Name: Eddie Chacon

Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Eddie Chacon has announced his new album, Sundown, coming on Stones Throw March 31st, 2023.

If you enjoyed this interview with Eddie Chacon and would like to find out more about his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram.  



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’m generally at ease with the ebb and flow of being creative.

I tend to wait patiently until I have something I need to get out. In the meantime, I’m paying attention to everything. Just waiting to be moved by something I suppose.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work?

I need to have fairly concrete subject matter worked out in my mind before I start working on something new.

I use visualization a lot. Not only in my songwriting but across the board. Literally in everything I do.

What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I don’t plan when I’ll be creative. I have access to my recording studio 24/7 so I tend to just wander in there when I’ve got something on my mind that I feel strongly about. In my personal life I’m quite the opposite in that I’m a meticulous planner. So on one hand I create when I feel like it but I’m also well aware of the scheduling of things.

I know I need to come prepared when I’m gonna be working at a certain time with a producer or writer. Somehow this method has worked for me ever since I can remember. I’ve always had a fairly easy no stress relationship with the creative process. Suffice to say I quit for nearly 20 years because I’m well aware that I need to work with a great producer and it took that long for me to get the opportunity to work with one. (laughs)

I’ve always had a great ability to delay gratification.

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'?

I don’t prepare. I have meticulously built my studio so that nothing gets in the way of my creative process.

I think I don’t prepare because the significance of that somehow freaks me out.

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?

I don’t really have a ritual in this regard. I do have this thing about my creative space being clean and minimal with no chaos. Maybe that is my ritual.

What do you start with?

I try to be mindful of my stress level. I’m not creative when I’m stressed so I do things that make me feel open and relaxed.

How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

I usually don’t start unless I’ve got a line or title that I feel strongly about.

When do the lyrics enter the picture?

Lyrics are the first order of business for me. Not a finished lyric but a strong sense of knowing what I’m writing about.

Having said this, much of my work is stream of consciousness. I guess it’s just free styling really. Where do they come from? They occur to me naturally once I feel strongly about something. I’m not saying

I have to understand the subject matter. In fact, much of my work is about the sadness, confusion, loss and suffering that comes my not understanding something. I think this is where a lot of my best material comes from.

Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Both.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion?

Subject matter that sheds some much needed light on something or communicates that we’re not alone. I try to give the listener a door to their own feelings or sometimes I’m searching for a door to my own feelings.

What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

All of the above.
 
Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

Some songs happen in a few minutes and some I work on for a week. Some are ideas I’ve tossed around in my head for years.

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?

If I’m well prepared. Meaning my thoughts are sorted in my mind. Some of the songs will seem to write themselves and sometimes I rely on good old fashioned experience to be able to articulate what I’m trying to say.

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?

I usually let things be what they want to be as long as the work is potent and meets my criteria for what I enjoy in a song.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally?

I call it a meditation but when I’m in the zone I feel it’s all a meditation. Life I mean.  

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process?

I’ve read that a lot of people tweak endlessly but for me it’s like a cake. When it’s finished it’s finished with some exceptions of course.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on?

I’ll sometimes make a few tweaks here and there but generally I don’t continue to work on it.

I do reference my own music when I’m having problems getting to something that I did right on a previous song.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally?

I think production is key. At this point in my life I don’t consider myself a producer but I have a strong desire for my music to be in its own lane so for me there are very few producers out there that I feel can do this.

It’s aspirational but my desire is for my music to live in its own rarified airspace. This is high minded I know but it’s helpful to strive for this.

How involved do you get in this?

I work with producers that I feel are beating to the sound of their own drum. This resonates with me. I work with John Carroll Kirby and Nick Hakim and I feel they both embody this.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness.

I can’t relate to this. I think celebrating your hard work is a super important part of the process. All of my favorite artists throughout history played as hard as they worked. I subscribe to this.

How do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

Celebrating or rewarding yourself when you’ve completed something is the best way to get back to work I believe.