Summer of Music

So my day job is working as an IT Consultant and recently I've been contracting for a few months with this and then returning back to music 100% and switching between the two.

Today I'm very excited as after 9 months contracting, a week on Friday I'll be entering another period totally devoted to my music.

I’m sending off my EP “Modern Life Is Lies” to be mastered today and once it comes back and I’m happy with it, I can set a release date – which is looking like the end of May or early June now.

So what’s the plans for my Summer of Music?  Well I’ve spent a lot of time on collaborations and remixes in the last couple of years and this has often taken priority over releasing my own music. So in June, before I get involved in any other projects, I’ll be recording my second EP that will also be released this year.  Since I will be moving back to London full time, I’ll also be booking some gigs, playing a few open mics here and there with stripped down versions of my EP songs and various covers.

I’m going to try and get an internship in a recording studio over Summer.  These jobs don’t look easy to come by – but most endeavours of value take time and persistence - at least I’ll have more energy for that soon.

On a more personal note, I’ve been exercising 5 times a week and have almost lost my Xmas weight.  Now I’m 34, it’s not quite as easy as it was to lose weight as it was even 3 or 4 years ago.  A few weeks of indulgence in December doesn’t quite seem worth the battle afterwards.

I’ve been meditating most days too and this is coming on in leaps and bounds now. I’m finding it a lot easier to clear/control my mind, to stop it from having a constant whirlwind of thoughts and worries. I saw a video of Jim Carrey the other day talking about how he realised once, that he is NOT his thoughts.  I can understand what he means, although at the moment I only feel this during meditation and not in everyday life.

When I’m meditating, I feel a steady calmness inside, a kind of inner confidence that I’ve never really felt before.  My challenge now is to find opportunities to expand those feelings so I can experience them not only in the moments of meditation but also in everyday life.  This is happening slowly.  So I can sometimes get into this ‘zone’ when I’m exercising (the time passes so quickly when I do this), I’m trying to walk and observe what is around me rather than just rushing to get from one place to another and when I eat, I’m trying to taste every flavour and savour every mouthful.

One of the best challenges for me is to navigate the tube on London Underground and not become caught up in everybody else's urgency.  I am usually the guy who wishes that there was a third lane on the escalator because the people walking in the fast lane aren’t walking fast enough.  So it’s all little things like this.  I guess I feel like I have become a little lost since I moved to London, in various ways, but I think I am finding my way now.