Artists are the creators of new media that are usually showcased to the public. They have creations of their own presented in different forms, each form is a way of expressing their lives, opinions, and emotions. Musical artists have a unique way of expressing this sense of self. It’s not on paper, or through clay or glass, but through music. Music is a special form of art that is not easily manufactured or performed. It is hard work, but it is worth it to most.
Norwin High School has musical artists and producers of its own. On top of being students and friends and family members, senior Null Kieffer and junior Bennett are music producers and artists. They produce and perform their music, both performing at the Norwin’s Got Talent show throughout their high school years. Their music is made completely through online programs and their own recordings, and then uploaded and released for the public to see.
“It starts with me having an idea of the cover art and then I come up with a melody and from there I find the rest of the music,” Bennett said. “I take it into the program I use and when it is done, I upload the media file to a website. Then it takes 2-3 days to listen to on Spotify or Apple Music or whatever.”
Bennett and Null had different beginnings to their music careers, which shows how music and becoming an artist can come about in many ways.
“I started to make my own music when I was 11 and back then it was just for fun,” Null said. “I wanted to be one of those cool TV pop stars. I really started getting into it at 13, more inspired by the pop punk and emo scene at the time. The production aspect began in around the past 4 years.”
There are ups and downs with idea creation and music production, including taking an idea and transforming it into a real melody. It can be a struggle for musical artists to make concepts in their head translate into music that they are happy with.
“A struggle I have is that I will have an idea,” Bennett said, “but I can’t get a melody for it and it takes a long time to find that. Sometimes I can’t think of anything sticking to the song. The most important verses to me are the first verse and the chorus because the first verse hooks you and the chorus keeps you in.”
Despite the struggles that musical artists face, they produce their art and continue to do so for a reason; they love what they do. They can express any emotion or feeling they want through their songs and can do so in any way that they would like. This allows for complete control and artistic freedom over their work.
“I like making a feeling with my music,” Null said. “I focus on a lot of topics that I relate to and I can isolate some sort of feeling through thoughts and opinions I have and create a whole show and theme out of it. This could possibly improve my feelings or other people’s feelings towards these subjects.”
Artists often have future aspirations, things they want to achieve or goals they set for themselves. This is what some people want to do with their lives, and their dreams are centered around being able to do so comfortably and happily.
“I want to go big and have music be my career,” Null said. “I know that I have made it whenever I have gone on tour. I want to have big shows and a discography and a label and all that. That’s when I know I have succeeded.”
The artists are able to have favorite songs that they have created and sometimes fall in love with certain music that they could make themselves.
“RR is my favorite song that I have written because of the lyrical genius that I have not been able to recreate,” Bennett said.
You can find Bennett under the artist name NE3KIY0 and Null under the artist name Nullbody on all platforms. Below their artist Spotify profiles have been linked.
