Name: Dylan LeBlanc
Nationality: American
Occupation: Composer, percussionist, producer, instrument maker
Current release: Dylan LeBlanc's new album Coyote is out via ATO.
Recommendations: I recommend listening to the Heavy Heavy. That band is incredible and I’ve been way into them lately.

If you enjoyed this Dylan LeBlanc interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.



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?
 
I think as an artist all of those things you described are at the forefront of our subconscious and I think when you create music and write songs long enough you use that well that the subconscious creates that gets filled up in you. I think things move you, whether injustices / beautiful moments.

I think it’s been a common theme over time and the ages that artists use that platform as an outlet to express that. It’s only natural.
 
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?
 
I always start a song with a title and a piece of music. It might not be the whole thing but I always have some kind of map in my head of how it’s going to be. I can hear instrumentation and rhythms and how I want to paint it on the record.

Of course things surprise me in the studio and especially when you’re working with other incredibly talented people they can bring something amazing or new to the table that just sends your idea over the top.

So that balance is always there and makes a big difference in the quality of the music.
 
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 always but I always rewrite and of course that’s what little demos are for. To start the sketch and lay the groundwork of what ever it is you want to be. And I’ll make sure what I’m writing hits me in the heart rather than the head.

It has to have an emotional factor for me to believe it or enjoy it.
 
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?

Coffee is essential to my process for everything. I could write a dissertation on why dark roast coffee has changed the world but I’ll spare you. I love coffee and drink way too much of it.  

It used to be a pack of cigarettes and few pots of coffee and a little weed during my process but now I’m down to just the coffee haha.
 
What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?
 
Like I said before. For me personally I cannot do anything without a title. The title is the story and you can build so much around it. It’s everything really.

If you have a title that’s the foundation and there is no limit to where your imagination can go to build on that.
 
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?
 
Strangely enough I’ll write little sentences that come to my head in my notes. And I’m constantly looking for good titles. But a lot of times lyrics are the hardest part of the process.

To sum up a story of feeling in the structure of a song you don’t have a lot of time. In a movie or book you can wrap it up with a bow with plenty of time to tell your story, writing you have to be vague simply because you run out room.

Unless you’re Bob Dylan or Tom waits who write 20 verses per song. And that’s commendable.
 
What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?
 
A good lyric should make me visualize and simultaneously feel something at the exact same time. Like the meta version of reading a book. It has to hit me in the feels while saying wow I can see this, I have felt this.

My own ambitions are to do just that for my listeners.


Dylan LeBlanc Interview Image (c) the artist

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

Discovered is a better word I think. So many things have already been done and I’m not so sure how much our own intellect has to do with our talent or creativity.

I like the way he puts it. Great question.
 
From your experience, are there things you're doing differently than most or many other artists when it comes to writing music?

I don’t think so. I don’t think im any more unique or better than anyone out there doing it.

I am writing what I feel and I believe in the work I’ve done and am doing. So I'm ok with that.
 
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 or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

That is the natural process. It’s like fishing - you kinda go where the fish are. So if this vibe is feeling good I’ll stay over there where that vibe is.
 
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?
 
I have many times meshed two half written songs into one simply because I’ve discovered that half of this song was what was missing from the one I'm writing now. And then other times I’ll just go out on a limb and try something crazy.

But to be honest I really like simplicity in music. Unpopular opinion but I appreciate a good A B structure with just a few simple chords.
 
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?
 
I think human beings as natural as they are at destroying things it has to be the closest thing to a creator when you yourself are creating things . So that alone makes it feel like a spiritual process for me
 
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?
 
Usually I’ll write a song and not listen to it for a while and start a new one. Getting attached to one song is not good for me because then I won’t wanna do anything different.

I usually write it, tuck it away, and when it comes time to make the album I will know right away what needs work.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?  
 
Depending on what kind of music; it can be everything. But for my music it’s all about catching a vibe.

I'm a traditionalist so I like things to sonically sound like records did in my favorite era of music. That literally means taking things away. Not adding them. Using tape machines and not a lot of channels and literally only bringing what’s necessary to create a vibe and know you’re a fucking bad ass when you do it.

Also it limits choices which I think can be an asset in the studio. Sometimes I feel we have too many choices today. But all music or popular music anyway is extremely simple. That’s what makes it great,
 
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?

I think it’s important to stay busy and keep working and constantly be working toward something better and something more challenging for yourself. That really helps me a lot with that. Keeping the ball rolling.

I also have learned to lower my expectations of myself
 
Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?
 
I think people place too much of their identity in ideology and things period.

And people forget about essence. And essence is the most beautiful thing about music. It’s the thing we’re all born with that gets stripped away by other people's thoughts and feelings and actions and ideologies.

I try not to garner my identify through music or politics or anything like that. We’re all gonna die and can’t take any of those ideas with us.
 
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 just think anything you’re more passionate about of course you’re gonna give more of yourself to it.

And man, I’m passionate about coffee. You ain’t had a cup til you tasted one of mine.