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Interview with Naythen Wilson
October 26, 2013
Naythen Wilson is a bassist, composer, and music producer. For information about his work, visit www.naythenwilson.com.
Tibbetts: How long have you been involved in music?
Wilson: The most direct way I can answer this is to say from inside the womb. I had two parents who were deeply driven by music. I came out into an intense world of all genres, no limitations, all music was accepted. It was this openness that started me on my musical path, realizing the importance of sound and silence. I have an incredibly deep and honest love and respect for my folks for giving me that loving, nurturing environment to grow in.
Tibbetts: What made you decide to become a musician?
Wilson: My earliest memories are of my mother playing classical music on the piano. It was watching her energy rise and fall, her passion for Baroque music, and her drive for perfection. It was PRIMALLY inspirational. From my father, I learned a passion for the listening. He didn't play an instrument but he sang and was encompassed by a cloud of classical music and opera. His singing permeated my life. They were so lovely and willing to love. I was very lucky to have them guide me.
Tibbetts: What inspires you?
Wilson: All emotions. Death, life, heart, honesty, motivation. I always want to make sure that what I am creating is coming from a pure place, void of jumble. I was inspired as I grew by many artists of all styles of music, but it was early that I decided it was more important to compose my own music. I was also inspired by my Native American heritage. My mother worked with me at paying attention and loving whole-heartedly, but being conscientious and aware of all things around. Cherish the gifts and the downfalls. All of these things are vital to growing and learning. Don't be fearful of anything, take it all head on. It is all beautiful, both the ups and downs.
Tibbetts: How would you describe your compositional process?
Wilson: Very quick, straight from thought to hand as quick and as unfiltered as possible. I often see a composition in a final form, and see the journey as translating it to the instrument. It has always been easy to create, and to see the original picture... but not necessarily fun. It comes when it wants to and I have to capture it then, there are no other options. I love and hate the power it has over my timeline. It doesn't matter if it happens at 3 in the morning while I am sick, it has to be done then. Synesthesia also plays a big role in my process, as does sonic mapping. These are the tools I use the most to make the process easier. It gives me a clarity that leads me down a corridor to being hyper-prolific. Keep creating, keep creating, never stop.
Tibbetts: What do you consider your best work?
Wilson: As long as it is honest and forthright, it ranks high. I am just as happy with a silly ditty that I come up with in an instant as I am with something that I have slaved over for week. They are my babies. My only creations. I like them all. If I were to look at it from what other people say is my best work, it would probably be the recent Song-a-Day project that I did in the year 2012, which was for my mother who was dying of cancer. I wrote a song every from scratch, played the instruments, engineered it, etc. every day of that year. It was way more of an accomplishment than even my 77 solo albums. Near the end of that year my mother succumbed to her disease, but I still finished out the year in memory of her. She was my beginning.
Tibbetts: What is your typical day like?
Wilson: Well, to be straightforward with you, recently I have pulled away from music on a certain level. I have stopped joining bands, I am really taking this time to work on other people's albums as an engineer and producer. I wanted to take some time off from my solo career. I have a band called IT KINDA LOOKS LIKE PART OF A WHEEL, that plays songs from my Song-a-Day project. We are aiming to eventually hit the stage in the coming year or so, possibly. So every day now consists of working hard on other people's music.
Tibbetts: What advice would you offer to aspiring musicians?
Wilson: Well first and foremost, create from an honest place, don't sell yourself short, don't change for anyone. Please know that some of the best musicians didn't have theory crammed down their throat. Theory and the language of music are VERY IMPORTANT, but the music that is made from the heart, without tons of rules is ALMOST always the most powerful. I always have learned more from people who have just picked up an instrument, than I have ever learned from a shredding theory monster. I love the innocence, I love watching a person touch an instrument for the first time, with no pre-conceived notion of how to play it. That always makes me warm. Over the years of playing music, I have become somewhat jaded, and seeing someone be fresh in an environment that is so rich and free (like playing an instrument for the first time) pulls me out of that grief. I want to record everyone. I feel everyone has something that NEEDS to be heard.
Naythen and I have collaborated several times in the past. Our most recent collaboration was on his aforementioned Song-A-Day project. On August 21, 2012 I played flute and keyboard on the song, "Prophecies Abound" (34th EP, titled "Planting Myself Deep", from the 52 EP year-long set titled "DO NOT ERASE").
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