Musicians Advice - Part 2: on career highs and lows, artistic integrity and transforming the negative
What's the best piece of professional advice you've been given?
Max Cooper: Nils Frahm’s manager, Felix, said this strange thing to me years ago: ’you need to stop trying’, which seems like a ridiculous piece of advice. I took it as stop worrying about what's cool, what's not cool, what Pitchfork, Resident Advisor or other people think. Just do what I’m into and focus on what I enjoy. Try to express myself and not worry about whether it would work or whether I’m gonna get any gigs. Over the years I found that the more I’ve been able to focus on what I'm interested in, and the more honest I can be, the better the response is. I think that the honesty (musically) comes through: people can hear it and connect with it, irrespective of what external sources’ value judgements are on it. It’s something I try to do and I think it was good advice.
What's the most important lesson you've learned from your artistic journey so far?
K á r y y n: The greatest lesson has been that whatever I’m usually searching for in another, is probably within myself to be cultivated or recognized. I’m guilty of getting caught in beliefs such as thinking that what I’m looking to do can only happen with a certain person; or thinking I will somehow be saved through certain people or relationships. But that’s illusory thinking. I’m now learning that my artistic integrity is only intact because I am demanding of myself and of my collaborators. It keeps the vision intact and puts a sacred circle around the importance of the work being made as a collective. Not every decision I make makes sense from the outside. I let my gut lead me. My intuition has been my greatest asset. Find a team who will trust you and allow you to lead your vision with discipline.
Musical careers are made up of highs and lows. What's your #1 advice to navigate this instability?
Jlin: My advice is to always plan ahead, and never bet against yourself. Always make decisions that work for you in the long-term.
Niv from Red Axes: I can't really know for sure how things will develop or progress, but if I know what I want and what the big picture I'm aiming for is, it will work out for me. Sometimes you should compromise and adjust to new changes and challenges. Stay open and focus on the important things. You can't always get what you want but you can want what's happening.
You’ve said that it's possible to transform something negative by realising its highest potential. It's incredibly easy to get stuck in the negative, so what helps you make that transformation happen?
K á r y y n: A set of nicely sharpened thinking tools. Everything is a perception and if we hold on to our intention it can help anchor us in any given situation. At some point you have to look at what can be learned and integrated from this perceived negative. Then it becomes something useful thats happened for you rather than to you.
Instead of signing with a major, you waited years to release your first album, without compromising your artistic integrity. You said this took a lot of courage, trust and perseverance. What advice would you have for struggling artists who want to reconnect to those inner strengths?
K á r y y n: Write letters to yourself. Ask yourself questions. Find out what your core beliefs are around certain topics. Once you do that, you’ll start to see how certain thoughts and beliefs might be hindering you from realising who you truly are, inside and out. You have to keep engaging with yourself - this relationship is going to give you so much back, and a foundation from which to learn how to trust yourself. Most of the time fear has crept in somewhere and it’s poisoning the well. Engaging your self takes courage but it will be rewarded.
Why do you do what you do?
Max Cooper: That's a big question. Fundamentally, I love creating music. I love being in the studio. I love working with strange ideas and collaborating with scientists and artists. I love expressing myself and making music. Production is an absolute pleasure: I get home and I start working on something in the studio, and I get totally lost and immersed in it. I can work all night without having a break; I sort of forget to eat and sleep because the process of making music is so consuming. When I found something that I'm really into and I'm connecting with the process it's such a pleasure.
Jlin: I do what I do because composing and producing music is who I am. It's more than a passion, it's simply who I am.
What’s your own definition of success?
Max Cooper: I could make it really simple and say success in the professional sense is being happy with the job you’re doing. No job is perfect and obviously I have bad days. Sometimes I’m feeling terrible, and I have to get up at 6 in the morning to fly, and do it again and again and it's exhausting. Even though I love what I do there’s a downside to things. You just have to balance all the different factors in your own way. Everyone has their own ratings on different variables, you balance it up and how it fits into your life, and if you're happy with you what you're doing then that's success in my opinion.
Thanks to Max Cooper, Káryyn, Jlin and Red Axes for taking part in this interview. Check out Part 1 here