The Scumfrog: On Creativity
Marianna
Do you have a routine for entering into a creative headspace?
Jesse
No, although if I developed one, I might be more productive. I try to make a distinction between creativity and execution. Creativity can come to me at any moment during the day, during any conversation, ritual, or task. It is my challenge to remember/write-down/record ideas without interrupting too much what I am doing at that time so that when I have a carved-out window of execution, I can quickly access the ideas I had previously.
Marianna
Do you have any habits you've built for yourself to foster creativity?
Jesse
No. I never lacked ideas. My foster-projects are execution and discipline.
Marianna
Where do you think ideas come from?
Jesse
Ideas come from our motivation to solve problems. The idea to copy someone else’s ideas comes from practical problem-solving skills. The perception of an original idea mostly comes from ignorance.
Marianna
What does creativity mean to you?
Jesse
Creativity is my blessing and curse. As a child, I was often told how creative I was, which led me to convince myself to abandon my academic education and exchange it for a ‘career’ in music (quotation marks point out the absence of a 401k). I have been very lucky and fortunate to be able to carve a life for myself by making music, and my creativity is responsible for my biggest successes.
But simultaneously, my creativity has also been an enabler for my continued lack of discipline. “I don’t need to read the manual…I’ll figure it out with my creativity”. The notion that somehow ‘ignorance+creativity=art’ is a lingering devil on my shoulder. And after three decades of doing this, you’d think I’d know better by now. The only thing I have learned is that this devil exists, but he pretends to be my friend and I don’t want to be rude.
Marianna
When do your best ideas hit you?
Jesse
During interactions with people who are smarter at things than I am. I try to surround myself with them as much as I can.
Marianna
What are the unexpected turns your life took to lead you to become who you are today?
Jesse
I am not very familiar with expected turns. Actually, when I see an expected turn in front of me, I instinctively explore alternative routes. It is the life I chose for myself, and it taught me to become skilled at adapting to new situations. I’ve lived in many places, had relationships with very different people, experienced life on both ends of the socio-economic spectrum, and I’ve had very few actual goals in life. The journey is the exciting part for me. I love turning my experiences into stories, but hardly ever as the protagonist.
Marianna
What creative accomplishment are you most proud of?
Jesse
I am proud of the stuff that becomes part of the public consciousness; the section of my work that other people have stories about. My first encounter with this feeling was a song called ‘Watersong’, which I made early on in my career when I had no idea what I was doing technically (because I didn’t read manuals). It was released by a label only because the label owner liked me.
The song became an unexpected underground hit, and the entire period that the song was played in clubs I was completely embarrassed about it because it didn’t sound the way I had intended for it to sound. I was unable to accept praise for the song, and for many years felt that I should make an updated version. But as time went by I realized that the true product of my music is not the recordings, but rather the stories, memories, and feelings that people have about the recordings. I very much cherish people’s stories about hearing my music, and I feel far more accomplished through those stories than through chart-positions.
Marianna
Do you experiment in your work? If so, how do you view your creative process as a series of experiences?
Jesse
If you don’t read manuals, experiments are the main dish. It is unnecessarily time-consuming, and only on rare occasions does it lead to brilliant outcomes. Thank God for experience, so that I don’t need to reinvent my own wheel with each piece of music I create. But it does mean that I am a severe technophobe. I absolutely dread having to switch to a new version of the software when I was just familiar with the previous version.
Many of my peers are stoked to learn all the great new features that software updates bring, but to me, it’s just another reminder that perhaps this time, I should really just read the F’ing manual.
Marianna
How would you describe your creative process?
Jesse
Many days of feeling like a fraud who should re-allocate his time to better serve humanity, interspersed with outbursts of productivity during which I seemingly have an attention span after all. The feeling of having a purpose in life is absolutely idiotic, irrational, and ego-driven, yet one doesn’t get anything done without it.
Marianna
What do you think is something that all the most creative people in the world have in common?
Jesse
The occasional feeling of having a purpose in life. And having just enough ignorance to blissfully act on that feeling.
Marianna
How do you make sense of chaos in your life?
Jesse
Chaos is only a burden for those who fear uncertainty. Our society has done an amazing job at turning concepts like ‘certainty’ and ‘security’ into commodities, to the point that people choose to lead predictable lives, follow rules and religions without question, and make tremendous financial sacrifices to eliminate uncertainty from their lives.
But if you manage to be ok with uncertainty, then there is nothing except beauty in chaos. The entire universe is chaos, so why should I fear that? And yet there is tremendous hypocrisy in what I am saying here because the society I just criticized is not only the hand that feeds but also the very foundation on which I was able to be an exception to the rule. If the vast majority of people wasn’t afraid of chaos, I wouldn’t be able to walk around saying that I’m just fine with chaos, because chaos would look very different in that scenario, and might not favor me at all.
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About The Scumfrog:
The Dutch/American artist The Scumfrog has been a household name in the underground Dance Music scene since 2000. His brand is known for many traits; music production, musicianship, DJing, featured vocalist, music coach, radio host, and remixing.
From his timeless early works like Watersong and We Love You, to dubbed-out remixes of songs by mainstream artists like Kylie Minogue, Annie Lennox, Missy Elliott, to collaborations with David Bowie, Sting, and Cyndi Lauper (resulting in a Grammy nomination), he has been featured on virtually every prominent independent Dance label, from Bedrock to 1605, from Positiva to Knee Deep In Sound.
With his roots firmly planted in the experimental side of Dance Music and Electronica, The Scumfrog toured the world many times over with his unique DJ sets. He is also a staple at the Burning Man festival, where he performs his annual sunrise and sunset rituals to his devoted followers. The Scumfrog hosts club nights called M.B.T.S. (Most Below The Surface) where he usually plays the entire night, and he is in production with a new project in NYC featuring live percussionists.
Check out Scumfrog’s new single “Tiny Little Human”.