Today, we are here with Jay Wolff of Divinex to talk inspiration to write music, advice for musicians, and more! Be sure to check out the music of Divinex below after the interview on Spotify!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your surroundings?
JW – I usually take the lead on writing, and generally I’m just trying to create a really moving experience. Something that just sounds huge and enveloping and unique. I try to make it so it’ll grab the attention and move the listener, while also paying attention to how I feel when playing or listening to the song and adapting it so it feels awesome to me.
The way I look at it, there’s no sense in trying to make something you think other people might like, so the only thing you can sincerely do as a writer is make an experience that feels amazing and perfect to you, and then hopefully it will resonate with people who appreciate the same things you do in music. If I write a song that feels like the perfect sequence of sounds to me and makes me feel amazing the whole time I’m playing it and rocking out in my bedroom, that’s when I know the song is on the right track.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
JW – Oh I don’t know. Quite a wide range. At first I just wanted something more interesting than radio music so I got into heavy music like System of a Down and Slipknot and later Unearth, Between the Buried and Me, and Underoath, certainly loved the whole emo era and all those cool punk bands. Then there were the riffy mathy bands around the same time like Protest the Hero and Born of Osiris. And now having been in an instrumental progressive metal band for over 10 years I definitely listen to a lot of modern metal and progressive rock and instrumental guitarhead music. Periphery, Monuments, Karnivool, Dead Letter Circus, Haken, The Intersphere. The last band I found that I’ve been crazy into is Vola. That band rocks and their music is so good! I like to think those guys appreciate the same things as me in their writing, so their songs just hit me so good.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
JW – Not as much as some people probably, but I know I’m weird in that I don’t approach music from a specific instrument standpoint so I don’t have anyone who’s playing I try to emulate. When I started playing rock music I was playing a lot of drums, so Aaron Gillespie was definitely a big hero early on, but later when I started writing more and playing guitar I found inspiration in whole bands that I thought make awesome music and appreciated the music for what it was as a whole instead of someone’s specific role.
That said, I think David Maxim Micic is someone whose model I really respect. The guy’s music is so well written but doesn’t really fall into any particular genre, there are no rules, and he just adds whatever sounds he thinks the song needs which is so cool. He doesn’t seem to have any agenda or need to be a famous icon. He just makes awesome music and people that dig it find it and appreciate his brilliance.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing today?
JW – To be fair that’s not my main gig even now, so it’s not something that prevents me from doing other things and it’s more of a passion project, but I guess if I didn’t have that as a creative outlet there are a few things I’d probably get into. Sometimes I miss working with my hands so I’d love to get good at woodworking or sculpture or something, and I’ve been really digging creating light shows to go with our music so in another life I could totally see myself being a light designer for a touring band or DJ or something. It’s like writing a song but you have beams of light for notes. It’s so much fun to create an experience with!
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create music?
I see so many bands get focused on trying to do all the things that make them “legit” so they can be perceived as “cool band guys.” It even seems like some of them even hire writers and producers to “make them sound like a band.” There’s nothing inherently wrong with that but I’ve seen talented people not get far because they didn’t spend enough time developing their music. Learn music theory, learn how to write, and try to understand that it’s not about doing it “right” like it’s some craft where you learn a formula. It’s about creating something unique that feels amazing to you, and you’ll find others will appreciate what you appreciate about it too. Do something people haven’t heard before or tell a really moving, relatable, or memorable story with lyrics. To me it’s all about expression and creating something new and unique =)
Music:
