I’ve been hearing about Distil for several years so I felt very honoured to be invited onto Distil Residential 2012.
My compositional experience spans a measly two years but I’ve also been afforded the privilege of showcasing and broadcasting my work relatively quickly. As my own worst critic I am more than aware that this can bring positive as well as negative connotations, and was particularly keen to be on Distil to see if I could find other methods of working, as well as pick up tips from any of the workshop leaders. The concept of learning and improving as a musician is of massive importance to me and over the last several years I have become a big believer in getting out of your comfort zone in order to facilitate this. I am also a huge fan of psychology and was intrigued by reports from past participants of the range of emotions some had gone through over the course of this weekend, all in the quest for self-improvement.
I knew most of the participants pretty well before embarking on Distil but there were a couple of folk I didn’t know. By the end of the four days, we were pretty much operating as a family unit, supporting each other, and watching previously unseen facets emerging from everybody’s personalities, as we were pushed and nurtured in equal measure.
The first workshop was led by Kath Burlinson, who promptly forced us out of our own particular bubbles, enabling us to engage with our own beings, encouraging us to feel comfortable in our own skins and also indulge our creative madness (the latter is often inappropriate to do at any other time as you run the risk of looking like a ****er.) This subsequently broke down barriers, simplified things down, and brought out the true nature of your core being. Her one-on-one sessions with us all were searching and revealing. I have a habit of over-working and over-complicating my life with too many projects, which invariable leads to me feeling overwhelmed. I was therefore astonished and delighted when Kath simplified my life and schedule right down for me in the space of several minutes, and then gave me the tools to realise it all. I am eternally grateful to her for that.
Andro Biswane can only be described as a dude of the highest order. His knowledge of music is simply immense, having formally studied classical and jazz, as well as coming from such an ethnically diverse and rich background. He was therefore ideal to lead group workshops in Afro – South American rhythm. Incredibly engaging, interactive and highly infectious, with renditions of his songs making their appearances at late night bar sessions!
My one-on-one session with composer Karen Wimhirst, despite being highly productive and bringing out the best in me, highlighted to me all too well that there was a serious need for me to get back to the drawing board with my music theory skills. I was glad to be once again in a situation where I can cheerfully say I am musically inadequate, and when she asked me about my previous composing work I could feel my voice get quieter and quieter. It is certainly a humbling experience sitting next to somebody like Karen, who can compose for virtually anything, on every instrument!
All the other musicians were an absolute joy to share the four days with, and ego did not enter the equation.
When it came down to playing our respective compositional ideas, everybody pitched in and made the pieces realisable, despite the time pressure.
If I could do it all again I would try to spend more time working on my composition and endeavour to get more sleep. Ultimately however the great thing behind Distil is that it forces you to be sociable instead of traditionally solitary; all too frequent a headspace to be in for musicians. I have come away from Distil with greater focus, better self-awareness and determined to make positive changes in my life.