My husband and I are in this month’s (September) Prima Baby magazine talking about dealing with post-natal depression. It’s an amazing opportunity for us to share how I came through 2 and half years of depression after the birth of our first daughter. Unfortunately the article isn’t available online but you can buy the magazine in the shops so feel free to check it out!
I am pleased to announce that Nikki Noodles and I are NUMBER ONE in the Broadjam UK charts! I Need A Hallelujah is currently receiving a lot of industry attention and we hope to bring you more exciting news about projects soon!
I had a conversation with one of my singing students recently about the balance between work and play. She’d pushed herself to take every opportunity that comes her way even if she doesn’t want to do it. The whole experience had left her drained with nothing left to give and no joy left in her work. She wanted to know what to do next… She was quite surprised when I replied “do nothing, sit on your arse for a while and enjoy it!”
We have an obsession in our culture that we must be doing something all the time. We must be seen to be busy and proactive because apparently it looks good. But does constant “busyness” produce good quality fruit? As a performer, I’ve always found that there is a fine line between not enough and too much performing. There comes a point where you can fall out of love with your work and become tired of the material you sing. The joy of performing disappears and you start to wonder why you are carrying on…
Not every opportunity that is offered to us is beneficial. We need to learn that and exercise our right to say “no”. Saying no won’t make us look bad, but shows that we are in control and can exercise restraint. I’ve worked with some acts that say yes to everything and then end up letting people down. They get known as unreliable or disorganised: labels that can stick and ruin a career. The worst that can happen is that you give a bad performance because you’re so tired that you can’t perform well. Often these performances don’t help our self-esteem as we don’t feel that we’ve given our best and they leave us feeling doubtful of our abilities. Driving yourself to the point of illness won’t help in the long run, it’s not honourable to yourself, others or to God.
Sitting on your arse for a while helps you to stop and listen to how you are feeling. It can help you sort your thoughts out and see the situation clearly. The opportunity for silence has often helped me to reconnect with my creative side and ponder on the things I’d like to write about. Creativity often comes when you sit back and let it happen on its own. Also, if you get known as someone who will always do something, you only make a rod for your own back. Are you denying someone else the chance to have a go and see what skills they have? Doing nothing also gives you the chance to relax and do something that doesn’t involve work. The most interesting people aren’t those who work all the time, but those who have a life outside work because they have other experiences and interests. These outside interests can provide new routes and material for creativity.
So next time you open your mouth to say “yes” to something, stop and think! There’s a rather telling Celtic saying “do few things and do them well” A good lesson to learn…?
We did it! We totally smashed the Kickstarter target! I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has pledged over the last 60 days! You’ve made my day! I’ve had an overwhelming response to the new EP and will be sending out lots of orders in the few weeks, so hold tight for your order – it’s on the way! I’m still gathering pledges by cheque and cash so will inform you all of the final target soon.
As I’m currently 29 weeks pregnant, we’re going to film the video next year. This is partly because a) I don’t want to be massive in the videos! and b) it gives us time to work on the concepts, scripts and find locations etc. I will keep you all posted of our progress and once the video is ready I will post it everywhere for you all to see.
Once again THANK YOU and enjoy your CDs!
Helen x
From “Sirens and Other Mysteries” EP 2013
I often get asked about the stories behind the songs I write. Some of the songs are about my personal experience or based on the experience of others. I’m a real “people watcher” and I like to observe people about their everyday lives and that’s why you’ll see me in cafes a lot! This particular blog is a story that concerns my own experiences. Last year was a rough year for my husband and I; he was made redundant for the fourth time in five years and I had a miscarriage at the same time as this. It seemed like everything was going wrong, our finances and home were under threat again and the second baby we had longed for was gone. It all felt out of our control. A few weeks after the miscarriage, I went up to see my producer Andy Baker at Resound Media to discuss and look at new songs for an EP. We looked through the collection I had written and found five that worked really well together but we needed a sixth and nothing else from my collection seemed to fit. Andy suggested that we write something new together and he was aware of the situation that me and my husband we’re in. He asked me if I could describe the way I was feeling in one sentence, to which I replied “if that’s the way that it has to be” and so a song was born. One of things that I’ve learned over the years is that all experiences work for our good if we allow ourselves to learn from them or except that something might not be for us. I was very with angry with God over what had happened but resigned myself to the fact that he might have better plans than mine and although I didn’t know what they might be yet I still had to trust him. And this is reflected in the song lyrics “you see far beyond where I stand, and how it all fits in your plan”. I can’t say it was an easy song to write and poor Andy had to sit with me crying through most of our session! But it has yielded a song of my own experience that may be able to help others. I’m happy to report that I’m now twenty six weeks pregnant with another baby and that my husband has sorted out his job situation. It’s been a long road and has not been easy and there are still days when I worry that it’s going to happen all again, but that’s the challenge of faith, taking things one day at a time. You can hear the song “If That’s The Way” here…
A few weekends ago I had the pleasure of taking my 5 year old daughter to the CD shop to buy her first ever CD; I’d been looking forward this rite of passage ever since she was born. She wanted to buy an Olly Murs album and although my husband was less than enthusiastic about her choice, we decided to make it a family trip. When I was about the same age, my Dad took me to the record bar in Boots, Margate to buy first ever single. It was “I Just Called to Say I Love You” by Stevie Wonder and I still have it. I have lots of happy memories of going record shopping with my Dad; buying Wham and the Greatest Hits of the year cassettes and LPs. However my daughter’s trip was short lived: we walked into HMV and the first thing she asked was “why are some of the shelves empty?” I had to explain to her that HMV was closing down and that there are no more large CD chains in this country. It made me sad that this will be her first and probably last trip to buy a CD; something that she should be able to do all the time.
The enormity of the shop closure didn’t seem to faze and her and as soon as she found the CD she wanted she was happy. This got me thinking about how the industry has changed and how new ways of working of developed. I do feel that the current phase of buying everything on the internet has robbed us of some tangible life events, such as buying our first album. The town I live in lost its HMV over a year ago; oh the irony of being a musician and living in a town where there are no CD shops!
The electronic market has robbed us of the ability to go and browse in a music shop. One of my friends still goes to London at the weekend to spend some quality time browsing the aisles and finding new artists. I really miss doing the same! I’d spend hours choosing CDs based on the genre and artwork alone. I would have never of heard of some artists without taking a risk on unknown music and buying their albums. I’ve also discovered new artists through having discussions with fellow shoppers. Could we lose some of our community by purchasing everything on line?
So how have things changed? Are there advantages? Remember the days of the listening pod at the back of the music shop? The internet has become a giant listening pod for new music; you just need to know where to find it. My friends and I try to recommend new music to each other as often as possible; I always check out iTunes free “Single of the Week”. People no longer buy stacks of CDs in the way that they used to, they tend use sites like Spotify to stream free music or pay the monthly subscription for longer listening hours. There has been a change in the way that people feel about supporting acts; fans often want to make a difference to the artist’s career and be involved in some of the background activities such as promotion, making a video, or helping to put together a tour. Many artists have moved towards asking fans to pledge money towards a particular campaign rather than just asking them to buy a CD. Fans feel they’ve helped and have some ownership in the artist’s work. Crowd-funding sites have sprung up across the internet and a newspaper recently dubbed the phenomenon as “Be Your Own Dragon”, referring to the BBC Dragon’s Den programme. I’ve also recently moved into the area of crowd-funding; I released a campaign to help me promote Christian music through making a music video (you can find it at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/helensandersonwhite/helen-sanderson-whites-new-promotional-push ).
Some small music chains have survived: Rough Trade has always prided itself on supporting independent artists. They deliberately set out to be different and host new artist evenings where the acts do a short performance; they’re bringing back intimate, live performance. And curiously, Fopp are still going despite being owned by the same group as HMV! There are also independent shops across the country that have fought to stay open, so do pop in and say “hello” they always love to talk about music! People are tired of the bland, corporate store and want something more personal and home-grown. Is it time to “reclaim” our music community and bring back live music and an interest in the arts through independent stores? Although this may be the last time my daughter goes to HMV, she may well get her first trip to a new kind of independent, arts-supporting music store in the future…
Want to hear a song from my new EP? Pop over to http://www.reverbnation.com/helensandersonwhite and click on “If That’s The Way”. Over the next few weeks I will be posting more songs from the new EP; keep checking this site for more details!
Check out my video!
It’s been an incredible musical journey for me over the last ten years. I’ve written, recorded, collaborated and taught – and as we move into 2013, the time is right for something new! Last year I returned to the studio with Sound Consultancy, the team behind artists like the Daughters of Davis and Philippa Hanna. The result is ‘Sirens and other Mysteries’, a brand-new six-track EP released this coming April. The team have really pushed me forwards, and helped me create what I believe is my best collection of songs yet!
BUT THE JOURNEY DOESN’T STOP THERE…
… Now we need to share these songs with the world, and that’s where you come in! I need your help to produce a music and promotional video that will carry an uplifting and inspirational message to a whole new audience: These are songs about life, faith and hope. I believe that God has called me to create music that is honest, open and realistic so that other people know that they are not alone in their struggles and successes. By branching out into visual media, we can help more people engage with music, life’s difficult questions and, of course, the Gospel.
In return for your pledges, I’m offering a whole range of rewards. As well as copies of my previous releases At Second Glance and The Sanctus Project, I am also offering vocal materclasses and your chance to appear in one of the videos. Remember, if we don’t reach our target we don’t get a penny. Any funds are greatly appreciated, so join us and help inspire, challenge and encourage through music!
Helen Sanderson White 