Name: Chris Connelly
Nationality: Scottish
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist
Current release: Chris Connelly has just released his new album The Birthday Poems, a collaboration with fellow Scottish singer Monica Queen. It is available from Jnana.

If you enjoyed this interview with Chris Connelly, visit his excellent website for a closer look at his work.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

Nowadays, I think inspiration is more insipid in that I do not seek it out. It seeks me when I am ready. Dreams and other forms of art, YES! film, books etc. And politics too: there is a lot to be angry about, sadly, and it manifests itself.

However, when I collaborate with other people, it is a different sensation, I leave myself open to what that person has created musically and try to feel it,. It often takes me into strange places.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Maybe a “marker”? What I start with will rarely ever remain intact, but I will start with a feeling, maybe I will feel my hand move into a chord shape (that happens a lot) and I will start there, or perhaps a great title!

That said, the new album “THE BIRTHDAY POEMS” was a concept rooted in an unshakeable reality, a reality I took liberties with out of necessity, but there was a concept from the start, But that was a bit of an anomaly for me: I felt so fiercely driven by the story, enough that it made me re-shape the way I wrote lyrics to produce a narrative that was still borne of my writing style.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Not usually, I just go for it, I know instinctively when it is time to write, it’s physical. But like I said, “the birthday poems” was 2 years of reading and prep, though at the start I wanted it to be a book, and for various reasons, it was a book I could not write. So I stuck to song format.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Not really. It used to be cigarettes, but that was a habit, it had nothing to do with the writing, I thought it did. However, running is something I do on an almost daily basis, and I do much of my thinking there. But it is not linear, I might run then go about my day and when I feel it, I will write.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

I don’t find it difficult to start, but I have very high standards. If it is not working, I will stop and move on or do something else, I have left songs half finished for years, and gone back to them. But if it is not flowing, it’s no fun, and the song is not good.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Same time usually, I will have a guitar propped on my knee and a notebook, I will use my phone to record the stages. It used to be a hand held cassette recorder! I kind of miss that!

But at the very beginning, I will usually sing gibberish, just to get the rhythm and melody in place. Then the words come very quickly.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Great question! There are a few things - the relation to the music, are they facile? Think about the words you are using and are they the best words. Like I said, my bar is set high, but for me, I don’t measure myself against other writers, but I do measure myself against my own work. I LIKE my lyrics, I like them very much. I am not under any gun to make records, and I feel like the more I write, the better my craft will become. I have at last count about 525 published songs over 40 years, there is no point in compromising myself.
 
Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

It happens very, very quickly, or not at all: in which case it might be one of those ones I put to the side for later. But when I am in writing mode, I will remain that way until an album is written, which is never very long

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I never keep strict control while the process is happening, I can’t! It is absolutely out of my hands. Earlier I talked of a marker, maybe the first brushstroke, and then the journey begins.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

You have to leave yourself open and vulnerable to the spirit. I don’t know if it’s quite the same thing, but when I started “the birthday poems” I mentioned I wanted to do a book. I have written books before, not many, however I got stuck-it’s historical fiction and I could not get enough information to flesh it out, so I started writing in the way I might write lyrics. Which proved frustrating, but I had to surrender to the fact that I am a songwriter, and as soon as I did, it flowed.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

It is ALL spiritual, it’s a unique and timeless place, deep time, I call it, no beginning or end, and the physical feeling is remarkable, it can leave you drained and elated. I can’t believe for a second that it’s all me, I often have little or no recollection of doing it. It’s very different to recording, which is great fun, but it is not writing, it’s not that sacred space.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

I have worked with many people who have a hard time finishing records, which I do understand, I have empathy for it, we all know how hard it can be, but I have never had that problem. I have learned so much over the years and come to a point where I remember “apples and oranges” who cares? Who WILL care?

I am precious about my work, but once it has been through the hard obstacle course of MY standards, then it’s time to record. I also have worked closely with people who are a bit more like that, a little looser, and I have picked up on those tips.

My friend Paul (Barker, Ministry) will good naturally discuss gear used on a record and the sonics of it, which I have zero interest in. I know when a song is done.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

When it’s done I move on. However, I work with a producer, Chris Bruce, who understands my work intimately after 30 years together. He does all the refining that I cannot be bothered with, thank God!! Like I say, my heavy lifting is done in the writing process.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

I demo my own songs, fairly elaborately I think, so there is a lot already going on. Chris will change sounds, maybe replay a guitar or bass, or add to it, and maybe get someone in to play something. He also handles all of the percussion stuff, which I am hopeless at. I record all my own vocals and backing vocals.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Yep-post partum, happens all the time. But for me it does not last long, and I am kept so busy with collaborations here and there, I move on.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I don’t really have an answer except that for me, the real writing is done in that space, that deep time, and nothing, nothing comes close to that feeling, nothing that I have ever felt. It is perhaps on a par with viewing something incredible in nature. It is mystical and awe inspiring, and very, very personal.