ICYMI
The Top 5 most popular posts on The Cut Through so far
Ok, here we go folks - for one weekend only, it’s double-post time!
In celebration of The Cut Through turning 2 this week, I thought I’d do a bumper celebratory weekend, and today’s post is a quick rundown of the what have proven to be the Top 5 most popular posts from throughout the last two years.
In reverse order, here are the Top 5 Most Popular Posts on The Cut Through so far…
No. 5
The second article in a short series focusing on sharing a range of my compositional methodologies and approaches, seen through the lens of a recent commission for the University of Leeds.
This one was especially geeky, as I took the opportunity to share photos of my sketches for the long-form piece I had been working on.
It also gave me the opportunity to ruminate on philosophical ideas including ‘what makes an idea good’ and ‘what helps a good idea become better’; the processes and approaches I take to composition including sketching and the refinement process; and thinking through how I might better employ the principle of learning how to stop beginning.
Eventually, the constant beginning must cease, and the refinement must take over.
No. 4
I love thinking about, planning and writing longer-form posts and articles which are found in the Deep Dive section of The Cut Through. I’ve always enjoyed writing, especially when there is more of a license to take one’s time over it!
You might say I was “on one” with this particular post. I’d come across an older review of my second album ‘Winnow’, which upon re-reading it, didn’t exactly fill me with delight or a sense that they had enjoyed it.
Wounded pride aside, it did at least give me the opportunity to ruminate on how and why composers and performers of instrumental music might try to convey meaning through their work. It also gave me a great opportunity to explain more about why I have stuck extremely rigidly to giving my pieces one-word titles.
No. 3
Next on the list is the first in a short series focusing on sharing a range of my compositional methodologies and approaches, seen through the lens of a recent commission for the University of Leeds.
As the opening article in a series, it gave quite a bit of context about the task I had been presented with, alongside being able to share more about Mary Griffiths, the artist whose work and exhibition I was to respond to with my commission.
I feel that sometimes the process behind the creation of art can be kept deliberately mystical - as if there is some kind of magic secret which must be preserved but also not widely shared, which I think is sad.
I enjoyed sharing how I approached the initial explorative side of the commission - especially in relation to getting to know Mary, her practice and her processes - and how this morphed into a sense of inspiration about how I might respond musically to her work.
In contrast to the second article quoted above, I also shared some thoughts about learning how to begin - a classic ‘how to be creative’ task if every there was one.
No. 2
I wasn’t surprised to find this one near the top of the list. Taking the opportunity to be searingly honest in places, this article zoomed in on the constant challenge faced by many music artists - contending with the paradoxical feelings which are raised by the need to tell people about our work.
Many creatives find this one of the hardest things to do, yet we are fully aware of the necessity to do so; not just to grow and increase the scope, scale and breadth of our work, but simply to continue sustaining our careers and move forward.
In my post yesterday, I took this on a step further. With The Cut Through reaching its 2nd anniversary, it felt like a good time to take a step back and think about why I’m doing it, and what I’m hoping to achieve.
Primarily, I think it’s a great opportunity to continue being honest, and ‘The Promotional Paradox’ is a great example of how I think we as artists can be a little bolder in sharing how we feel, especially in relation to our own work and the challenges we face in sharing it.
No. 1
I am delighted my recent WIP comes in at No. 1 as the most popular post from the last two years, despite only being from only a week or so ago.
Being able to have a safe place to share things I’m working on without having to send endless private preview links or - even worse - mp3/wav files, was always one of the primary goals of launching something like The Cut Through, and I was so thrilled with the response to this video.
The music is, of course, what this is all about, and though it is great fun - and I think people find it interesting, too - to write about process, approaches, methodologies, influences, emotions and feelings etc., I still trust and believe it will always be the music which is of most interest to people. It is how and why most people will have come across my work, and is the fulcrum of my creative and artistic endeavours.
As I wrote in the writeup alongside the video post last week, sharing new ideas like this can often feel really quite daunting, and represents a fundamental challenge to the way most artists tend to work, which is to only ever share something when they feel it is truly ready and it’s most “finished” version of finished.
My aim is to continue sharing more of these with you in the coming months. It is so lovely to receive the kind feedback you gave and hear your thoughts on where you envisage it heading.
There’s something special about drawing back the metaphorical curtain and bringing others into the space(s) where you work, and to see something developing in front of your eyes, whilst it is really quite cathartic sharing something so nascent and being slightly less precious about it.
Thank You
Is there anything else you’d like to see here on Substack?
Is there something missing you wish I would share more about?
Or perhaps something different altogether?
A huge thank you for being with me. It really means the world, and I’m looking forward to sharing more with you in the weeks, months and years to come.
If you’re enjoying The Cut Through, please do tell someone you know who might enjoy it too. Word of mouth, as ever, is still the best way.
Have a great week!