This is my third attempt at writing this post. 

I find the idea of communicating to others where my music comes from to be daunting. I could speak all day about the technical details - melody, chords, rhythm, etc. - but when it comes to what they are about, well, that's another story. 

There's a reason for that.

I've never perceived any of my music to be "about" things, rather I like to think of each piece as being "inspired" by something. 

I began writing and recording my own music about 6 years ago. It started out of nowhere. I had been playing  for a long time but I had never made anything original. It was strange to have never really composed music before and then all of a sudden have the ability to do so. I remember having put together about 4 or 5 pieces over the span of a few weeks and I had no idea why this was happening. And even then, I knew that they weren't "about" anything in particular. 

​It wasn't until a few years later what I was actually doing. 

The music I was making was a reaction to the things that were going on around me. 

I now like to look at the music as a form of journaling, very abstract, but journaling nonetheless. Each album, EP, or single is an "aural journal", a sonic response to the things that have affected me. 

A longing to return to my childhood inspired Let's Go Back.

​Anticipating going home after spending two years in Florida inspired Closer Than Ever. 

A lousy weekend inspired The Way Things Go. 

Someone who meant an awful lot to me inspired I Am Here and so Are You. 

Still, not every piece I make immediately has a clear inspiration behind it. I sometimes don't realize what inspired me to create until years later. The four most recent pieces I've made fall into this category. I have a vague idea of what inspired them but I probably won't have a really good grasp of where they came from until later on. 

I always reach a point where I feel that I am no longer going to be able to make any more music. I felt that way at the beginning of this year and I currently am feeling this way as I write this, but then something usually happens. I get to go through a new experience, someone I know affects me in a deeply personal way, or I get to travel to some place new. It's then that something musical leaps out from me because I am so appreciative of what I've been given.

Every song is really just a thanks for something I am blessed to experience. 

I don't believe that what I am doing is anything special or that anyone else is incapable of creating in such a way. I truly believe that music is something everyone can make. 

The world could use a few more aural journalists. 

- JZ

I'm currently away this weekend soaking up the sun in Florida while the rest of my friends are up north dealing with snow.

With little time to write this week, here's the usual sharing of a song from YouTube:

See you next Friday.

-JZ

EP number 5 is complete and it's here much sooner than I thought it would be.

​I don't have a lot to say about these pieces other than that they came together very quickly, much more so than any other collection of music I've put together. The reason for this eludes me.  

There's a simplicity contained in each one of these tracks that I thought should be reflected in the artwork. I have never considered myself talented when it comes to drawing or sketching so when I put pencil to paper I drew the simplest thing I could think of.

​Four curved lines. 

When I put out "Sunflower" last month, I wrote that I wanted it to be the beginning of something new. "Songs of Contentment" is that very thing. 

Rather than explain each piece, I'd rather let the music speak for itself. At least for now. The first track is happy, the second is loud, the third is sad, and the fourth is long. 

"Songs of Contentment" can be downloaded for free here. Click "Buy Now" and enter "0". 

Thanks for listening. 

- JZ