Working out of his London studio, Isaac Tichauer
Today’s Tips From The Top come from my old mate Isaac Tichauer. Signed to FRENCH EXPRESS, Isaac writes what i can only describe as ‘beautiful’ house music with incredible detail. I’ve been in the studio with him so many times, and it still always blows me away the amount of talent this man has. Read what he’s got to say because trust me, it will be worth it.
Over to you Isaac…
- Don’t force creativity and roll with the “off-days”.
It’s important to not only work when you’re feeling the creative buzz, but also to know when to pull away from writing during times you’re not feeling inspired or up to it. Forcing creativity can lead to writers block, frustration and the very common trend of over thinking and over producing tracks, which often leads to great music being ruined or just hated by the producer. Use this time to put into non creative stuff like improving your knowledge of your software/hardware, finding new samples, organising your folders and getting inspired by new music to make off days work for you, and drive creativity down the line.
- Be disciplined and don’t overplay your own music away from the studio.
Avoid bouncing projects to listen at home, as over listening to tracks can ruin the creative buzz. Like any music it makes the track go stale. You should only do this when the track is pretty much finished and you need to consider minor details that become more apparent through repetitive play, like finding dead spots in the arrangement. Feel free to share with others though early on.
- Always start your music with a strong core idea.
It can be an amazing sample, a vocal, powerful lead etc, but ensure its something thats meaningful before spending to much time tearing your hair out trying to figure out “whats missing”. Having a great core idea takes the pressure of all the elements of the track, as they are now supporting rather than driving. If you have loads of sparse, unfinished music with drums and bass-lines, but no clear direction, this tip could really help you. It changed my career.
