“I had stored these dreams of the future me in labelled plastic tubs: wools, silks, cottons, linens, rayons, shirting, crepes, velvets, voiles. They contained the lives I would have lived, places I would have visited, friends I would have made.”
Read MoreI’m just about to reach my three year anniversary learning and playing the double bass. I asked myself some of the questions beginner-me would have liked to know the answers to when just starting out.
Read MoreIn 2020 I took my music off Spotify, Apple Music and the other major streaming services in a moment of angry retaliation. Now, as I prepare to release my third album Enamel, I have found myself torn between standing by that boycott, and wanting to give my music the best chance of being heard by people who will connect with it and want to engage with more of what I do outside of streaming platforms.
Read MoreUntil the Covid-19 crisis really took hold I had been taking an extended break from online life. I’d come to the conclusion that my relationship with social media was almost identical to my relationship with alcohol, and like alcohol I found moderation almost impossible. It was far simpler to abstain completely. I have tried setting many different rules around my use of social media, but like trying to drink only three days a week, or stopping after one glass of wine, the willpower involved in enforcing these rules is exhausting, and the times when the object of your addiction gets the better of you become a source of shame and anxiety.
Read MoreAlcohol had become, for me, a way to find the old fashioned drive that the internet destroyed when it stole our attention spans and turned our personal interactions virtual. Drinking was a reason to sit down and work, or a reason to leave the house and connect with others. Without the romance of alcohol, creative activities are simply work, yet the work is the essence of the thing.
Read MoreA year ago I decided on a little bit of a whim to give learning the double bass a try. What began as a curiosity quickly hooked me, and suddenly I was in a very serious and committed relationship with the most difficult instrument I have ever attempted to play.
Read MoreI’ve been thinking a lot recently about the cycle of creative work. In my own creative life I seem to go through distinct phases, and rather than each phase co-existing I cycle through them, usually to a point of burnout, triggering an abrupt departure from one phase to the next.
I have been attempting to unpack this cycle, to try and understand it better, and I think it can be best divided into three phases: Practice, Creation and Promotion.
Read MoreI have been working on a series of career development articles for CutCommon magazine, to be published in the lead up to my album launch at the Paris Cat on May 6.The first article, about establishing a mutual mentor relationship with a friend or creative colleague, has just gone live:
https://www.cutcommonmag.com/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-friends/
Read More2017 was my first year as a completely freelance musician, however I kind of crashed my way into it without really thinking about how challenging it would be.
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