Life Update
Hello! I hope you’ve been enjoying the new installments of the blog. I’ve been traveling a lot in the past couple of weeks to Copenhagen, Amersfoort, and Antwerp. I just picked up my laptop and started writing, but no particular topics came to mind as I have just been going from place to place. So I think providing a life topic will be interesting for you, and maybe for me too.
As I returned to my studies in Amsterdam in the Autumn, only a week passed as I had to fly back home. My mother had gone through a five-year battle with cancer, and her life was sadly coming to an end. During this period I visited my mother every day alongside my sister Julie. Acknowledging the fact of this life without her is still hard to fathom. The one thing that is comforting is knowing that her influence on me will never leave me.
In December I decided to return to Amsterdam to slowly get back into what would be my new future. I of course returned home for Christmas and even had a bit of a surprising week in Helsinki before fully returning to my studies in January.
When I get back I started to start new musical bands, as a way to keep me mentally busy and to do something my mom would have wanted me to do. I started a band entitled We 6ix, (which is playing at Splendor on May 12th at 8:30PM *Shameless plug*) and a group called Ääniä. We 6ix is my project where I compose for Piano, Electric Piano, Bass, Electric Bass, Drums, and myself on trombone and effects. The second group Ääniä is an acoustic musical initiative I started with my dear friend Ida. I’m sure you’ll be seeing these bands on my social media, plus I want to keep a semblance of mystique.
As far as my home life, I have invited my books to stay here, and in return for giving them a table to sit on, they’ve let me read them in return. I have read Effortless Mastery, Free Play, and Originals in the past couple of months. These books form a trifecta of topics that have been bugging me about originality and improvisation. Although I wouldn’t say all of my problems are solved, they at least gave me a lot to think about for the next couple of months. The next book I am planning on reading is the Three Pillars of Zen, let's see how that goes.
I have also invited a nice piano into my home. It is such a treat to be able to wake up in the morning and just compose, well if it's too early then maybe I’ll just turn on the dampener. It’s also nice to have the sensation of being able to get other pianists into my apartment to play duo with me because there is really something different than playing in a dry music school room. I have also gotten my pedalboard rig up and running! I used it for the first time in a rehearsal setting twice yesterday, and I have two upcoming performances in that I am going to feature the pedals on. Expect a pedals blog coming soon.
There are also some small things. I’m being pescatarian again, I've invited coffee back into my life, and I am trying to figure out what my new future is looking like. Things aren't as simple as I’m making them out to be on this blog, but maybe I should just reflect on this text and let it be.