A new gilli moon article: The successful Artist Entrepreneur - – the ins and outs of getting out there as an artist in the business of music

The Successful Artist Entrepreneur – the ins and outs of getting out there as an artist in the business of music . by gilli moon. The KEY TO SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS in the music business of TODAY is to be a unique artist, in charge of your own destiny. It means you need to be an artist entrepreneur. In order to be powerful as an artist, you have to be very business artist. You need to be very self driven and business savvy. You don’t need to know everything about the business (you can go to experts for advice) but you are in control. If you want it to be life long, you have to be a visionary. You have to be able to think outside the box and “feel” it inside. A lot of inner work is required. So while you are working on your craft and techniques on the outside, you have to work on your mindset on the inside. Read it at http://www.gillimoon.com/article-artistentrepreneur

Follow my call along the Roman wall

“Follow my call along the Roman wall. Mystic signs of my family life… Dreaming of my homeland Didgeridoo Dreaming…” (From Didgeridoo Dreaming, by gilli moon. Album: Girl In The Moon. www.gillimoon.com/music) 2 weeks soaking up the cultures of France and Italy. It came at a perfect time for me: to get out of my shoebox, and the studio in which I’ve been embroiled in music production, and clear my mind with new foods, faces and adventure. Paris, … the Eiffel tower, so grand in its leadership over Paris. Crepes, the easy delicious solution while walking. Walking,… my legs are like steel. Rodin, Monet, Da Vinci… I begged for more. Wandering the left bank, Chocolate Chaud and Pain et Fromage. Sleeping soundly, dreaming in French. Overnight train to Verona, the chug chug chug lulls me to sleep. Brie and bread and my love, we watch the light dim and country side go to sleep. Arriving in another city of love, and Romeo and Juliet, and a car to take us on our adventure. Bergantino, family, food, love and comfort. Ferrara, Mantova, cities of days gone by, enormous castles and cappuccinos. Florence, people, too many people, but we found Dante and Michelangelo and Bernini. Tuscany with hills and dales and grass so green it looks like a painting. Lost in the hills for 5 hours seeking the holy grail. Windy roads and forest getting dark, we are caught in an Alice in Wonderland movie, Combined with a Van Gogh painting, with emotions on high just like his art, Our minds swirl and splatter, till we arrive, at the end of the last road there could possibly be, At the Casalino. Agriturismo, a horse, dogs, country eating, good wine and sleep. I feel surrounded by centuries of lives, and watch the sun rise like Michelangelo did in a nearby town, Contemplating art and creativity. Where art thou my muse today? What is my quest in life?
We slide down the coast through Civitavecchia and into the walls for Rome. Frenetic drivers and passionate souls, we embrace one of my most favorite cities, Seeking family, friends and solace. Cappella Sistina greets us, as well as the many cobblestone streets and interesting nooks and crannies, Often visited by terramottos of the past. And then the quake hits. We tremble at night, while D’Aquila’s thousand year old churchs and building crumble to the ground. But we are ok. Wine, Pasta, Prosciutto Café Walking Living Loving Dreaming
Becomes great art making.
Now, back to the studio in L.A.

Surrendering to the bliss of my recording journey

The album journey is a wonderful one. I think it was 2004 that I was in the studio last for my own album making. Since then I've produced several artists' albums and I so enjoy that process. But making my own music is, really, where it's truly at for my heart. I set out to make an album that embraced all that was "the stillness" for me: the title of the new album. My first album "Girl In The Moon" (1998) was a hodge podge of ideas. Different sounds, different producers, different locations. Lovely songs, just eclectic. My "temperamental angel" album (2000) was emotional and edgy. It was my first album that set a "tone" and was marketable. It got lots of cool reviews from critics all around the globe. I pioneered some marketing things on the new internet of the time... long before people used the word "indie". I was moody, going through relationship turmoil, young, annoyed and listening to a lot of Alanis Morrissette, David Bowie, Jeff Buckley and Radiohead. I learned about producing, really producing, and also produced artist Rhonda Stisi and some artist demos. Then came "Woman" (2003), my empowerment album. I was victorious, the warrior girl, fiesty, strong and impenetrable. I was my own one girl band across the country, touring, with me and my keyboard, feeling fabo. Coming out of the dark of "temperamental angel" I needed no one (relationship wise), felt strong and had a go get 'em mentality. Rockin', edgy, mainstream, yet alternative. Ballads uptempo songs. Big productions. And lots of Lots of Aussie airplay and tv for the music videos. Fabo. I went on to produce albums for Dina Gathe, Holly Light and some artist demos here and there. Then came "extraOrdinary life" (2005), the peace de resistance. This was my first sophisticated album i'd say. I had glossy photos on the album cover taken by Jim Steinfeldt (rock n roll photographer whos also photoagraphed Tina Turner and Madonna to name a few). The music was epic, 15 tracks,... and an enhanced cd to watch the making of the video. Gloss and more gloss. But still raw, ya know? My emotions, my story, my path. Lots of rock, and groove, still edgy, some ballads, and enormous productions. I went on to produce Paulina Logan's album, and then David Babich's album (still in the process on that one). Also 3 Females On Fire compilations and Art of Men compilation (1/2 done) so over 150 artists through my label. Big marketing, big business, lots of action, lots lots lots of out there, big, and splashy on everything in my life. The Warrior Girl ignited. And now.... drum roll.... THE STILLNESS. Here we are in 2009. Who am I today? Well, certainly feeling victorious. But wiser and older and shit,... nothing more to prove. I've paid my dues, I've done the hard work. It's time for me to be still.... and embrace the moment. I've spent the last year going within,... deep. My life course is changing. I've always been a very ambitious girl. And still am. But now it's a quiet ambition that feels relaxed, in touch with "me" and full of light. For me, the essence of making music now is to tell my story, and inspire others, without the big to-do. So you will hear an album like none of my others. The production is spacious. Less is more. The feature? the vocal and piano, with my musicians also taking the spotlight. The songs and the productions are ELEGANT (as one of my dear friends told me after hearing some rough mixes). They are not with angst or high emotion. They are positive and make you "feel good". The songs are about hope, love, inspiration... positive messages. You can turn it on from the first song and the first words that you will utter is "ahhhh", and all your cares will melt away. This is an album to take you to a place of beauty, joy and seduction. No screaming guitars or heavy drums. It's organic, real... as if our quartet is in your living room. I can't wait till it's complete to share with you the songs. For now, I'm keeping it all under wraps!

delving in deep

A week off, we're back in the studio and we're diving in deep. With song titles like "The Stillness", "Silent Prophet", "Outside In", and "Cling On", and "Be", you might see that I'm going within, going really deep. A lot of the messages from the new album reinforce enjoying the moments, enjoying the journey, as well as being happy to just "be" in the "stillness" and knowing that's the place to be. Like my last album, this one is a continual path of self-discovery, mixed with a lot of positive love and emotion: I'm in a good place, and it's evident in these new recordings.

The songs are coming fast and furious, and easy. Only 8 days of recording and we are pretty much ready to mix. I don't sweat the little stuff and most of the vocalizing and playing is spontaneous and free, yet methodical in preparation. We don't have fancy instrumentation: each song sounds like it's played with the same band. I'm having fun playing with my voice and coming up with cool parts. Matt, my co-producer, is enjoying editing weird shit here and there with loops and breaks. We are mad scientists in a creatively free realm. Loving it.

I head to New York Thursday for a show and some moments with my man, and then I'm off on a solo journey to Australia, to go on a Bushwalk, and finish my book I promised to finish. In March we mix the record.

Finding the music in the stillness

What a thrill. Fourth day in studio mode and we are on a roll. We've recorded everything for the songs "Silent Prophet", and "Stillness". We just need to finish vocals and keys for "Outside In" and "Bushwalk". I wrote "Bushwalk" in '95. Wow. So long ago. My ol' 4 track demo is so basic. But boy I had lots of ideas in it. Now as we flesh it out in the studio, it's coming to life. It's a song that is socially conscious and about change. Although I wrote it in my early 20s, the message is very now. With Obama coming into power, I feel this song is so right on. "Racial freedom, trapped in society, I'm losing my sobriety Momentary madness, can we cure it through psychiatry? Need for solutions. War, crime, culture, family struggle. Time for education, get back to our roots and unify this nation. Going on a Bushwalk, going on a walkabout, gonna feel alive, solve our problems we have inside. take control, energize our thoughts to solve and, cure the world, we can start right now". The word "Bushwalk" is a term we use in Australia to go on a really long hike in the bush. And walkabout is what Aboriginals like to do sometimes. They just up and go for long periods at a time, and get connected with their culture and their roots. (and themselves). It's a right of passage for them. We had Cara and Erin from Little Sista sing on the song (as well as The Stillness, and Silent Prophet). Wow, their voices are AMAZING. We had a fund day yesterday doing vocals. Surprisingly, I feel very connected with my voice right now. It seems to sing easily. I'm no longer second guessing myself, and needing to be perfect. I used to waste a lot of studio time trying to be perfect. I remember once I came in to do a 4 hour session to sing vocals (this is years ago) and I was so psychologically constricted and my voice was aweful that I had to end the session after only 20 minutes. It's so weird. I think our minds play tricks on us. But now, I just walk in, and am pretty much a one take wonder. We sometimes do 2 takes and then "comp" the tracks, which means choosing best parts from each track to make one great track. I like this approach because it allows the voice to be free and sing the song naturally all the way through, hearing the crescendos and decrescendos through the song. When producing vocals, though, with other artists, it can be a hit or miss. Sometimes I "comp" as above (and sometimes comping from 3 or 4 best takes), or I record their vocal part by part. We work on the song in parts. This can be useful for beginner singers. But I still like the first approach, to be as organic as possible. I love producing. I found some writings from back when I was recording the last album "extra Ordinary life". Here's what I wrote:

... it’s a welcome relief to be still in one place and surrender to the flow of creating new music. It’s a very Toltec process for me, connecting with my silent, mysterious and creative side.

This album certainly has more emphasis on social perspectives and world harmony. If we can heal ourselves, and be more connected with our inner self and our community, then the world pretty much takes care of itself. We live in an extraOrdinary world, but if we’re not careful we’ll destroy it. The environment is in severe crisis, with natural resources including water drying up, rainforests are being eliminated, beautiful animals are becoming extinct and treated inhumanly, racial and political issues are of course paramount and yet… I see this as a spiritual crisis more than an economical or political one. I avoid getting too political and I prefer to approach these issues with a more spiritual perspective, almost Toltec, using metaphors about relationships with the Self and those around us to heal the wider issues. That’s why I believe that even a song about romantic love can deliver powerful social and global messages. This album touches on a common theme: we all live extraOrdinary lives, and have the potential to be connected with an unspeakable and extraOrdinary force within us for ultimate, perfect harmony, balance and joy.

…Music production is a whole language in itself, beyond just being a musician. i've always been a communicator, what with being an artist, teacher and writer, but producing is like being a conductor, a messenger, a voyeur, and conducting the chatter from the Gods.

…Producing is not about ego, or personal subjectivity. I can only be the "translator" of what the song is calling out for… a conduit. Plus it’s almost like remembering… whenever I get the right feel or vibe for a particular part, I get this weird “ah ha” or “deja-vu” moment as if the song had once found that perfection, but forgot it. It's really, really exciting delving into the psychology of producing. We become slaves to the song and what it requires, and living on the edge like a spiritual thrill-seeker. It’s also about being rebellious. Being a rebel to the current times, to the past, to whatever anyone else is doing out there or what radio dishes out. It’s about being rebellious even to our own taste, and finding the freedom in creating something new and cutting edge, even if it means taking risks. I crave it! It’s better than an extreme sport (even though I love fast down-hill snow skiing at the best of times!)

So I would have to say that this new album which is called THE STILLNESS, continues to embody such social issues, about the world, about our consciousness as a human race. But it's very much a personal journey too. I am going inward more and more. One song, "Silent Prophet" is about the very fact that when we need true guidance, we can go within and find that, in our inner prophet. Our inner voice. Our intuition. It also talks of the notion that we have nothing to prove in life, but to "carry the water well", which is a lyric in the chorus, meaning to "just do our best". Speaking of which, I saw the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" last night, and i found it so timely for me. The themes were very much along the lines of my new album and where I'm at. There is one part where Brad Pitt's character travels to the Far East and India. There is a great voice over and i will endeavor to find that script because it was so powerful. It made be cry. The jist of it was this: In our lives we can be who we want to be, at any time. We can change our lives at any time, and pursue anything we choose to do. We have a choice. And if something doesn't work out,find the strength to start over, at the beginning again. Over and over again. We can be dancers, button makers, tug boat operators, anything. We can be it all. There's more to it, but it really touched me. In my album, I seek to express that where I am, I have done so much, and succeeded, and I have nothing to prove, but to express myself, and create and be ..... me. One song, "Be" will be on the album. I've had it as a download on my site for a while. This song is about living in the moment, and just "being". So many themes here. I'm excited to be recording and I will post more soon. xx gilli See the studio pics so far here.