Journal Entry 001: Solar Power

May 8th, 2022

10:30AM

Santa Barbara, CA

Nowadays it seems like we are so dependent on an artist to guide us alongside how their work should be consumed and felt. It seems rare to just present the work and let audiences process it on their own, without the need for promotion and reminders about its presence and meaning.

The truest way to consume art, to me, is to let it find you. The meaning, circumstance, and emotion behind it can’t be fabricated from an audience’s perspective (at least at any meaningful level).

I’ve only come to realize it in this past weekend through Lorde’s approach in her “Solar Power” album era. One of her most critiqued and different projects to date, she chose to remain silent on social media for its release, rollout, and promotion through the past year. She hardly even promoted the tour, which i attended the final two shows to this weekend. No obligation to explain what’s going on surrounding the album whatsoever. The purest form of letting the work speak for itself.

I’m realizing the art finds its way to its most true audience in this case: People who connect to the artist and their work on a profound and dedicated level. It’s no different than any other relationship, really. Both sides must find their way to each other and nurture the connection naturally and actively.

It’s funny how I’d almost forgotten how much of an impact Lorde and her art have had on me throughout the years as a result of her disconnection from social media. It was only after opening myself up and going out of my way to connect with her and the work through her last concerts this weekend that I gained a new perspective. Listening to her talk about the project, her thoughts and feelings between performing the songs, finally allowed me to appreciate and understand Solar Power and her approach to solitude in its entirety.

She seems to prioritize and value the idea of an intimate connection with the people who truly care, as proven through her email letters to the fanbase every few months, and smaller venue choices for this tour. From the front of the crowd to the back, it was deafening roars from the most dedicated supporters in every city. True connection. 

Long story short - that’s the energy that I want to cultivate around my work and whoever it finds. I don’t want to resort to influencer tactics in order to convince people to like the idea of who I am and what I create. That’s the idea of whatever these public journal entries will be: for the few strangers who choose to go out of their way and connect with me and my work - a small glimpse into the circumstance and moment I find myself in during this process. I won’t release these on any sort of schedule, but they’ll be accompanied by some photos and the music I’ve been listening to that capture the period of time that inspired the words.

New work very soon. Big changes. I’m excited about the people in my life and where I’ll find myself in the coming months. Appreciate y’all.

- JT

Here’s a playlist of some of the sounds that’ve accompanied me through the changes these past few months.