About
It was 2014 and I was sitting on the bus home from work with my headphones on, listening to a song on repeat. The song was “Pour Another” by Nick Hakim. It was 7:30 p.m. in late September. The days were already feeling shorter and the weather was in that East coast sweet spot where it’s not too hot and not too cold. I mention these details because that’s how I remember my experience with this song; twilight and warmth with a touch of a cool breeze. This song had me caught up in a dreamworld that seemed never-ending. So flowy and melodic. Like a perfect night that you never want to end.
Eventually I got to my stop, stepped off the bus and finally paused my Mr. Hakim loop. Then I had a thought that ended up sticking with me:
“I wish there was a way to remember the exact moment when you first fell in love with a song.”
My first attempt at recording ‘love-at-first-listen’ came in the form of a list. I began recording the exact date, time and location of every song I came across that struck me in a profound way. I eventually started adding other details, like how I came across the song and even my mental state at the time. One entry reads:
“True by Chad Valley – 1/29/16 11:43 am: at work –
Spotify via upcoming Black Cat schedule. HUNGOVER.”
But my text recordings were missing something. I’ve never considered myself terribly good with words, so adding more verbal descriptions seemed like a waste. That’s when I turned my attention to the medium I’m most familiar with; visual arts. What if there was a way for me to visually capture the moment I was feeling? What if I could turn harmonies and melodies and ad libs and trumpet solos into colors and designs?
TL;DR
I draw and paint songs.
So take a look, and a listen.