Stillness And Silence

Stillness And Silence

As someone who sells sounds for a living it may seem strange that I use this space to enthuse about the benefits of silence but that is exactly my intention.

I should explain, I guess.

Anyone who visits these pages fairly regularly will have noticed that I have not posted that much recently. Reason is that I have taken a break, more than a break actually, having just indulged in my longest holiday ever to be precise.

All guiltiness re my sloth, I will put to the side for the time being. Similarly I will spare the glorious details that made the extended vacation the treat that it was. (Let’s face it now, there are few things worse than listening to someone twittering on about their recent visit to some paradise island or other particularly when you yourself can’t remember the last time you saw a blue sky or felt the rays of the sun. I mean who the hell wants to hear from me about the pleasures among other things of sleeping long lazy nights – for weeks on end – on the top floor of a beautiful mansion house that is overlooking the greenest of rice fields? No one that is – am I right?)

However come Last Christmas and knowing fully that a “true” break was already more than needed, I wholly decided to make the very most of a rare gap in the schedule and reboot in every sense. The result being that with the exception of some lyric writing, barely a stroke of work has been done or emanated from me since the year began. A situation so rare this is, as normally I dislike not putting myself under pressure, I am after all the type who loves the ticking of the clock as a tyrannical deadline approaches.

Enough about the break though, for from tomorrow it will have come to an end and immediately the new cycle of work and creativity will go spinning into motion. This I look forward to with more than my usual eagerness. I am after all a lucky guy in innumerable ways, but I’m neither ignorant nor stupid enough to take my good fortune for granted. I love my work and as in life – I appreciate what comes my way, good and bad. Above all my appreciation goes to those who have supported me as I have gone about things my way, that includes those whom I work beside as well as those who enthuse about our music and our live shows.

I will however never forget this recent hiatus – from the sacredness of the nature that set the backdrop over the period in which I have lain low – nor the companionship from friends and family who circled around me from time to time over the period. All of them keeping a caring eye and all knowing of course the profound sadness that washed over me towards the end of last year.

But it is very much a new year now, and coincidentally today in Bali, where I am situated, it is literally New Years Day. Resultantly throughout today the island will be in silence as the Balinese stay at home for 24 hours to reflect on the past and the year ahead. No cars or scooters are on the road and barely a sound can be heard except the birds, the lizards, oh, and the ever present frogs! Likewise, no television or music can be played and neither lights nor fires can be lit.

Within this I am hoping that tonight we have a clear sky, because if ever there were a night to look up at the heavens, it would surely be on a night like this.

Jim Kerr