Not today Justin
art blog(derogatory)
tannertan36
Mike Driver
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
taylor price
Sade Olutola
trying on a metaphor
shark vs the universe
styofa doing anything
Origami Around
ojovivo
h
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
No title available
Cosmic Funnies
AnasAbdin
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
⁂
blake kathryn
seen from United States
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
seen from Ireland
seen from Qatar
seen from Mexico
seen from United States
seen from T1
seen from Albania
seen from Brazil
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
@yournewlyacquiredwealth
Life As A Playground
I probably won’t be the first or last person to say this, but far too many of us take life too seriously. Who can really blame us though? We’re basically just dropped on this ball of dirt and water and left to our own devices. Not many people know why we’re here, and the few that do aren’t exactly preaching about it. In the end, we’re left asking that old age question that has eluded many wise…
View On WordPress
Don't Forget To Give Thanks
Photo by wewe yang on Pexels.com Much has been said about the importance of gratitude and all I intend to do with this brief piece is to act as a reassuring echo chamber for this age-old sentiment. Oftentimes in life, I’ve found myself focused on the negatives, if not catastrophising and headed for disaster. The one thing that has come to my aid time and time again has been taking a moment’s…
View On WordPress
Learning Never Ends
RStudio visualisation Like most cloudy-minded students, when I finished University, I was convinced that I was done with education. I mean why wouldn’t I be? I’d spent most of my life in school and then further studied for a couple of years to gain a degree in a field in which I was never really going to work. Now just over a decade after I graduated from Uni I find myself nose-deep in…
View On WordPress
This Too Shall Pass
Thanks to everyone who's read my previous posts. I truly appreciate it and wish you all good health and many blessings. With that said I'm back to writing and posting again. Stay tuned!
Photo by Akil Mazumder on Pexels.com When all seems lost just remember one of life’s great constants; change. Absolutely everything in existence changes. Nothing remains the same forever. From water evaporating into water vapour to a seedling sprouting into a young and vibrant shoot, and then eventually returning back to the soil from whence it came, everything changes. With that in mind know…
View On WordPress
10 Easily Applied Productivity Hacks
Check out my latest blog post on productivity from years of experience through trial and error.
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com When it comes to productivity there are countless tools to take advantage of. Though most of them are useful, not everything will work for everyone. That being said there are some tried and tested methods that are very much effective for the majority of people. Here are ten easily applied productivity hacks. 1. To-Do List When it comes to accountability for…
View On WordPress
Sales 101: The Basics
In this article I combine my sales knowledge and experience gleaned from my years in various different sales roles. I hope you enjoy this read.
Introduction Welcome to the very first post in the Sales 101 series of articles. In this weekly series the aim is to divulge tried and tested sales tips, techniques, and know-how to help you improve your sales performance. To kick things off in this introductory post is the oft overlooked topic of ‘sales fundamentals.’ Like with any other discipline, a strong foundation in the basics of sales…
View On WordPress
Book Review: Atomic Habits
Book Review: Atomic Habits
Much has been written about the power of habits. But rarely has the topic been assessed through a metaphorical magnifying glass and then presented in layman’s terms. Author James Clear attacks the much-studied subject of ‘habits’ and human behaviour from a new perspective. As a result this book offers a fresh take on habit formation and change. As the old saying goes “never judge a book by its…
View On WordPress
3 Key Takeaways; The Richest Man In Babylon
Here's a quick read outlining 3 key takeaways from George S. Clason's 1926 classic 'The Richest Man In Babylon.' Enjoy!
Told from the perspective of an ancient Babylonian man, George S. Clason’s 1926 classic teaches us the essential basics of how to build and sustain wealth. There are three key takeaways from this book that are absolutely vital to understanding personal finance and they are as follows; #1 – Pay Yourself First This goes against our basic instincts because as human beings we are evolutionarily…
View On WordPress
Book Review: The Power Of Habit by Charles Duhigg
This is my book review of 'The Power of Habit' by Charles Duhigg. Here are few reasons why you need to own a copy.
Have you ever picked up a book that you simply couldn’t put back down again? If not then make this your first, and if so then add this to your tally. Author James Duhigg delivers an insightful and educational read through The Power of Habit. Many books have been written before on this transformative topic. Despite its popularity, the subject of habits remains one that the vast majority know…
View On WordPress
What Are We But Our Habits
Check out my new post on habits. It's short and sweet. Enjoy the read!
If ever there was a single word that could perfectly sum up humans then it would be ‘habit.’ As defined by dictionary.com a habit is “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary: the habit of looking both ways before crossing the street.“ But habits aren’t merely things to winge about occasionally at our school reunion or that family gathering that you…
View On WordPress
Count Your Blessings
As I sit here in my car during my lunch break I’m mildly intrigued at the fact that I’m now a twenty something man bordering on thirty. Oh, where has the time gone? In fact what happened to the past ten years. In hindsight time seems to move rather fast. It’s only when I assess my challenges, milestones and accomplishments that I realise just how much I’ve experienced over the past ten years.…
View On WordPress
Top 10 Motivational Quotes For 2020
Top 10 Motivational Quotes For 2020
So it’s official; 2020 will be remembered as possibly the worst start to any decade in recent memory. That is precisely the reason why I think we could all do with a tiny bit of motivation.
Here are our top ten motivational quotes to help energise you all for the remainder of this God forsaken year.
“Be not impatient in delay, But wait as one who understands; When spirit rises and…
View On WordPress
The Beauty of Vinyl
The Beauty of Vinyl
Ever since I started buying vinyl in my late teens I’ve been hooked. When asked why I love collecting records I can almost never give a straightforward answer, but please allow me to at least try.
Smokey Robinson – Being With You LP Cover
The unique sonic characteristics are by far the most alluring aspect of records. When comparing the digitised versions of albums to their…
View On WordPress
Stream Bittersweet on Spotify!
Stream Bittersweet on Spotify!
We’re pleased to announce that Bittersweet by Kudzai Albert is now available to stream on Spotify and all major platforms.
Please use the link below, and thank you for your continued support!
https://open.spotify.com/embed/album/7rJWZ3d8ab9mcYe0Ip89Z8
View On WordPress
Betti asked me what souvenir I wanted from The Hague and I told her to get me anything she thinks I'll like. The girl got me #jdilladonuts on vinyl 💯❤️😘👌🏾#recordcollection #recordcollector (at Reading, England) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8CPDWwn4sM/?igshid=kcauwhikbcwm
I've been hard at work at trying to reorganise my production set up since moving to Reading and this is the closest I've come to getting it just right #musicproducer #beatmaker #recordproducer (at Reading, England, UK) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7_kV3AHJ6R/?igshid=dpd5d2rt21tq
The question “why do I write music?” can be easily answered with just a few words – “because I love to express myself.” But that’s no fun is it. So what I’m going to do instead is to briefly turn my family history, upbringing and personal tastes inside out in an effort to pinpoint some of the things that drive me.
For as long as I can remember I have always enjoyed listening to music. One of my fondest memories is when I was around six years old sitting on a bus with my mother and both of us where singing along to K-Ci and JoJo’s All My Life without a care in the world.
Fast forward to the age of eleven and I was getting influenced by my older brother’s obsession with 2pac’s music. Around that time something clicked in me that caused me to pick up a pen and start writing lyrics over Changes by 2pac and thus began my love for writing lyrics.
Around the time I started secondary school my family moved to Ashford, Middlesex where I met my dear childhood friend Luciano. This is also when I’d started dabbling in making instrumentals and recording my own music albeit using the most elementary studio equipment.
Unbeknownst to me Luciano was fortunate enough to have his own bedroom recording studio which was a massive step up from what I had to work with. This early collaboration helped us to grow as both friends and as musicians [he went on to score music for films.]
In my early teens my mother saw how passionate I was becoming about music and decided to pay for my first professional recording session in a garden shed recording studio in Hampton Court, London.
Despite it’s garden shed status this studio was fully kitted out. Going based on memory the studio was equipped with a multitrack mixing desk, some channels strips, compressors and mic amps. Even though I only had an one hour to work with I managed to get two songs recorded, edited and mixed with the help of my sound engineer.
These two songs were burned to a few CDs that somehow made their way around my school. I became somewhat of a school celebrity – I guess I must have enjoyed the attention as it only spurred on.
That same year I attended my first live performance in Central London in front some five hundred odd people. I remember forgetting one of my lyrics but my years of practice saved me as I quickly recovered and the crowd was none the wiser.
Around the age of sixteen the family decided to move to Basingstoke. This period between sitting my GCSEs and contemplating which course to study at college was very transformative for me.
Because family had moved whilst I was sitting my GCSEs and I had to stay behind and finished my studies. I briefly moved in with my aunt who lived in Slough.
The commute to my school in Ashford was tedious. Everyday I had to take the number 81 bus from Slough to Hounslow and then the number 203 from Hounslow to Ashford Hospital where I’d then walk about ten minutes to get to school.
During this time I remember the visceral emotion of feeling conflicted. On the one hand I had the opportunity to move to a brand new town and meet new people but on the other hand I remember not wanting to lose my friends in Ashford.
Around this transitional period whenever I had some spare money – which was a rarity at this point – I bought myself some music. I remember buying a copy of Common’s Finding Forever. I had never really bought a Common album before this. It was this album that helped me navigate this “transformative period.”
One song in particular stood out for me – Forever Begins. This was written as a tribute to the late great J Dilla, a close friend of Common. The song dealt with the emotion of loss and how to come to terms with such great change.
Fast forward a few years later and I was starting my studies at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. This is where I really honed my craft as a songwriter, performer, sound engineer and as a producer. Yet when I graduated all I remember is this intense feeling of burnout.
It was around this time that mother told me how my Grandfather had been music teacher. Now that I look back I can’t help but wonder if there Is there a connection between my Grandfather’s profession and my love for music? I couldn’t answer that convincingly. However, in a roundabout way I guess one could make the connection between my grandfather influencing my mother into loving music and how me and my mother grew to share that same love for music years down the line.
All I can say is that when I first sense the makings of a new song ‘I feel alive.’ In stark contrast though whenever I finalise a project I feel rather empty. I feel as if music is something that I have to live and express in order to be fulfilled. It is an integral part of my identity.
The above is simply a brief glimpse into the events that have shaped and built me into the man I am today. In conclusion I’m almost certain that were it not for my family’s influence on me as a young man I wouldn’t have taken my love for music as far as I have.
Why I Write Music The question "why do I write music?" can be easily answered with just a few words - "because I love to express myself." But that's no fun is it.