I’m on an (insert “old and established” artist here) binge. Everything from his first demos to the latest stuff – nearly 30 years of amazing music. His old stuff is raw, experimental, full of mistakes, poor production and AWESOME.

His new stuff is clinically brilliant, but lacks something. Like he’s lost that edge that comes with learning, making mistakes and not giving a f*ck.
Don’t get me wrong, i think the guy’s brilliant and he’s been a profound influence on me and millions of others.

Maybe his punk element didn’t die…maybe he got good at his instruments and stopped sucking – hence lost his “raw” appeal. Maybe they found a new emotion to explore other than anger. Maybe they found a new way to inspire those around them.
Maybe it’s stupid for me to expect someone to express themselves in the same way aged 50 to when they were 20.

They’re awesome. end of rant.

More importantly, I am aware that I fall into the “rut of personal mediocrity”. I want our music to stay angry, powerful, driven and passionate…but sometimes you find a formula and get stuck in a rut. Personally, I think art needs to stay fresh and outside the boundaries of “Creative Formula”…so here’s a few tings i like to try:

1) Do something different
play the bass with a bass guitar instead of a synth, mic up the drum machine through speakers. New instruments, new experiments in production.

2) Drag out an old piece of gear. Find your first synth, work on it like you did all those years ago. Record on it’s in-built crappy sequencer or use a pen and paper.

3) Buy something new
retail therapy…

4) Even better – MAKE something new
make a distortion pedal from an electronics kit, gather scrap metal and make an industrial drum kit.

5) Tired of all the same chords?…stop using chords!!
or steal the chord progression from a horror movie…or a romantic comedy

6) Record on a 4 track
Radically change your recording quality…you might think you suck because your music isn’t “dirty” enough.

7) Write an instrumental
…or write a track with vocals if you do instrumentals.

8) Re-arrange you studio
This might include making a new bench/stand for your studio

9) Stop drinking
Drugs and booze will put you in a rut quickly…so try writing sober.

10) Stop smoking
It has nothing to do with music or being creative…i just hate smoking…

11) Light candles
…or hug a tree…desperate times mean desperate measures..

12) write with someone…or write by yourself
hate horror movies? experiment with sleep deprivation and a “night-of-horror-movies” binge…then work on a track.
…myha ha ha…

13) TURN OFF THAT F*CKING COMPUTER!
write with a pen an paper. it’s scientifically proven that computers omit SUCK-O-RAYS…these interfere with you creativity.

14) Write naked.
It worked for The Doors.

I hope this inspires you to keep making your art.