I spend half of my life wishing that days were longer. I always seem to end up in the house after midnight, and never get done what I wish I could get done. But today, sitting in the Uni commonroom from 5am, this day has been longer than any day I ever wished for. It's probably mainly because time stands still when you hit the wall. That painful period from 8am-12pm lasted a full day on its own.
I worry that me and Andy's constant blogging makes a hyperbole out of this little 3-day shenanigan. I promise we aren't trying to build this up as some crazy unheard-of expedition into the unknown - I think you know that it certainly isn't that incredible of a feat. But there's undoubtedly a loss of rationale when in this current state I find myself in, and without rationale, thoughts can cause panic unbelievably easily. I think about how sometimes at my weekend job a 4-hour shift feels like a full day shift, and then comparing that to my current situation, I die a little inside at the thought at 3 straight days in the same place without rest.
I'll stop moaning now. I feel pretty good; it's more the lingering realisation of just how long is left that's harming me psychologically. Let's see if I can still battle off the next 'wall' for a little while. They are really the only thing that will be our downfall.
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
Sleep Deprivation and the exploration of creativity (12:41 - 31/3/15)
As you are all probably aware by now, me and Luke are becoming SEVERELY bored, hence the number of posts cropping up.
Thankfully, I have seemed to have surpassed the first barrier and now carrying on with my day as normal, albeit spent predominantly within the confines of two university buildings...
Anyways, a lot of people have asked us why we are attempting something like this, why on earth would an individual want to deprive themselves of sleep? Well (for me at least), a lot of musicians strive to develop elements of creativity, whether it be a creating a distinguishable tone or melody etc..., or through discovering different creative aspects of their mind through the use of narcotics.
Particularly within the genres of popular music, the use of drugs have ambiguously became a part of the culture; whether it be the hippie movement, hardcore punk generation or even the more modern rave/club scenes, the influence of drugs has become a domineering force within the creative elements of both the artists and participants.
However, although a vast array of artists, bands, musicians etc. have experimented with various substances, designed to provoke specific areas of the brain, how many have considered exploiting natural human elements? We all know what being tired is like, that groggy feeling of having no drive to commit to anything apart from that nice warm bed; however with this, we wanted to take it further, we are attempting to break through this stage and see what truly lies in the depths of our own minds.
Taking quite a naïve approach to being able to simply stay awake for a long duration time, we have quite admittedly covered very little research prior to committing to the stint and are truly interested to see how are bodies shall react.
We shall keep blogging, videos and recordings will be shown at a later date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQYC2EfzZZw
Thanks for reading!
Thankfully, I have seemed to have surpassed the first barrier and now carrying on with my day as normal, albeit spent predominantly within the confines of two university buildings...
Anyways, a lot of people have asked us why we are attempting something like this, why on earth would an individual want to deprive themselves of sleep? Well (for me at least), a lot of musicians strive to develop elements of creativity, whether it be a creating a distinguishable tone or melody etc..., or through discovering different creative aspects of their mind through the use of narcotics.
Particularly within the genres of popular music, the use of drugs have ambiguously became a part of the culture; whether it be the hippie movement, hardcore punk generation or even the more modern rave/club scenes, the influence of drugs has become a domineering force within the creative elements of both the artists and participants.
However, although a vast array of artists, bands, musicians etc. have experimented with various substances, designed to provoke specific areas of the brain, how many have considered exploiting natural human elements? We all know what being tired is like, that groggy feeling of having no drive to commit to anything apart from that nice warm bed; however with this, we wanted to take it further, we are attempting to break through this stage and see what truly lies in the depths of our own minds.
Taking quite a naïve approach to being able to simply stay awake for a long duration time, we have quite admittedly covered very little research prior to committing to the stint and are truly interested to see how are bodies shall react.
We shall keep blogging, videos and recordings will be shown at a later date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQYC2EfzZZw
Thanks for reading!
You Better Be Good Friends (Tuesday 31st March, 11:19)
I hit 'the wall' a while back, and it's still kinda lingering, although not as badly as it once was. It got me thinking how fortunate it is that 1. I have someone to keep me company during this (to prevent ultimate boredom) and 2. That me and Andy aren't just recent friends or average friends. Neither of us are angry people, but I've seen many a peaceful dude become increasingly moody when tired or bored (of which we are definitely both). We're definitely fortunate that it happens to be just us two and specifically us two. I don't think I could hack it with anyone else, they'd just be too damn annoying.
It's amazing what a lack of sleep makes you feel like; I can't liken it to anything I've felt before. You don't feel drunk, you don't feel high, you don't even feel tired in the traditional sense. It's like a blend of out-of-body vibes but with a constant awareness of your own mortality. It's kind of pathetic really. You just feel completely puny, and maybe once in a while the fatigue is shaken off a little and you get a brief surge of energy and optimism before it all starts over again. I think we've both decided that we're just gonna push ourselves until we feel it's getting dangerous, even if that means breaking off the experiment early. We have no intentions of doing so, but it's hard to gather strength with a lack of energy like this.
It's amazing what a lack of sleep makes you feel like; I can't liken it to anything I've felt before. You don't feel drunk, you don't feel high, you don't even feel tired in the traditional sense. It's like a blend of out-of-body vibes but with a constant awareness of your own mortality. It's kind of pathetic really. You just feel completely puny, and maybe once in a while the fatigue is shaken off a little and you get a brief surge of energy and optimism before it all starts over again. I think we've both decided that we're just gonna push ourselves until we feel it's getting dangerous, even if that means breaking off the experiment early. We have no intentions of doing so, but it's hard to gather strength with a lack of energy like this.
The Wall (10:07 - 31/02/15)
It appears that the inevitable has happened over the past few hours, I have hit the wall. I have became relatively redundant in the process of editing our vlog and my creative process (as you can probably tell within this blog) has became severely limited.
With each minute passing I can feel myself drawing into a deeper state of relaxation; a continuous battle between the mind attempting to carry on with this endurance, and the sub-conscious trying to recover in order to function correctly.
From roughly 7am I have found it increasingly difficult to even follow the most basic processes without my body wanting to shut down. Although I do not feel ill, I am continuously becoming aware of the mental strain that this exercise is exerting on my body.
I hope to carry on and shall keep you all posted.
With each minute passing I can feel myself drawing into a deeper state of relaxation; a continuous battle between the mind attempting to carry on with this endurance, and the sub-conscious trying to recover in order to function correctly.
From roughly 7am I have found it increasingly difficult to even follow the most basic processes without my body wanting to shut down. Although I do not feel ill, I am continuously becoming aware of the mental strain that this exercise is exerting on my body.
I hope to carry on and shall keep you all posted.
Monday, 30 March 2015
24 hours in: The Wall (Tuesday 31st March, 07:27)
So I've definitely hit a wall. Everything that my body does revolves around trying to get me to shut down. I'm drowsy, I am barely even looking at the computer screen as I write this because its getting too difficult to concentrate on anything. The optimist in me thinks this will blow over, and evidence would suggest a similar diagnosis. I just hope it comes sooner rather than later, cos this is hell.
Night 1 Jam - a retrospect
It took like what seemed an age to set up all of our gear into the studios, and then to get signal from Andy's 8-mic drum setup; I felt somewhat bored and worn out, although I'm sure I will crave to regress back to the state I am at now in 24-36 hours time. As we were setting up I was messing around with my delay pedal and got this sound I really loved. Played around with a chord progression that I feel suited the sound I was trying to create, and we started playing around a groove in 7/8. It felt really really good. Me and Andy have been playing together for years, so we kinda know the nature of how our jamming sessions go now; if we start well, we can go for at least 60-90 minutes just from there. Whether it's random covers from the past or just riffing on E for 10 minutes, we find a way to just keep some momentum going. It's really refreshing after such a long break from creating music in this way.
We did run out of steam eventually though. We got about an hours worth of listenable material and then decided to have a break. There was some mixing of the songs we recorded earlier that day, and just some general space from each other mentally I think (something that is probably going to be absolutely essential by the end).
We never played anything else.
I dunno if it was the fatigue or whatever, but we just didn't have the desire to play. I think we let ourselves get away with doing that tonight, because it was our first night, and we were still near human. Tomorrow night I think we are fully expecting to have no desire to play, but still know it will be so beneficial to chug through to see what kind of outcome can be achieved.
As it turns out, 24 hours is a really long time to stay awake. You'd think logic would dictate how obvious that statement is, but yet everyone seems to be of the assumption that its relatively straightforward. All I know is, I've barely picked up the guitar for the last week or two, and after playing for 90 minutes, I was done. It's a strange phenomenon.
We did run out of steam eventually though. We got about an hours worth of listenable material and then decided to have a break. There was some mixing of the songs we recorded earlier that day, and just some general space from each other mentally I think (something that is probably going to be absolutely essential by the end).
We never played anything else.
I dunno if it was the fatigue or whatever, but we just didn't have the desire to play. I think we let ourselves get away with doing that tonight, because it was our first night, and we were still near human. Tomorrow night I think we are fully expecting to have no desire to play, but still know it will be so beneficial to chug through to see what kind of outcome can be achieved.
As it turns out, 24 hours is a really long time to stay awake. You'd think logic would dictate how obvious that statement is, but yet everyone seems to be of the assumption that its relatively straightforward. All I know is, I've barely picked up the guitar for the last week or two, and after playing for 90 minutes, I was done. It's a strange phenomenon.
22 Hours Into Sleep Deprivation - Jamming session completed (05:15 - 31/3/15)
It is becoming a daunting process attempting to collect any relative thoughts as the deprivation progresses. At 22 hours in, we are currently sitting in the university common room relaxing after what was a draining exercise of musical capability. After what has been a day spent predominantly within the studios, confined to two rooms, the process of jamming (beginning at 3am - 31/3) has taken its toll on the both of us. For what is usually an enjoyable experience, delving into a vast array of both genres and time-signatures, turned quickly into a draining process, sucking all fun out of the experience.
At this current moment in time I find the experience of drifting in and out of tired states to have become a peculiar aspect of musicians creativity. Through the different states, creates different personalities, causing a continuos battle between these new found personas; this is specifically seen within the first jamming session. Although both myself and Luke usually vary in styles, the process of playing together created an interesting mixture of relaxed atmospheric music, coexisting alongside heavier rock songs, a process which was heavily affected by how I felt minute to minute. Even within the first day, as time progresses the attitude dependent on energy, can drastically effect the outcome of the performance.
We shall chug along with the hope of reaching our goal of 72 hours!
At this current moment in time I find the experience of drifting in and out of tired states to have become a peculiar aspect of musicians creativity. Through the different states, creates different personalities, causing a continuos battle between these new found personas; this is specifically seen within the first jamming session. Although both myself and Luke usually vary in styles, the process of playing together created an interesting mixture of relaxed atmospheric music, coexisting alongside heavier rock songs, a process which was heavily affected by how I felt minute to minute. Even within the first day, as time progresses the attitude dependent on energy, can drastically effect the outcome of the performance.
We shall chug along with the hope of reaching our goal of 72 hours!
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