Ok we are back.. It has been a while but I am ready to get back to work on all fronts. This would include the obvious, writing and making new music.
In having released Songs IN Prep less than two months ago I noticed that I have yet to say anything about what I think about the work I created. The experience and relationship that one has to their own creations in my experience can be tricky. I am one of those artist that has always been very critical of my own work. There have been times where I have been terrified to let anyone hear what I was making. Yet when I did let someone hear it I would preface the listening with all kinds of disclaimers and wait in utter nervousness while they listened in fear of what the feedback would be. It is almost crazy to me now to think that I was that way but it is true.
Now that I have released my first recording to the world I suppose for all to scrutinize, love, talk about, ignore, embrace and everything else someone could do with someones output it's funny to think that I chose to release my first record as something that I made in 29 days writing, recording and all and that I didn't decide to pour over every single detail and try to say everything that I could ever possibly say through music as a means of stating my arrival to the world. But why not... Why such a simple and basic statement about a very dense subject(Self-Knowledge for those of you who haven't figured that out yet) without all the musical back flip attempts at trying to impress everyone around? The answer is: An Exercise In Integrity.
Integrity:
My basic definition of integrity is I don't care what you (think). I don't make art because I want people to (think) it's cool or think it sounds nice or think it sounds like etc.... I make art because I see and feel certain things and when those ideas rumble to a point that they need to be expressed and sounded it is my role to allow it to take shape through me as it must. One must not allow the linear mind to overly dictate what comes through them because we make art through the mind not with the mind.
It is that as a human deeply connected to all other humans on this earth, that I accept that whatever it is I see and feel from my perspective it is possible that this can on some level be experienced by others because of this connection. The problem lies in that we can feel and we can think, but when our thoughts and feelings are out of balance then our powers of communication, meaning our ability to understand and express ourselves, becomes corrupted thus bringing us to our current state of affairs here on Earth.(Think about this before reading on)
Integrity is an extremely important element in the designing of of ones art as well as ones life but let us stay focused for now on the art. Integrity is the element that distinguishes our output from all other peoples output past and present. This is because one persons search for a truth may eventually bring them to the same understanding but the search and it developments(output) is by spacial and mathematical default always going to be unique. Even without integrity it will still be unique but if the output is the result of non-truth then it will be misguided and less potent.
But this brings us back to the communication problem. What if everyone around you accepts and understands non-truth, actually likes non-truth and has been convinced that non-truth is truth? Remember it is not the message that is the problem, it is the root medium that is the problem. By that I mean the imbalance previously mentioned that leads to corruption in our ability to communicate with each other on all possible levels.
So why do I say all this and what do I have to say about Songs in Preparation For The Shift Vol.1?
It is only through integrity that an artist can ever find real purpose and having found this purpose, the purpose will be the dictator of the artist' creative process.
What I hear and see in Songs IN preparation For the Shift:
I have had to learn to listen to this album from many different perspectives which has been very difficult and honestly still is. But what I see in this album is that it is an extended meditation. The entire album is one long meditation(Not too long about 25 minutes) It follows the process of a proper meditation in that we have the preparation(the intention) track 1. In track 2. we begin the the work in earnest. It is here that I point blank give the listener the instructions of how to enter the desired state. track 3 deals with the final resolution of wandering mind this is why you will notice that the track(pre-lesson) is only on the left channel. This represents the left side of the brain the part of our brain the is responsible for linear thinking. Having calmed this part of the mind down we enter into our first level of meditation and our first statement of truth in track 4 The Lesson.
The Lesson deals with the individual aspects of self realization pointing out a singular truth that if meditated on will bring you self-knowledge.
From here we enter into a transition of the nature of our meditation from which we move on to the collective aspect of our existence. Track 6 Discourse on Freedom(Further Thoughts) is a meditation of accepting and learning how to live as one(yourself) amongst all of the other people in a balanced manner, since balance is the real goal of life on earth, while acknowledging the truth that because we all have naturally different perspectives(more on this later) that we also have different ideals about how life on earth shall work. I give voice to what I see as a way in a very basic statement that shall be elaborated on more in the future(request the 2 earlier versions of Discourse on Freedom via email version 2 is on youtube)
This brings us to the peak and descent of our meditation. A final statement of truth required to prepare for what lies ahead.(In Preparation For The Next Step).
Dream no.4(closer to you) is just that call it the peaceful state one can feel after a meditation and a statement of commitment to our desired place.
I wanna be closer to you because when I am near you I feel no pain.
So herein lies the answer to the question of repetition within this work. A meditation is just that the repeating of an action that deepens as you commit and continue. Just like life on earth. The sun rises and falls, gives way to night and the appearance of the moon only to rise again and give life to all on earth.
And they say art imitates life.......................
How I wish I lived in a world where most listeners were prepared to listen to this, go into my world and look around, feel, see it from their own open perspective, show me things that I myself don't see. yet I am also a practitioner of practicality(the search for balance hahahaha!!!) so I understand that this is not so but I know you are out there but I must find you and share with you.
Until Next Time,
Andrew
