30 songs in 30 days

I have never been someone to do things the easy way round even when I've thought I was taking the easy route I usually carved it with an imaginary creative line that somehow turned into the most picturesque route I could design out of something that could've been so very simple. I've always tried to make, what I thought was the best out of situations. Now, I realise, that it was usually what I thought was best not necessarily what was required.

I have been promoted in nearly every job I have ever had. Then sacked. I get bored quite quickly. As I've grown up though, I've definitely mellowed. I think I've always had a taste for education. I don't mean organised education. That's never really been a close friend of mine. I have a degree and quite a few grades under my belt but equally, I have quite a few unfinished courses and have been expelled a few times. Ive always had a little bit of a problem finishing things. I'm not a finisher. Some people are incredible finishers, a lot of my friends are finishers. I have total respect for finishers cause I don't really understand it. I, am a definite beginner and ideas person.

I realised a few years ago that that is all that success is really - finishing things. I realised that the formula for success is having an idea, making it happen, finishing it and then sharing it. In the arts if you can do that, you can have a career.

I have finished quite a few projects in my time as a creative and each time it's thrown me in a different direction. That's the real beauty of being a self employed artist in my opinion.

A few years ago a great friend of mine gave me a creative hub to stay in, in Sheffield. I went because I had never finished a song by myself and felt like I wanted to learn and see if I could write an album all by myself. I went for 6 months.

At the time, I decided to write an album that was not for sale. I decided to write songs that I wanted to write, not what I thought people wanted to hear, which seemed to be the way a lot of people around me were writing. I wrote songs to learn channeling, really. If I believe creation is all around me then, maybe creativity comes from creation and creation uses us as channels to channel what is already there. This happens with visual artists and sonic artists alike and musical technicians often talk of opening up and having something flow right through them when they solo. This is what happens when I write a song. Not always but mostly.

So, at the beginning of this summer I realised that it was time to record a new album and inject some newness into my work to see where I could spin myself next. I didnt have many gigs booked into the diary and thought I should do something with the two months of freedom. As I was thinking about what to do I painted a picture . I then wrote a song about the picture without really thinking about it. I enjoyed myself immensely! It had been quite a while since I'd done any writing for fun. I decided then that I should do this everyday for a few weeks to see what would come out of it and come out of me. I thought this would be a lovely way to spend some time. Again, pressure off, it would be just for the halibut.

I put the idea onto Facebook to commit myself and asked the ether what I could write about so as not to directly just write about love. 150 ideas came back!!! Wow. Many many wonderful ideas too.

I've learnt to trust those signs in my life. When a project has immediate momentum I have learnt to follow and support it and when there is resistance I'm learning to find a different way. When things are right in my life the doors fly open.

I will write tomorrow to share what I learnt in the 30 songs in 30 days x

(Kuki's Uke)