Playing the guitar, or piano without any intention of making “music” can be so enjoyable sometimes. Abandoning the expectation of creating something, you really get a chance to simply enjoy the sensations of your fingers on the keys, or feel the vibrations the guitar sends into your stomach as you pluck the strings. A few months ago, I was doing just this – simply making sounds to enjoy the process. Eventually, a sequence of notes emerged and I decided to record it.

After forgetting it ever happened, I stumbled upon the melody a couple of weeks later felt a surge of inspiration. In the midst of working on the song, notes began to echo into the next room over, where my brother was finishing up some final edits on his film, Way of the Ocean. He opened the door, excitedly saying how it matched up to the footage he was editing, so I stepped over to take a look. It was crazy how well the footage and song went together, especially considering I wasn’t even intending to write a song and that he had already finished the film.

Sometimes, it blows my mind how the creative process works. I’ll spend weeks writing songs that don’t make the cut, or painting canvases, only to realize that the images don’t look as nice as they did in my imagination. Then, out of the blue, a great idea comes when I’m least expecting it and everything flows with ease.