The Joy of Artistic Integrity

With every project, I learn something new. Creating my album ‘Beatitude’ was extremely self-illuminating.

I really wanted to create something I believed in, not swayed by others opinions (whether supportive or condescending). I wanted to sit with the album until it was me in music form. Once the album was finished, it acted as a mirror. My values were clarified. My desires were refined.

Growing up if you had asked me what was the pinnacle of artistic success, I probably would have referred to sold out arenas and awards shows. And even if you had asked me a few years ago, I would have likely referred to some sort of external validation. But ‘Beatitude’ taught me what I really cared about.

Artistic integrity. I do not know how to adequately express the joy I feel knowing that I created something honest. It takes a lot of guts to stick to your guns, to not panic, to look inwards and find peace, to trust your instincts and be vulnerable to the world.

I have found for myself that when you create something “true”, something with artistic integrity, it lives on its own. It is a living, breathing organism that doesn’t bloat with praise or die with criticism. It is just as powerful with an audience of one as it is with an audience of a thousand. It cuts to the heart because it was made by the heart. Like a prophet in idea form, it challenges the listener, sometimes leading to unpopularity - because art must be true and truth isn’t always what we ask for.

We live in a world obsessed with going “viral”. I am not necessarily interested in dissecting internet culture, but I want to share an experience that I have had with this concept.

Everyone told me that for a successful music career, I had to go viral. You go viral, your song gets on a playlist, you open on a major tour and get a major record deal. Now, I am not downplaying that path, and if it had been opened to me, I would have gladly taken it. But what is the value of going viral? What is the nature of a virus? Through a global pandemic we saw its power, but we also saw its danger.

The night that my single ‘Candles’ was released to the world (the first song to be relased from the album ‘Beatitude’) I had a sacred experience. For years, I had been so focused on going viral, but now as my precious song was released I had this distinct feeling that my song wasn’t a virus but a seed. It was small and might seem unassuming or even unimpressive - but it was full of LIFE! Where other things might die, my song will grow, little by little until it stands strong, resilient against the harsh winds of greedy “self-made” culture and social media-ites.

This is the power of artistic integrity - the art lives, it breathes. Now that is power. Artistic integrity for an artist is like a life jacket, holding you above the ocean of content and triviality. My art isn’t a product to exploit, it is the garden of my ideas, dreams and ideals. I protect it, I honor it and I share it out of the goodness of my heart, not for the praise of the masses but for the beautifying of our humanity.