A JOURNEY TO
INSPIRATION
Inspiration comes in many ways, shapes, and forms, but it is often fleeting.
When it strikes, we musicians have the unique knack of being able take inspiration from many situations, and turn it into something musical, something meaningful. All too often, though, our well of inspiration can run dry.
“I really want to write some music tonight, but I don’t know where to start”
Feeling inspired when sitting down in the producer’s seat is a great feeling; powering up the synths, turning on the laptop, your controller keyboard ready to be struck by genius. This is exactly why so many of us spend many hours after bedtime working on our masterpiece – when we’re in the mood and feeling the groove we want it to continue. Be honest, we’ve all had those “I need more coffee” mornings at work after a good night spent creating music.
But, what happens when you get in the studio, ready to rock, and there’s no inspiration at all? Don’t worry, it happens to everyone. Even top musicians!
Arturia’s Bryan Borcherds asked a few influential music-makers what inspires them, and how they keep that spark.
Kenny Larkin
Techno Producer
"Nothing inspires me more than walking into a studio, and seeing a few pieces of gear sitting there, waiting on me to interact with them. I come from the more old-school way of working, so even though I love and use plug-ins, it’s hardware every time that does it for me. Beyond that, I leave it up to the universe as to what inspires me. But, no I don’t have a formula I can apply each time I go into the studio to work. Sometimes I’m in there for days, and not inspired yet all. Other times, it can be a preset on a synth that will get me going. The music that I grew up with also makes its way into my brain consciously and unconsciously, as I figure out melodies to use. A lot of people don’t understand why I take “techno” so serious, and why do I take so long to finish projects. It’s because I need the right inspiration to write! Even though it’s only techno, I want to make sure I do music that is timeless.""
Rick Wakeman
Keyboardist
I" never write in the studio. For me the studio is for recording. I like to be prepared before I start recording. True, things change, but the basis always has to be there for me. I am just grateful that sometimes I am blessed with some inspiration which is different from simply writing music which can be done to order based on the knowledge and experiences we have built up."
"What inspires me?... I don’t know and do not look for the answer.""
Anika Nilles
Drummer
"I often get inspired while driving my car, listening to different styles of music and enjoying a landscape around me. I try to save feelings and ideas until I have the time to bring it down as a quick and basic layout. From this point on I just let myself get inspired by sound sources, drums and emotions. I also feel more comfortable working on the first steps by myself before others get involved. Creativity comes and goes, not every day is the same, sometimes I feel more creative, sometimes less.""
"I just try to capture the good moments."
Emika
Producer
"Through DJing, writing, producing, working with different gear and spending time online in the sound world, I find myself analyzing sounds and trends and the history of electronic music a lot. I start to hear gaps in what is out there, or I start to long for a certain type of feeling I am not getting from what’s out there. In parallel I am living my own private personal life and trying to work out how I feel each day, what’s up in the future, what the point is of anything. And these two perspectives come together often in a moment of frustration, reflection, creation, and start to form one part of a bigger piece of music."