Hi Everyone!
This post is about inspiration. What inspires you to create art? Maybe you are feeling good, and your positive emotions find their way out in the form of a beautiful song. Maybe you are feeling sad, and music helps you cope with it. Maybe you want to be very popular, and that is what is motivating you. I think everyone has their own process. I’ll give examples of mine, and I’d be curious to learn about yours.
News:
The end of the year 2024 was celebrated with the release of an album of acoustic guitar music that I called “Inspiration”. What inspired me to do it? Well, I like all kinds of music. That is why I do not try to confine myself to a specific genre. I rather let my inspiration guide the creative process. Whatever comes out, and in whichever form, becomes a thing if it sounds nice to me. It does not mean, however, that a song cannot change genre from the time it was written to its final production. In fact, this is exactly what happened to the song Stay On. It was meant as my response to the blues classic Rock Me Baby by Big Mama Thornton, and I wrote it with bluesy piano music. But then I felt that it could become a nice rock song with influences from Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others. And it worked. I think that a good song is born with a genre defined at the time of its creation. At least, this is how I feel about my music. Let me know your thoughts about yours.
Music Picks:
Today I will share music that inspired me and helped me in my music production.
Don’t Back Down by Mammoth WVH: https://open.spotify.com/track/4f74h9bcuHOroCaVsKIr4F
This awesome song by Wolfgang Van Halen is performed with incredible energy, especially when it comes to his drumming. It served as a great reference when we were recording drums for Night Rock and Thirsty.
A Little Bit of Dub by Dub Fx: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk3hzGukzwY
The music of this talented artist was my main inspiration for creating the song I Say Yeah. I don’t think that you would find any similarity. It was more a source of my motivation to try beatbox/jazz vocals.
Happy Day by Burning Spear: https://open.spotify.com/track/11TuItQFELWEMbmJc3Uy9V
Clearly, it was a big inspiration for writing the song Happy Reggae. The similarity was not intentional. However, the positive vibe of the song and the wicked brass section in the arrangements certainly influenced my composition.
Libertango by Astor Piazzolla: https://open.spotify.com/track/1IIydYQ6LTzZpgLXYpNlNy
This beautiful music was my main inspiration to produce the Persian tango that we called Heart to Heart.
Final Thoughts:
I have decided to share my experience not because I think that it is so special or different but rather to emphasize the fact that on my playlists you can find many good reference compositions, especially when it comes to production. I also hope that you can share your stories with me in the comments to this post or by email. I am always open to new inspirations. Perhaps my next one will come from you.