I have a few precious friends who are –and I mean this with envy and covetousness– civilians.
I.e. not artists/musicians/entertainers.
I often fantasize unrealistically about what their lives are like (meaning I don’t fantasize about any of the downsides):
Working a five-day week on a schedule predetermined by ‘the Corporation’… Finishing a work day and heading off to exercise, shop, pick up dinner, have a nightcap… Getting out of town for a weekend, attending a friend’s boozy Sunday brunch party… Meeting a stranger or distant acquaintance at that party and getting to know each other by discussing upcoming vacations, bad dates, the merits of their climbing gym, an audiobook they’ve been listening to while commuting…
But one thing I’m sure they don’t ask each other is: “What are you working on?”
Because I’m a musician living in L.A. (usually,) all gatherings are gatherings of musicians, and instead of asking each other “any big plans for the weekend?” we ask each other: “What have you been working on?”
It’s often rolled into “How are you?” because how you ARE must be inextricably tied to “How is your WORK?”
A few years ago, my resumé was more threadbare and the projects I had were so stressful, and their success so tenuous, that I didn’t want to talk about them at all.
In the past few years, though, I’ve had plenty of things I can rattle off in response. It’s my new shield of accomplishments –performances, TV songs, scores for plays, etc.– to defend myself with against this question. But does the fact that I suddenly have a plate of projects on my lap mean anything? Am I more talented than someone who doesn’t? Am I any less vulnerable to the suspicion that nothing I make matters at all?
No. Every day that I can answer the question with, “Yes, I have X, Y, and Z going on” just makes me dread the day that I don’t.
Now, mind you, I am not innocent in this: I ask people the question too. It’s hard not to. It feels disrespectful not to express curiosity about other people’s projects. It’s only polite to ask, right?!
But then my friend Julia (aka Margo, songwriter and videographer extraordinaire) told me this over the phone:
“When people ask me that, I just say, ‘Nothing. I’m working on nothing. I’m waiting for the well to fill. I’m an open channel for whatever will come through when it’s ready.’ ”
I asked her to elaborate:
“It’s really important to normalize not working on something all the time, because you need space and time, and peaks and valleys to process information and turn things into ideas. It’s really, really silly that some people feel like they’re not an artist if they’re not currently making art. It’s not true at all. You actually need to give yourself space and that time of silence in order to brew and have something to say. Not working on something is working on something.”
Every time I think of her answer, it brings me so much peace.
Today I have work to share with you.
Tomorrow I may not.
This newsletter is meaningless.
Enjoy :)
-Divya
1. ASCENT: A Boulder Soundwalk | March 16 - September 4th, 2023
ASCENT is a soundwalk installed in Colorado’s Scott Carpenter Park. With only a smartphone, headphones, and the Echoes app, you can experience a full concert of new choral music conducted by your own body’s movement. As you walk in the park, your steps will trigger different pieces of music like “Distant View of the Mountains,” “Hummingbird Passage,” “Humidity,” or “Vista.”
We only have ONE MONTH left of this soundwalk installation, and if you will be in Colorado during this time, I hope you’ll check it out!
I composed ASCENT –my second soundwalk– specifically for Scott Carpenter Park, inspired by the extraordinary Rocky Mountains and the beautiful city of Boulder perched on the front range.
It is totally singular, belonging to Boulder and to that park of my teenage memories, and every one of you who go to experience it will hear it differently based on where you go, how fast you walk, and where you choose to linger.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO:
(If you’ve already gone and are ready for more, my other soundwalk RAIN CYCLE is installed in Cheesman Park, in Denver, and features the exquisite L.A. Choral Lab!)
2. HOLDTIGHT COMPANY: Chimerical Rainbow Bridge
If you’re in New York in two weeks, you can come check out the first invited performances of what Daniel and I are working on with Artistic Director and Choreographer Gwen Gussman. Here’s a little teaser of Daniel and Gwen developing the piece this week:
3. The Bike Shop Gig in Kingston, NY
Remember last newsletter, when I facetiously suggested that I was playing a bike shop gig in Woodstock? Well, it turned out to be in Kingston and was literally at a bike shop – Utility Bicycle Works, if you must know. The aforementioned Julia very generously let me pop into her set (in exchange for some last minute backup singing), and I had a wonderful time! You can listen to some of my performance here.
And that’s all for now. Thanks for reading!
-Divya