LYRICS AND PROCESS TRACK BREAKDOWN: "MY MINDSET"
usING the muse and digital systems to craft a song
Words by Andy Armstrong
Video by Boris Holmes
Photos by Kensei Kataoka
With early spring performances in Osaka and Tokyo in the books, and two shows in Seoul on the horizon, I was locked in.
Transfixed.
But knowing that these bursts of tunnel-vision focus move in cycles, I followed my instincts to document the season.
In the height of spring last May, Boris Holmes, Kensei Kataoka, and I set up shop on the rooftop of the Edenico building, a hub of Osaka’s alternative-electronic web.
And over the course of an afternoon, shot 4 live performance videos, including the unreleased track, “My Mindset”.
Which during this chunk of shows, had been the sets’ opening song.
It was new and exciting.
A combination I look for when choosing how to dive into a show.
It’s like a cheat code to forcing yourself into the moment, and into your body.
On a good night, the audience will subconsciously sense your boldness and presence, and feed you energy back in return.
It’s terrifying and thrilling.
Terrifying because, with a newer song especially, the train can come off the tracks at a moment’s notice.
Thrilling because there’s potential for this risk to pay off, and send a jolt of electricity through the room.
THE ORIGIN, THE MUSE
“My Mindset” started like most tend to:
A specific element or or overall spirit of something I’m listening to will spur me to pick up an instrument.
Kickstarting me into some rhythmic or tonal jumping off point.
This can lead to landing on a resonant chord progression and melody.
Then, with some direction, I begin carving out more detailed sounds and cadences tied to the melody.
Throughout this process of playing with notes, I’ll sing whatever comes out naturally. Generally a garbled mix of incoherent gibberish, and random, audible words or phrases.
Often one of these words or phrases will recur, and catch your attention in some way.
A little gift from the muse, as Steven Pressfield refers to it in the classic War of Art.
In the case of “My Mindset”, the muse goddesses gave me the phrase, “Baby, I’m back”.
It’s less of a romantic decree, and more of a pep-talk to yourself.
A personal proclamation, as you bounce back from a knockdown.
A declaration of your return, now stronger than ever.
This line- “Baby, I’m back”- combined with the melody and tone of the song, felt worth following.
INTO THE ARCHIVE
At this point, when a foundation’s in place, I head to my archive.
My digital den where all things lyrics are stored.
When a word or phrase grabs my attention, I simply document it in this electronic filing system.
That way, in moments like this when it’s time to craft lines of lyrics, I have a whole river of ideas and inspiration to go to.
These words or phrases can be found anywhere- in a conversation, movie, book, interview, advertisement, email, magazine. Or they can just appear in your mind, an offering from the subconscious as it connects dots in the background.
I began plucking things out of this database that jumped out in the moment, and felt connected to the phrase, “Baby, I’m Back.”
Here’s some of what I grabbed:
Shaman
Cincinnatti
New Jersey
Riverside
Sunbeam
Grape soda
Telenovela
Shimmering
Year of the rabbit
MOLDING AND SHAPING
Once I had this bank to work from, it swiftly led to building out individual lines.
Starting with:
Baby, I'm back / It's my mindset
I escaped from that island
And from here it was just piecing together the rest, creating an environment for the song to live in.
This is the best part of the songwriting process for me.
The phase where you get to snap into obsessive tunnel-vision. The brief period marked by a state of hyperfocus, when all your senses over the course of a few days are committed to the task.
In this case, writing lyrics.
Constructing a world; a fantastical collage that weaves in and out of fiction.
This is certainly not a unique process, but an effective one. Many of my peers and favorite writers use some customized version of this approach.
Watch and listen to the result below.
Full lyrics:
Baby, I'm back / It's my mindset
I escaped from that island
Why are you still in hiding? / Hold on, do you even like him?
I sent a text to my shaman
From the plane / she never saw it
Do you think you can go stepping onto that same riverside again?
Passing through Cincinnati / an electric, viral sunbeam
Almost made it back to Jersey
Please pull off / I need to come some sleep
I just want a sip of your grape soda / telenovela
It's the year of the rabbit and it's trippin me out
Into the future
Isolate in shimmering sound / I don't know why you bother
Baby, I'm back / It's my mindset
I escaped from that island
Why are you still in hiding? / Hold on, do you even like him?
“I sent a text to my shaman
From the plane / she never saw it
Do you think you can go stepping onto that same riverside again?”