SPAG HEDDY
THANK YOU to today’s Sponsor SPLICE
Pressure is many things - a feeling, an idea, an experience, and a reason- just to say a few. Many of us struggle with pressure - we either can’t handle it or we give in to it. Very rarely do any of us push beyond it. Standing firmly on the grounded terms of belief. Belief in ourselves, belief in whatever it is we are pursuing or considering, belief in potentiality…It’s not easy task, and a feat that should never go unnoticed. One must fully know themselves, must fully believe in what it is they are pursuing in order to withstand the heavy currents that push against us in order to sway us. This pressure can stem from society, strangers, friends, family, and even worse, loved ones (who are supposed to respect + support us). This is why that saying will always stand true, that at the end of the day, all we have is ourselves. It’s not because everyone leaves us - it’s because no matter who we are next to or far from, there will always be pressure - whether spoken or unspoken. Opinions exist, judgement exist. It’s natural. Not necessarily good, nor bad; it just is.
In the industry, opinions + judgements swim in chaos, like tangled seaweed; no one can avoid it. So to find an individual who is not only ready to become aware of the pressures affecting their own work, but also willing to step beyond the heavy weight, to stand firm within and under it…it is an individual worth noting. And that individual, ladies, gentlemen, and others, is Mischa Reining, or as majority of us know him - Spag Heddy.
As is often repeated in these documents, Reining was not foreign to music in his childhood. He was a lover it. He grew up playing music - he could be found dabbling in it in his house, as well as jamming out on the drums in his church. As he grew older, he found himself drawn to hip hop; and as his fascination of the style + technique grew, he couldn’t help but try + test out his own skill with producing beats. Soon enough, after years of improving his hip hop beat making, he then learned of EDM, and naturally (as many of us do), he fell in love with the abstract + non-objective artistry behind the various sounds and styles.
It being a passionate hobby of his, Reining was focused on learning as much as he could, and with that learning came the necessary (and brave) actions of releasing his fresh + novel music. He didn’t care to be too nitpicky of his work - what was important was having fun, and sharing his innovative styles with the world. The idea of caring how the music was supposed to sound or be like never crossed his mind - and if it did, he brushed it aside. Music is a feeling at the end of the day, and should be respected as such.
“I just cared about getting all this creativity out and putting it on the internet for free”
As the days moved on, his music gained more and more traction. Soon enough, success crossed his path, and fans began to craze over his unique + artistic styles. And as the number of fans grew, and the more professional a once passionate hobby became, so too did something else change.
With the growing world-wide fascination over his work, he became aware of all things that he never cared before to know of - how to perfect his work. Suddenly, his creative ingenious was placed to the side to make more room for how to produce the “right way.” He became caught up in the technical side of making music. It is important to note that there is nothing wrong with knowing the right way to do something, there is nothing wrong with wanting to perfect your own craft; however, it can become a problem if the process of perfecting the craft interferes with the creative flow. And that is when it is apparent that it is pressure which is molding the style versus creative brilliance.
“The bigger you get , the more eyes there are on you and the more comments you get on your work. Even if you were having fun with your original work, at some point you feel that you have to be at a certain level and do things the “right” way”
Within trying to do things the ‘right way,’ Reining was overly aware of what other artists were utilizing to better their music, and an inner pressure to utilize these same facets began to build. What was once artistic influence suddenly became more of artistic guidelines that were required to be followed in order to continue the level of success.
“You can get caught up with all the new plug ins and instruments that are presented. You can feel pressured to use these since everyone else is doing so.”
Like heavy currents, he was pulled and carried so far away from his original inventive sounds; until one day it just hit him.
“When I listen to some of my older projects, I think to himself, ‘how did I have the balls to do this? I wasn’t even doing this or that… BUT I was just making cool melodies and putting the out.’ That’s when I knew I had to return to my basics”
Reining did what many of us would be too scared to do - he erased what he learned, got rid of all he knew, and decluttered his workspace DAWs. He was beginning anew, to not only get back to his original state of mind, but to his original ingenious. As proud as he is of his newer works, he is so aware of how far away from himself he had become. He ridded himself of all of his new plug-ins and instruments, and returned back to the more simple sounds he originally worked with; and ultimately, returning to that original journey he loved so greatly.
As to ensure no loss of time or avenue of regret, Reining is determined to pave a new pathway. His original path he loved was his origin, his latest style: his newfound lessons. Now he looks to combine, and go an entirely new direction. Now he will venture on the new and improved style of Spag Heddy, allowing both his old and new fans to follow along with him.
Within his story, Reining really teaches us the importance of staying true to yourself at all times. It’s so easy to get lost in the flow of pressure - it’s so easy to incidentally wade too far from the shore, influenced by the current. And it’s entirely natural to get lost in it all. What is most important, is that at the end of the day, we push beyond the pressure and we return back to ourselves. Standing firm in who and what we are, just as Mischa Reining has.