Meet Chris Lund

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Lund a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris , so excited to have you with us today, particularly to get your insight on a topic that comes up constantly in the community – overcoming creativity blocks. Any thoughts you can share with us?
Hey – sure! here’s how I think about beating writer’s block and also some general rules for being creative regularly:

01 DISCIPLINE
First and foremost…put in the time! Getting in a routine of working daily (even for just 10-20 minutes but ideally 1+ hour a day) is the biggest game-changer. When I ask creatives that feel stuck how much time they’re spending on creating it seems the most common block is just actually sitting down to work. I recommend picking the same time each day or using the “5 min rule” to get started before they do other fun things like tv, etc. Most people that do this find they end up spending more time than they thought and often enjoy the work they did.

If being creative / making art is really what you want to do and you’re not spending a large portion of your free time doing it I’d think about how to change that! Do it 🙂

02. MOTIVATION: REMOVING DISTRACTIONS

These days we’re in a world of a million distractions and cheap dopamine hits from tv, to social media, to games etc. These things (although fun in the short term) can really drain both your time but more importantly your overall motivation to do things that require focus (and lower dopamine rewards). You have to limit how much time you spend doing these distractions or they will keep you from being interested in more long-term fulfilling goals.

I try to cut a lot of these things out when I can… however I’ve found it’s actually better if I allow myself to do them occasionally but only AFTER I’ve finished something I know I wanted to do creatively (aka delayed gratification). I often use apps like focal to keep me off of apps and set timers too to ping me and keep me on task.

03 MOTIVATION: GETTING INSPIRED

Another huge part of getting creative is getting inspired.

My favorite type of inspiration is listening to new music or going to shows of artists I love. Hearing something new and well-made gets me fired up to be better or try new techniques. I also really like to use learning / tutorials to get inspired if I need a break (just be careful they don’t become a distraction!)

It’s also good to get away from your creative discipline and do something different like watching a film, reading a book, or even just exercise / taking a walk. The brain needs time away too (in reasonable doses) to re-charge.

I think that balancing your art input vs output (and the quality) is extremely important. Most people tend to over-input with cheap entertainment / social media and not enough output but sometimes the opposite (aka burnout) can be true.

04. STAY MENTALLY HEALTHY
Mental Health is the last but certainly not the least big factor in staying creative – especially consistently. Society and films often tell us the sad or self-destructive artist is the most creative but in my experience it’s the disciplined, active and healthy artists that are the most prolific (and happier too).

Be sure to take care of your basic physical needs like sleep, water, food, exercise,,, and also watch out for common mental traps like negative thoughts (try CBT journals!), comparing yourself to others (get off or filter your social media), or general self esteem / imposter syndrome (surround yourself with peers that support you).

These are common issues that often need addressing but when you are down emotionally, try to use your art / music as therapy when you can (I certainly do).

SUMMARY
Almost everyone struggles with some or all of these topics but if you try to improve a little each day on them you will see huge improvements in your creative output. Art harder!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Sure! I tend to think of myself as a man of many different hats artistically: I’m most known as a music producer and dj but I also regularly compose for films and trailers, I teach students how to make music, and I also am a visual + installation artist.

I’ve had music featured in DJ Mag, Mixmag, UKF, Dancing Astronaut and some pretty amazing support from Gorgon City, Claude VonStroke, Jauz, BBC Radio 1 and others. I’ve released on Mau5trap, Confession, In/Rotation and Bite This as well as my own imprints CONDUIT and have made music for ads by Nike, UFC, EA Sports, and Yamaha.

My overall favorite thing to do is create narrative + interactive events under CONDUIT that weave together a lot of different types of art and immersion. Keep an eye out for them here: CONDUIT

You can also follow my Left/Right alias here on Spotify, Instagram, or Youtube

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
If I had to some up 3 areas that were really helpful for me to grow as an artist:

1. Finding My Passion and chasing it. I love making art – from music to photos / film. I try and use what excites me artistically to help me get things done which is a fun thing to balance.

2. Learning – learning has been such a good motivator for me – and it’s life-long! This keeps things interesting and helps keep me relevant and never stuck places for long.

3. Being Active in a Community – being active in my music community by teaching, engaging and collaborating with peers and also just being a fan has helped me get outside myself, stay motivated and be a part of something bigger. It’s very fulfilling to be part of an ever-evolving electronic music scene.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m always seeking new collaborations!
I’m currently looking for interactive and installation artists for our CONDUIT events as well as talented filmmakers to collaborate with on music (and video) pieces.

I’m also seeking new venues and warehouse spaces in LA for events and filming.

and lastly my record label is seeking new electronic music, you can get sense for the music at this link: CONDUIT Playlist

Contact Info:

Image Credits
The photos have the credits in the file name but if you list them all together Photos by: leftrightvisual Ellie Hopen Macroscope Pictures ChatterzPhoto Lovise

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