Michael Shoup

From time to time, we all need a helping hand.  Sometimes it comes in the form of a simple encouragement.  Other times it comes in the form of a powerhouse assistant who doubles your productivity & creativity, and just happens to be a killer songwriter herself.

Enter Kristen Wright.

Kristen has been working behind the scenes with me for months booking tours, arranging details on Song For You, and keeping me properly caffeinated.  A superb artist in her own right, I asked her to share some insight on the process of creating her debut EP, “In the Year of Letting Go.”  This girl has quite a story to tell on this record, and I know you’ll enjoy the glimpse she gives you into her collaborative process.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Kristen Wright on How to Collaborate…

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A month ago I created this link post anticipating the start of creating my first EP. One month in and I have learned so much with the rest of the project scheduled to finish tracking at the end of March. It has been a whirlwind so far of syncing the schedules of everyone involved, having a little faith, and a lot of late hours. But most of all, it has been one of the best times of my life. I’m creating music with my best friends.

The link post above has this quote by Jack White: “You’re doing your best when you let God in the room and allow the natural things that occur when people collaborate.”

For the majority of my singer-songwriter career I’ve flown solo. I’m from Indiana, and at an early age, I was under the impression that you could not be from Indiana and do music with your life. So when I embraced my passion, I thought I had to do it all myself because no one else around me was going to get me there. So this notion, combined with my innate independent nature made for a challenging habit to break.

Until last fall, I didn’t have a band. I accompanied myself, wrote songs that I could play, and found my sound in that simplicity. Stripped acoustic folk is still a huge part of my sound, but now, so are my amazingly talented friends, and their abilities have taken my music where I never could.

I’ve been meditating over the arrangements for this EP for a few months now, and I thought I had to come to rehearsal with every element nailed down — false. I created a solid chart so my band could follow my crazy tunings and format, but I’ve left a lot of space for my band to contribute to what the song becomes.

My opening track for the EP (Get the teaser for FREE here.) has become a complete and incredible arrangement with an element I could not have created without the help of my cajon and bass player. 

Allow space for your creations to become something greater than your imagination.

Even as an arranger, you have to step outside of yourself as a writer and look at your work from a separate perspective.

If you’re like me, you have trouble with letting go and letting the song become more than you thought it could be. How fitting that this EP is entitled “In the Year of Letting Go.”

So collaborate. Need others. Give. Communicate. Be. This is what making music is about!

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For updates on Kristen’s project, follow her Tumblr, like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter!