Monday, April 18, 2011

Et Ducit Mundum Per Luce

As several of you may know, a lot of my works revolve around the themes of positivity and optimism.  Much of my creative energy is reflective of the music I listen to.  One of my favorite bands of all time is Angels + Airwaves (www.angelsandairwaves.com).  Sure, some may say that I'm just musically shallow, and that's okay--I still enjoy their music.  When I listen to Angels + Airwaves, I picture a variety of landscapes:  everything from pristine airports to nebulas in space (I know, I'm a dork).  Their songs are very atmospheric and progressive, and they involve a lot of echoing guitar crescendos.  The massive ambient sounds and driving drum beats get me in the rhythm of feeling inspired and ambitious.  

Beyond the music is the band's philosophy.  Their main message is simply love.  People need to have symbiotic relationships and a sense of connection in order to maintain sanity.  Furthermore, it is these relationships that help us to love ourselves (and mushy plug ends here...or does it?).  It is this idea of togetherness that led me to my concept of making a social networking site for artists.  People can gather inspiration from others, as they share some of their own influences.  Also, artists can work together on art projects both on and offline, while establishing a sense of community.  

Check out this video, if you have the chance.  It's really simple, but I think the compositions and the color palette are fantastic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si1g_6XDpG4

17 comments:

  1. Awesome song. I can listen to just about everything, but the beats that get me in the rhythm and feel inspired is dance music (Techno,Electro, etc.) There is so much inspiration that surrounds us, and we need more ways to spread the inspiration. Your social networking site, I feel will accomplish your goal of establishing a sense of community.

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  2. You're not a dork. I need music to inspire me. I feel music is one of those things I can't live without...of course, I too may be a dork in which case you have company in that camp.

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  3. This reminds me of a project I did that was entitled "the happiness project" where I tried to make people make other people smile. I think there should be more work that tries to create an environment that allows people to just be happy.

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  4. The video is very reminiscent in tone of what I've seen thus far of your website- I found this website/blog you should check out: http://thepostfamily.com/ They are a collective created around the idea of a family: "Everything is for the growth of our family members and community by supplying them with the resources and inspiration to accomplish their individual goals."

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  5. Your inspiration for this project is nice. I can see how you think that this music reminds you of togetherness and love, music is a huge inspiration of mine too.

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  6. I love the fact that you shared this song with us and that you shared the process of how you interpret the song and the emotions that you experience when you listen.
    It makes a lot of sense to listen to music with a positive message! As long as a track is loud, fast, hook filled and under 2 minutes I'm an instant fan!

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  7. I've found lately that I cannot really listen to music anymore when I'm trying to really work! I end up getting distracted by the music. Classical and instrumental can usually get past the radar, but even then I find myself distracted by trying to mentally dissect song structure and so forth.

    Actually, my latest background sound of choice lately has been comedy skits, but even then sometimes I have to turn those off when I have to focus...

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  8. Music is a great way to get inspiration. Musicians are artists too and more often than not they want to communicate similar ideas and concepts as other artists of different practices. With that being said I think pulling inspiration from any other artist who works in a different medium is a great way to expand your own artistic outlooks.

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  9. James, I love that you shared how your favorite music makes you feel. There are definitely certain songs that inspire me to create something. Sharing is the best way to gain creative influence.

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  10. This post makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

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  11. It's great to hear what others are inspired by. Thanks for sharing.

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  12. I totally agree with you on this James! I definitely think certain music opens a creative side of me when I design and it helps me if I'm doing homework. Angels and Airwaves is one of those bands that I can definitely listen to while designing because of the way it sounds. I too design with music in mind and for me it is Country music, yes I know there are people that don't really care for it but for me the stories behind some of the songs and way the instruments are played inspire me because I too like my work to be positive and optimistic. Which is why I am going for the positive outlook in the Olympic even though there is much negativity in it.

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  13. "People need to have symbiotic relationships and a sense of connection in order to maintain sanity."

    Yay! I agree with Lauren's comment.

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  14. Music is a great source of inspiration! I need to listen to music while working or even just relaxing, it invokes feelings that we might not be expecting at a certain moment.

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  15. I don't think there is anyone in the world that does not like music. Everyone likes it; the rhythm and the beats. However, I do think that it was really cool for you to show us your interpretation with us. Also, I really miss Blink 182 (Tom sings in Angels and Airwaves).

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  16. I love the connection between music and design. I often feel inspired to design after hearing a good song.

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  17. very insightful thank you or sharing this

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