unwind, smile, be present

one of the coolest things to me about improvisation to me is getting to hear exactly what a musician wants to play in that moment.

not a song that came together years before, about an ex they've now gotten over.

not one that they're mostly tired of at this point and has been rehearsed and is played with a band of hired guns who on that particular night would honestly just rather be at home instead of sleeping on a bus.

not an interaction that was manufactured, but one that can only be had with genuine presence.

being live, truly live, inside that kind of conversation, 100% in the moment, is totally thrilling to me. as a musician, it's honestly just truly, genuinely f**ing fun — which i can totally hear and is a big theme today's episode of synthquest.

i've been really overworked here approaching the end of the year, so when i sat down to play wednesday night it was all about me not having to think, being present, letting it flow, and just having fun.

unabashedly selfish joy-jams like this for me often end up more dream-pop than ambient. perhaps this improv is pulling double duty workshopping production ideas for the next album of songs I make... which is pretty cool to share with you.

i highly recommend listening to synthquest through headphones. i'll also suggest settling into someplace comfortable to listen, or listening during a bath, massage, on a walk, while you make dinner — basically wherever you go or whatever you do to relax and decompress.

episode timeline

1. Introduction - 0:00
2. "unwind, smile, be present" music begins - 4:16

about synthquest

synthquest is a twice weekly ambient improvisation that is recorded live on Twitch on Mondays and Wednesdays. synthquest was born out of my desire to have a way to have a music practice in real time with listeners. there's a long history and tradition of music as improvisatory, spontaneous communication that really is quite different from the way we consume music now as album that get produced and perfect, sometimes over years.

it also is a practice in sharing the creative journey of becoming — i've met so many people who feel like they can't make art because it's not perfect, so I wanted to pull back the curtain on my own creative and learning process. because synthquest is improvised, you will hear me trying out sounds and probably making mistakes — it's all part of the fun and the journey. in real time and in real life, no one is perfect — neither are you and neither am i.

about jen starsinic

synthquest is created by Jen Starsinic, a music maker and multi-instrumentalist living in Nashville, TN. Jen is also the co-founder and artistic director of Girls Write Nashville, a nonprofit organization providing music mentorship and creative community to youth artists, as featured on NBC's Today Show and NPR's Here & Now. About her last studio release, EP Bad Actor —"there is a blissful aura that surrounds Starsinic’s sound, making for one of 2020’s must-hear albums."

links

• synthquest live stream: twitch.tv/jenstarsinic
• website & email list: jenstarsinic.com
• instagram: @jenstarsinic
• twitter: @jenstarsinic
• listen to jen's other music on spotify

performed using...

• Korg Minilogue XD
• Nord Electro 5D
• Electro-Harmonix 95000 Performance Loop Laboratory