How Independent Are DIY Musicians Really?
When I was a teenager, my dad sent me a Youtube video where Patti Smith gave advice to aspiring musicians. She said: “Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises. Don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful. Be concerned about doing good work and protect your work.” Patti Smith Interview: Advice to…
Welcome to my songwriting life.
Since I have now quit Instagram, all my music news – and also random tidbits about my life – will appear here. Let me know if you have any specific questions that you want an answer to and above all else, SUBSCRIBE TO MY MAILING LIST. P.S. This photo was taken by the wonderful Denise…
On Losing Focus and Picking Up What You Should Be Putting Down
I’ve just had one of those weeks when you question everything, are too exhausted to do anything, and end up watching ‘Jane the Virgin’ and eating pizza instead of doing what you probably should be. I don’t know why I have these weeks, and they don’t come often. This time, I blame it on the…
Should We Fight the Single-by-Single Release Culture?
In October 2020, I planned my release calendar for 2021. I was going to release four singles throughout the year – nothing more, nothing less. “The release cycle of a song is three months,” my tutor said at uni, and that served as my guiding principle. The only flaw in my plan was that the…
Do I Trust My Own Artistic Judgement Now? When Did That Happen?
I was walking down the street in late autumn and sobbing on the phone. “I don’t understand why my dad hates my new songs,” I said. “I thought they were the best songs I’d ever written.” The day before, I had enthusiastically sent my parents demos of some new stuff, songs that I thought would…
Songwriting Habits I’ve Developed Over the Years
My dad was one of the first people to start a blog. I think he started it in the early noughties, and it was called ‘Me and My Lada’ because we lived in Russia, and he owned a Lada. He wrote in it regularly, posting once or twice a week, but sometime after our move…
How My Favourite Poets Taught Me to Write
The first poem I liked was Bukowski‘s ‘An Almost Made Up Poem’, about a heartbreaking love for a woman that took her own life. I had read poetry before that – I had read and liked Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Kipling (not knowing the implications of that at the time), but they hadn’t grabbed me…
Here’s How I Steal from Other Artists – and Why Everyone Should
I don’t think it’s much of a secret anymore that all artists steal. Not because we’re not creative or original enough, but just because it’s inevitable. We’re building on hundreds of years of craft and creativity. This morning, I was listening to a meditation that described it perfectly: we’re like the wave that’s being pushed…
I Can’t Function Without My Morning Routine
When COVID-19 hit, it was the first time in months that I didn’t have to jump out of bed in the morning, and didn’t have any structure imposed on me by the outside world. At first, I revelled in the freedom. I slept in, spent up to an hour in the morning scrolling through Instagram,…
10 of My Favourite Female & Non-Binary Singer-Songwriters
The day after International Women’s Day on Monday, Pitchfork published the results of a study highlighting that women are still underrepresented in music. Women make up less than 23 percent of artists, less than 2 percent of producers, and less than 13 percent of songwriters. There’s progress, and some women are taking the music industry…
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