THE NATURE OF PROCESS
This website will be the only place where my work in development can be found. I would like to invite you into my process, with all its flaws, all its despairs, all its yearnings, all its fuck up’s, all it’s break throughs, all its on-goingness. It won’t be found anywhere else. Please feel welcome – and I’d love to hear your thoughts too!
I’ve been giving a lot of thought in recent months to the type of artistic process I wish to be within. Most of all I have been thinking about something I have been seeking for years. And that is to unblock the barriers.
Most of all I have wonderered how to liberate myself from any sense of perfectionism.
I am by nature a boot-legger. I love the developmental, the “in-process”, the journey of creation – and more often than not more than the “end product” itself.
This by no means an attack on (many wonderful) artists who seek perfectionism or putting something as developed across as possible. I understand, respect and have been there.
But the challenge artistically, always, is to express your current state of mind, your current way of being, your current perception, intuitions, graspings, shapings of nature, and of spirit and to wrestle them into something formed, some vehicle of expression that, god-willing, may resonate in the world beyond yourself.
Check out the Documentary Here
And for now I feel joyously liberated of any sense of perfectionism. More than that, I wish to share the process, the becoming, the way that things find shape.
I have especially always hated the lengthiness of the album cycle – at least in modern times.
I want to write, record & release quickly.
This is why I was so keen that Journeys would be a cycle of continuing EP’s – I wanted to be releasing them minimum every 6 months.
It’s going okay so far – I am enjoying the project and its newness to me.
But I am also frustrated.
I want a state of expression that is more continual, more world engaging, more unthought, more liberated, more – and mostly – “in the now”.
I have no real need to wait.
But even in this new found state of independence I have found myself coming against blockades. Some useful, some necessary.
☞ More thoughts on Creativity here
But really I ask, why not deconstruct the walls we come across entirely?
It is true – some songs need to “brew” – to develop, to take the time that they wish to create themselves.
I am not talking about rushing stuff out. I’m not talking about releasing stuff for the sake of it. I am not talking about getting rid of “quality control” which I think is as important and valuable as many other aspects of the artistic process.
BUT!
I do feel that “quality control” is suffocating modern music. And often modern artists. Too often we are allowing ourselves to be guided by a multiplicity of “voices”. So much modern music is “music by committee”
That is a “songwriter” or “band” is not really a songwriter or band. The song has been written by a society of different songwriters, and morphed and shaped by the machine of people involved with vested interests.
One gentleman I know in one of the major labels told me of graphs they have of everything from “how long to get to the chorus” to “what tempos are selling” bla bla bla.
I do feel that it has led to an incredible homogeneity of music. So often there is a value of style over substance. How often do you hear an album which has one great song and all the rest kind of “sound like the last one but not as good”.
No no no. I don’t want to be a part of that.
I want it ugly. I want it brutal. I want it before auto tune, before clicks, before a society of opinions, before perfection, before numbness.
Anyway for me I feel knee deep in little wonderful irrelevant revelations. All I care about at this point in my career is to allow myself to give myself to my deepest sense of freedom. To explore that. To value it. To cherish.
So my website is going to become a portal of newness. Of process. Of what ever the hell is going on.
I will still be aiming for eventually a finished version of things. And in fact I begin for the session for Journeys #3 tomorrow.
But in the mean time, I am going to find new ways to celebrate imperfection. That I am flawed or damaged and can be okay with that, can give it, can be honest, can be true, can be naked.
This song above is not available on any other platform except this website. It is even hidden to the public on Vimeo where it is published.
The website is will be the only place where my work in development can be found. I would like to invite you into my process, with all its flaws, all its despairs, all its yearnings, all its fuck up’s, all it’s break throughs, all its on-goingness.
The artists I love are not a “society” of opinions. And I won’t be – if you hear a Jim Kroft it is written by Jim Kroft. But that said – I would love to hear your thoughts about the songs, or ideas. Or your own experiences. So please feel welcome to comment below – I am interested in this side of the engagement. And if that seems paradoxical, that that is just part of the process too! x
Comments [12]
Yi ///
Listening to this with the rain softly falling outside… rain crescendos to the point that I need to increase the volume. Thanks for sharing the progress/process! Look forward to hearing and reading more. So far, sounds very promising!
Jim Kroft ///
Thank you Yi! It’s a song that feel relevant to where I am at this point in time….“coming back from the brink of defeat”…..I’m glad that it resonated. It’s one of the tracks I will start recording tomorrow, so we will see if it makes the final cut for Journeys #3. Thank you for dropping in! x
Vanessa ///
As always the Jim Kroft page is a wonderful place to come for inspiration. It always has been and I’m conviced it always will be. It’s beautiful that everyone can become a part of your journey towards a journey.
Onwards! x
Regina ///
It’s incredible where Journeys has lead you so far. What you are doing is awesome and a huge inspiration. You know that I love your work and your way of making and living music. Keep it going, man! Can’t wait to hear more of your imperfections. X Regina
Andrea Re ///
Wonderful page! Reading your musings is inspiration and it´s great to see where Journeys already has lead you. Keep up the good work! x
Dorothee ///
It´s a pleasure to listen to the song at the top of this site, it´s really poweful – I like it !
And reading your words put a smile on my face – what I extracted first was the similarity to something I´ve heard on saturday from my supervisor: You are so full of thoughts and feelings, you want them all to come out quickly :) I wanted to say that I think I can really well understand what´s going on inside your mind concerning to this point.
Also very interesting your words about modern music industries and how you don´t want to be a part of this machine.
Go on like you did the last months, I really appreciate your way. Doro
Yi ///
Interesting perspective on the move toward collaborative writing in the music branch. I’ve been interested in this idea of collaboration/cooperation since it was a big trend in education while I was working in that field. My experience was that most of what passed off as cooperative/collaborative work was merely a division of labour—often times with no one really orchestrating the whole. During that time I began working together with a colleague in a truly collaborative way. We wrote papers together and I mean literally that we sat down and wrote them together. It was an incredible experience and quite different from having someone edit your work—no matter how intense the editing. I have nothing against division-of-labour type of working together. I just want to distinguish it from another kind of working together. As I think this is often the kind to which we attribute our positive thoughts about collaboration.
What happens to a piece of work—be it literary or musical—when it is “edited” by too many people with their own disparate agenda… an interesting line of thought. I’ve always told my manuscript readers that they should feel free to give me any feedback on my work, that I would give serious consideration to their comments and suggestions, but that they should not feel insulted should I not change my work accordingly. I reserve the right to make the final decision on my pieces which have a kind of integrity of their own.
But I, like you, love to hear people’s feedback on my writing. I learn so much from that and sometimes I’m lead to see my own work in quite new light. My take is that the audience/reader helps to create the work; this is mostly a wonderful, sometimes an astonishing, and now and again a perturbing thing. Thanks for inviting us in this way into the process. I feel honoured.
Birgit ///
After listening to the song above: I have no real need to wait either! ;-)
Mark Cox ///
I have been impressed by your philosophy and approach to making music and interacting with your fans ever since I first saw you, supporting Martin & James in Dortmund. Music is definitely as much about the person behind it, as the music itself. Keep up the great work!
Jim Kroft ///
Thank you everyone for the feedback and thoughts! In the studio and things rolling well as I speak – will check back in here when more time again! x
Billie ///
Your voice sounds so fantastic~ this song’s melody is great! By your side forever!
Billie ///
Your voice sounds so fantastic~ this song’s melody is great! By your side forever!
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