The Mountain

The Mountain is about persistence. Life's challenges can seem insurmountable, but if we keep taking small steps anything can be accomplished. This is the way I look at the music I make. I have a grand vision for what I want to achieve, but it all starts with tiny little ingredients. A note on a clarinet, a phrase on piano, each element builds on the previous, and while it doesn't always turn out the way I heard it in my head, I keep moving forward. Tools help the process along. New instruments bring inspiration. I used a passerelle bridge on my guitar to create different sounds and refresh how I approach a familiar instrument. It keeps me from falling into the same comfortable patterns. When I get stuck, I rely on technology to help keep me moving. Record something, feed it into the modular, run it though some pedals. I treat the newly generated sounds as sample material to layer underneath or to take the music in a different direction altogether. Physicality is important in my music. I always want there to be a performative quality. I want the listener to hear fingers squeaking on strings or slight differences in timing and articulation. It's the sum of all the little variations that give life to music.