Attention Writers AND Musicians!

[Meiguoren]

About this time last year I found myself in China listening to Shael Riley's Toybox. Nights would frequently find me on my balcony, glass of whiskey in hand, listening to the final song on the album, Snow, Love and Sludge.

The song itself is wonderful, a very simple piece of music played over simple narration about a period of life and the meaning of that existance. It's a slow, subtle, beautiful piece, and it's one that got me thinking.

It's been five years since I first discovered this website, and through the connections I've made here I've discovered so many talented musicians and the concept of utilizing the internet to produce and distribute independant pieces of work, remixes and covers, but more importantly self composed, original pieces.

Mr. Riley's piece got me to thinking. He's not the first to mix the written form with the aural and he certainly wouldn't be the last, but that doesn't mean that his work isn't wonderful.

Around that time I started writing again. I don't do it very frequently and I'm really not very good, but every once in awhile I come up with a piece that I'm proud of, one that captures everything that I wanted to say quite well.

And I know I'm not alone in that. There are plenty of writers here, good ones, who love sharing their work.

Last year I thought about getting writers and musicians together through this website (and various others) in the hopes of constructing something unique, something special, something that we could look back on and say "Yeah. We did that together".

I pitched the idea to Mythril Nazgul who took it in turn to a few other people as well. There was a very limited level of interest, as there was a very limited number of people that we conversed with.

I proceeded to not do anything with it and he proceeded to fall off the face of the earth and a year passed.

But I started thinking about it again and I figured I'd put it out here. So here we go.

Writers submit a reading of something that they've written, something they're proud of. If the author doesn't like the sound of his or her voice he can get assitance.

Musicians listen to the pieces and choose one to write music to. I think it would be perfect if the author doesn't reveal his or her intenions in writing the piece. I would rather hear how other individuals interpret the writing through their own music.

Ideally the finished product would be a combination of two minds in one piece. The writer's words and the musician's music, with no communication in between. I also realize that, for some people, that might not sound appropriate or even like something they'd like to do, so I'm open to other thoughts as well. If more collaboration is wanted then certainly the writer and the musician could do so.

But I always come back to conversations I have with friends about the books we've read and I always learn something new from their perspectives, and it's always more if I don't know anything about the history of the work, who the author is or what time he was writing the work.

It would be like that, but using notes instead of words.

So there you have it. Is there any interest? Do you all think this would be something you'd like to participate in? I think it would be an incredible project and, in the end, a way for two different types of artists to work together on something.

Bascially I want to see if we can make something together.

[JamPaladin]

I totally hear you on this - I've been thinking for years writing can be powerful, but more powerful if combined with music or images. (Maybe I'm biased, though, because I'm a good writer, despite being entirely useless musically and artistically.) I also really enjoyed Snow, Love and Sludge as an example of this.

In other words, I think it's a great idea. Despite being a dirty lurker, I may be interested in helping out or participating.

[suzumebachi]

Some friends and I actually tried to do something like this about five years ago. A good friend of mine had just completed a book of poetry, and we got the idea to turn it into a full media experience, with graphic art and music. We worked on it for a good three or four months but never got anywhere, really (some cool art did come out of it though). However, I still think it's a wicked cool idea, and props to you if you pull it off. It'd be fun to try and interpret someone else's writing into music.

Oh, and Shael is a genius.

[Chavous]

I'd be interested.

[DrumUltimA]

i like this idea. I'd like to participate, but probably wouldn't be able to until the summer.

[Meiguoren]

I didn't mean to let this fall back so far... 7.1 earthquake in Taiwan messed up our internet.

I see there's some interest. Thank you for the responses so far. I would love to see something come of this.

[BigBoss]

I would like to contribute musically, but I'm not of the highest skill yet.

But in writing, I'm pretty good, at the risk of sounding prideful.

[Old Man Time]

For the writing part, would it be poetry, prose, or just whatever? I have written pretty much, though only now have I started putting it up for other people to view. This sounds like a pretty awesome project though, and I would like to contribute.

My writing.com profile: http://writing.com/authors/old_man_time

Obviously I have almost nothing up yet, but if you want me to do something just pm me and I can write something for you. Good luck on getting this project off the ground. Oh, and I have no musical skillz, so I couldn't help there. Peace out.

[supremespleen]

I have something I could read. It is a pretty good length too.

[Red Shadow]

This makes me think of a particular track that OverCoat made as the result of an old unmod thread.

I can see good things coming from this if enough musicians take interest.

And I'd certainly enjoy writing something and reading it to my pc in the event that this takes off.

[Armoured Priest]

Sound's like it could be a fun project. I am often busy writing original music (and I prefer it to doing re-arrangements/remixes, though I do have a couple ideas for some things I intend to submit here down the road). I might be interested in doing something for this.