The singer-songwriter, Lorde, creates music that deeply resonates with her fans through raw emotion and authenticity. Lorde allows her songwriting process to be pure, allowing inspiration to come to her and not forcing it when it is not present. She does not believe that she can make herself be creative in periods of dry spells and will willingly go long time periods without writing songs, simply because she is not moved by anything. For her, the creative process is complex and takes time. She allows herself to struggle and she is open to sourcing inspiration wherever it may be found.
In Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act: A Way of Being, nature is described as an absolute and enduring great work. This great work can support the creative process with its infinite color palette, textures and shapes, and age-old wisdom. He writes about how connection to the natural world serves our spirit, and where spirit is served, so is artistic work.
In Solar Power, Lorde expresses a lightness in being disconnected from technology and embracing the natural world. The album was a stark shift from her much heavier, melancholic previous works. This reinvention demonstrates how she allowed creative energy to find her by deepening her connection to the natural world, rather than remaining in the same artistic box that the public eye placed her in.
within her self-identity and through that her creative output evolved.
I love the way Lorde transforms herself between her albums, as you mentioned in your post, because it makes me feel like I am growing alongside her. Melodrama came out when I was in middle school, and related to all those emotions I was feeling, and then Solar Power was so fun, and now her newest album, Virgin, is so cool. I think her focus on authenticity and genuinely making music that she is proud of and reflects the current state of her life is what makes it so impactful and meaningful for audiences.
ReplyDeleteLorde's abstract creative process was very interesting to read about and I liked the way you described her as receiving artistic inspiration. Your connection to the book was clear and direct, as both creatives draw from the natural world. Lorde's discography also reflects Rubin's writings about responding differently to the "static" outside world, as her earlier work taps more somber emotions and juxtaposes the nostalgic and domestic bliss feel of Solar Power.
ReplyDeleteI have been listening to Lorde for a while (but I do not know much about her creative processes and her as a person). When solar power came out, I was struck by how different it was from Pure Heroine and Melodrama. I was not aware of her inspiration for this album, but it makes perfect sense that it is a product of her reconnection with nature! I also love the fact that she lets as much time as she needs go by (4 years between albums as you said), because the audience can feel and hear her growth not only in her musical talents but in her thoughts and perspectives as well. I like the connection you made between Rubin stating that nature connection serves our spirit and the album because it shines a light on Lorde as a person (not just her artistry) which then gives the audience a better context to understand her music.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post about Lorde. It was interesting to hear about how she has changed throughout her different albums. The way that you connected her to the book you are reading was also really interesting to see your perspective on it. It also helped me to see her albums in a different way since it gives more context to why she did what she did with those albums. Overall, I think it was a good connection between the book and Lorde.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how much you emphasized the connection between Lorde's creative process and The Creative Act. It was really clear how Lorde taking time between albums reflected Rubin's idea of how creativity can be a long process. Before reading this I didn't know how significantly nature impacted Solar Power but it definitely is very different from Pure Heroine and Melodrama. I also really liked how she said that she doesn't force inspiration, and I think that is something that is important to remember when creating because it will be more authentic by coming naturally.
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