up I’ll throw on something heavier.
There’s no doubt that physiological connection is strong and is there for a reason. It’s an emotional tool that I guess we’ve learnt to craft in our own way to communicate with one another over time. It’s so key and overarching to how we live our lives.
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?
For most mundane tasks we’re usually on auto-pilot, but when you’re crafting or performing music you’re entirely present in that moment.
It’s conversational and you’re required to show up and steer what’s happening. I think that’s the big difference.
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 is able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?
Music is a universal language. It’s accessible and transcends borders. It’s like a soapbox for us to share our human experiences. It’s experience, it’s sensation and it’s connection … and is so deeply ingrained in our DNA.
You don’t meet many people that don’t enjoy music. It’s in our blood.
