The Art of Collaboration

As an artist, creating is what I do. I’m inspired and translate that mental inspiration into a physical expression to share with others. For a creative soul such as myself, there’s nothing like it. When the creative juices are flowing and you’re in the zone, creating new music and making something out of nothing is easy. Then to see a new song resonate with fans is an indescribable feeling because it's so personal that it feels like a sense of validation for me. But this creative process is a much different experience when I collaborate with someone.

Recently, I was fortunate to be able to work with Bryan Stratman of Capricorn Studios on my new single All Night Long (Stratman Remix). The experience was awesome and we shared so many new things that have helped me progress as an artist. Collaborating always shows me a different creative method, and seeing how another artist works gives me a new perspective and well to go to for inspiration. Plus, it prepares me for working with other artists in the future. Practice makes perfect!

The key word here is inspiration. I’m a firm believer that there’s a difference between being inspired and forcing inspiration. For artists, just like with any other job, there are deadlines. So at times artists have to go to what I call their “familiar game,” which is their comfort zone of creativity. For a rapper it might be the catch phrases and subject matter they’re most familiar with. Or for a producer it might be the chords and melodies they’re most comfortable using. I believe creative inspiration is when a creative mind is exposed to a new stimulus and the result is the artist’s repackaging of this new experience and perspective they deliver back to the audience. So working with someone else you are exposed to their world and their perspective. This process gives you a new perspective and you can’t help but be inspired. Collaborating helps you grow as an artist, but remixing songs is not an easy process.

The first thing you’ve got to have to ensure success is a unified sense of direction for the project - what do we want the final product to accomplish? My recent collaboration with Stratman was a process in developing music, so we sat down and asked each other, “How do we want people to feel when they hear this,” and went from there. Once we began getting into it, I found that the hardest part of the process was to try not to do everything. Being a songwriter and producer myself made this especially difficult. I had to hold back and try not to take the reins or grab full control. Technology was a big help because I could physically distance myself from the project but still have direct hands-on involvement. All in all, I’m stoked on the final product.

Overall I had a great time working on the new single, which is available on Amazon and iTunes, because it lets fans experience something new through my music and I got to grow as an artist. Vibing with another artist, letting go of control, having a narrow focus, and channeling inspiration - these are all part of the art of collaboration.

Peace,

Krys

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CTTC Hits # 2 on DJ Charts

This week CTTC (Cut To The Chase) charted #2 (behind only Jay Sean’s song Down) on the #1 DJ charts in the nation, after entering the chart straight into the #6 position last week. Starfleet handles about 1,300 top songs at any given time, and more than 10,000 in 2009 alone. So while it’s not Billboard yet, it is a great start and exciting to see my music resonating with so many others.

It makes the whole experience more than worth it and I’m stoked about getting even more of my music out there. I’m getting messages from fans all over the world every day and I read and am grateful for every one of them. Please, keep them coming, I really want to hear from you!

And if you haven't checked out my Jango channel yet give it a try. It's kewl! Free streaming commercial free radio where you'll hear me and your top favorite artists 24/7, can check out other people's channels, or really easily customize your own. And of course follow me on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace... whatever works for you!

From here, to get KJ on the Billboard charts my great team and I are going to keep pushing forward with further development of my live performance, announcing shows soon, and touching more and more listeners with the help of all outlets and most importantly my fans that I appreciate SO much. We’ll do this journey together, and I couldn’t ask for better fans to do it with. Thank you!!!

Peace,
Krys

Check out Krys' website here.