Soak in the Emotions: Why Creative Professionals Can Learn a Lot From Music Artists
Working in the creative industry, it’s easy to get caught up in the hectic production schedules, managing teams, pleasing clients and meeting deadlines. You can lose track of the inspirations and ideas driving your project in the first place. Singer-songwriter Larissa Lambert shares her sources of inspiration and how to apply it.
If you work as a creative director, editor, producer, or account director, your sources of inspiration can be as important as helping you land your next big break. It’s even more competitive to get that next big hit in the music industry.
Just like filmmakers and photographers, professional music artists are always on the hunt for their next inspiration, similar to filmmaking or photography. While inspiration can strike at any time, the creative process to realise that inspiration can be time-consuming, complex and, let’s face it, a real grind sometimes.
It isn’t much fun staring at a blank page when ideas simply aren’t forthcoming and that’s often the frustrating reality for artists. Chances are, there will be times when you encounter a creative brick wall.
Many artists often cite a list of creative influences that inspire their work, but for Ballarat-born singer-songwriter Larissa Lambert, she doesn’t have a go-to list of music genres, artists or musicians that she draws on for inspiration. It doesn’t even necessarily have to come from someone in the music industry.
“It’s always hard for me to answer the question of who I’m most inspired by, because I can never nail it down to a small group of particular people,” she says.
“The people that inspire me are the ones who own their individuality and speak their truth. It’s just anyone that chases their dreams and stays true to themselves that I love and get inspired by.”
Larissa’s own dream-chasing has landed her a recording deal with American singer-songwriter and record producer, Jeremih. Her rise to international fame happened rather unexpectedly after she uploaded a cover she performed of SWV’s Weak to TikTok and YouTube.
“One year later the video randomly blew up in south-east Asia and then continued to explode worldwide,” she says.
So where does Larissa get her inspiration? Here are her top 5 tips creative professionals can apply to their own work.
SOAK IN THE EMOTIONS
Creatives have long used their art as an emotional outlet, whether it’s to capture pain, joy or just about every other sensation and experience you can imagine.
“When I was younger and didn’t know how to handle my emotions I would either belt out a sad song or start writing one as a form of release and escape,” says Larissa.
“I’ve always naturally gravitated towards music my entire life. It’s been like a type of therapy for me. When I’m writing about a topic I have to tap into that emotion deeply in order to connect with the song and lyrics.”
“A lot of my inspiration comes from personal experiences for sure, or personal conversations I have with friends.”
“Say a friend is going through a breakup and they’re constantly venting to me, I feel I soak all their emotions up like a sponge and I have to write it out to get all of that off me.”
WORK YOUR OWN SOUND
While Larissa collaborates in mixing studios like other artists, she records her own vocals at home and engineers her own sound. This gives her another creative outlet and source of inspiration.
“Honestly I got into sound engineering because I was sick of relying on other people and them not getting my sound right and how I liked it,” says Larissa.
“It was frustrating, plus it costs money for engineers and it takes away a lot of stress being able to cut your own vocals in your own space and time frame.”
LISTEN MORE
All too often, you see a soaring artistic career brought down by ego. Having a creative vision and being an inspirational force doesn’t mean you will always have the best ideas.
“When I was first getting into writing and production I was so stubborn,” she says. “I would ignore advice and opinions from other people and stick to myself.”
“I truly believe this is what can ruin an artist’s career, when their pride and ego are too big.”
“It’s good to be sure of yourself and not just be a people pleaser, but it’s also good to listen to criticism and take on advice from others and step out of that comfort zone.”
“There’s so much you can learn and so much growth can come from working in a team of people you respect.”
COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS
In the same vein as listening more to others, collaborating with other creative professionals and reaching out as often as you can will lift you out of an inspirational slump. Larissa finds social media works like magic for her.
“TikTok is an awesome platform to collaborate with other artists,” she says.
“Just putting yourself out there and your skills on social media in general can build some really great connections.”
DON’T LET FEAR RULE YOU
Fear of failure or the unknown can be a paralysing force for many, leading them to pass up opportunities or make them take the “safe” road, sticking to the tried and true. For an artist, this can only stifle innovation.
“My advice would be to trust yourself and don’t allow fear to swallow you. Otherwise you will miss out on amazing and beautiful experiences,” she says.
“There have been so many situations where I almost let fear overtake me, and if I did, I would’ve missed life changing opportunities for myself.”
Larissa Lambert
Musician
Larissa Lambert is a singer-songwriter who also engineers her own sound. She was known for her viral Weak cover on TikTok where it hits 10 million views within the month, gaining attention of major labels worldwide.
SHARE THIS POST
RELATED ARTICLES
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Sign up and be a member today! Unlock promotional deals, Mentor advice, event invites, competition prizes, and showcase your work to the wider industry.
Submit your best travel image from 5 September – 5 October 2022 and go in the running to win a SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE SSD 4TB for this month’s Travel Image Competition! Signing up will also grant you access to exclusive deals and promotions, competitions and much more.
—— OR ——
By clicking on “Submit”, you agree to Western Digital’s Privacy Statement and SanDisk Professional Academy Terms and Conditions.
Be Part of the Creative Professional Community
Become a member to gain access to heaps of perks, from expert Mentor advice to product deals and giveaways.
