SlipNet
The Living Force
I've had an eventful week. As I noted on my post in the "How are you feeling?" thread, I've recovered sporadically from an odd mini psychosis related event earlier in the week. The last few days have taught me a bit about myself. Some parts are shifty, and have peculiar ways and methods devoted to earning my attention. Some do this in a hyperactive manner, as happened to me on Tuesday night, it was awful, I got no sleep. The following morning was heavy and melancholy, as I drank a black coffee and slowly smoked a cig. I was bummed out and dog-tired. Anyway, off the cuff I decided as it was a bright sunny morning I'd go for a walk into town and do some Christmas shopping. A winter walk to clear the mind. It worked a treat, and when I came back I had some fresh insight into the creative energies that manifest within me.
I decided that I'd take a break this month from work-related stuff, just follow my fave channels on Gaza stuff would be enough, and I'd devote some energy to jamming on my Yamaha CS and CP keyboards, and maybe even learn how to basic program my old drum machine. As is probably obvious to anyone who's ever read my posts, I'm a big music enthusiast. From hard rock, prog, psychedelic, jazz rock, folk, fusion, drum n' bass, funk and soul and reggae too,, I cover a lot of ground. So having surmised that I wasn't having enough fun I decided to spend the evening jamming, just to see if I had anything to express that was being restricted in my intense period of news reading, just following the crisis in Gaza. Turned out there was loads of strange emotions, some cathartic jamming was the order of the day earlier on this evening. I jammed a 25 minute piece employing clavinet, fender rhodes, wurlitzer and piano, to surprising effect. I also used a lot of effects such as wah-wah, phaser and delay, and added a ton of reverb as I reached my crescendo. A bit of a shame that I didn't record it actually. It's the most I've come up with this year, I've been mainly focused on writing this year, although my output has slowed of late. A different part of me gets to have some fun and input when I turn to the old keyboards, and from now I intend to jam daily for the rest of this month, and my birthday and Christmas are looming too. I might as well just chill and enjoy myself for a change, I've been very serious and intense since Oct 7th. I'm not working a job at the moment so I've got plenty of time on my hands.
I've noticed that in the different artistic disciplines that notably different i's and parts of the brain become active, depending upon what it is I'm doing. When I write, it's all about the right hemisphere with me. I don't know if that's common, but then I am a recovering schizophrenic of almost 20 years. When I draw or paint, then it's a combination of the two sides. When I play music it's both sides too, with more internal chatter also, and I can very swiftly go into trance-like states when drawing or playing music. I think that's why my mind has been playing tricks on me this week. Some little i's were being starved of expression, and generally I wasn't happy. My mood has improved since jamming earlier on, and thankfully I've managed to remember and consolidate the decent riffs I came up with during the session, and which effects units I'd used. Very handy to have a good memory!
I've also been listening to Adrian Utley talking about music in depth today on YT. He's the guitarist and sometimes synth player from the UK trip-hop outfit Portishead. A very talented guy, and an engaging speaker, his knowledge and enthusiasm comes across very well in the interview I link below. He inspires me to continue experimenting, but also to just enjoy going with the flow of the creative process. I hope some of the music fans among you find some value in what he has to say. He's one intelligent dude, and totally focused on his one discipline, completely single-minded.
In closing I just thought I'd ask you all how do you find the creative process manifests for you, and how many of you experience moments of multiple little i manias like I suffered on Tuesday night? I'm just glad I came through the episode unscathed, and now am back happy jamming on my CP. It's been a really weird and unstable week, hopefully things will get better and more coherent from here. Here's the Utley interview, and thanks for reading my latest offering from a kind of "Bizarro World".
I decided that I'd take a break this month from work-related stuff, just follow my fave channels on Gaza stuff would be enough, and I'd devote some energy to jamming on my Yamaha CS and CP keyboards, and maybe even learn how to basic program my old drum machine. As is probably obvious to anyone who's ever read my posts, I'm a big music enthusiast. From hard rock, prog, psychedelic, jazz rock, folk, fusion, drum n' bass, funk and soul and reggae too,, I cover a lot of ground. So having surmised that I wasn't having enough fun I decided to spend the evening jamming, just to see if I had anything to express that was being restricted in my intense period of news reading, just following the crisis in Gaza. Turned out there was loads of strange emotions, some cathartic jamming was the order of the day earlier on this evening. I jammed a 25 minute piece employing clavinet, fender rhodes, wurlitzer and piano, to surprising effect. I also used a lot of effects such as wah-wah, phaser and delay, and added a ton of reverb as I reached my crescendo. A bit of a shame that I didn't record it actually. It's the most I've come up with this year, I've been mainly focused on writing this year, although my output has slowed of late. A different part of me gets to have some fun and input when I turn to the old keyboards, and from now I intend to jam daily for the rest of this month, and my birthday and Christmas are looming too. I might as well just chill and enjoy myself for a change, I've been very serious and intense since Oct 7th. I'm not working a job at the moment so I've got plenty of time on my hands.
I've noticed that in the different artistic disciplines that notably different i's and parts of the brain become active, depending upon what it is I'm doing. When I write, it's all about the right hemisphere with me. I don't know if that's common, but then I am a recovering schizophrenic of almost 20 years. When I draw or paint, then it's a combination of the two sides. When I play music it's both sides too, with more internal chatter also, and I can very swiftly go into trance-like states when drawing or playing music. I think that's why my mind has been playing tricks on me this week. Some little i's were being starved of expression, and generally I wasn't happy. My mood has improved since jamming earlier on, and thankfully I've managed to remember and consolidate the decent riffs I came up with during the session, and which effects units I'd used. Very handy to have a good memory!
I've also been listening to Adrian Utley talking about music in depth today on YT. He's the guitarist and sometimes synth player from the UK trip-hop outfit Portishead. A very talented guy, and an engaging speaker, his knowledge and enthusiasm comes across very well in the interview I link below. He inspires me to continue experimenting, but also to just enjoy going with the flow of the creative process. I hope some of the music fans among you find some value in what he has to say. He's one intelligent dude, and totally focused on his one discipline, completely single-minded.In closing I just thought I'd ask you all how do you find the creative process manifests for you, and how many of you experience moments of multiple little i manias like I suffered on Tuesday night? I'm just glad I came through the episode unscathed, and now am back happy jamming on my CP. It's been a really weird and unstable week, hopefully things will get better and more coherent from here. Here's the Utley interview, and thanks for reading my latest offering from a kind of "Bizarro World".
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But that was at the exact moment today when I thought of Miles Davis' advice to his band when he recorded "Bitches Brew"; he told them that "mistakes don't matter, do not fear them". Each duff note can be the springboard to a new and crafty riff, it keeps you on your toes. It's part of why I love the fusion bands of the 1970s, they were utterly fearless, endlessly inventive, keen improvisationally, and amazing technically. A part of me wants to learn how to now make basslines on my CS. Along with getting the hang of my old Korg drum machine. What I realised today is that I had a whole long repertoire going round in my head, and I was anxiously trying to lay as much down as I could onto the CP in the jam session. I guess I have to learn how to become a genuine Cosmic Transducer of Finer Energies. Sounds like a solid ambition! As for Portishead, well they grew out of humble beginnings and they became this amazing baroque "thing", utterly unique but also effortlessly classic. I love them too."Dummy" is a work of genius with real subtle moments. Less is More is definitely their watchword.
