The creative process is one that is different for every musician. We had the chance to get a look deep into the mind of Chris from Beatnik Neon and the story behind their song “Mistaking Shapes For Sizes”. There is a lot going on in this experimental ambient project. Enjoy the trip down the rabbit hole:
“Mistaking Shapes for Sizes” is, in its most distilled form, merely a song about the creative process. The name itself is representative of the sometimes circuitous and self-defeating methodologies the creative person employs in pursuit of their craft, as the concept of “shape” and “size” are symbiotic properties of tangible objects and thus mistaking one for the other, in this context at least, creates a kind of loop that deters progress; the song also serves as a warning ( The chorus of: “Don’t mistake the shape, the size/Don’t deny the colors you find…”) against becoming hopelessly lost in that same loop. Often times it is difficult for the creator of something to look at their work with at least a degree of objectivity and the song urges that was well as the counter-point of embracing whatever emotional poignancy might be inherent in the work subjectively.
The verse employs ornate language to construct metaphors that represent the underlying optimism of the creative process. For a human being to endeavor to do anything in the face of their own existential absurdity is, to me, exceedingly optimistic. “Dissecting the lights in the sky/They softly divide…” a proclamation from the mere mortal who dares to explore his own existence. “A tremor that ripples inside/A collage alive…” that same proclamation yielding both tumult and beauty. “Construct a tiny carousel/Aglow amidst the gloom/What lurks among the wisps of fog/Now seeks another room…” that challenge of oneself bestowing a temporary antidote to the at times poisonous contradictions of human existence; also the shared inexplicable identity of both thought and form.
But there is more. All of the songs of Beatnik Neon, both present and future, revolve around a continuing narrative which depicts a composer driven to the brink of madness by a recurring dream in which he is visited by a breathtaking phantasm named Sephara. She is as unfathomable as his life and the gift of music it contains, and as we come to know more about her we come to know more about him. If you are willing to listen, there is a story lurking in amidst these songs (and in a series of journal entries available on our website) that I hope might inspire something in you.
There is more to experience from Beatnik Neon. Keep an ear out for it.
