@dreamcreateinspire - Tumblr Blog

overclassy

#flowers

frawth

this pic has rosy vibes lol // my photo

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world is spinning I'm not dizzy

youronewayticket

#food

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Michael Clifford for HATC magazine!

Photographed by alltookev

#Mikey

5sos-comfort

“Don’t Forget You Love Me” out April 10th !!

#cal

kindahoping4forever

Michael for SiriusXM

(Listen to his SiriusXM interview here)

‘SIDEQUEST’ marks the beginning of your solo career. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this album?

A lot of creating this album for me was just trying to uncover my personal identity. I had no idea who I was or who I am. I was just terrified to create anything that represented me, as it was so far out of my comfort zone, that it was a lot of trial and error of seeing what resonates with me. I just wanted to make everybody who supports me proud.

With the album being an introspective and deeply personal, what kind of emotional journey did you go on while creating it?

I had a bunch of music that I had created before becoming a parent, but after having a child and looking at that music from a fresh perspective, I pretty much scrapped most of it and started again. The biggest journey I went on was just trying not to overthink everything. I'm a chronic overanalyzer. But after watching my daughter discover things that I thought were mundane and treat it with such wonder really changed my perspective.

The transition from a band member to a solo artist often comes with a shift in creative control. What was the most rewarding part of making this record on your own terms?

It was just so completely new and different for me that it's almost not really comparable. It's not better or worse, it's just so different. I had a lot of fun with pushing myself with creative ideas that I wouldn't necessarily make within the band. The band is a sacred space that has to be protected, whereas with my project it doesn't even exist, so there was no risk. I had to embrace that fact, and just let it all be free and explore. It was just about pushing the needle as far as it could go until it broke and then making a new one.

Michael Clifford for Numéro Magazine

#Mikey