TL;DR: Do any of you find there is a conflict between the style of music you hear in your brain day in and day out, and want to hear realized, and the music that just naturally comes out of you when you're not thinking? If so, how did/do you pick which one to follow? Do you do both/all? Do you try to make them work together, even when they seem diametrically opposed? Things you've learned along the way about any of the above?
Long Version: I started out playing guitar and being in bands, coming to electronic music later with NIN and then getting into people like Ben Frost, BT, Burial, Rafael Irisarri and Tim Hecker. Since then i've had this sound in my head that combines the structure of progressive and math rock, and post-metal with the extreme audio processing of organic sound sources (ie, guitar and vocals) like the artists mentioned above. This has been my driving force since 2006, intensifying in 2018, sometimes to the neglect of my guitar skills. However, every song seems like mostly a failure, like the bits aren't connecting properly. I'll become very emotionally attached to these pieces for a while, but then can only see how disjointed they are after a year or so.
But starting in 2018, with amp sim technology really taking off, i started to get back into guitar and creating hundreds of demos just with that, and found that i not only had a very eccentric and personal style with the instrument but that full-blown, elaborate songs would just materialize after jamming for a couple of hours. My hard drive is now full of single riffs, a few bits that relate, and fully-formed, 8+ minute long songs that just need bass and drums. But the sound is very organic, and doesn't work well with synths and drum machines. It's very post/prog metal, band-in-a-room. When one of these songs gets completed with fake acoustic drums and bass guitar, everything sounds like it just 'fits', like the pieces go together. It's suspiciously easy. As such, i don't feel very attached to the songs i've made in this style.
This led me to stall two years ago and i've made very little since as i've been struggling to make the two work together and failing, or trying to discard one approach for the other, which i can't seem to commit to. It has created a massive problem for my creative life, and i feel unproductive. I have very few IRL musician friends and my normie friends just find it goofy (which it is) that i'm troubling myself so much over something that should just be fun. So i would really appreciate any insight the KVR community of artists could offer from those who have been in similar situations, or have a particular angle to see this that maybe i'm just not getting.
So...which is it? What's in your head or what's in your heart?
Long Version: I started out playing guitar and being in bands, coming to electronic music later with NIN and then getting into people like Ben Frost, BT, Burial, Rafael Irisarri and Tim Hecker. Since then i've had this sound in my head that combines the structure of progressive and math rock, and post-metal with the extreme audio processing of organic sound sources (ie, guitar and vocals) like the artists mentioned above. This has been my driving force since 2006, intensifying in 2018, sometimes to the neglect of my guitar skills. However, every song seems like mostly a failure, like the bits aren't connecting properly. I'll become very emotionally attached to these pieces for a while, but then can only see how disjointed they are after a year or so.
But starting in 2018, with amp sim technology really taking off, i started to get back into guitar and creating hundreds of demos just with that, and found that i not only had a very eccentric and personal style with the instrument but that full-blown, elaborate songs would just materialize after jamming for a couple of hours. My hard drive is now full of single riffs, a few bits that relate, and fully-formed, 8+ minute long songs that just need bass and drums. But the sound is very organic, and doesn't work well with synths and drum machines. It's very post/prog metal, band-in-a-room. When one of these songs gets completed with fake acoustic drums and bass guitar, everything sounds like it just 'fits', like the pieces go together. It's suspiciously easy. As such, i don't feel very attached to the songs i've made in this style.
This led me to stall two years ago and i've made very little since as i've been struggling to make the two work together and failing, or trying to discard one approach for the other, which i can't seem to commit to. It has created a massive problem for my creative life, and i feel unproductive. I have very few IRL musician friends and my normie friends just find it goofy (which it is) that i'm troubling myself so much over something that should just be fun. So i would really appreciate any insight the KVR community of artists could offer from those who have been in similar situations, or have a particular angle to see this that maybe i'm just not getting.
So...which is it? What's in your head or what's in your heart?
Statistics: Posted by voidhead23 — Mon Jan 15, 2024 4:12 pm — Replies 1 — Views 41