NO GOAL #05

Skies Speak
Aug 8, 2017 · 2 min read

WASHED OUT — BURNT OUT — GOING IN CIRCLES

That’s exactly how I felt in regards to my music about a month ago. Although the residue still feels pretty tangible, I think some of the changes I’ve made recently are helping me toward a better direction.

Since releasing Testament and I Promise You Were Never Alone… I’ve found myself feeling the urge to release another album. The pressure had continued to build up until recently. I felt like I was losing track of time and NEEDED to release something to keep up some sort of perceived relevance.Probably not the best reason to create music, art, or anything else really.

While not specific to this topic, it reminds me of a quote from CS Lewis on “originality,” which I believe we can substitute for “relevance.”

Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.

With that bubbling up in my heart and mind, it was inevitable that those feelings and pressures would lead to a mild depression, and a lack of desire to continue pursuing my music. I’m not one to usually discuss these feelings, but it got to the point where something needed to be done.

I brought up the way I was feeling to my wife and we just talked about everything that was going on. It helped. A LOT. Through our conversation she suggested I let myself be comfortable with not having any set goal with my music. Not for forever, but at least for the next six months.

Since then, (it was a little over a month ago) I’ve just been using my studio time as a time for experimentation and exploration. If something interesting begins to happen, I will record it, but if not, I just move on to something else. To be honest, the feelings of burn out and mild depression still slightly linger, but I know and am hoping this new approach is leading me to a better place.

I’ve also been uploading whatever I do end up recording to an ongoing playlist titled No Goal. You can listen to it here or below.

Skies Speak News

News and Thoughts from Skies Speak

Skies Speak

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A solo act based in rural Louisiana, Skies Speak experimentally crafts sound into song using sampled vocals and drums, brooding synths, and guitar.

Skies Speak News

News and Thoughts from Skies Speak

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