There are so many dumb ideas we let rule our lives and limit our creative energy and happiness. Even though I have gone to great lengths to be free and conscious of my choices, I still find it difficult to start a creative activity that will most likely be very fun. Maybe a fear of the unknown, fear of failure, subtle avoidance of saying yes to life, repression of the creative child self… Whatever it is, I’m sick of it. I have a life to live!
So I have begun a new project in an effort to undo perfectionism and other unfounded ideas about how I ought to make and release music. It’s called Autotelia, which comes from the word autotelic: “(of an activity or a creative work) having an end or purpose in itself.” I think this is the true spirit of life, and I would like to live and create more like that. I’ve been making something new every day and uploading raw early versions of the music to soundcloud.
There are now 6 from the last week and one from a few years back. They’re pretty rough and some are weird, but this is pretty much what my improvisation and experimentation process sounds like, at least for the electro-acoustic music. From these sorts of things, I’ll typically add new elements, subtract other bits, and generally balance and refine the track into a more polished gem over time. In the track descriptions I’ve written a bit about the instruments, tools and techniques I used to make each piece, along with any ideas I have about where it could go in future. I have also paired each track with some old photos I took, that I quite enjoy.
My favourite is #3 Cicada. It is very much a seasonal vibe, featuring the wind blowing through the macadamia tree in the backyard, and a cicada getting rather excited. I also feel stoked to have programmed some drums for the first time in about 3 years. Super fun! Already this project has achieved the thing I set out to accomplish, which was to shake up my stagnant mind and creative process. I also want to thank the beautiful people who presented at Nebula, an experimental music workshop that was held week ago at The Base Health, Newcastle. It gave me a lot of inspiration. Definitely don’t miss the next one if you make music.
Have a listen below!