This is the day

I've been waiting for this my whole life. While film was really the first medium to open my eyes to the power of art, it's music that has had the most profound effect on me. And that's really the nature of music, isn't it? Great music makes a sense memory in your brain. When you hear a piece that truly moves you, you're not quite the same person afterward. Because of that, I've wanted to be involved in music for the longest. To date, I retained my focus on my first love, film, but lately music has become a more and more attractive proposition. And when Andy and I had the first conversations that would eventually lead to H+, the sensation was too exciting to ignore.

I tend to rotate towards artists who push boundaries. In the visual arts, I quickly found and fell in love with the Surrealists and other iconoclast groups. In film, the bizarre worlds of David Lynch and David Cronenberg mesmerized me. I suppose it would have only been a matter of time before I found music that was as adventerous, but I must give credit where credit is due. Despite an abiding love of David Bowie, which was already leading me towards Brian Eno, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and many more, it was Spencer Owen who introduced me to The Residents. And if it weren't for that, I'm not sure what my musical tastes would be at this point. And The Residents' catalog and commitment to their art are huge inspirations for where I want to go with H+. Their unfailing dedication to experimentation has led to some of the most amazing music I've ever heard. And from them I've learned of so many other fantastic artists, who have only fed my appetite for the new and the experimental. In the same vein, Spencer also gave me my first taste of The Boredoms, the gateway band to Japanese Noise Rock, easily the most interesting musical movement in the world today.

On my end, I can take sole credit for finding out about David Bowie (not too difficult, I know), King Crimson, and Kate Bush. That's not to say these were amazingly obscure artists that no one knew about, simply that I stumbled upon them on my own, and their influence on me has been equally large as those wonderful groups that Spencer still continues to throw my way to this day. I'll admit, I can't remember if I found out about Peter Gabriel all on my lonesome, or if Spencer showed me the way on that one, or if it was something in between.

The main connecting thread between these particular artists is not just that they're great, but they have always pushed their own music forward in unexpected and exciting ways. Too many musicians are content to spend a few years perfecting a style and then working strictly within those limits for the rest of their careers. This does not hold true for the above, who bring something new to the table with every outing. Does that mean everything they touch turns to gold? No, but I'd rather hear their failures from the heart than an immaculately manufactured and packaged success from more comfortable artists.

It would take ten blogs for me to list all the artists I love and who have influenced me, but I specifically chose these because it's this spirit of adventure and innovation that I'm bringing to H+. I get giddy at the thought of working on this project, of turning these ideas swirling in my head into definitive concepts that will have some level of impact on the world. I can't forsee how it will turn out. All I can do is continue to inject the venture with the urge to experiment, to stay restless, never stand still. And, in turn, perhaps I will inspire people as I myself have been inspired.

-Daniel