The Holy Grail

There are 2 important questions to ask yourself when you’re making a tune.

To expand on these ideas ….

In regards to the first point….how long does your track stay fresh?  Is it pure emotional expression, no bullshit, just vibes?  Does it give you chills when you write it and the next morning?  Does it inspire new ideas?  Do you feel a core connection with it?  Does it beg to be worked on and finished?

In regards to the second point…..by this I mean can you clean it up and polish it without destroying number one?

Music is not lifeless, it has spirit, we as musicians, producers and creators breathe life into it.  It can give back life / spirit not just to others but back to us as well.  Knowing the tools to creating music is all well and fine, but in the end the tools were only a stumbling block, and the music comes not from the tools but from something / somewhere much more valuable.

I see a lot of producer engineers show off their $100,000 + studios.  It’s not bad to have nice things.  But if more people realized the limitless wealth within themselves and focused less on expensive trophies we would all be better off.  We’d have better music to start.  We’d have better minds and better techniques.  I want to remind that black or white thinking does nobody any good.  If you’re trying to mix on 5 dollar earbuds you’re gonna run into great difficulties.  But thinking you can make the best music if you have the best and most expensive gear is delusional.  Master your craft first, investing along the way is great.  And mastering your craft means doing the best with the least.  Challenge yourself to master the stock plugins your daw offers. Get to know how they work.  How they behave. When to use what and in what combination.