THE THINGS WE MAKE

For those who know my family, know that my partner Brian is a brilliant singer songwriter. Actually he is very good at everything 😂 but writing, creating & making music is definitely at the top of the things he loves.

Although in this post I share his latest creation and release, there is a story behind his latest album, ‘The things we make’ and that story is about me.

Let me start by saying that never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would collaborate let alone create an album with Brian. In my world I would define myself as “not one of those creative people”. And in my world he is a creative genius so it was never going to happen.

In 2020 my way of dealing with Covid and healing was to go within. I knew that it was going to be my only way through the chaos and darkness that was heading down a tunnel towards me, and so I commenced my journey around the Medicine Wheel under mentorship and guidance of Dakota Earth cloud Walker.

As I traveled around the medicine wheel I sat in daily meditation, learning about ritual, ancestors, written Word, making art to heal and so much more. Deep inner work was getting done, raw emotions, tears, sadness, joy and the surprises of what self reflection offers came to the surface.

One night I asked Brian if I could read him a spoken-word Poem I had written off the back off my travels around the Medicine Wheel and he said yes. Surprised that I had offered to share this side of myself with Brian, I ran to get my poem and as I was getting ready to read it out loud I thought, “he is definitely going think I’ve lost the plot, he is going to think I’m crazy, 100% without doubt” and then I read it. When I finished reading the poem he was silent, his head lowered as he looked at the floor and I said it out loud, “you think I’m crazy, don’t you”? To which he responded, “no, I was actually just trying to hold myself together because I was so moved by your words” and then he asked if he could turn my words into a song. From this poem two songs were produced, ‘Blue Butterfly’ & ‘You ask me who I am’ was born and brought into this world.

I then wrote ‘My Son’. This was written from a recorded jam session that Brian and his mate Gregory Gautier were having one night. My son Orlando walked into the room whilst they were jamming and the interaction between Orlando and Brian was recorded as Greg kept playing the riff he had come up with. Witnessing Brian and Orlando together is one of my all-time favourite things to see, so listening to the interaction between them over such a beautiful melody sparked something deep in me. One morning I sat in meditation and listened to the melody and interaction repeatedly, when I came out of meditation ‘My son’ was written in 5-10 min.

The interesting part to this story is that shortly after this song was written my son, Orlando was diagnosed with T1 Diabetes and the song ‘My Son’ was put on the back burner. Brian had no desire to play, write or create music for a while. One night, in the kitchen, a lot happens in a kitchen, we were talking, we spoke about how in times of crisis one must find the strength to engage the things we love, to push through the tears, depression, sadness, and disbelief of this traumatic situation and he did. He pushed through and the song ‘My son’ was brought into the world.

Whenever I listen to this song, yes, I cry every time. I believe that my guides were preparing me for what was to come. The words “I hope your waves role in gently and your ocean stays calm, and if they do come crashing in that you swim and dance amongst them”, and throughout the song I write “I got you”, with the combination of Brian’s voice and the melody , I’m reminded of my duty as Orlando’s mother, my duty to carve spaces where he can discover and explore who he is, and when his waves do come crashing in, my duty to catch him, help him up, dust him off and hold him until he finishes crying, and then after all that, guide him and recreate how he will, and we will, as a family dance amongst the waves until they calm again.

My final song ‘Tasmania Blues’ comes from a poem I wrote in my late 20’s, early 30’s (age is always a blur to me). I wrote these words after going to the most Southern Tip of Tasmania with a friend of mine and witnessing what could be the most perfect picture in my mind. What an adventure including when we got to the backpackers, it was burnt to the ground so we went to the only and closest place, a good old Tassie pub. One couldn’t ask for more and this song was birthed from our weekend adventures. I always wanted those words to be a song and only Brian’s imagination could make this happen.

I know some people are creative, it’s what they know, it’s who they are, it’s what they do and there is no question. But for some of us, this gift of simply knowing yourself as creative and expressive has to be discovered. For me I had to go back to the what happened when I decided that “I’m not creative”. I had to rediscover, regroup, rebuild, trust myself and most of all be brave. I’m clear that without the deep inner work, transformation and change wouldn’t have happened and these four songs wouldn’t be on Brian’s album.

To finish off, let me bring it back to Brian.

Brian is a brilliant storyteller though his music, he is without doubt one of my most favourite artists, I could be a little bias, but even if he wasn’t my partner, I would still be a groupie and I would still love his music. I hope you take the time to have a listen and I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do.

If you want to check out Dakota, you can do so here 👇

https://dakotaearthcloud.com

If you want to explore your deep inner being and see what’s possible you can book here

👉 https://www.expressivecounselling.com/

And definitely have a listen, like and share Brian’s Album here 👇

https://open.spotify.com/album/0hMqOuOMoSNeklEuTeZjxh?si=LW32FgmqTRG07uCv-tSTkw