Part 2

Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work? Do you have a fixed schedule? How do music and other aspects of your life feed back into each other - do you separate them or instead try to make them blend seamlessly?

Everyday is different. I am strict about a daily practise, mainly trying to have space from the chatter, even if it's only 30mins. And I am strict about writing days / weeks too: I block out days and use language like “work” or “meeting” when I talk about that time to others. It’s not free time. But the day to day is just riding the rhythm and flow of gigging, responsibilities, meetings, exercising.

Writing for me gets exponentially deeper if I’m only doing that for consecutive days, weeks even. Blocking out this time is a little harder but I do it at least twice a year for at least 5 days.

Last year I had a whole month. And wrote an album. This year too I will have a whole month in autumn. Exciting.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece or album that's particularly dear to you, please? Where did the ideas come from, how were they transformed in your mind, what did you start with and how do you refine these beginnings into the finished work of art?

Do Not Be Afraid was written, rehearsed, realised, finished all in one space: grief.

I couldn't do anything else in that space. I was on survival mode, or just couldn't 'do' or 'be' anything else. This album is all I could make at that time, in the impossibility of my father who I loved and needed in my life, not being there anymore.

Now I look back and listen and play this music, it feels so clunky and in some ways limited compositionally. But the music works. It is simple. That’s what this album is. And by finishing that work, I can improve my craft and make something of me now for the next album. In finishing the next one, I’ll see how I can improve for the next one.

Each album is the best work I’ve ever done.

There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are their strategies to enter into this state more easily?

Yes! Space. I need space. Phones off. Sometimes a walk helps. Or a swim.

I can enter the state pretty easily. Always have, even in a practise room working on scales.

Sometimes I have a stupid moment 1/3 tunes into a gig where I haven’t gone there and I kick myself. So good tactics before playing is just a reminder why I’m here.

How is playing live and writing music in the studio connected? What do you achieve and draw from each experience personally? How do you see the relationship between improvisation and composition in this regard?

Improvisation feeds into my writing in feel, vibe, and energy ... The range of places we can go in improvisation inspires me to find that in my writing.

How do you see the relationship between the 'sound' aspects of music and the 'composition' aspects? How do you work with sound and timbre to meet certain production ideas and in which way can certain sounds already take on compositional qualities?

As I’m still very new to both of these in my work, I have only created output for my Band, Vula Viel. And in this, the sound world is developing in one specific direction. The most obvious change has been carving space - most notably in downsizing from 2 Drummers to 1 and from synths and sad to bass guitar and just Gyil. This has given me more space to make Vula Viel the Sound it is today.

Less obvious to the outside listener is my sound on the Gyil - less effects and more depth to the wood plus the specific buzz of adding harmonics x1, x2, x3, x4 etc. Plus working with Jim Hart on the Drums Sound. - this came out of having worked with Matt Calvert on the first two albums. He produced the first and co-produced the second. When he realised I was more clear on what I wanted he stepped back and encouraged me to produce myself. I agreed but only in taking on that role have learnt how much Matt did for our Sound. He has a very distinctive drum sound for example, and matched the Gyil to that with distortion and depth. When Matt wasn’t there suddenly I had space to figure out what my drum Sound would be. Matt’s legacy is still part of the Sound, but I also talked to Jim about acoustic buzz on the drums and a higher / dryer Sound world.

I’m also working on an album which isn’t Vula Viel. This frees me up to explore other sound worlds. Very early on in this process so I’ll let you know what comes of it.

Our sense of hearing shares intriguing connections to other senses. From your experience, what are some of the most inspiring overlaps between different senses - and what do they tell us about the way our senses work? What happens to sound at its outermost borders?

Hearing for me is the one that overlaps least. Smell and taste and touch and intuition ... they are all intertwining. Sound I prefer on its own. Playing I just want to hear what I’m playing. Or 'us', if in a band. In conversation I just want to hear what the other person is saying ... no background noise please.

I want to fully hear.

Art can be a purpose in its own right, but it can also directly feed back into everyday life, take on a social and political role and lead to more engagement. Can you describe your approach to art and being an artist?

Being an artist means being responsible for something ... except that the art is bigger than us, not smaller. So I, a child, and responsible for the music coming through me, the elder, the master. This feeds back as it becomes necessary for me to transform to be able to fulfil this role.

My approach is one of absolute respect and determination to become the person I need to be.

It is remarkable, in a way, that we have arrived in the 21st century with the basic concept of music still intact. Do you have a vision of music, an idea of what music could be beyond its current form?

Music is the healing of the future.