“Create - and in the between – LIVE.” Roo Panes
If you have followed Roo Panes for a while, you will remember that idyllic interview with Burberry acoustic, where he was outside his gorgeous house in quintessential Dorset. The birds were tweeting in the trees as he sang his sultry tones to camera and captivated a growing audience. However stunning his home setting is, I found out it does not have the best phone reception – as our interview started with a couple false starts. Eventually, we switched out iPhones for the archaic but reliable landline. Balancing the handset to my ear, I avidly scribbled down notes from our conversation, hoping that I would decipher my awful handwriting afterwards.
Roo and I have been friends since our awkward teenager years. Whilst I have ventured onto many paths, I have watched Roo stick to his guns as a creative, unwavering in his voice. He has released so many gorgeous pieces over the years that touch many people very deeply.
Given that it’s not even been a few weeks since its release, we started off talking about his recent track “the sun will rise over the year.” This song was written a while ago as a personal encouragement to himself and could have been released sooner. However, fortuitously and “with strangely appropriate timing” the world got to experience it during this time of fear and uncertainty. It is an heartening anthem for us to hold on to. If you haven’t listened to it yet, I strongly encourage you to do so!
Asking Roo if there are any particular songs, he is proud of, he replied “no, there may be songs that have different strengths” but “each song is a valid thought or feeling.” I was so taken aback by this reply, as I still operate in a world where you compare and judge, whereas Roo’s barometer for a good song is “does it communicate what you are/were thinking.” This approach is enlightening; you can observe different strengths in songs and he is proud of every song each carries a message that he wants it to convey.
Along with emphatic melodies and rhythms, the words in Roo’s songs strike home. Keen to know about how he creates his powerful lyrics I asked about his writing methods. Roo believes as soon as you accept your job as a writer, you can sit with your pen in hand but if you get nothing, you stop and go for a walk or do something else. Again, another reply that offended every driven bone in my body, but makes so much sense. Creativity isn’t law or accountancy – it is in its purest form it is a fluid process that needs to pour from your core. It cannot be forced.
The key to creativity is to “create – and – in the in between – live.”
Most of the work happens in the subconscious, whilst you get on and live – truly experiencing the world in the present moment. You can never write when you force yourself to, nothing good comes out of that. Suddenly the penny drops and I realise as to why I often try and call Roo but he is camping in Wales with no phone signal or suddenly somewhere else in the world, he is living and gaining inspiration, whilst the songs are just brewing in his subconscious ready to be released out of him. For example, Roo was chatting to a family member one morning and suddenly asked them to stop talking and said “I feel a song coming on.” So what did he do? Sit down to his guitar? Sit at his favourite desk with his favourite arty pen? No. He had a shower. He then performed the song, which became the title track on his EP Pacific, to his family before breakfast.
Most of his songs are formulated in his head before he puts pen to paper, or hand to guitar.
I hope that any song writers or creatives reading this, feel complete permission to live and not strain or put themselves under stress to produce work. “Creativity is always the tip of the iceberg, [what you present to the rest of the world] it is already happening in your mind and heart before you start.”
“Beautiful music comes from true feeling” and “the best songs are the most natural”, those are the most authentic and universally far reaching to those listening. I have to admit that I am not the most patient person but Roo encourages that patience is the key. “People can flatter themselves by thinking they can be in charge of their art, but we can’t.” Another golden nugget from Roo. By this point I felt like I was getting a creative counselling session and being reset in how I should approach life altogether.
It is hard not to be awe of my friend’s wisdom. Continuing to seek his counsel, I was interested to know if there was anything, he would tell himself ten years ago, when he was just starting out as a professional musician. True to form of being a man of integrity and acceptance, he said not much would change. The only thing would be would to be say “it’s going to be ok, humans can save themselves a lot of fear and tiredness if they know this.”
This Friday Roo is releasing his final song on his Pacific EP, the track is called “There’s a place.” It is 7 mins long and reminds him of the good old days. Lyrically, this song sums a lot of his journey thus far and it leaves the listener with a question. I can’t wait to hear it on the 22nd, you can also join his live Launch HERE and wonderfully it will be in that dreamy Shepherds hut in Dorset, to a much bigger audience than the Burberry days I’m sure.
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