and the beat goes on…
Aaaah, my inspiration! Hands down is music. I can truly say that I love all forms of music in one way or another. No matter what mood I’m in, it always settles my mind! Whether I’m happy, angry, stressed, anxious, or sad, I can always depend on the sounds of music to help me.
I was named Michelle after the Beatles song “Michelle, my bell.” Awesome I know, trust me I hated it growing up. My dad was a musician in his younger years, playing his guitar back in Gomel, Belarus. One of his favorite groups, as well as my mother’s, is the Beatles. I was raised speaking Russian and am heavily influenced by the culture. The traditional music is so beautiful to me, along with the new contemporary music trends in Russia (although they are heavily influenced by western music nowadays). Here is a link to one of my favorite Russian songs:
It’s been covered by many various musicians, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you recognize the sound. This particular version is covered by Nikolay Baskov, I love the power of his voice! If you want to know what the lyrics mean, and how the song originated click here.
The reason music inspires me is that it keeps me focused. Especially when I’m designing or getting into a new project. Music puts me into that zone. Like I said I like all types of music in one form or another, but when I’m working on design there is one type of music I prefer to listen to. Techno, how most people would refer to it, but there are different genres such as house and trance. Those are the two main genres I listen to. Some people don’t understand it and can’t stand the repetitive beats. The way I hear it sounds like a symphony to me, it moves through my soul. I know I’m getting deep with this, but it’s truly how I feel. I played the violin through middle and high school and had a great appreciation for classical music. That’s where my passion for techno music stems from. Along with playing in the school orchestra, my older sister played loud dance music of the early house trends in the 90′s. So I was exposed to techno when I was only about nine or ten years old. I feel that techno is a different spin on classical compositions; good DJ’s are like composers that take electronic music and organize it into different ensembles. If you don’t like house music, I dare you to sit and listen to this song, listen from beginning to end, and then tell me your perception. This newer song has helped put me in the zone for researching and developing new design projects, so take a listen:
These are two types of music that are my major influences. I can sit and listen to traditional and contemporary Russian music along with techno music all day long. I also enjoy the music by musicians such as Jason Mraz, Justin Nozuka, and Corrine Bailey Ray. Those are my favorite more down tempo sounds.
Without music, there would definitely be a void in my life. When asked to write a paper on which sense I could not live without, in my high school psychology class, you bet I wrote all about not being able to live without hearing. I don’t remember exactly what I wrote, but I do remember about half my paper was about my strong passion for not being able to live without music.
