Inflection Point

It’s 2024.11.01 on the lunar calendar today. _{(Accidentally sent a day early but it was already 11.01 elsewhere on the globe.)}

My book is here! And it can be there where you are, should you want a copy. For this weekend, get 25% off on with code “november” on voicekwon.bandcamp.com.

In November 2020, I was driving and thought to myself that I should make a Jung album, spurred by his quote about a luminous pause in Richard Rohr’s “Falling Upward.” I got home and emailed my friend/mentor/musician career coach Angela excited about the idea, telling her that I had not read any Carl Jung books yet but that I should read all of them and hope he hadn’t written too many. (He has written many and I’ve only read a couple so far. Here’s my list of what I read, in addition to attending various Jung webinars, to build a conceptual framework for the music.)

Life is a luminous pause between two great mysteries, which themselves are one.  

― C. G. Jung

Four whole years later, it’s nice to hold the book in my hands and feel like I’ve accomplished something. Clicking publish on an album for streaming doesn’t give quite the same sensation—it sort of just feels like making a private playlist public.

I printed a replica of a contact sheet as a bookmark to go in each book. I loved looking at contact sheets when I tagged along to process the album shoot film in the darkroom so I asked my photographer for a scan of the black & white one. Gianina is remarkable and there’s something magical about her work, with film in particular.

If you could use company or a playlist while you work, put on the video below. I’m reviewing a proof of my book for 50 minutes, followed by a 10-minute break.

The Work With Me video plays instrumental tracks from Orange Hour. Typically, I don’t listen to any music when I’m working, unless I’m working on the music or slogging through busy work, in which case I may turn on my go-to soundtrack. But my video soundtrack has been good too, reminding me to pause after fifty minutes.

Other than the Study/Work With Me videos, stretching videos are another genre I’ve been noticing on YouTube. I might make one for lower back exercises to some of my more chill songs next year :) At the least, it’d help me keep track of which rep I’m on.

Looking ahead to the new year, I’m considering moving to Substack so that the monthly newsletters stay in one place, more like a blog, instead of eventually disappearing into the Mailchimp archive. I’ve been thinking more pointedly about who I want to be when I grow up (to be in my 40s): Should I get a real job-job where I’m on a path to building a sustainable career, parallel to music? How do I want my sound to develop as an artist? Who do I want to work with? How do I want to talk about my craft? What musical skills should I invest in that won’t be overtaken by AI in the near future? With whom, where, and how do I want to spend my time?

I feel that I’m at an inflection point. I had put off stuff to focus on Orange Hour but now that both the music and book are complete, I want to be more intentional and proactive instead of just going along for the ride that is my own life. I’ve also been in my head too much and should connect with what’s going on in the world more, instead of being provincially privileged.

Tl;dr: I have concrete plans to get my affairs in order! In another four years, I’ll see you on the other side of the curve, my choices today bearing fruit.

And for kicks … tortilla chips.

Singing along to Shirley Temple 🎧