North Carolina born, Johnathan Wyatt, came under my radar under one of his alias names- Fin. His music is a diverse mix of instrumental hip-hop. Jonathan has released house music under the alias, Kaepora Gaebor. He has also released Vapour wave beats under the Alias, Fiji, and prompted me to find him on Instagram.
His collaboration on the track ‘Obsession Depression’ with his close friend, Skyler Nelson, (PKSkyler) a rapper based in San Diago, California on ambient Agape Records vol 1 album for U.K. based label Agape records -all proceeds went to MIND (mental health) Charity. His dedication and maturity for his passion to create music in the past 5 years are astounding. Fin is 17 years old. He has released 3 albums, 6 EP’S and several demos and his next album –Näherindue to drop on 6th November 2020.
When I asked Jonathan to what words came to mind when on MENTAL HEALTH & CREATIVITY) (CREATIVITY his answers were -Process, Inspiration, Expression. Frustration, Anxiety and Depression.
ON DEPRESSION OBSESSION
For Depression Obsession, the song I produced for PKSkyler on (AGAPE Volume 1), Skyler just messaged me one day asking if I was interested in making a track for a charity compilation. We didn’t have a theme to start with, other than that it was mostly ambient music on the compilation and the person who started it was doing it as a tribute to a friend of theirs who had overdosed a few months prior. The song came together really quickly since we had a deadline to submit.
It was great to be a part of a project that feels so personal, with so many talented musicians as well. I’ve dealt with anxiety since a pretty young age, and have had some issues with depression over the past couple of years, so the links between mental health and creativity are very important to me.
I started with a sample from a song by one of my favourite bands, Azeda Booth. I laid some drums and bass down and had the rough bones of the beat. I sent a snippet of this to PK, and we both figured it should go in a more ambient direction, to fit with the other songs on the compilation. That’s when I thought of the concept of the track having two halves, with the first half being a normal rap structure for his verse and hook, and the second half being entirely beatless and ambient. I put some airy vocal chops from a Frou Frou song, some details, and the droney ambient section for the outro. I sent the instrumental to PK, he liked it, laid his vocals down, sent them back to mix, and the song was done.
FIN ON FIN
I make a lot of different kinds of music, but the sound that’s compelling to me is anything sample-based. I’ll usually buy cheap records from thrift shops and record stores, skim through them, and try to combine as many elements as I can into a cohesive piece. I do play a handful of instruments and write original music, but sampling is something I’m really, really passionate about. I think it deserves a lot of credit not just as a compositional tool, but as an art form all its own. It’s almost post-modern in a way, with the constant recontextualization of recognizable material.
BACKGROUND
When I was young, maybe around 7 or 8, I was obsessed with Micheal Jackson. I don’t even remember how I got interested in him, lol. I listened to his music religiously, had all the costumes, took a few dance classes, everything. This was before I ever considered playing an instrument, it was probably a big part of me getting deep into music later in life. I started playing the guitar when I was 11, and about a year later I got obsessed with the idea of writing and recording my music. I got really into the idea of not needing a band or recording studio and doing everything myself. I started taking piano lessons, got a cheap bass, and took over my sister’s drumkit. I made about 3 albums worth of really crappy indie rock before getting interested in electronic music. I messed around with drum & bass, synthwave, and chiptune sounds before I got into sampling and beat-making. This was also around the time I met a few rappers and my friend Skyler (PKSkyler) on Facebook. I was super into the then growing vaporwave and cloud rap scene and was making loads of beats in that style. Those beats ended up on PKSkyler’s first album,Life of Skyler ). I would’ve been around 13 years old at this time.
Probably around age 14 is when I got into buying and sampling records. I was taking drum lessons, and it turned out my teacher was a huge hip-hop head and producer. He really pushed me towards where I’m at musically now. He’d bring stacks of records for me to sample, let me borrow his SP-404 sampler for a few months, and was a massive influence on my album Berkeley. I’m 17 now, and ever since then I’ve been constantly working on and releasing new music. Over the past 2 years, I’ve released 3 albums, 6 EPs, and 4 beat tapes.
ON CREATIVITY
For the stuff I make as Fin, it was lo-fi artists like Mndsgn, Knxwledge, and of course Dilla. About halfway through the production of my first album, Berkeley, I heard DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing, and that changed my path. I was obsessed with the idea of making structured songs out of samples, instead of short beats. Even when I didn’t have the skill or knowledge to pull it off, I’d try to work in shifting structures and distinct sections in my tracks, for better or for worse.
I always try to have a theme to each big project I do, whether it’s just a palette of sounds that the tracks share, or something more focused. My EP, Substance for the Shadow was based around the idea of making something influenced by soundtracks, post-rock, and krautrock, and writing everything from scratch without sampling.
For the beats I was making for PKSkyler as Fiji, it was a lot of cloud rap and vaporwave, like Yung Lean and Blank Banshee. I was also sampling a lot of soundtracks, mostly old JRPGs and Earthbound.
ON INFLUENCES, THE MUSIC INDUSTRY
(In my hometown) the music scene basically non-existent, lol.
It’s a rural area with a pretty small population. It’s not far from Raleigh, which is a pretty big city with plenty of local bands, musicians, and venues, but obviously, I haven’t been able to go to any shows for the better part of this year. I try not to let that stop me, though, I’ve never really collaborated with anyone in person anyway, never been in a band either. I’m very much used to collaborating online, sending stuff back and forth through email, etc.
I’ve met some of my best friends through the internet, and there are so many niche artists and scenes that would’ve never found an audience through the internet. Things like vaporwave netlabels, obscure lo-fi hip hop releases, and the culture surrounding Bandcamp could’ve never existed 20 years ago.
On the other hand, there’s so much music being released right now, it can be hard to break through and find an audience. If there’s a genre you like and want to hear more of, there are hundreds of albums being released online every day in that style. It’s a blessing and a curse.
As far as finding success in music right now, it goes back to what I said before about breaking through the sheer amount of music being made right now. I’ve seen the lengths musicians go to gain listeners, it’s kinda sad.
I’m not the biggest fan of the things a lot of artists are doing right to be seen, like gaming the Spotify algorithms, hiring ad agencies to make songs go viral, etc. It doesn’t feel very genuine. Either way, commercial success isn’t really what I’m looking for in music, that’s never been my goal.
ON LATEST ALBUM AND UPCOMING PROJECTS
I have some songs I’m working on right now is a bit more of a downtempo and electronic-tinged direction. Still sample-based hip hop, but more atmospheric, with a big focus on texture and lo-fi sounds. I also produced and mixed a bunch of the songs on PKSkyler’s newest mixtape, which should be out very soon.
My new album Näherin is out now on my Bandcamp. It’s a 13 track instrumental hip-hop album touching on some elements of trip-hop, boom-bap, and downtempo. It’ll be on Spotify and Apple Music within the next week or two. I’ve also got cassettes that I did in a bootleg-y DIY style. I hand recorded each tape and printed the labels and J-cards myself, instead of going through a duplication service. I also produced 10 of the 16 tracks on PKSkyler’s newest album Lost in Darkness, which came out in April. Thank you for listening.
Toxic Positivity is made up of Sacremento , california nased Billy Sync – music producer, song writer, musician and does the incredible Album artwork. Nate Gessenger does is an auto emigineer who does the mastering.
There was something about this song that brought me back into the present. It had a tranquillizing effect on me. The waterfall intro, the birds tweeting. follows in harmony in tune with nature & I couldn’t predict where this narrative of sound would lead to. It is a playful, natural & melodic track with a hell of a drop that left me riding out the wave. A Simply beautiful arrangement of sound.
It has that organic unprocessed essence to the track. He has released 3 Albums
Strange Elevator music -(June 2020)
Tulpamancy -(March 2020)
Deluge ( Dec 2019)
He states
However, each track is unique and produced from a live performance of synthesizers, and sequencers, primarily surrounding the Deluge. About half synths, half sample-based. Besides mastering, no software is used.
I’ve asked Toxic Positivity to be a part of the ongoing project THE CREATIVISTS HOUR.
Toxic Positivity has been recently been featured on AcidTed & Loodma recordings SoundCloud base featured his track on their station.
Taken from his Soundcloud Bio
I like being transported to another place with music. Sounds the listener defines as pleasing takes them to a profound state of contentment and happiness. But is this as far as we can go?
Feelings of confusion and alienation can also be tools to an altered state. Instead of turning off music that initially repels oneself, embrace it. Realize you are being haunted by ghosts of another world. Do yourself a favor and go listen to My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Brian Eno and David Byrne right now.
When I asked TP what three words come to mind when he thinks of Mental health & creativity
His reply: —– PROCESS IS PAYOFF
It’s interesting how TP’s musical journey started.
I started making music because I had some minor physical health issues and wanted to be able to spend more time indoors creating. After i started I then went through my first ever mental health issues (anxiety/depression) and soon realized how beneficial music and the creative process, in general, was to my mental health.
In his CREATIVE HOUR FEATURE, Toxic Positivity touches on interesting points about the need for creativity and finding a way to not let his projects affect his mental & physical health.
He is also insightful about the importance of being creative & finding a community to share your ideas with -as scary as it is. It is important not only to create. the part of the creative process should be to connect and communicate with other people. It helps our overall wellbeing & can lead to other creative endeavors. or collaborations.
TP will also elaborate more on
I will address my personal philosophy about fun vs. work when it comes to making music self-doubt was difficult to overcome being an outsider to any established professional music industry.
I seem to be drawn to the chilled out vibes in music this week. The cha cha cha chang (?) of this song is soulful, laced with moments of winding funk beats which lend it a cool, fleshed out tune. Sometimes, I enjoy listening to a bit of instrumental hiphop/triphop/ soul /funk. Instrumental music is cool to chill out to.
The saxophone gives the A-side a G-funk delight.
Is that even a music term?
I guess it is now. 😀
This is the first song I’ve heard of the BACO RHYTHM & STEEL BAND.
So it’s great they’ve got a B-side to sample.
On the B side, they have done a rework of Mobb Deep’s hit with the same name. In fact, the B-side has gone straight into my playlist. I adore sounds that immerse cultures and flaunt a multitude of sounds. This has a real Bhangra, anime, Bolly wood espionage feel. It’s playful and seriously cool. Bangerz delight.
For those of you who want to hear Mobb Deep’s ordinal song ‘Burn’ – yeah, they’ve done the song justice. It’s sweet!
Finally, to round up this post, if I may… I wish to impart and depart (lol)with a few words
.I always want to be successful in whatever I’m doing just like everyone else. I want to get it right. I want to see my “5-year GOAL/PLAN” results from the day I have an idea to do something different with my blog or with my Life.
It is cool to not have everything figured from the initial conception. Be cool with that and enjoy the process.
Every day is not going to be a day where we feel we have hit our creative goals.
Great or small.
Sometimes it’s cool to break down a big dream in to smaller chunks. Count all your achievements -great and small
Coorabell- visual & ear galactic delight. It took me three listens to fall in love with the track. I kept coming back to it Why? 4:21 mins is the moment I fell in love-100%. Sam Bishop (birth name) drops in hard techno yet still maintain the spirit of not becoming lost to the machine of electronic music. Electronic Ambience with a holy mother of God punch.
Turns out Floating points is a Neuroscientist turned D.J. -(He studied the Neuroscience of pain) He’s managed to gain respect with the likes of Four tet, Kode 9, and Theo Parrish in the current electronic/EDM movement.
He has a classically trained background he describes as ‘classical, baroque, romantic renaissance’.
He discovered through improvising & experimenting on the piano with what he later identified as jazz compositions. That was how he learned to break the rules.
He cites he was influenced by the Brazilain sounds of bossa nova of artists such as Gal Costa.
He was challenged to explore electronic music (which didn’t have the instruments such as the clarinet or violin) because the music still moved him.
He describes it as making sense of ‘organised noise’. He started finding music possibilities that he felt in every day, organic sounds such as being on a train
The second track I listened to of Manchesters, Sam Bishop ( Floating points) was
Les Alpx -The video explodes colours of plasma have a calming effect to contrast to the tempo of the track
I love the energy. It’s bordering hardcore techno yet retains a melody I can relate to
Something I can only refer to as -the ‘soul clap’. I’m not a huge fan of hardcore techno
If a track brings on a feeling resembling the soul clap then that is what usually wins me over.
What I like about his music is that he has insight into how he produces music – there is a methodical approach creating music with science and using visual media create an immersive experience of sound and using visual imagery to create a space where we can see music. Music that engages multiple sensory stimuli.
I feel like Science x creativity with a touch of esotericism is a perfect equation for experimental music – He named his debut album- Elaenia. (after having a dream about) a tropical bird.
My first introduction to American, post-rock, electronica/ experimental trio, Son Lux was this track ‘Easy’.
My brain exploded with a rush of endorphins. Its sexy, funky, 100% Son Lux style & has to be watched live or watch the live version.
I didn’t hear much about them again until 2018 when Son lux dropped this track ‘dream state ( Brighter wounds album, 2018). This was the second time that I heard their music & (once again) I stopped everything I was doing, went back to listen to it over & over.
It has so much emotion on an operatic level| & the soundscape is dramatic, epic &intense. It releases a force of emotion that makes the hairs stand up on the end of my arms.
I was also drawn to the lyrics. I didn’t know what the word impervious meant until I heard this song.
I think there are many times in my life when I’ve wanted to be impervious to situations I don’t want to face, people I don’t want to love or care about (only because to love & care means me having to fight another day, not just for them but for myself).
Then there are the times I want to be impervious to Life & peoples bullshit. That is a mantra I’m going to start using,
‘I’m Impervious to life’s bullshit and traditional fairytales’
I digress…
I think when we lose our ability to care or love then hope is narrowed down to that dark abyss. An abyss is a place for researchers of other intelligent life (in my humble opinion).
The increasing pressure to seek that little light can be a place of entanglement. What I love about Son Lux’s music is that it takes me to nebulous places, but ones where I remember where I hid the match or lighter to find my way back (through the music) to a state of exhilaration/ redemption or just a more positive mind frame. I find most of their songs cathartic.
Back to ‘dream state’ (title & lyrics = Match made in Elysium).
The lyrics & how they are performed have that narcotic inducing effect.
I wrote a surreal piece of fiction when I listened to this song. I’m not ready to share it.
I was also grieving the end of my marriage & I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of our wedding pictures.
I often look back at pictures of happy & painful moments.
This line from the lyrics
We took photographs of everything we could feel –
reinforced how dwelling on nostalgia can keep a person stuck – not able to move forwards.
I wondered how I could go from being so in love with nearly destroying my marriage. I speak of where I went wrong. I put my photos away & vowed to move forward. I wanted to be impervious to feeling guilt, shame, melancholy, love, rage- the plethora of what we understand as emotions.
It’s impossible for me to remain impervious to people and subjects I’m 100% straight-up passionate about.
Another great song of theirs is the Alternate world
It has that same ethereal, Gotye esque (‘Somebody I used to know’ featuring Kimbra) sound to it. But better.
Son Lux’s melody, harmony& lyrical content is the G.reatest
My first introduction to Daedelus (Alfred Darlington)was this track- I was mesmerised by the scattered, schismatic bassline .This is track reinvented my idea of the soul element in music . Up until today, I had no idea how many albums/projects and collaborations Daedalus has done.
I didn’t know much about Daedelus. Last year I came across an interview conducted by power duo/husband and wife -(two artists I rate) DComplex aka Daniel Chavez aka DComplexity
& Mondaine aka Lorena Chavez
FUSION [DIGITAL INFINITI] interviewed Daedelus in 2019 before his latest album release ‘the wand won’t break’.
Their interview gives more insight into the Daedelus’ inspirations & his views on Juke and footwork movement. A style of music Mondaine, Fusion Digital Infiniti embrace
Breaking down the barriers of language,
location, tempos, genres;
through the Infinite Vibes of
technology, music and dance.
Endless gratitude goes out to all of the
music lovers, artists and supporters of:
Fusion Digital Infiniti
The wands won’t break ‘ tracks are short & the album seems to be made up of interludes. He has taken inspiration from the (deceased) Ras G. Daedelus’ album is a triumph.
‘The wand is not broken’ solidifies Daedulus as a true disciple of Ras G sharing an audacious creative vision to push the boundaries of sound.
The results of these disjointed soundbytes interweave creating another layer merging into a soundscape of critical cosmological proportions
Illogic has pushed the boundaries with the track ‘First trimester’ ( Illogic – Celestial Clockwork (2004)).
Each verse focuses on the different perspective of a couple and their unborn child going through the decision of whether to keep their child or have an Abortion.
It’s a lateral thought-provoking song to the Life versus Pro-choice debate.
It is Illogics maturest track to date.
It highlights the need to create more awareness (about not only women) but Men’s thoughts and emotions; about Life & Abortion & challenging our beliefs. It definitely engages critically with this still taboo subject.
We seether gamut of emotions the couple go through trying to keep their relationship together & looking at what is best for their futures. The inner conflict is raw. The last verse from a child’s perspective blew me out of the water.
When I first heard and watched this video I knew I had come across something cosmic. Something bigger & more striking to any other the song or video I can recall watching at that time. I loved the colours & surreal animation.
This was my first introduction to Afro-Futurism music- the black man’s perspective of science in the future.
Listen up! Lose one sense to finely tune another sense. Time to rely on imagination & see what visuals come up. It’s strange how certain sounds can bring up emotions to identify. I find it harder to identify emotions without a visual. Another post for another time.
This was on my first introduction to Ras G & the Afrikan space program.
I was intrigued by Africa’s space program. Do they have one?
Yes, they do.
More than I thought
South Africa & Nigeria are the few countries who have an actual Afronaut. Yes, there are afronauts.
Edward Makuka Nkoloso Initiated a space program involving a lady and two cats travelling to the moon
Sadly, he did not raise the £7 million to achieve his dream.
I have a dream – Martin Luther King.
Not even Martin’s homies believed that they would ever have a civil right to be a black human being.
Dreams are only goals with no structure.
Knowledge and education and an open mind led to a group of thoughts to come together, united by challenging their beliefs about who they were & what they wanted. THINK TANK often turns into a WAR TANK
We don’t look agree with slavery, do we?
Slaves accepted that they couldn’t achieve what was not even a dream.
Add in a spark of hope and Edwards space program involving sending
two cats to Mars shows me- a man using the tools he has. Logistics are subject to change.
I definitely recommend checking out his Back on the planet album too. (2009)
Though to be honest, I didn’t warm to the entire album initially. I had to get in the zone ( haha!)
I had an invitation to textural soundscapes that put me out of my comfort zone. Change? Never!
Open your ears
open your mind philosophy
Let’s take a trip somewhere
You are not in control.
This thought-
Instructions: Just, let go
Led me to listen again & again.
I admire Ras G’s execution of pushing the boundaries of the sound of all his cultural roots.
The Cosmic vocal samples maintain the essence of Soul & Hip-hop. He creates extraterrestrial sounds revelling in traditional Dub & reggae.
I feel this album is a triumph in not defining itself anything than an exploration of the space between what we hear & what I believe
It is a musical philosophy. The core idea demonstrates the scattering soundscape of the global communities of Africa.
Ras G adapts the essence of ‘ never forgetting to understand our roots & to grow, breathe new life into old traditions.
Invent new traditions. Be playful.
I think to the know the future you need to know where you come from.
To have self-identity -exploration evolves from the seed of History.
Science creates miracles & monsters created by man. People over the history of our lifetime have done atrocious acts in the name of Acquisition of power & wealth. The cost is humanity.
The cost is a barren crop.
Nurture Life
Mother nature
This album is or dedication to the Afro-futurism genre.
“The womb is The Stargate of Humanity,” he says. “Stargate Music is a record that I livicated to the Womb-man … to the Vagina, The Stargate from which beings emanate life on this planet. I gathered these sound pieces and presented them as a reflection of the life cycle of beings on this planet.”
RAS G AND THE AFRIKAN SPACE PROGRAM – BACK ON THE PLANET (2017
Ras G is an abstract thinker. I’m closer to understanding what he is doing with music- genres & sub-genres. I’m surprised & impressed. I suggest listening to this album & getting a new perspective.
What’s the worst that can happen?
You don’t like it?
You find out something new about life?
Or yourself?
Los Angeles based music producer Ras G ( Gregory shorter Junior) & the African space program passed away on 06/08/2109. The is a cause of death is not fully know
He travelled in his mind & I had an invite. Stream of consciousness is my preferred style of travelling.
What is afro-futurism in music culture?
Afrofuturism: reimagining science and the future from a black perspective. … In the way that film noir functions as a genre, or jazz as a musical style, Afrofuturism are a philosophy that can be simultaneously obvious and vague in its identity, bounded and porous in its edges.
I love this statement below because life is colourful -Black & White shades, not hues.
Music can make you engage & think.
Afro-futurism is evidently more than a style or genre of music it is an ideology. It has been noted that Afro-futurism dismissed and challenged the idea that all things futuristic are white or even black.
The album is abstract & challenging without being overly nostalgic.
There are often many moments when the soundscape or rhythm propels my emotions to flit between the past & the future. The journey is Marvel -esque.
“Ubiquitous deep feels… Dedicating this album to my husband Daniel “Dcomplex” Chavez. “No Me Without you” – Alhamdulillah
Mondaine -Fusion Digital Infiniti.
After my recent suicide attempt, 09 May 2020. After coming out of alien abduction – or what I now know was a very long 5-day coma. Haha! it isn’t funny. I was serious about this attempt.
I remember Mondaine being in touch with me on most days. I could barely speak because I had inhaled my own vomit and those particles caused me to develop Aspirational pneumonia!
She was guiding me and helping me find a tiny ray of light to accept that I hadn’t been abducted or tortured by aliens. Thank fully. I was just another person who happened to fail again.
Strangely, when I came out of hospital 10 days later I felt as high as no higher than any kite or drug or experience I have in my life. It lasted for just over a month. I didn’t feel like a suicide attempt failed. I felt a shift in soem inner part of me. I didn’t crave drugs -I know I felt amazing. I kept telling my friends and family including Mondaine that they didn’t need to bother calling. I am alive -Staying alive – happy.I didn’t preempt the struggle I would have to deal with months later fully aware how close to death I was -I was in limbo for purgatory -I had got that far to pass on to the other side t I had failed to take my life again.
I am merely a work in progress and very much flawed.
I want to thank Mondaine and her husband, Daniel for all their prayers and support when I didn’t even believe I needed it.
Mondaine kept calling and messaging me and encouraging me to write. I didn’t write for 2 months. The poetry -those words would and still do go around my head sporadically.
I know that the best way to feel different is to find a way to vent the almugamated, pressurised thoughts strewn from each corner of my mind until I chucked and dumped all my thoughts and feelings into a Massive heap in the middle of that space between the mind and the heart.
I can’t see these thoughts in word form or decide that from a label or tag that I will buy into an emotion or commit to it because everything merges into one black void – a dark dense mass of matter
It just hangs above I the part of my brain where the sky and stars and the moon and sun usually reside. Possibly even a rainbow on an unremarkable day.
a cloud would think to move on with an I have better places to be than here. A cloud the lowest cumulous cloud would even disperse and find new scenery to decorate.
But not this black mass of inky sludge I can only describe as a blind sloth. a blind and disabled sloth.
The nature of this mass and the weight of this matter produced heavy congestion pollutinfg my mind. I couldn’t even fathom or think how to get a pen and write a word without – Mrs doubt fire strikingly lit up every crevice -she blazed my mind until heat changed thermostat until that heat took on another for, set the alarms off and pronounced the arrival of a panic attack blizzard.
I had left it too late. I had to face the backdraft or curl up into an incense ball moments away from being charred into ash – minus the pleasant lingering smell & this would never occur on a Wednesday.
When I was a child I used to release all the adrenalin in my head I exorcised every thought
every emotion that needed another space to fill. I So I created a fantasy world where I would invent many different characters and plot lines. They all overlapped. I used to grab a piece of my hair and twist it round both of my index fingers with my thumbs.
My cheeks would get flushed, the more pressurised my thoughts the faster my speech came out of my mouth These poor characters were entering existing whilst doing an aside to the audience or a wardrobe change mid-scene written into the directions of a script by a crap writer who failed to tell the rest of the production or cast. The crap writer decided to procrastinate for an indefinite period
Those characters were highly strung and stressed to the max. Poorly managed or directed. My mind half dreaded there sudden arrival and half enjoyed the unfolding events that these characters were tortured into. Terrible choices and situations. I had to get to the climax of the story. I didn’t care about an anti-climax or a story being resolved.
My only need was that my characters could express themselves without feeling threatened. .
I stopped doing this fantasy form of self-expression when I started starving myself and using alcohol and drugs to numb whatever I felt or to perhaps help me express myself.
My daughter does the exact same thing. I stopped the fantasy characters and animated speech when I was 16 years of tools. I kept a diary all my life and I had a bookcase. full of diaries.
My daughter is 8. There is no possible way I taught her or even spoke about this world. She knows the rules of this world to the extent that s does the same twirling with her hair. It is surreal to watch.
Over the past 2 -3 years. I’ve had a different struggle with my health. one’s that I thought had gone away on retirement. About 2 years ago I had this immense pressure to start talking. I didn’t use my hands. instead of typing or picking up a pen. I started coming out with a stream of consciousness of words structured in no identifiable algorithm pattern.
it helped to condense those random words into something tangible. Into something, I could find menaingful. I could stop overthinking and just wrote, type, or talk.
I didn’t expect to write about my deep dark childhood quirks in this post.
to get back to Mondaine. She was one of many people who helped me find a way to uncoil myself. So I didn’t break down and end up in the hospital again.
Two days after I had been out of the hospital, Mondaine dropped the ep EP into my inbox.
I’m so bad at introducing people.
Who is Mondaine?
Mondaine or Fusion Digital Infiniti hails from Salt Lake City, Utah and is a dedicated mother, wife, artist and music mixer producer with an overwhelming amount of empathy in heer highly perceptive. He talent and her heart are as big as the largest body of water you can think of.
If you love music with Funk and soul and bass then Mondaine’s latest EP is for you. I have not profited monetarily from this other than increasing the wealth of my Health and soul.
I’m thrilled to bits because finally, thecmysterius Modaine rang me the other day to say she would talk to me openly and allow me to recored or write our chat and our opinions of many themes such as Mental health,. Mental wellbeing and creative self-expression, music, clothes & maybe our bra size
TO around up this post then. Future Feature interview with Mondaine is coming sooner than the sooner that I originally thought. to come soon.
I believe in her and supporting her creative endeavours and she believes in me and my endeavours.
Please support independent artists – check out Fusion Digital Infiniti on Bandcamp and support the music that you love and can grow to love. Cut out the middle man who profits from an artist’s works. Links below.
Ghostown is back with a new album. I genuinley found him to be an open book when talking about his mental health experiences, life and how he uses creativity to as a positive form of self expression.
When I messaged Rael he asked me what else I liked of theirs apart from Reflectionz (2009)album.
‘Whyte Coate’ is dark, childlike, spooky hip hop Lyrics. Most of the songs I listened to took me into the emotional horrorcore world of Ghostown. I was drawn to the eery, carnival childlike samples & frenetic uptempo of the piano chord. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster -it felt like a metaphor for how my mind works at times.
I then found a page of theirs with an Empty fridge, no food – except for an ineligible note. My eyes fell on the bottom of the picture showing 3 social media icons. I clicked on Twitter,
I was intrigued to find out Ghostown’s story.
I think often when I’m making music it doesn’t feel like I’m thinking. Cos I’m just often going .with the flow, I’m playing with the keyboard and come up with something and I think yeah I like that.. and then I’ll add something else. And it seems like I’m not thinking cos it seems like.. I’m just playing.. things are coming together. And the same with the lyrics. I suppose it’s a process -it’s a special type of thinking.
Very often ideally for me when I write the lyrics I don’t think actually think at all about what I’m going to write or the message or anything.I just make some music cos basically I do work with D.J. Kirsa a bit. And I do all the music. D.J. Kirsa does the Scratch.
So if I’ve made something that inspires me, then words just come out. I don’t have to think about it. Particularly there will be a flow of words like in that song ‘Spekta Gadjo’. I particularly like the first part which is quite strange compared to the second part which is kind of more joyful (even though it doesn’t sound like it) and maybe more classic, I suppose.
The first part I find more interesting. So, because I don’t use many samples as the main riff unless with Pedro. He contributed to a few samples on my new album.
What types of samples/loops of his interested you?
The ones I turned into songs, I can send you the SoundCloud playlist. I usually find a flow before I find the lyrics. The amount of sounds available is ridiculous
Can you tell me more about your moniker name, Spektah Gadjo& what inspired the songs?
Spektah Gadjo is a kind of a play on words as you have a spectre like a ghost and Gadjo like the Gypsey word for Stranger.
Spekta Gadjo was written in 2011 & I’d split up with my French girlfriend and gone to live on my own
For a moment let’s put aside your style of using dark humour (a -a bit like Grave Diggaz who parody issues like violence in a cartoonish way.) When I listened to part two of Spekta Gadjo
if someone doesn’t watch the videos and listen to how you satire this alter ego -if you just read the lyrics-they are really sad.
Your lyrics speak of a hermit, with no highs, no lows y- a person who is a ghost -a stranger to others and himself.
For the last 4 years, I’ve been working as an English teacher for adults which has been nice to start with but I’d really had enough of it particularly during the COVID crisis cos it just went on to full-time telephone lessons. I I was doing 25 hours a week on the telephone. I did a tiny bit of the zoom type thing, I found it worse.
With the telephone, at least, you can walk around in a flat whilst you’re speaking. But with zoom you have to stay and look at the screen-look interested not just sound interested but look interested with the person that is speaking. And you’ve got the sound issues with that as well.
And no, I preferred the telephone. And I didn’t like the telephone
And that’s why I ended up being on sick leave. On a few occasions, I thought I can’t handle this anymore especially on a Sunday thinking God, on Monday I’ve got to start again.I ended up going to the doctor saying I can’t handle this- its too much stress.
So your teaching English to adults contract ends in a few days. so, where will you be in terms of your income?
So everytime I have finished working I’ve claimed unemployment benefits, I going to focus more on music. Probably the best shot I had at making enohuh moent to do what I want was in 2008/9. I got 30 gigs in a year but even that doesn’t meet the minium wage. It could have worked if my girfriend at the time didnt care. So, she was like if the money from the gigs don’t bring in the money then you need to find a job that pays the bills. I’m not wanting to blame her. We had a 5 year old daughter. And we needed to pay the bills.
Before we did the interview I emailed you think about what words came to mind when you see and thinks of the words
MENTAL HEALTH: Alcohol, Drugs, Sport and repetition
CREATIVITY:Don’t compare, Let yourself go, Don’t think.
I’ve got a few things to say on Mental Health and music and creativity -so one thing that was difficult was taking a job cos I got a job in a supermarket after that. Like a basic sort of job. And that was really difficult to accept, cos it was like; ok you’ve got to do that now. Yeah, I started to feel like a failure, really cos I suppose it goes back to that song Ida cos if I had better prepared myself as a younger person then I wouldn’t have to go and work in a supermarket at 30 years old. Because that is the only job I could do because I spent all my time hoping to make a career in music. So, it was kind of like a brutal wake-up call.
The lyrics to Isa are stark and raw. Again it has al ot of regret and anger and confusion mixed in the lyrics and the way you produced it.
yeah, it wasn’t that long ago -it must be about 2 years ago. I’m not sure how much I remember of it… It was some kind of nostalgic memories – how do you call it -Autobiographical. And I suppose it was lots of things. I suppose its quite sad really. Thinking about stuff I should have done differently. I wish I had done that. I wish I hadn’t done that- mostly. So I would have = I would’ve = I’d’ve = I’d’a. That’s where the name came from.
That would drive me insane. How did it have an effect on your mental health & how did you deal with it?
For one I found I wasn’t getting enough sleep at all cos it felt like my brain wasn’t functioning. My doctor took that into account when putting me on sick leave.And since I’ve stopped that job I can sleep. No problems
so you identified what the problem was – you went to the doctor you were quite responsible, and didn’t use bad coping mechanisms.
What happened to your Mental health after you went on leave?
After a week of being on leave, I started to get into my ongoing music projects which I had already started… and video projects and stuff. I spent a decent amount of the day working on music. Then when I go to sleep I will have a repetition of music but I see it as more positive cos I may be think of a new melody or some new lyrics. I don’t mind that.
‘Butterfly’ was first recorded in June 2020 – I’ve been listening to the lyrics and they are so upbeat.
I wrote it in May because there are references to the curent period/time we’re living in.
Butterfly is going to be released as part of a new album released in September/October. The name of the album will most likely be Fringe head which makes reference to a strange sarcastic fish. (laughter0It is actually going to be 20 songs but 5 will be interludes.
I did google the fish to see if this is true and it is!
It reminds me of the saying Je me’n fiche -I am a fish.
On Youtube, there is a list to show the progress of ‘Fringe Head’.
I took to the video the first time I watched it. I’m going to put my opinion across to you. In most of the videos, I have seen of yours neither you nor D.J. Kirsa shows yourselves.
yes, it is the first time
What I had in my head is that instead of letting your shyness trait keep you from expressing yourself. You managed to overcome that obstacle and find a creative outlet with the cartoonish video and broke the boundaries to express yourself and challenge yourself.
What I’m getting at is because I’ve done some thinking about this.I’ve realised of course you need to think when you are being creative, of course, you need to let yourself go to a degree but there are different types of ways of letting yourself go. We can compare ourselves to other people cos that is how we get our inspiration, don’t we?
In my research, I came across how difficult it was for you when you moved to Montpellier with your girlfriend.
RAEL: (laughs) Yeah I know what you are gonna say.
So because of your moniker name, they immediately assumed that you were affiliated with this guy?
um…well, he’s actually a French guy who started this sect- he was a Sports journalist & all of a sudden he started talking about being abducted by Aliens & had been shown the truth -the universal truth. He publicly stated this and everyone took the piss out of him.
Raelian wasn’t a common name in the U.K. & I thought it was a good name for music, I had used that name in Scotland and continued to use it in France & people reacted really badly to it (laughs).
That was kind of how Ghostown came about cos I was like I need to find a new name. And cos the song ‘Ghost town’by the Specials -I’ve always loved that song. it sounded quite apt for the music I made, cos there was always some kind of spooky ghost-like theme going on.
Daisy in the willows 
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[…] have been if he didn’t find a creative /alternative outlet to make sense of his world. https://daisyinthewillows.com/2020/08/03/artist-profile-ghostown-part-one/ The second link we chatted about ghost towns latest album ‘Fringehead’ ( there is an […]
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