Origin(al) Stories

The first Origin(al) Stories online journal was published on the first ConChie website to show how the Northumbria album came to be. It was suggested by Andy H, one of my oldest and closest friends, as a good way to support Northumbria’s release. The entries were drawn from the diary and journal I’d kept tracking what became Northumbria from its inception to its release, looking at the inspiration, processes, tools and equipment I’d used on that journey.

The original post explaining this appeared on 1st April 2020 and was as below:

All of the blog entries in Origin(al) Stories up to this date are drawn from my diary and process journal entries between May 2019 and today.

Collectively, they tell the story of my picking up the guitar again that led to the production of Northumbria. They do so in a slightly different way to the usual 'Making of ...' narratives - primarily because I didn't set out to make an album. I just wanted to see if there was anything of me left in music and anything of music left in me.

As well as many other things, I recorded my thoughts and my progress on that journey day-to-day in my diary.

I first started keeping a diary in 2014 - 2015.

I was advised to by the charities Refuge and Mankind. I used an online journal service that offered multiple layers of password protection and the facility to export entries to an email - which in my case was that of an independent trusted person.

Knowing that I would face claims that it had been fabricated, I set the account to open a new page each time I logged in and for that page to be saved and locked each time I logged out so I couldn't alter it. As such, it became a time-stamped accurate in-the-moment record of everything that was happening.

I'd advise anyone in similar circumstances to do the same.

It doesn't matter whether you write online, record voice notes to yourself, send text messages or record voice mails and send them to a trusted friend.

What's important is that you keep a record of what's happening while it's happening.

It won't stop your partner and others trying to turn things into a he said / she said debate; it won't stop them claiming that you're mad and mentally ill; and it won't stop them claiming that you're making it all up.

But it will help a little.

Although the entries have got a lot sunnier, I've kept a diary ever since.

In tracking my progress from first picking up a guitar again to now, then, the Origin(al) Stories journal tells the origin story of Northumbria - hence the title: Origin(al) Stories.

It's a 'Making of ...' drawn from the perspective of someone who didn't set out to make anything.

As such, it's fragmentary.

There are no 'Today I sat down and wrote [insert song title here]'-type entries.

There are no pictures from rehearsals; no shots from the studio; and no teaser trailers for the first single - because there was no plan for this to become a release.

It doesn't push tour dates or merchandise because I don't have any to push. I'm not funnelling you towards the 'buy' button, which seems to be the objective of most websites now.

That doesn't mean that I don't want you to listen to Northumbria.

I do.

It's a great piece of work and I'm really proud of it.

I think people will get a lot out of it if they choose to listen.

But if you read the entries, you'll see that I didn't set out to make an album. I just set out to reconnect with something fundamental to me.

Following that process led to here.

Because they were written in my diary / journal, the entries here are presented in sequence. I've always been interested in how things are done as much as why they're done, and I've always written about both in an attempt to record and understand them. The entries here are taken from whatever was on my mind at the time on the day of writing: songwriting; recording processes; wood and wire; art and bone; conversations; thoughts; ideas; blind alleys; through roads. What was written was never meant for public consumption, so sometimes the posts are complete entries and sometimes I've just selected paragraphs that seemed pertinent.

Origin(al) Stories at this point is me thinking in ink and showing my workings.

Origin(al) Stories isn't the whole story.

It's postcards from the journey.

* * *

That was then.

This update is being written now, at the launch of The Landing Stage website in 2023 - which is supposed to be a non-platform driven hub for some of the things I do.

I still keep a diary.

I still write about the things people write about in diaries, and I still write about the things that ended up in the first Origin(al) Stories journal: ideas I'm working on; exploring how ideas can become realities, and the processes I use to realise them.

I've decided to keep Origin(al) Stories going past Northumbria's release.

Why?

Well, because it appears likely that I’ll continue to do things that interest me. Other ideas have bubbled up and are turning into projects. So it seems logical that I could dip into diaries and journals as and when and if they progress, develop and ultimately are then released.

I am aware that this method of talking about ideas and processes will appear fragmentary and somewhat elliptical - especially compared to the content outputs of other gurus / coaches / content makers. I’ve described it above as ‘postcards from the journey’ rather than the whole story. But it should be noted that I’m not setting myself up as a guru / coach / content maker. I have certain areas that I’m interested in - and I’m exploring some of the things I do as I practise those disciplines. I’m also not offering definitive answers or prescriptive judgements because I don’t think there are any. I’m also moving increasingly towards developing things using slow media - things you can touch and hear and hold and see rather than stuff on a screen. As such, I’m confident that this dipping in and out approach is more reflective of the realities of a productive life than exhaustive lists and explanations of every single detail are. We live in an age of endless constantly produced content. We can find out anything we want about anything that interests us at the click of a button. But my gut feeling is that this has actually led to an understanding fatigue: the more we’re told, the less we know … because learning requires us to do rather than just listen. Doing often leads to an outcome we didn’t want or didn’t foresee, but we learn more from that than following someone else’s template.

Northumbria turned out the way it did not because I set out with the intention of producing what it ended up, but because I followed ideas that were interesting me to their conclusion - and it’s far better as a result.

By showing that it’s okay to have more than one string to our bow, showing that human beings are multi-faceted and complex, and showing that what we set out to do might become something else along the way is, I think, positive.

Showing that progress is not linear but is stop / start, up and down, back and forward is positive.

I had conversations with PR people around about the time Northumbria came out.

The advice was all the same.

Start a Youtube channel, an Instagram profile, a Twitter account. Build your profile. Funnel people back to your site to sell things.

Here’s the thing:

If I’m spending all that time maintaining my channel, growing my social media profile, creating content regularly to stay on top of the algorithm … ?

I’m not actually making the things that content is promoting.

The Landing Stage is about doing things.

Everyone tells you that they can give you the method by which you'll become rich; get famous; build your social media profile; write your novel; run your marathon; produce and release your music; be a better person / parent / whatever and so on.

I won’t ever tell you that.

All claim to be definitive.

I will tell you that there’s no such thing.

There’s only whatever way works.

And that way might only work for now.

And that’s fine.

If you’re interested in doing things and you simply must have a list to get you started, here’s what I’ve found:

1) There is no high road to the Muses.

2) Routines are great and productive - right until they aren't.

3) The approach that works is the approach that works - right until it doesn't.

4) There are no hard and fast rules. Whatever way works.

5) Each time is different. If it isn't, you're following a formula.

6) Formulas are traps.

6) There is no high road to the Muses.

So, I don't do social media.

I don't have a Youtube channel because it would take time away from doing things that actually matter, and because they’re formulaic, driven as they are by algorithms, and I’m interested in realising creativity - which can never be formulaic.

I'm not about to publish a self-help book because I think they're the abusive partners of the literary world. There’s something wrong with you. You’re weird. You’re odd. You’re abnormal. Only I can fix you.

Believe me: you're fine as you are and you have everything you need to do what you want to do - you just have to go and do it.

I write a diary and keep a process journal for myself in the first instance and because it helps me to explore what I'm working on and the processes I go through to realise my ideas in the second.

And if it doesn't, well, it's something to read, isn't it?

©℗ A. I. Jackson

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The Origin(al) Stories Journal was launched to track the writing and recording of the Northumbria album. You can read about the thought processes behind decision here. It has continued as a collection of posts drawn from my personal diaries, project journals, and process notes. Showing how I’ve found a path to doing something, often via experimentation, missteps, false trails and blind alleys, these posts do not offer definitive insights into any of the projects on The Landing Stage. They are just postcards from the ongoing journey.

Have a great day, be a positive force, and tell those you love that you love them.