The artistic process is as much about introspection as it is about execution.
We were first introduced to the eclectic dance-pop release ‘Present Dreams’ earlier this year, however Melbourne based songwriter Genevieve Sovereign had adamantly infused her love for the craft throughout her life- and study.
‘Present Dreams’ works as an escapist daydream, its lush synth-pop soundscape a whirlwind of rhythmic prowess and textural interest.
This collaborative work with Ben Tenison is the third instalment of the artists’ musical relationship, having cemented a solid creative connection with their previous releases Life Soaked Reveal, and Vibration Angle.
The latest release from the two artists is by far the most vibrant and traditionally ‘dancey’. The ambitious and layered approach to the production makes for a track that feels refreshing, while never compromising it’s digestibility.
The practicality of getting to this place for a release can feel ambiguous, so Genevieve has put together a bit of an insight into the madness. Read along to learn a little bit about creative approach, and get to know the working of Genevieve Sovereigns artistic process.
When do you feel most alive? What does it look like, sound like, taste like, smell like in that moment – where are you? Who does that moment ask you to be, and how? As a multidisciplinary artist, these questions frame all my work – and the answer, is how I bring everything into reality.
A few months after launching my debut EP “It’s yours.” in March 2022, I delivered a webinar segment called “From Inspiration Out” for the Australian Songwriters Conference.
I walked attendees through my process, including various strategy tools and supporting docs that I’d developed for myself on-the-fly, while trying to learn my arse from my elbows!
(Actually in case anyone’s curious, I’ve made those presentation slides and strategy tools openly available here –other people finding some of it helpful makes all that work even more worthwhile!)
Of course, throughout the time and releases since my EP (i.e. recent collab singles + other work launching soon) those documents and my overall strategy have adapted accordingly.
I won’t claim to be anywhere remotely near an expert, but I’ve certainly continued learning… Which is fortunate because I regard ongoing exploration and growth, across myriad diverse channels, as integral to our most impactful creative processes.
I don’t think we ever stop creating really, any of us. Even sleeping, we’re creating our dreams. Even meditating – emptying our minds – we’re creating openness.
Just simply by being, we are continually creating ourselves. My job is therefore to determine and execute the most effective manifestation of my goals – whatever those goals happen to be, for a given context.
Clarity within that space benefits hugely from curiosity, observation, conceptualisation, practice and learning (not necessarily in that order ;).
In my career, in my studies, in my art – it’s all a perpetual cycle of questioning, synthesising, testing, analysing, questioning some more, synthesising some more and so on… Life is work in progress, at every possible level!
Looking at things that way helps me get stuff accomplished anyway, haha.
At the end of the day – I’m really just an explorer, a dabbler. An admirer of shiny things. My joy in life revolves around that: Discovering new perspectives, unfamiliar ways of doing or thinking, evaluating their (frequently subjective!) pros and cons, and experimenting with how that freshness might be integrated into my own outlooks or approaches.
Playing amid those endless layers, testing life’s colours and depths, and their interplay inside and outside the self… There’s nothing more beautiful (or rewarding) for me, than shaping reality up from its infinite potential.
Our lives literally are what we make them, which is the greatest gift and adventure that I can imagine. Curiosity and perception are like air and fuel for my creative fires, pulsing through my blood across the realities I build.
And build I certainly do, e.g. per aforementioned preso and strategy tools I’ve created. For anyone curious about the more practical, hands-on side of how I get things done, I’d highly recommend having a squiz at those.
Hopefully they’ll be helpful in some way – and I’ll see you again soon with more shininess, releasing another fresh single “Midday Blue” in a few months! <3
All the love always,
Gen Sovereign xoxo
Be sure to check out Genevieve Sovereigns latest release Present Dreams, and keep up to date with her releases!
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