Choosing to Write a Song

Photo by Nicole Glass

In my ideal world, I would write a song everyday. If I had no obligations, I would write a song everyday. So apparently in my ideal world I have no obligations… Yes, that definitely checks out. 

It’s hard to describe the mental state I need to be in in order to write a song. Most often I wait until it happens to me, but earlier this week, I decided to make it happen. I decided to spruce up the description of the Facebook event for my “farewell Stockholm syndrome tour” to include a promise of a brand new song about my imminent departure. 

I normally don’t do this- I hate fulfilling expectations, even my own (why am I like this??). But this time, it felt correct for me. I wanted to publicly declare my intention of writing a song, and in a way use the imagination of others to create a reality that I preferred. If more people expect me to write a song, I feel like that somehow helps the eventuality occur where I do write a song. 

I think the crucial distinction here of why this didn’t backfire was that I wasn’t using the public declaration as a way of forcefully overriding the resistance. There was no resistance. I was in total alignment with the intention and felt totally casual about it- actually no pressure. So, in retrospect, the conditions were good. Look at me! 

I feel like I finally found the key I’ve been searching for my whole life! I have inspiration on tap now- it’s like MAGIC!!

Tell me about your experiences with the inspiration tap and choosing to be creative!

Make sure to listen to episode 5 of the Self-Help Songwriter Podcast if you like hearing about the songwriting process. The other episodes too :D And let me know in a comment on Youtube or Instagram if you want me to share the song I’m referring to!

Creating Sounds From My Face

taken by the amazing Markus Adler

Recently I had such a FUN day in the studio to do harmonies and I would make this stupid face after EVERY take.

It’s that face you make when you just tried something kinda weird but cool and you *think* it worked but are not totally sure. ⁠I knew exactly how it sounded in my head and I thought I knew how to create that effect in real life. But you never know until you try.

I had heard the song in my head for so many months, I knew how it sounded inside my brain. I’ve never had such a clear vision before so I was scared of potential disappointment. It was so fun to let my voice just play along and fill the space I created in my mind. I layered different harmonies and different timings, trying to create the effect of a ghost choir singing in the far end of a cathedral.

When I listened back to the layered harmonies... absolute BLISS! Whatever chemical cocktail got released in my brain at that moment, I’d like a bottle of that please. It’s one of the best feelings in the world. Like your soul had to pee really bad for a year and FINALLY the release! That’s a disgusting and probably not even the best metaphor but hey don’t tell me it’s not relatable. 

I cannot wait to share them BUT I will wait because I want to finish it and do the release properly and with patience (and hopefully, press). These songs deserve that. ⁠I know that they will have a healing effect and I want to bring that to as many people as possible. Why not, right?

I made totally different sounds out of my face from my previous recordings, more soulful, more spacey, more dreamy and - dare I say - trippy ??

Please send me your favorite trippy songs - email or DM - sharing is caring! ⁠