In this episode we explore the effects of deleting your social media apps from your phone.

Markus Junnikkala is a Composer from Finland.

https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/

Want me to answer your question?

Ask it below in the comments or on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.facebook.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://twitter.com/markusjunnikkal

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) – The Decision to Delete the Apps

(00:01:44) – The Power of Getting Fed Up

(00:02:44) – Scrolling in the Bathroom

(00:03:34) – Breaks That Don’t Recharge

(00:04:56) – Information Overload Isn’t Learning

(00:06:30) – Willpower is Limited, Use It Wisely

(00:07:48) – You’re Fighting Tech Giants

(00:08:23) – A Moment in Nature and Self-Reflection

(00:09:25) – Saving Willpower for What Matters

(00:11:42) – Protein Bars and Mindful Choices

(00:13:28) – Addicted, Quit, Repeat

(00:14:44) – Can Social Media Be Fixed?

(00:16:14) – Strategic Consumption

(00:17:48) – Failed Experiments in Self-Limiting

(00:30:04) – Someday, You’ll Wish for That Time

(00:32:13) – The Poison is in the Dose

(00:33:02) – Delete the Apps, Keep the Account

(00:33:50) – Final Thoughts and How to Connect

Magnus Pålsson is a composer best known for their soundtrack for the video game VVVVVV under the artist name Souleye. He opens up about ego death, creativity, and building a gamified platform for personal growth. A raw, inspiring conversation about transformation, vulnerability, and what it means to live truthfully in a digital age.

MAGNUS LINKS:

Website: https://www.magnuspalsson.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2wguicPfR7ne0MDX7mYPRq?si=z153KlHtQPGc0SzT4I1KSw

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/fi/artist/magnus-p%C3%A5lsson/806918599

Bandcamp: https://souleyedigitalmusic.bandcamp.com/album/pppppp-the-vvvvvv-soundtrack

X: https://x.com/MagnusRender

Markus Junnikkala is a Composer from Finland.

https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/

Support this podcast by becoming a member:

https://markusjunnikkala.com/membership/

Want me to answer your question?

Ask it on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.facebook.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://x.com/markusjunnikkal

https://www.twitch.tv/markusjunnikkala

https://www.reddit.com/user/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusjunnikkala/

Subscribing, sharing, and liking helps the podcast.

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) - Technical Issues and Settling In  

(00:02:00) - Moving to Portugal for Economic Reasons  

(00:04:00) - From Music to Investments and Personal Growth  

(00:08:00) - Gamifying Personal Development  

(00:12:00) - Transparency, Public Growth, and Personal Accountability  

(00:16:00) - Magnus’s Ego Death Experience  

(00:24:00) - Living Without an Ego and Resetting Perceptions  

(00:28:00) - Integrating the Shadow and Emotional Maturity  

(00:34:00) - Impact on Creativity and Expressing a Wider Emotional Range  

(00:40:00) - Music, Hopefulness, and Emotional Complexity  

(00:46:00) - The Return of the Inner Voice  

(00:53:00) - Managing the Ego's Influence in Daily Life  

(00:57:00) - Relational Meditation and Circling Practice Explained  

(01:03:00) - Building a Gamified Growth Platform  

(01:09:00) - Truth, Trolling, and Documenting Transformation  

(01:17:00) - Philosophy, AI, and the Search for Truth  

(01:19:00) - Facing AI and Redefining Human Connection  

(01:23:00) - Human Imperfections and the Future of Authenticity  

(01:27:00) - AI Adapting to Mimic Humanity  

(01:31:00) - The Futility and Beauty of Seeking Truth  

(01:35:00) - Finding Joy in Simplicity and Process  

(01:39:00) - Early Music Career and Unexpected Opportunities  

(01:44:00) - The Strange Story Behind Magnus’s First Game Soundtrack  

(01:49:00) - Creative Integrity Versus External Expectations  

(01:55:00) - Sustaining Creativity Amidst Day Jobs and Long Commutes  

(02:00:00) - Using Old-School Trackers to Compose Legendary Music  

(02:04:00) - Evolving Creativity and Embracing New Horizons  

(02:10:00) - Gaming, Childhood Inspirations, and Musical Beginnings  

(02:15:00) - The Role of Play and Joy in Developing Skills  

(02:20:00) - Building a New Life Focused on Passion Projects  

(02:30:00) - Creating a Gamified Platform for Growth and Connection  

(02:38:00) - Life Philosophy: Living Authentically and Courageously  

(02:45:00) - Final Reflections and Closing Thoughts

Danimal Cannon (Dan Behrens) is an artist and musician best known for his guitar-driven Gameboy/chiptune music. He's also a mixing and mastering engineer, and has toured and performed live extensively.

DANIMAL CANNON LINKS:

Website: https://www.danimalcannon.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0AqwYovalxngrN9eVyiUXg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danimalcannonmusic

X: https://twitter.com/armcannon

Bandcamp: https://danimalcannon.bandcamp.com/music

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1RFcDZxxdM1jEchZNxJMAs?si=wmbYBTnVT7K-teJIiioqCA

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/danimal-cannon/617198535

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Introduction

(00:02:03) Finland trivia

(00:03:59) About Danimal Cannon

(00:09:37) Importance of music production

(00:12:36) Working with non-musician clients

(00:16:36) How people perceive music

(00:20:30) Relationship between composition, arrangement, and orchestration

(00:26:16) Danimal Cannon’s mixing process

(00:30:51) Danimal Cannon’s reference audio tracks

(00:33:11) Markus’ musical background

(00:38:51) Reference audio tracks (continued)

(00:45:30) Thoughts on Hans Zimmer

(00:52:30) Oblivion (movie) OST by M83 and Joseph Trapanese

(00:55:29) Working on the video game Soundfall OST

(00:58:52) Modern sample libraries

(01:06:32) Soundfall OST continued

(01:08:13) Creative constraints, creative block

(01:17:15) Current work and life situation

(01:21:23) Current gaming industry landscape

(01:22:05) Balancing personal life with work

(01:29:16) Luck and Preparation

(01:31:28) Future of the industry and AI

(01:45:01) Dealing with change

(01:47:29) Staying a student and preparing

(01:50:43) Perfectionism

(01:54:07) Studying video game music

(02:00:01) Chiptune music and the indie video game industry

(02:01:30) Modern music technology

(02:06:13) Music tool user interfaces, Sample libraries

(02:10:12) How Danimal Cannon got into music

(02:15:04) Central musical concepts

(02:18:20) Musical notation/scores

(02:30:02) Music engineering

(02:33:04) Guitar playing

(02:35:37) Collaboration, ego, competitiveness, trusting yourself

(02:43:06) Retaining creativity; Obsession

(02:49:13) Balancing personal life with work, Loneliness in creativity

(03:05:03) Definition of an Artist

(03:08:10) Sending a message to everyone’s smartphone

Creatives need to be open. It's what allows them to see the depth and nuance of life. You then take those observations, and speak of them through your creative medium. But that openness is a two-way street. While it feeds your creativity, it can leave you open to attack. In this episode, we discuss why it's still important to remain open, and how one can manage this state constructively and effectively.

In this episode we talk about complaining and how it drains your time, energy, and willpower. I discuss my past experiences with it, as well as some of the approaches I've taken to reduce the amount of it, and how it has positively impacted my life.

In this episode we explore attitudes as tools that you should be able to deploy at will to explore and enforce certain perspectives against the outcomes you want to see in life.

Despite our current emotions and feelings, we can choose to act in contrast to those emotions. We can choose to follow a set of actions that support us in moving towards the outcomes we want to see, despite how we're feeling right now.

Attitudes are one of the tools that we can use to recontextualize the situations we're in, to rekindle a new, more empowering and energizing approach that supports us in getting to where we want to go.

In today's episode we explore the idea of how learning new things, expanding your understanding, equates to moving around to discover new perspectives. You must not let yourself become stagnant in life when it comes to your mind. You have to keep moving. Learn new things. Garner new perspectives. Observe problems from multiple angles. This is how you revivify your outlook on life and maintain a more realistic picture of what's possible and how to move past barriers. You do so by learning. By experiencing. By expanding your understanding. You must entertain the possibility that a different, better perspective is out there. Pick up that new book. Start listening to that new podcast. Change is possible. You just lack a key piece of information.

We're back. It's been a heck of a year, but for me there can be no life without BABA, so let's go.

In this episode we talk about the need for management for creative people, especially for those who work alone, and how you can use a schedule to assure stuff gets done faster, more effectively, and more reliably.

BABA interviews will be coming back, so let me know if there's an artist you'd like me to interview.

Thanks for sticking around. Your interest means the world to me.

It's been a while since I released an episode, but I haven't been sitting on my laurels. I've been tremendously prolific, filming over 100+ episodes of this podcast, but the audio is not salvageable unfortunately.

In this episode, we talk about how all creatives can look at these types of "lost and wasted work" -scenarios, and how to orient themselves towards these challenges in the most constructive and positive manner possible.

I want to thank you for sticking around, and for tuning in once again. This podcast is a deeply meaningful and important mission for me. I want to do better in the future, and deliver you the best possible content I can make.

As always, let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to discuss!

Stefan Runstrom is the owner and founder of Circles Drum Samples, a sample library development company focusing on drum sampling. He's also an audio engineer, a drummer, and is known from the band Tickle Me Pink.

We talk about music, business, music business, sample library development, creativity, recording, dogs, life balance, finding the right business partners, marketing, branding, and drumming.

Chris Child is an electronic music composer and music producer, best known by his moniker/alias Kodomo. He's also an Emmy award winning TV composer, and has contributed music to games like Amplitude and Rock Band.

We talk about his path in music, mindsets, philosophies, practical approaches to creativity, some synth nerd stuff, music tech, and mixing.

Kasson Crooker is best known from his work in bands like Symbion Project, Freezepop, and Splashdown. He has worked for the music video game company Harmonix, and lately joined THX as a Director of Product Development.

We talk about his path in music, mindsets, philosophies, and practical approaches regarding it, some synth nerd stuff, music tech and how that inspires to creativity, as well as our upcoming collaboration on Symbion Project's next album 'Saturnine'.

http://symbionproject.com/

Mudeth is a composer from Bangalore, best known for his soundtrack for The Binding of Isaac Antibirth OST.

MUDETH LINKS:

Website: https://www.mudeth.org/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mudeth

'The Unsung' (Mudeth's podcast): https://unsung.mudeth.org/The_Good_and_the_Flawed

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6ERwcThkHmFXYHH3TagPOY?si=AjEodAaXRZOAEUhbS4fZLA

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mudeth/1189772212

Bandcamp: https://mudeth.bandcamp.com/

X: https://x.com/htedum

LINKS FOR THINGS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:

The Bioacoustics podcast: https://india.mongabay.com/2024/07/podcast-wild-frequencies-find-wildlfe-with-bioacoustics/

Knytt (video game): https://archive.org/details/Knytt

Iji (video game): https://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php

Markus Junnikkala is a Composer from Finland.

https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/

Support this podcast by becoming a member:

https://markusjunnikkala.com/membership/

Want me to answer your question? Ask it on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.facebook.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://x.com/markusjunnikkal

https://www.twitch.tv/markusjunnikkala

https://www.reddit.com/user/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusjunnikkala/

Subscribing, sharing, and liking helps the podcast.

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Intro & The Binding of Isaac Mod Origins

(00:05:00) Burnout from Ad Work & Discovering Creative Joy

(00:12:00) Artistic Integrity vs Client Expectations

(00:20:00) Artist vs Craftsperson: Personal Philosophy

(00:25:00) Fan Favorites and Musical References

(00:30:00) Cultural Influences Growing Up in India

(00:35:00) Host’s Background and Creative Journey

(00:43:00) Making Indie Games: Breachway Development

(00:49:00) Perfectionism, Releasing Music, and Artistic Growth

(00:56:00) Creative Process and Avoiding Overthinking

(01:04:00) Knowing When to Let Go of a Song

(01:10:00) Early Childhood, Curiosity, and Synth Exploration

(01:20:00) Computer Music, Trackers, and DAW Evolution

(01:30:00) Creative Confidence and Trusting Instincts

(01:40:00) Learning Through Releasing Music

(01:50:00) Mixing Tricks & Gaining Perspective

(02:00:00) Fixing Weak Sections and Structural Flow

(02:10:00) Letting Go & Binary Nature of Art

(02:20:00) Music, Emotion, and Avoiding False Satisfaction

(02:30:00) Playfulness, Simplicity, and Authenticity

(02:45:00) Final Reflections on Growth and Creativity

How you use your money is a massive part of building success and happiness. We often waste a lot of our resources when we're not mindful of what we're doing, and how those resources could be used in other ways to play into building our dreams. In this episode, we explore the concept of 'luxuries' further, and where you might want to be allocating your money in the future.

One of the fundamental truths of life is change. Everything will change. And to expect relationships to be an exception is foolish. People choose different paths, and sometimes that means parting ways, and sometimes it means redefining the relationship. In this episode we talk about how to orient yourself towards that change in the most efficient and effective manner.

We've all felt the immense joy and pleasure of thinking about all the amazing things you'll one day achieve and fulfil. But then the day comes when you actually start doing something about it, and you feel uninspired, empty, and scared.

It's so easy to fall in love with your romanticized ideas of how and what it will feel like to finally pursue your dreams, but what is missing from this conversation is a more realistic look of what it will look and feel like once you're in the trenches.

Never confuse ideas with execution. Learn to understand the difference, and then fall in love with it.

You nailed it. You won. You succeeded. But how should you respond that? Go out and celebrate, or take the energy from that victory and keep going? In this episode, we talk about momentum and how to keep it alive in a lasting and balanced way.

Losing doesn't feel good. Even when you know that in the long-term it's just a part of the bigger game, it still sucks in the moment. However, you shouldn't judge those negative feelings as simply being bad, or you being bad as a result of experiencing them; Emotions come and go, and often we have little say in them, but what really matters is what you choose to do about them and how you handle them. That's what defines our character.

Laziness plagues most of us. But why? In today's episode, we explore perspective management as a tool for curbing laziness, so that you may start to aligning your longterm goals with your actual internal values.

2020 turns into 2021, and suddenly we come to the realization that yet again another year has passed by, and the change we want to see in our lives hasn't taken place. While wanting your life to change is great, what we want to avoid is unrealistic and romanticized ideas of how the change WILL happen and what it will FEEL like. In this episode I offer some alternative approaches of how to look at change overall, and how to start applying it more realistically on a day-to-day basis.

It's no mystery why we choose short-term pleasure over long-term dedication. The rewards are here, now, guaranteed, and pleasurable. But every time we choose those over our goals and dreams, we delay our arrival to them. In this episode I propose some ideas of how to stick to those long-term goals, and how one might even learn to get pleasure and happiness out of the process of pursuing them.

I've been disappointed in my performance lately. I've fallen out of habits that have previously been very lucrative for me. And I miss those days. But I know not to take it too heavily, because falling off the horse happens all the time. That's just life. What matters the most, is learning how to get back on. And a big part of that is setting up your day strategically. By simply designing your day in ways that you find inherently motivating and complementary, you get so much more done, and reserve your willpower for the moments when you absolutely need it.

The biggest hurdle when facing an obstacle often is that we refuse to accept what's in front of us. We didn't expect it, it makes us uncomfortable, or it doesn't fit our inner narrative of what we think 'should' be happening. It's this refusal to accept whatever's there that stunts our growth. We always think it's going to be something different. We think this is not what things are supposed to look like. But life will always be like that. Reality is complex and unpredictable. In this episode, I offer a mindset and strategy that assists you in facing whatever comes your way.

Damjan Mravunac is a Croatian composer and musician, best known for his music for the Serious Sam video game series, as well as the Talos Principle 1 and 2 video games.

DAMJAN LINKS:

Website: http://www.damjanmravunac.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4JCHmi2aI31AP3VsVKE2ks?si=dCSHw9drRGa0doPgjPReJA

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/fi/artist/damjan-mravunac/726774063

Bandcamp: https://damjanmravunac.bandcamp.com/

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Parenting

(00:05:02) Music Tech & Production

(00:14:05) Personal Music Journey

(00:24:50) First Gig, Croteam, Serious Sam

(00:31:24) Dreaming Big, Creative Restriction

(00:38:25) Procrastination, Workflow, Routine

(00:45:07) Sound Design

(01:01:09) Studio Setup, Remote Work

(01:14:00) Networking, Game Music Industry, Advice for New Composers

(01:28:15) Talos Principle 1 and 2

(01:45:07) Inspiration, Composition, and Mixing

(02:00:45) Approach to Game Soundtracks

(02:07:31) Mixing and Composing Simultaneously

(02:16:15) Evolution of Technology in Music

(02:27:29) Impact of War on Creativity

(02:30:03) Digital Technology's Impact on Creativity

(02:34:06) Work-Life Balance and Parenting

(02:41:07) Passion for Music and Creative Process

(02:48:20) Fitness Journey and Health

(02:56:24) Future Projects and Aspirations

(03:00:42) Definition of an Artist

(03:10:13) Message sent to Everyone's Smartphone

Markus Junnikkala is a Composer from Finland.

https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/

Want me to answer your question?

Ask it on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.facebook.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://twitter.com/markusjunnikkal

https://www.twitch.tv/markusjunnikkala

https://www.reddit.com/user/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusjunnikkala/

Subscribing, sharing, and liking helps the podcast.

Financial stress is still stress, and a very strong one at that, as money has a hand in almost everything. As we talked about in the previous episode, stress puts you in survival-mode, and that will make accessing creativity increasingly difficult. In this episode, I share some of my basic concepts of how I think about money and expenses, and how those relate to pursuing a creative career as a musician. The information in this episode is not financial advice. I am not a financial expert. I am simply sharing my own experiences and story. Always consult a professional when seeking financial help.

When real life bears down upon you.. When you struggle to find time and energy for music.. Working on it can feel more like a depressing reminder of what you can't have, and it's very easy to feel overwhelmed and consider just ditching music altogether. But of course, I won't let you do that. In this episode we touch on a number of topics, but primarily focus on defining, categorising, and prioritising your goals so that you get CLARITY and CONTROLLABILITY back into your own musical journey.

Real life can be hard and taxing. You get home from work, and you don't have any juice left to fire up the DAW and get to work. We've all been there. It's a tricky beast to figure out. But we CAN do so much about this. In this episode, I lay out some fundamental perspectives and concepts for you to brew and contemplate on regarding your mental energy.

There are several theories of 'How to make it in music' out there. Some say you have to tread your own path, some say you have to study others in order to be able to figure out how to succeed. In this episode we inspect both perspectives, and in fact explore why you should explore and integrate BOTH approaches to your career as an artist.

Sensitivity is what allows artists to pick up information and patterns that they can leverage to create their art. But if your art isn't currently producing you any financial or other benefits, your view of sensitivity can turn on you, seeing it more as a curse and a burden. In this episode we talk about how that's not true, and how every single trait in us is a double-edged sword.

We've all been there. Sitting in front of the computer or our instrument, and feeling frustrated, hopeless, useless, or all of the above.

Worry not, there's a solution. There's always a solution!

https://beabetterartist.com/

Artists are notoriously known for their instability and turbulent emotional life. But why exactly is that, can something be done about it, and why would you WANT to do something about it?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Self-awareness is undoubtedly a superpower. When used correctly, it's the key to tremendous success. But what should you do when it turns on you? How to stop being overly self-aware and self-conscious in situations where it doesn't help at all? In this episode, as I walk through the streets of Florence Italy, not only do I explain, but also apply some of the techniques and approaches that have helped me overcome paralyzing self-awareness. It's not "just a part of who you are", and yes it can be defeated by training against it!

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 27 Apr 2019.

The only thing that's guaranteed in life is change.

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 11 Apr 2019.

We all need Love. But love comes in many forms. This is not the easy form, but it is one of the most important ones.

https://beabetterartist.com/

Paul Kilduff-Taylor is a composer and artist known for his music as nervous_testpilot as well as _ensnare_. He is also the co-founder of Mode 7, an indie game publisher and development company, known for titles like Frozen Synapse, Fight in Tight Spaces, and Tokyo 42.

PAUL KILDUFF-TAYLOR LINKS:

https://www.nervoustestpilot.com/

https://www.mode7.games/

X: https://x.com/mode7games

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mode7games/

nervous_testpilot Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7zhakwCorTNUwe17WxD3kh?si=Iuf-uikKTKqr9BTCqhe_5A

_ensnare_ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1XYSXyGl3WXrHN7EPBQ1fc?si=bPiDLZzqQHq5Ood8dbfUAg

nervous_testpilot Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/fi/artist/nervous-testpilot/192738401

_ensnare_ Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/fi/artist/ensnare/888028958

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00:00) Intro

(02:19:00) Emotional and Spiritual Connection in Music

(05:02:00) Podcast Goals

(07:52:00) Branding Challenges as an Artist

(12:30:00) Game Development background

(15:04:00) Personal Background

(15:12:00) Early Life and Family

(16:46:00) Technology Exposure in Childhood

(18:00:00) Relationship with Technology

(21:30:00) Childhood, Family

(24:21:00) Risk Management, Anxiety, Collaboration

(30:20:00) Early Music Exposure

(32:23:00) Music as a Career Consideration

(39:04:00) Humour in Music and Life

(47:27:00) Early Career in Game Development and Music

(56:02:00) Frozen Synapse (2011)

(01:02:03) Mixing music, Sound selection, Retaining Emotion

(01:06:53) Dynamic Music in Video Games

(01:11:15) Creativity vs. Technical Precision

(01:20:30) Approach to SNES Style Music

(01:34:01) Music Technology in Composition

(01:37:01) Inspiration

(01:42:01) Compositional process

(01:45:01) Musical Influences

(01:53:22) Non-musical Influences

(01:57:50) Time Management and Work Structure

(02:00:30) Balancing Work and Personal Life

(02:05:54) Challenges with Sleep and Coping Mechanisms

(02:15:00) Emotion and Decision Making

(02:23:33) Music Tech Talk

(02:30:02) Mixing Techniques

(02:45:02) Upcoming Exciting Music Tech

(02:49:42) Balancing Work and Life

(02:56:05) Future Plans and Projects

(02:59:12) Definition of an Artist

(03:18:33) Message Sent to Everyone's Phone

Markus Junnikkala is a Composer from Finland.

https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/

Want me to answer your question?

Ask it on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.facebook.com/markusjunnikkala/

https://twitter.com/markusjunnikkal

https://www.twitch.tv/markusjunnikkala

https://www.reddit.com/user/markusjunnikkala/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusjunnikkala/

Subscribing, sharing, and liking helps the podcast.

Originally published 6 Apr 2019.

Do you really wish to know who and what you are?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 30 Mar 2019.

We all want success. But are you actually aligned with that reality?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 22 Mar 2019.

We all are afraid to confront our fears. But what if you did?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 28 Feb 2019.

We all want to be less afraid. But how do you do that?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 13 Feb 2019.

We all want to grow, we all want to become better. But do you actually want to know what happens when you try?

Originally published 28 Dec 2018.

So many of us think of optimism as a fool's errand, a pointless outlook that only idiots exercise. But how does it actually work and where does it come from?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 21 Dec 2018.

Your creativity is a magnificent, powerful force. But if gone unchecked, you will struggle to direct it in the right direction.

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 15 Dec 2018.

It's so easy to get distracted by so many things. One thing's for sure: without focus, you have no chance of moving in a direction that's meaningful to you.

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 6 Dec 2018.

We all can spin excuses about why that song isn't finished yet, what it needs, what we'll still do with it. But in most cases, you're afraid to confront the truth of it.

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 29 Nov 2018.

What if everything was you fault? What if it really is?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Peppsen (Petter Sumelius) is a Finnish composer now residing in Sweden. He is known for his music mod for the video game Rimworld, as well as Shapez; a factory-building and automation game. He is also the composer for the upcoming and awaited Shapez 2.

PEPPSEN LINKS:

Website: https://www.peppsen.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Peppsen

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0VmuJa5WFTghyy3P2ng9HO?si=CbcW9Q5VQZS0jogbNYssiw

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/fi/artist/peppsen/1439733884

Bandcamp: https://peppsen.bandcamp.com/

TIMESTAMPS:

• (00:00:00) Intro
• (06:43:00) Background, growing up, family, hobbies
• (22:12:00) Video game influence
• (30:01:00) Music theory, Playing instruments
• (45:01:00) Early DAW experiences, Adolescence, Music mods
• (49:06:00) Pursuing music as a profession
• (01:02:05) Work process, Mindset, Networking
• (01:10:30) Creative freedom, Constraints, Feedback
• (01:42:02) Silence in music, dynamic/adaptive music in games
• (01:48:15) Full-time job and composition, finances
• (01:57:40) Profession VS Hobby
• (02:00:02) Expectations, Pressure, Criticism
• (02:17:03) Iterative Process of Creation
• (02:20:16) Sources of Inspiration
• (02:25:04) Avicii
• (02:30:05) Cost of living, Music gear, Software Updates
• (02:36:13) Inspiration (continued)
• (02:38:56) Life and work balance, Collaboration, Time management
• (02:47:47) Software and Virtual Instruments
• (02:50:19) Using Loops in Composition
• (03:03:24) Definition of an Artist
• (03:07:08) Message to Everyone's Smartphone
• (03:12:10) Wrapping up

Markus Junnikkala is a Composer from Finland.

https://www.markusjunnikkala.com/

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Originally published 23 Nov 2018.

We all know the rush and excitement of writing a new song you love. But a big part of the process of finishing a song is not exciting and glorious. In fact it can be grey and boring. What to do about it?

Originally published 12 Oct 2018.

You want to make your music the best it can be. But when should you stop? How do you know it's ready? What is "too much"?

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 4 Oct 2018.

We all know the feeling. You sit down in front of your computer. Think about launching the DAW, but you don't. And you wonder why.

https://beabetterartist.com/

Originally published 28 Sep 2018.

You have terabytes of music on your hard drive, but none of it is finished, and none of it will see a release date. That needs to stop.

https://beabetterartist.com/