Read time: 1 minute, 294 words. In 1941, Olivier Messiaen was a prisoner in a German POW camp. In a freezing barracks, using the instruments available, he composed and premiered his Quartet for the End of Time. The audience included prisoners and German guards. The barracks did not become warmer. The war did not stop. His circumstances remained grim. But they did not dictate his entire experience. Sometimes you cannot remove what makes life difficult. You can still decide whether difficulty…

Read time: 1 minute, 362 words. A few years ago, a country artist asked about my producer fees. I explained that I don’t charge fees. I also told him I probably wasn’t the right fit for his music. But he kept pushing. “But you must want something!” We both moved on, but I thought about his pitch. Every week, at the bottom of this email, I tell everyone exactly what I want. Now imagine he had started with, “I signed up 29 subscribers to your newsletter.” I still wouldn’t have produced his…

Read time: 1 minute, 377 words. A few months ago, I released an album, stars and static 2026. And then I forgot to share it with you. It’s the second volume in my geofi series. The idea is simple: music rooted in place. Real field recordings. Captured on location. Then shaped into lofi pieces that try to express how a place feels. For this album, I sampled sounds from Naples’ central train station, Selma, the Carolina lowlands, Little Rock, Beale Street, the Willard Hotel, Lincoln Center,…

Read time: 1 minute, 271 words. How do you stay close to people who don’t share your craft? I struggle to maintain relationships with people outside my creative world. Most of my friendships form through making things together. Projects, deep work, shared obsession. So when I’m buried in an immersive creative project, people think I’m ghosting them. But I’m not disappearing. I’m just deep in the work. 👉🏾 Check the infographic below for 10 ways to create and maintain friendships with…

Read time: 1 minute, 410 words.With America’s 250th upon us, a yarn for you. Benjamin Franklin didn’t begin by joining powerful rooms. He built one. In 1727, at just 21, he founded the Junto in Philadelphia. It was a mutual-improvement club for tradesmen and practical thinkers. Not elites. Not aristocrats. People who wanted to read, debate, learn, and make their city better. Ideas from those meetings helped lead to several important Philadelphia civic institutions. Franklin didn’t wait for…