Kabir says: You don't have to go viral

I got laid off so now my emails are fun :)

HELLO there. Thanks for signing up to read some personal thoughts of mine. Whether we met on tour, online, or working on something together, I appreciate you. TL;DR for this edition: I’m done with ‘creating content’, you can be too, listen to my new band…

I want to talk about why I made this newsletter. I’m currently going through a big transition: Last month, I got laid off from the tech job I was at for 6 years. I got an okay severance, so it’s been a welcome respite from working nonstop for the last 10 years. But the extra time away from my computer and phone has given me some interesting perspective…

For years now, myself and so many other creative people I know have been stymied by the closed box that is Internet 2.0. We know people want to engage with our work– we play shows and network, collect usernames and handles to grow our Followers. But then they don’t get to see what we make unless we pay a random, evil, probably lizard person billionaire. (Don’t worry– I’m not going to try to sell you on NFTs.)

But there are a TON of other ways to find community around your work: direct collaboration, Discord, emailing lists, shows, touring, IRL meet-ups with food, etc…* I’ve personally found these to be much more sustainable for my career and mental health. Content creation, curated feeds and the endless scroll have proven bad for my inspiration.

Unless you’re looking for a full-time job as a content creator, it’s likely that you don’t need your art to go viral either, what with all the expectations, wasted energy and musicians’ dreams that already go into powering the TikTok servers. You just need to find the right people to engage with it. If even just the people who read this email were to listen to my new song, that would be a win. A song will find its people…I truly believe that.

Which brings us to the plug. Today, I’m inviting you to witness the birth of a brand new band: Left Tracks, a project I started with my close friend Phil (DI LEO), whose curious spirit and adventurous playing have been a constant inspiration since he first walked into a Sun Kin practice 7-ish years ago. We just put out our first song together, called “Colorways” — a song that takes place in that very practice space. Find it on Bandcamp or Spotify or whatever your poison, and if you live in California, we might be playing near you soon… Here’s the cool-ass single artwork by Phil:

And here’s us, taken by producer and friend Geoff Saba in his jungle-like apartment lobby:

If you’ve read this far, thank you for caring! In the future I’ll be talking about writing songs, music retreats, and upcoming GUPPY & Sun Kin albums, but let me know if there’s anything specific you would like to hear from me! I intend this list to be a way to keep up with what I’m doing without the psychic damage of another social media feed. Instead, you can use me to procrastinate answering your emails…

On Rotation:

Soff Toss - Soff Toss (2023)

Akousmatikous - Salami Rose Joe Louis (2023)

Isn’t Anything - My Bloody Valentine (1989)

Clube Da Esquina - Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges (1972)

*Please feel free to send me any of your own creative work that you think I would enjoy to goodfeels.feelsgood@gmail.com :) I promise to respond.