Go Figure This Shit Out Immediately
I want to continue to build systems so that I always have multiple options to make an enormous amount of music. Then select the top 15 to 20% for release, because I know Iām at least skilled enough to be good 1/5 of the time. So If I can make the time to sit down with one of these systems daily, I will then have a huge catalogue of music, which is the ultimate goal.
I say all this because figuring out what you want is important. There are so many reasons to make music, but for me, I really enjoy the whole process, and the release is like a true release, a celebration. Itās a gift. Itās out in the world and, to my detriment, I want people to hear it, but in some real respect, I do not care about this part nearly as much as the making etc.
My expertise is in creating the system to make music with, the secret being: itās not that hard, and once you understand a few fundamentals, you can create these systems endlessly and then make endless music.
The modern world wants you to only be one thing, and thatās not very communal, so if you make your music a bunch of different ways and it comes out sounding a bunch of different ways, thatās a variety. That is what people want out of an artist, not just one thing, but a thing. Algorithms donāt live this but donāt worry about this.
So, think thru all of this. Itās the weekend. You should think about things like this. What do I want out of all this? Am I trying to rationalize too much gear? Am I trying to rationalize buying more gear? Am I a collector?
What is your motivation? Itās got to be at the heart of everything you do.
And just like most musicians donāt have a good answer for āwhatās your music like,ā they also donāt have any kind of answer for why, or what are you good at, which is my most central question, which is why Iām able to say this, because I thought about it, and at first I couldnāt answer anything. I had nothing, like zero, when somebody asked me. Itās only through the work that I ended up at this point.
And this is all to say that I just had one of those mornings where itās like, what the hell am I doing here? Why am I doing any of this? Why canāt I just sit around and watch Netflix and stuff like that? And this is not me trying to give myself some backhanded sneaky compliment. It was just healthy, I believe, going through the endless whys. OK, do you think that? Then why? If you think that, then why?
This is healthy for an artist, because you can feel like the world is against you. Thereās no practical reason for art, so why would you do it?
But thatās bullshit. Art is about human connection, touching the subconscious, and trying to figure out what is really out there and why it is out there.
So your homework for today, maybe for the whole weekend: go figure this shit out immediately.