Soularflair is the vehicle through which I communicate creatively via language which transcends the limited nature of words. Not limited by genre, I have composed songs in the vein of progressive rock, metal, classical, experimental, soundtrack, and electronica. I see no reason to place limitations on my creations and so will freely continue to explore genres or make my own as I see fit.

Ideally, in listening to my music, I wish to help people transcend the every day. I believe I can affect some individuals deeply with it, and that this could potentially affect the world in a positive way. At the very least I want to show that there is an alternative to the norm. I have a strong anti-conservative/non-conformist nature, and believe radical change is necessary to make the world a better place. I embody this conviction in my compositions. I have a saying – “Mediocrity is cancer”. The vast, sprawling middle ground of mediocrity is not where the best art comes from. It comes from pain, frustration, mania, confusion, delirium, ecstasy and chaos. The most interesting human behaviour comes when humans are pushed to their extremes. I personally believe that the best art does not come from well-adjusted, balanced and happy individuals but from people who are depressed, fucked up on drugs or going through great adversity. As perverse as it sounds, I am concerned about becoming too happy as an individual, lest my art suffer.

I do not write songs about petty subject matter. For some reason I am constantly drawn to the “dark side”. Minor progressions, in particular, resonate within me – they just feel right, as if they were my children, whereas the major feels alien. Many popular artists explore this side of things anyway. I have a strong attraction to odd timings such as 6/8 and 7/8. Standard 4/4 is overused and bores me. I often have multiple layers to my music, and it has a lot of depth - this also applies to the subject matter when lyrics are present, or meaning implied via song titles. I would describe my music as “intense”, “passionate”, “deep”, “cathartic”, “profound”, and sometimes “brutal” and “chaotic”. Soularflair music reflects the complexity of life.

I often write songs when I am inspired by something, such as a book I’ve read. I wrote a song called “The Death Of Forever” after reading a book of the same name, to attempt to capture the drama and intensity that I found in that book. Also, I have ideas that I just feel a compulsion to explore. Whether this is a concept, or a desire to, for instance, utilise a new timing or melodic structure, just for the sake of my own amusement. I freely admit to being somewhat of a snob musically, and this mostly stems from my aversion to the commercialisation of music. This music takes what I call the easy option – it uses a formula to get people to think they can relate to the song. It doesn’t take risks, it favours saccharine sweetness over real substance, and it is essentially forgotten when the next “big thing” comes along. I avoid and challenge this with my own compositions.

I wish to explore uncharted territory in my work. This comes from a familiarity with previous song writing methods which I wish to eventually transcend. I intend to compose for different instruments as this leads to different musical outcomes. A distorted guitar will lead to a vastly different musical inspiration than a solo piano. Stagnation would likely follow if one stayed with the same formula constantly. The nature of life is evolution – those that don’t evolve, die. This paradigm is reflected in my music; if one keeps doing the same thing they doom themselves to irrelevance. The danger of this is the risk of losing one’s previous audience because you lead a journey that they may not wish to take. They have a choice, however, of listening or not, whereas I feel compelled to a large degree to make the journey. I greatly admire those bands and artists that take risks and veer from the safe path.

I think one of the biggest problems with music today is its commercialisation. Strong commercial pressures are placed on many artists, particularly under big label deals, but art is not something that should be limited by financial constraints. The majority of mega-selling acts appeal to the lowest common denominator…and I think that is a recipe for creative disaster. My personal belief is that I would far, far prefer a smaller number of die-hard fans, than masses of people to whom I am just the latest flavour of the month, and to whom they feel no genuine connection. To them, my albums would mean little. I want people to relate to my music the same way I relate to albums like “The Wall” by Pink Floyd…I played that album every single day when I came home from school for years. That album meant so much to me, and I completely related to the feelings it conjured. Also, to paraphrase what YES said about their music, I want to make music that can be listened to 20 years from now, and still be relevant.

I do not create music to become rich. While it would be brilliant to actually make a decent living out of it, this is of secondary concern. I will continue to create music for myself even if no-one else wished to hear it. I create music first and foremost for myself. One cannot please everyone, so it’s best to please yourself as far as your own art is concerned. Everyone is a critic, and if you listen to and take on board everyone’s criticisms you become creatively paralysed.

While I have always loved music, I can pinpoint 2 key times in my life with regards to it’s evolution within me. The first was meeting my stepfather. His very eclectic taste in music exposed me to artists and styles I had previously never known - artists such as Pink Floyd, YES, Genesis, Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Zappa. The second was when I started attending university and doing a Bachelor of Science degree. It was then that my creativity started to truly flourish. I think that being forced to narrow my mind to accept certain scientific dogmas encouraged my artistic right-brain side to blossom. I’ve actually been referred to as a “mad scientist” before, both creatively and otherwise and this description is very apt.

My scientific background has provided a unique challenge – to balance the rational logical side of myself with the free-form artistic side. During the first year of university was not what I’d call a happy time. Perhaps as a self-defence mechanism, I began to write a lot of poetry and began to attempt composing my own music. I soon realised I was no longer content to play other people’s music when I could write my own.

I find the artistic process itself a mixed blessing, and not always a fully pleasant experience. It is both cathartic and therapeutic, and basically something I have to do to stay sane. If I don’t do it, I feel a part of myself dying. I have an obsessive nature and can often get tied up in minutia of the composing process. I am definitely a perfectionist with my musical creations which can be extremely draining. I can spend hours trying to fix what I consider to be a problem which in reality no one else can here – it’s maddening. More times than not I have to force myself to leave a song – to say a song for me is truly ever finished is probably incorrect. It follows that I am a control freak with my music – I demand complete creative control. I believe in my own ability and have so far had great trouble letting anyone else get involved with it, because I desire to astound people with my songs. The reaction of “That’s nice” is the last thing I want. I want to hear “Fuck! That’s intense!”

In creating music, I often feel as if I am channelling – I usually have no idea what the final version of a song is going to sound like. It just kind of comes out of me, as if I am a conduit for a greater creative force. My songs have a mind of their own and often seem to write themselves. Being primarily self-taught, save for a few guitar lessons around age 10, and not being able to read music, I instead have an instinctual understanding of it. If it sounds good to me, that’s all that matters.

My favourite guitarists would have to be Fredrik Thordendal from Meshuggah, and Tommy Vertelli from Coroner. Thordendal is a true legend. I've always loved that fluid, legato, somewhat atonal soloing that Allan Holdsworth first popularised, and that Throdendal took to the next level. If you haven't heard Fredrik's solo album "Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects - Sol Niger Within" then you're really missing out on one of the most brutally creative albums ever - it's truly remarkable. And Tommy Vertelli played with such incredible feel, and every note he played just fit the song perfectly. Coroner were one of the great under-appreciated metal bands ahead of their time - thanks to a short sighted record company they disappeared around 1995.
Other favourites include:

Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)
Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad)
Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth)
Mike Oldfield
Steve Hackett (Genesis)
Page Hamilton (Helmet)
Robert Fripp (King Crimson)
Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
John McLaughlin (Mahivishnu Orchestra)
Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Steve Stevens and the Atomic Playboys)
Paul Dempsey (Something For Kate)
Kim Thayil (Soundgargen)
Steve Morse (Steve Morse Band, The Dixie Dregs)
Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society)
Joe Satriani
Steve Vai

My favourite band would be Meshuggah. Brutal, complex, precise metal that just wipes the floor with anything else out there. Also a big fan of Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, Coroner, Massive Attack, Devin Townsend's projects (Strapping Young Lad, Ocean Machine, Infinity), Frank Zappa, King Crimson, YES, Genesis (mostly before Phil Collins took the lead), Opeth, Ozric Tentacles, Soundgarden, Mike Oldfield, Something For Kate, Underworld, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Mark Hollis, Bjork, and Grand Silent System (an awesome Australian band…check them out!).