Being in the Room

____________________________________________________________

GET “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler” FOR FREE. To get your FREE full-length album…click here. ___________________________________________________________

Connection is what defines the relationship between the artist and audience. The artist through their work literally reaches out with an idea impressed on matter or by a transference of energy and touches the audience by means of their senses. Therefore, the bond between an artist and a fan is extremely intimate and personal.

At the moment of connection, which occurs in the mind of the audience, the person upon whom the artist’s message falls or whose work touches deeply, the audience member is transported temporarily into the space of the artist. This event occurs magically and perhaps through some means of psychic transmission. However it does happen, it seems to transport the audience member to another place and time completely, when the experience is deeply felt. 

It’s as if a portal was opened through the work of the artist transporting another mind from whatever distance into proximity so as to have them share in the experience of making the artwork that brought them together. The work of art is a portal connecting the artist with specific people in the audience at varying intensities of connectedness.

One of the most common experiences and questions that occur to individuals in the audience when they become transported by a work of art is, “How did they do that?” What this means is that the individual is shocked by how thoroughly the artist has approximated one of the audience’s own thoughts, beliefs, ideas, personal convictions, experiences, sentiments, or emotions in a work of art. The individual perceiving the creative work imputes this part of the experience and this is what establishes the connection on their side of the interaction and permits the transportation to take place. The individual literally opens through acceptance of the work just as the artist previously opened themselves to pour out the work of art and this is what forms the portal of connectedness.

The audience wants the experience of being in the room where the artist spent countless hours originating, shaping, and developing their work in stages or in bursts of inspiration. They want to witness how failed attempts eventually lead to a breakthrough, how an artistic problem resolves with a flash of insight or an ingenious solution, and how accidents can give birth to new creative directions. To give them a direct look into such actions would require the artist to allow them into that space and therefore to have an influence on the outcome of the work. 

Being in the room with the artist, the audience would no longer be an audience and would magically be transformed into an influence or force partly shaping the direction of the work. Since the audience is in the room, they switch from being transported by the work of the artist to becoming part of the process. No portal of imagination will form from this type of influence, so it fails to create the kind of connectedness that generates the sensation of being transported or moved. 

When the artist sends out a message, someone is always listening. Who “hears” the message or calling from the artist is not always who they intended to reach, but someone hears nonetheless. A unique recipe, strange painting, unusual song, a building, a photograph, book, or chance meeting with a work of art are all vehicles for connectedness. Whether the audience member is touched through their sense of sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, or by a psychic channel of perception, the connection is forged when the mind of the audience relates the work of the artist to their personal history (memory) or aspirations for the future (dreams).

_____________________________________

Related Music:

Lonely King

Ask Yourself

Mr. Gambler

_____________________________________

Marc

http://stereothesis.com/

Remember to join our mailing list.

To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation securely through PayPal, click here.

Snake People

____________________________________________________________

GET “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler” FOR FREE. To get your FREE full-length album…click here. ____________________________________________________________

The snake has deep symbolic meaning in all societies around the globe both for good and evil. Some of its significance ranges from sexual connotations, notions of evil intent, all the way to a deity or god form that is capable of imparting wisdom to mankind.

In this song and music composition, “Snake,” I wanted to bring out the elements of the snake that I felt I could related to and express with convincing dramatism. To do this I needed music to establish that vibe. So what I did was use a micro-tonal tuning on the guitar, which worked perfectly by creating a variety of exotic textures as I experimented searching for the right combination.

The music was designed to make you feel like you entered a ritual chamber where something (or someone) was going to be sacrificed. The darkness of the space was lit with the dim light of candles and filled with the smoke and odor of incense. The rattle at the introduction and throughout the song present the Snake as a mythical man-animal hybrid luring a new victim into his sex ritual ceremony.

Snake people come in two forms, men and women, who assume the characteristics and behavior of the animals as we understand them. When they speak they use slippery words that sound good to the ears of others, but hide their true intentions. When they act to do good, they do so with the expectation that such labors on their part will derive some reward, repayment, or enslave those who they’ve assisted. All in all, their thoughts are drawing boards for the spinning of social webs that are designed to ensnare others in traps of their own making.

Having fallen into one of a Snake person’s set-ups, the target strangely feels grateful for receiving such an invitation because Snake People are extremely talented at charming their victims. There’s even a sense of obligation for going or showing up to the ritual chamber that occurs in the mind of the person to be used and sacrificed, since Snake People are expert at eliciting other people’s confidence and cooperation.

In the song “Snake,” the main character is a mythical man-creature who greets and invites his female catch into the sacred space and proceeds rapidly to begin the act for which he had intended for his victim. Once the Snake-Man reveals his true intent and nature as a person, the reaction of the victim changes and becomes a massive let-down. Her hopes were raised by his smooth words, cool demeanor, expensive taste, and nice possessions only to be shattered by the reality of the situation and the act in which she is engaged.

The Snake-Man, in contrast, experiences elation at seeing his victim’s reaction when he finally exposes the truth about himself. As she is going through all the emotions associated with her feelings of deception, the way it changes her physical appearance actually brings the Snake pleasure.

The spell that overcame the victim was initially generated when the Snake enveloped her in a web of psychic energy which he placed over her as they first met. The effects of this web lasted all the way until she arrived at location of the ritual chamber. Now as the sex ritual begins and demands further involvement, the spell became a deep trance which increased with every form of compliance she allowed herself to commit.

In the second verse of “Snake,” the victim at one point starts to look for an exit, but the Snake-Man anticipates this and thwarts her effort by diverting her attention to the next action she must perform before she’ll be released again into the wilderness of human society.

Pain, distress, and worry - emotional or physical - in his victims is a source of joy for him because to him what he does and how it affects others is nothing more than fun and just the way life is - eat or be eaten. The rule of the jungle is a male or female Snake’s philosophy of life.

“This is why I love you,

This is what I love about you,

This is when I love you

This is how I love you.”

Wrapping up the piece is the chorus, which is actually the Snake persons mantra. When they’ve succeeded in manipulating, humiliating, using, and destroying their victims, they actually mix complements with the humiliation to make the experience even more hypnotic for the victim by spinning it with confusion. Their goal is to break the will of their victim and remake them into loyal pets, but for those who will not comply and are not easily broken, Woe! To them who will not bend into the fold.

To hear the track “Snake” from the album
Dynamo Symphonia by Stereo Thesis...click here.

Marc

http://stereothesis.com/

Remember to join our mailing list.

If you enjoyed this article support Stereo Thesis with a tip, click here.

The Music Vault: Overflow of Creativity - Revisited

____________________________________________________________

GET “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler” FOR FREE. To get your FREE full-length album…click here. ____________________________________________________________

Creativity cannot be contained or regulated since it flows to hidden recesses in the mind or soul and pools into reserves waiting to be harnessed. When too much creative energy is forced into a pool of reserves and is not allowed to flow freely into artistic production, pressure builds in the mind of the individual restraining himself.

This scenario occurs all too often in the field of the arts and the entertainment business, which is totally out of alignment with the needs of the artist and their desire for complete freedom of artistic expression. Instead, what happens, for example as in the case of Prince, is the record label decides how much and how often the musician/composer will be allowed to release their work publicly, so the artist can either wait for the label to dictate their rate of production, break the contract to move forward on their own, but risking a lawsuit, or start a new project under a different moniker, then proceed from there.

Some of the recent revelations about Prince’s music vault illustrate how much unreleased material there must be in the music vaults of most top bands and other solo artists in the music industry that’s just waiting to see the light of day, but won’t because the record labels want to control as much of the production process as they can to protect their investments in the works of their artists. It can be safely assumed that there must be as much unreleased material as there is released material in every artistic field, but for financial reasons or investment purposes labels aren’t allowing the artist the freedom to push their material out publicly.

At one point, Prince in his battle with his record label demanded that he be allowed to release albums at a much faster rate than they were allowing him to, specifically 2 albums per year, in order to keep up with his speed of production and the immensity of his creative vision. This would account for his vast unreleased music collection as well as additional materials and media.

Interestingly, no one doubts that Prince was in possession of such material and that it consists of at least 50 fully produced music videos, full-length albums, and many other kinds of media produced by the artist. In total, there are probably hundreds of hours of music ready for release in the vaults, but rumors are that the material is likely to be released slowly over the next 2 decades. It is also believed that this material includes songs that the artist once said contained some of his finest work.

When a person’s creative capacity is restrained or unnaturally regulated, from within or without, the soul of the person quietly determines that the vehicle is inadequate to serve its aims, therefore the body or restraining influence must be destroyed. Whether the artist restrains their creative capacity by withholding their artistic output or by hiding or withholding their artistic creations, the pressure of withholding becomes a kind of psychic pain, which is formed from the artist’s inability to freely offer their creative work to their audience.

Without resolving this dilemma completely, the psychic pain can morph into physical pain, which forces the artist to find ways to reduce or eliminate the pain. Too often, when artists go through this process of degradation, they self-medicate and frequently overdose. When the artist destroys their body, using one method or another, their decision is swayed by choosing the lesser of two evils. Instead of fighting the record labels in court, which could completely wipe the artist out emotionally and financially, they find other ways to escape the situation.

Prince, along with the many other artists, musicians, and composers, who are trapped by the restraining influence of music labels made his choice and for that we lost a tremendous talent whose absence became an immense void in the soul of humanity. This type of artistic departure I term “black hole creativity” because of the vacuum it leaves in the collective creative mind of all people.

Creativity needs freedom of expression to ensure the physical and psychological health of the individual in possession of an immense artistic capacity. In fact, our physical bodies are the vehicles or tools for artistic production, so when a person works in harmony with their creative capacity, their mind and body are at ease with the nature of the creativity that resides within them. The artist must be free to create as often and as quickly as they are capable and for this they should be amply rewarded and revered.

Click here to learn more and read the article “Black Hole Creativity.”

Click here to learn more and read the article "The Overflow of Creativity: Why Artists Need to Find New Areas to Conquer, New Worlds to Explore"

____________________________________________________________

Related Music:

Dutiful Son

Lonely King

____________________________________________________________

Marc

http://stereothesis.com/

Remember to join our mailing list.

To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation securely through PayPal, click here.

Black Hole Creativity

____________________________________________________________

GET “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler” FOR FREE. 

To get your FREE full-length album…click here. ____________________________________________________________

The immense gravity pull within a dead or dying star is so strong that it's capable of holding light. Where light would normally travel away from its source, within or near a black hole, light circles and gets pulled back into the center of the dead star.

Creativity and light possess many similar qualities in that they flow when expressed from a central source and that they illuminate objects when they surround them in their energies. In other articles, I've also discussed how creativity is also like water in that it flows, fills a space or activity, and overflows into other areas of conquest or expression.

The person who possesses creative impulses in such extreme quantities, but who fails to express them to a sufficient degree fails to live up to their potential and wastes the reserve of artistic force with they were born.

Celebrities who’ve built their careers on an immense output of artistic production, but who die during the course of that process of discovery and unfolding of their abilities to become like black holes of creativity that pull in and do not release the light from those gifted minds. The industry, fans, and collaborators with which such an individual shared their vision and work not only lose a person, but also less tangible qualities like hope, sympathy, understanding and enjoyment.

Even non-celebrities who chose to stay away from fame or were left undiscovered by the mainstream can also become black holes of creativity within their own spheres of influence. The friends, family, and colleagues of such individuals who benefited from their energy, inspiration, and stood in awe of their incredible talent lose something very rare and special by losing a part of themselves when an artist they know dies.

When such rare talents depart the world, life losing something of its lustre and the question remains as to how it will be possible to fill the void. It’s from the existence of this void of creative talent and artistic output that a black hole of creativity is generated by leaving a vacuum in the wake of the death of an artist.

Prince was such a person, as was Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, Elliot Smith, David Bowie and many others. Artists in all categories of production and at whatever level of talent belong to this classification of humanity.

Their existence in this world is necessary and very important because they add beauty and imagination to human life and in them we differentiate ourselves from other life forms. Through them we experience how it might be to live in heaven, where our thoughts can be expressed into pure forms of creative energy amongst souls irrespective of time and space.

The world as a whole mourns the death of artists, both small and large, whose creative output might range from a few songs, poems, a film, paintings or a single dance performance to a career and lifetime of such artistic productions, because no matter the volume of their output whenever an artist dies, the world loses more of the light of creativity by reducing the amount of vision, beauty, and imagination that exists on our planet.

Black hole creativity is just one way to refer to the death of the irreplaceable artist who leaves a massive vacuum in human life by their departing. In fact, the impact of such a loss is palatable and borders on the disastrous.

Even greater than flash flooding, snowstorms, tornadoes and earthquakes is the death of an artist since humanity’s collective creative mind, which makes human life possible, is damaged. The vacuum from the black hole that is left from this loss cannot easily be filled or totally replaced, but eventually humanity recovers by the emergence of new talent or the reincarnation of old talent that can provide us with a fresh infusion of beauty, hope, creativity, and imagination.

“Man does not live by bread alone,” but instead on the work of the imagination that fills us all with a certain degree of creative energy that sustains us throughout our lives. Our very souls are made up of creativity and is what provides our minds with a foundation on which to base its activities in the world. Artists give humanity its soul, so when an artist dies humanity loses a little bit of its soul, but when a massive talent like Price dies, humanity loses a huge part of its soul and the loss requires a much longer time for recovery.

____________________________________________________________

Related Music:

Creative Flows

Lonely King

Homecoming

____________________________________________________________

Marc

http://stereothesis.com/

Remember to join our mailing list.

To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation securely through PayPal, click here.

Live Music Recordings and the Element of Surprise

____________________________________________________________

GET “SONIC WEAPONS: The Official Stereo Thesis Music Sampler” FOR FREE.

To get your FREE full-length album…click here. 
_________________________________________________________

“Subtle material like those which exist in recordings of jazz and other improvisational music becomes more interesting and meaningful upon relistening.”

– Brian Eno, The Studio as a Compositional Tool

"Live music recordings" are simply a music recording approach that harnesses the ease and immensity of digital recording equipment with the freedom of improvisational music. The basic idea is that you'd improvise a new composition from the beginning of the recording process, track by track, until you achieve completion. 

The purposes of recording live music or of recording improvised music are to improve the sensitivity of the musicians or composer and to exploit the element of surprise. Recordings of live concerts and classical music clearly illustrate this principle in action.
 
What's wonderful about digital recording equipment is that it allows the solo musician, composer, or unstable band to  transcend time by freezing music in a digital universe. This is extremely useful because any new musician can come in at a later time and fill in the missing parts in a piece of music. The solo artist can also perform this function by creating the illusion of multiple players by multi-tracking.
 
The way in which he would achieve this is whenever a new track is going to be added to the piece he, in effect, acts in the capacity of a new player coming into the recorded ensemble with his own perception of what the piece should sound like or with what he would like to add to it. This psychological approach will increase the chances for another layer of the element of surprise. 
 
The new player infuses an existing piece of music with his unique signature of creative energy, technical skill, and emotional expression (style). All of these factors are injected into the music he adds to and the surprises manifest as he reacts to the twists and turns of rhythm and melody. In my music, I don't worry as much about getting each part just right, rather I'm concerned with capturing an energy or solidifying an idea. That's the only thing worth recording.

Recording live music includes the idea that chance events and musical accidents might stay in the recording as a way of authenticating the actual "live-ness" of the music recording. The advent of affordable digital music recording equipment leveled the playing field in terms of sound quality. That means for good or bad all music can be recorded at more or less the same quality. On some systems and software the mixing and mastering process can be completed with the touch of a button. So what's going to determine what's good or bad about a song will only be the strength of the composition and the level of musicianship.

Another way to think of the studio is as an environment where music recording is done as opposed to a place that determines what music will be made. The difference between these two viewpoints is one of quality - freedom vs. restriction. The element of surprise must be preserved at all costs. So when producing live music recordings you have to balance spontaneous performance and rehearsals. Rehearsing should only be used as a way of determining the possibilities within a song, while the recording process should unleash the live energy of the musician that allows him to spontaneously arrange the material he discovered during the rehearsals.

The field for digital distribution and marketing of music has also leveled a barrier that stood between the composer / musician and the consumer. Now the lines of communication are direct and open to all. With this barrier gone too, the quality of the composition and musicianship must be stressed on any recording that gets made. Average songs and mediocre musicianship can become popular, but they don't last and are easily replaced by other average songs and mediocre musicians.  A vicious artistic cycle.

Live music recordings can bring the living energy of an artist through the music to the consumer. The little imperfections, outtakes, and minor variances all give a digital recording a "live" feel. And when they are permitted to remain in a studio recording, all those little things a composer didn’t intend to be in a recording take on an added significance when listened to over and over again. No consumer listens to music they like only once. Instead, they listen to it many times over a period of years, so the music grows more meaningful as they change from their experience of living. As they grow, the music they listen to also changes and takes on deeper significances.

Now if you do decide to edit or erase little imperfections or musical accidents be very selective and only remove those that interfere with sound quality and not those that reduce technical skill or emotional expression. Sometimes it’s the chance events and musical accidents that become the reason why an audience falls in love with a recording. Good music is always used as an essential part of life to highlight meaningful events and important moments in a person's life.

  

______________________________________

Related Music:

Creative Flows

Rear View Mirror
______________________________________

Related Articles:

The Computer Music Man: Top 10 Arrangement Tips for Home Recording Artists

Art and The Emotional Rollercoaster
______________________________________


Marc
http://stereothesis.com/

Remember to join our mailing list.


To support Stereo Thesis with a financial donation securely through PayPal, click here.