Three Experiments in Attention and Sound

Plus a soundtrack for your own experiments

The past few weeks I've been deep in artistic experimentation, and this week I'm offering you a short 6-song addition to the Spring Portal Playlist 002—a few gems I've picked up along the way as I've been diving into other work.

Sonic Genealogy Through Somatic Therapy

I've been digging through my sonic genealogy, that exercise most producers demand of debut artists where you're supposed to trace the roots of your core influences—with the aim of creating a signature sound in the studio founded on those unique sources.

I found these exercises impossible—how do you excavate something so intuitive? Then I incorporated what I've learned in somatic therapy, listening not just with my ears but with my entire nervous system, and suddenly I could feel the lineage in my bones. I think I've stumbled onto a brand new approach to defining your sonic DNA, one that honors how music actually lives in us. [Read about that here >]

Living Without My Smartphone

I've also been living without my smartphone. Next week I'll give you the one-month update, and you might be shocked to hear what I've discovered. For all the horror stories of digital detoxing, I have a story that goes in a completely different direction. [You can read about the initiation of this experiment here >]

Busking as Attention Training

But perhaps the most unexpected teacher has been busking. The idea dawned on me out of the blue, an impulse I knew I had to follow. At first I thought, how odd and embarrassing to go stand in front of my local grocery store—I'm fuggin’ 43 years old, dude. I'm gonna run into other moms doing the real work of life, like shopping for their families.

But one of my mentors called busking the equivalent of a fine artist doing 30-second charcoal sketches, and I must agree. I am so glad I did it because it taught me about focus and attention in ways I never expected. If you can play through while no one is listening, shopping carts are crashing, intercom announcements are blasting, and dogs come and sniff you—you just might be ready for an actual stage.

A middle aged mom pushing a shopping cart full of gear to her busking spot… don’t laugh, this is serious work!! Ok, do laugh, WITH me…WITH me…

The number of wildly distracting things coming your way on stage are even more numerous, but add nerves and the desire and pressure to perform well… and you can see why just honing your ability to block out everything unnecessary is a superpower you must sharpen if you want to survive on stage, let alone slay.

Friday I played an acoustic set at a local cafe in their beautiful patio garden, and if I had not done these "attention sketches" prior to my performance, I am almost certain I would have lost my shit on stage because prior to this all my audiences have been fairly quiet listening rooms where the audience is respectfully rapt with attention.

This was a garden of people who did not come to see me, who were enjoying their own conversations at different volumes, servers moving back and forth, dogs barking, Harley engines revving and sirens blaring on the highway behind us, children coming up on stage… and I had to remain in my own pocket, my own groove, unaffected and pouring outward nevertheless.

I have to say, it was absolutely liberating.

I'll look forward to sharing a deeper dive on my findings on a month without a smartphone, being Dumb for four weeks, in next weekend's post. Until then, enjoy Portal Playlist 002 updated with these tracks I've randomly been enjoying on repeat.

Songs included in this playlist:

• In Between — Wilderado

• Letter to Madeline — Ian Noe

• Spine Oil — Samia

• There's a Rhythm — Bon Iver

• Wolf In Sheep's Clothes — Ken Pomeroy

• Algorithm — Premium Leisure

p.s. thanks to my sweetheart for capturing this hilarious photo of me en route to busk, I had no idea he was there. I had a lot of fun that day 💚