S14 E12: Sitting With The Muse featuring Nick Leng

Nick Leng is a Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter and producer known for his abstract blend of electronica, classical piano and ambient soundscapes. Nick’s music is hard to categorize but evokes a sense of musical synesthesia, which he describes as a kaleidoscope of emotions turned into sounds.

Nick's musical journey began in his early years growing up in South Africa, where he was classically trained on the piano. His formal education provided a strong foundation for his later experimental approach, as he learned to seamlessly blend technical skill with a passion for experimentation.

In today’s episode, Nick talks with me about his musical development and the nuances of his ever-evolving creative process.

In a world where artists are often pressured to keep up with the demands of producing new content, Nick shares openly about his struggles with the industry’s relentless pace. He talks with me about the importance of resisting this pressure and taking time to sit with the muse, allowing his songs to develop naturally.

In keeping with our Season theme of Reclaiming Wonder, Nick contributes a fascinating perspective on discovering wonder within new sounds and new ways of approaching music.

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REPLAY: An Ethos of Healing with Elephant Heart

As we prepare for The Breath & The Clay creative arts gathering, I’m going to be highlighting several of the speakers and performers who’ll be joining us at the event.

For today’s episode I reached into the archives and pulled a segment of my conversation with BC24 headliners, Elephant Heart.

Elephant Heart is the Los Angeles-based electronic duo Jason and Victoria Evigan. Elephant Heart’s music Is Rooted in their shared passion for international travels, world beats and global cultures Elephant Heart creates genre-bending music that pulls multicultural influences from far and wide.

This segment of Season 7’s conversation carries a meaningful contribution to our current season’s theme of community and culture.

In this clip, Victoria and Jason share about the healing power of music and its ability to bring people together, the beauty of cultural diversity as well as a candid look into Victoria’s own process of moving past fear into the fullness of her creative expression.

You can listen back to the full episode here.

Bonus Interview: Half-Handed Cloud

John Ringhofer, the man behind Half-handed Cloud, is as joyful and frugal as his music. An economical thinker, Ringhofer prefers the subway over a taxicab, is a recycler of plastic, a compulsive note-taker, and a habitual optimist. Half-handed Cloud started as a home-recording project in Chattanooga, TN in 1999. Ringhofer was later based in the California Bay area for over a decade (where he worked as a part-time custodian) before moving with his young family to Helsinki, Finland in 2015 for his wife’s linguistics research. Half-handed Cloud is able to ensconce complicated theological concepts into catchy and sublime playground songs that refuse to condescend to its subject or its listener. He has collaborated with artists Sufjan Stevens, Daniel Smith of the Danielson Family and is currently an Asthmatic Kitty recording Artist.

In this bonus episode, Stephen talks with John about the creative process of his latest album, Flutterama as well as the mischief of Jesus, satire and how environment shapes the art we make.

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S9 E06: Composing Through The Multiverse with Son Lux

Son Lux is an experimental, electronic trio whose music strives to question deeply held assumptions about how music is made. The band started in 2008 as a solo project of founder Ryan Lott, then expanded to include creative collaborators Ian Chang and Rafiq Bhatia.

Most recently, the band scored the new Daniels film, Everything Everywhere All At Once, featuring collaborations with Mitski, David Byrne, Randy Newman and Moses Sumney among others.

I had the chance to talk with Ryan about his creative process, collaboration and what it was like composing music for a bizarre film based on the multiverse, one which the New York Times has called “an exuberant swirl of genre anarchy.”

If you’ve been following the podcast this season, you’ll know I’ve been talking with my guests about mental, emotional and spiritual health as it relates to the creative artist. I asked Ryn for his comments on this subject as well which I’ve made available for our patrons at patreon.com/makersandmystics

S7 E15: An Ethos of Healing with Elephant Heart

Elephant Heart is the husband and wife musical collaborative of Jason and Victoria Evigan. Jason Evigan is an award-winning producer and songwriter responsible for some of today’s biggest hits from artists such as Maroon 5, Madonna, Ellie Goulding, and Rufus Du Sol. Victoria Evigan is a musician, visual artist, set designer and stylist known for using make up, hair, environments, and fashion to create contemporary expressions of the Elephant Heart ethos. Victoria is also the principal operator of Picture This, Elephant Heart’s not for profit organization.

Patrons of the podcast can listen to additional interview segments with Jason and Victoria about Picture This, making their own instruments and Jason’s work as a music producer.

In this season finale episode, Stephen talks with Jason and Victoria from their home studio in Los Angeles, California about the spiritual dynamics and creative processes within their music.