'The confluence of nature and design really fed my creative juices'
Composer Sam Weiss trials our first Think Week in nature
Sydney-based composer and performer Sam Weiss is a busy man. When he's not performing at venues across the city, he's hard at work writing music for feature films, documentaries and thrillers or writing and arranging for local choirs. After having some heavy life stuff go down recently, Sam, already an Unyoked devotee, reached out to us to ask if he could get out to nature for an extended period to clean his palate and get into some deep work without distractions. Luckily for him, our Think Week pilot was already underway, so he spent most of his work week out at Heike, with no phone reception and loads of inspiration. Here's what he got up to...
Everything was conscious with no distractions..
Unyoked: You headed out to nature for an extended period of time. How did it feel to be using this space for work? Sam Weiss: Getting into nature has always been a value of mine. Nature is such a regular touchpoint for me, whether it’s for creative inspiration or creating memories with friends. I have always had this dream to go out to a cabin in the bush purely to write music, and I can honestly say it was everything I wished for and more. I cannot recommend it enough to any artists hoping to get in touch with themselves and their surroundings. Did you find creativity came naturally or it took you a while to settle into it? While I was super excited to be heading out there, when I arrived I admit there was a feeling of “oh my god, what have I done…” - as soon as that phone signal cuts out and you’re alone with your thoughts, a couple of books, your gear and groceries, it actually was slightly daunting. I’d been cut off from the rest of the world plenty of times but never by myself. Slowly though, I settled into a rhythm and grew into it. I think artistically it was important to be going out there with a bit of an agenda - in this case it was to write an EP I’d been ideating for several years, and finally had this pocket of time to get the ideas out of my ‘voice memos’ on my iPhone. Talk us through your day to day process in writing, or was it different each day? I’d start each day with meditation - I recently learned the Vedic meditation practice and cannot recommend it enough. At home I meditate for 20 minutes, twice a day. As it was a retreat setting my teacher recommended I go for at least 40 minutes twice a day. So, morning meditation into a walk around the property taking in the sights, smells and sounds. Cooked a decent breakfast, and then pretty much rolled into writing. As there were literally no distractions I found it easy to stay focused and develop a musical idea to its fullest potential. I’d have a quick but conscious (everything was conscious with no distractions) bite for lunch, get back into writing and then finish off with a meditation, dinner and a juicy early night. Repeat.
I imagine it would be a great setting for many things - making music, art, business plans, life decisions…
How much of your surroundings at Heike fed into your work? Did you record anything or was it all just taking it in with your eyes? The surroundings were super inspiring and some tracks will be featuring soundscapes recorded out there. Often I’d just listen to the birds or the wind and think. I was pretty lucky because I had all 4 seasons in the time I was at Heike - rain, fog, an incredible evaporation event, sun, wind… all the elements. The circumstances definitely influenced my ability to think, feel and generate creativity. On top of the nature, the cabin itself is so chic and well designed - many composers like working in dark rooms, but I love working with big windows and light, and somehow Unyoked have made a very small space feel open and large. So the confluence of nature and design really fed my creative juices.
Would you recommend working in nature to your colleagues or friends? Why/why not? I’d recommend it on so many levels. Disconnecting from tech and connecting to the world around you is so creatively empowering. I imagine it would be a great setting for many things - making music, art, business plans, life decisions… getting into nature has always allowed me to check in with myself and just have time to think. Did you have an idea of what you were heading out to write? Yes - for a while I’ve had this idea to write an EP called ‘Voice Memos’ which is basically just that - a series of musical ideas I’ve had over the years recorded into my voice memos on my phone. Several of those will feature on the album, but there were also moments of genuine inspiration where I wrote some new pieces. But yes, having an agenda worked well for me. I ended up finishing the retreat with 9 completed pieces and 2 WIPs. It’s a diverse album where I explore (and look for!) my sound basically freehand - generally it’s ‘cry-yourself-to-sleep’ music (think: piano, strings, sax, synths). All the feels. How different was this process to how you typically write music? I’m a film composer, and I have composed music for the stage too (orchestras, choirs etc.) but this was my first solo project where I was writing to my own brief, really. Process wise - I come from a jazz improvisation background so musical ideas tend to come naturally to me. I’m quite intuitive in that sense, and I usually use this intuition to respond to motion picture. This forms a huge part of my creative practice. This time however, there was no picture for Inspo - but I did draw a lot of creativity from the surroundings at Heike to tap into the feelings state of what I wanted to create. What do you think you gained for being Unyoked for almost a week as opposed to just a night or two? I overcame a huge mental challenge, being alone with my thoughts, groceries and gear. I fulfilled the dream of doing this writing project as I had always wished. I gained a deeper understanding of my own creative practice, identity and voice. And I gained 9 (maybe 11) new musical babies that I’m super excited to get out into the world. I think this will become a semi-regular thing for me now... I’ll be back to do it all over again for sure.
