5 Takeaways from ‘In the Mix’
Last week saw the return of In the Mix, our bimonthly session bringing together peer-feedback on work-in-progress tracks and insights from artists and music industry professionals. Cesca Ivaldi joined the session to share insights into her journey through the industry as A&R manager and Studio manager at XL recordings, and an established DJ in the club scene with a fortnightly show on NTS. Our Co-Lab musician Alex Bird shares here 5 Takes from the evening…
1. Invest in yourself
In Cesca’s words - “spend time putting energy inward”. Learning to be comfortable with yourself, and your work and its visibility, is vital, especially when you are putting your art out into the world - this “emotional vulnerability is an important part of making” and sharing. Cesca also emphasised the importance of pacing yourself and looking after your wellbeing. “Giving everything all the time” is not the route to success - taking care of yourself is.
2. “Cultivate your life and find people that care about you”
The company you keep plays a massive part in your creative success. Creative connection is not just networking events and exchanging details, but building up a supportive community who can develop together. Cesca enthused about her own circles where “everyone was cheering for everyone” and lended a hand to others’ projects, crediting their support as a huge component of her own success.
3. Every work is (and should be) individual
In music, “there’s no right and wrong” way to song-write or express - it is difference that is interesting, so other people’s talent is not competition. When, at the beginning of the workshop, several of the group described their music similarly, you might have expected the songs to be more alike. And yet, even within from the same genres, the songs, as well as the responses to them, were so diverse and personal. Even more evidence that there is space for everyone’s work.
4. Don’t try to shape your work to an imagined ideal
Cesca warned against the urge to cater to a label or an algorithm, arguing that the sought after record deal can in fact “be quite prohibitive to your creativity”. Instead, she championed listening to your creative instincts. After all, there is no hack to success, however you define it, and trying to fit your work into what you think others want ultimately isn’t going to serve you or your career.
5. Have more faith in people’s kindness
Outside of Cesca’s words of wisdom, one of my biggest takeaways from the latest ‘In the Mix’ session was just how open and encouraging everyone was. Especially in London’s music scene, which can feel almost impenetrable and like everyone has it figured out, it was really cool to see everyone, who mostly hadn’t met before, be so generous, supportive and complimentary of each other. I was blown away by how eager and quick participants were to both give insightful feedback to and celebrate their newfound peers. A really nice reminder to be more optimistic about connecting with like-minded people.
In The Mix is a recurring, bimonthly creative feedback session for all young creatives aged 16-30. To register for the next In The Mix event, keep an eye on our dedicated page.
