Ian Chang - How to Grow as a Creative Person?
Ian Chang - How to grow as a creative person?
We all have our low moments when we deal with self-doubt and fear of failure. We start hiding it in our heads without sharing our thoughts or the way we feel. And here we make a mistake. We need to talk to each other more or at least start learning to do that. This interview is the one that I needed for myself – to talk to somebody about growing as a creative person. No matter where we live in the world, Vilnius or New York, we all struggle with similar things and can help each other. This time Ian Chang was the one who helped me.
Ian Chang is an extremely talented drummer who was born and raised in Hong Kong. He moved to New York to pursue music and after living there for ten years now he moved to Dallas. He‘s a member of American music groups - Son Lux and Landlady, and has collaborated with such artists as Moses Sumney, Kazu Makino, Joan As Policewoman, Body Language, Matthew Dear, and Rubblebucket. This year in April, he released his first debut full-length record 属Belonging. His music is thrilling, sincere and as it was said before – it brings a new kind of human vulnerability into electronica. So what does he do to grow as a creative person?
Usually, beginnings are the hardest. What tough moments did you experience when starting out?
When I moved to New York for college in 2007, I was taking every and any gig I could get, which brought me a lot of great experiences, but also some challenging ones.I was often playing for free, to no one, and sometimes even music that I didn’t really connect with. One particular night stands out- I had a show at the now-closed Sullivan Hall with my own band at the time and was very inexperienced and nervous during our very brief setup and line check before the show.I couldn’t hear my voice on the monitor so I went up to the sound engineer and meekly asked to have it turned up, to which he responded “Look, all I want to do is to get the show over with so I can finish work, go home and fuck my wife.”
Pretty much everyone working on their own have low moments. What’s different is how we cope with them. I personally step back and look at what I am doing, do I have too much on? Maybe the things that are causing me so much stress are not that important. What would I tell a friend to do in my situation? Usually treating myself with kindness helps a lot. What about you? You talked about the tough moments – what do you do to feel motivated again? And what moments were the most motivating to keep on going?
For me, it’s helpful to shift the focus from being productive to being present. I find that focusing on external or internal pressures to be productive can often impede creative flow and cloud judgment. It’s helpful for me to feel free and playful when creating. I’ve also learned to not be too attached to my own ideas because it often takes me trying a bunch of things before landing on something that feels right. People often think of their scrapped ideas as failures and a waste of time, when it’s really an important part of the process of growing and learning. Also, this one is obvious, but take breaks! For me, that usually means walking my dog or stepping away to cook or read something. Taking space and distance from what I’m working on helps re-calibrate my perspective, and can often be very helpful creatively when I re-approach it with fresh ears.
I noticed that in some interviews people like to call you a nomad because you were born in Hong Kong, lived for a long time in New York and now settled down in Dallas. Do you feel you belong to a certain culture? What effect has it had on your work and the way you are as a person?
I’ve become accustomed to feeling like a bit of an outsider wherever I go, including Hong Kong, which itself is a place that struggles a lot with identity. I realize this sounds very negative, but I actually really cherish my multiplicity, because it has equipped me to see things through different cultural lenses, as well as value other perspectives that aren’t related to my experiences.
As creatives when we grow, we need to learn to deal with criticism. Sometimes it can be criticism that we ask from our colleagues or people in the same sphere – constructive criticism – and sometimes it’s just individual comments on Instagram that we get. Even when my close friends give me a piece of advice I tend to take it as a criticism because it looks to me that I’ve done something not great. Do you ask for constructive criticism and how do you deal with criticism in general?
I’m lucky that I’ve been able to surround myself with like-minded peers who I trust to constructively critique my work. I’ve found that the people who really take the time to give constructive criticism do so because they care, and if they share similar values, then it’s likely that the criticism is relevant in some way. Whenever I get thoughtful criticism or a suggestion from a peer, I take it as a form of love. Of course, not all criticisms are well intended or helpful (they can often be manifestations of someone’s insecurities), so it does take time to develop an instinct for knowing which ones to value, and which ones to ignore. No art should be for everyone, so we’re all bound to receive criticism that is coming from a completely incongruent perspective (though sometimes this can be valuable as well!).
As a photographer, I believe that in order to be creative and come up with new ideas it‘s important to not only be interested in your own sphere (in my case photography) but rather, look for inspiration much wider. Where do you look for inspiration?
I agree! I look for inspiration in technology, nature, art & design, TV, human relationships, food… the list goes on.
A few of the things that stop our creativity is self-doubt, fear of failure, and insecurities. For me, it’s when I look at photography works of really talented and hardworking photographers and think that I will never understand how they got such nice colours in the photo or that I will never master the lightning techniques. And when I start comparing myself to them it becomes quite stressful and causes anxiety. Have you dealt with self-doubt and fear of failure? What insecurities did you have? Have you learned how to stop comparing yourself to other creators that you adore?
Oh my gosh yes! I relate to this a lot. Especially in the athletic world of drumming, it’s very easy to feel inferior. I think this comes from a false narrative of excellence. Growing up, I was always told that I need to strive to be the “best in my field”, when in fact, this does not apply to the arts. At some point, I stopped pressuring myself to be the best and started to focus on cultivating my own artistic perspective through spending time on the things that inspire me. As long as there’s an inspiration, there is a reason to keep moving forward.
Learning different skills doesn’t end when we finish school or university, it’s a process we should do constantly. What skills do you try to improve at the moment (not necessarily in music)? Do you take any online classes, meet specialists in a certain field, or maybe simply just watch Youtube tutorials?
Currently, I’m spending a lot of time working to improve my skills in production, sound design, and mixing. I get a lot of help from Ryan and Rafiq from Son Lux, who are my go-to people for criticism. I also definitely use Youtube tutorials! Especially now that I’m in a socially distanced existence, I’ve been able to devote more time to this.
It’s easy to become busy really quickly, but we need to have time for the important tasks that keep us moving toward our goals. One of those tasks is to devote time to our creativity. I tend to say to myself that I will leave time in the evening for my creative work, but when the evening comes I still have some work to do or I am just tired and have no energy. Don't your other tasks take up your creative time?
I’m lucky that most everything I do with my time has to do with music in some way, shape, or form, but I do find it difficult to make time for my solo project. A good amount of my solo work is done from planes, vans, and hotels while on tour.
Have you had moments in your career when you felt that your progress has stopped?
Even though I sometimes feel stagnant, I always realize in retrospect that those moments are typically right before I make a big change that pushes growth. I’ve come to really value having time to wander to find new inspiration.
These days we have so many opportunities and possibilities. And that’s amazing! But sometimes it can be quite overwhelming for many creatives, it becomes hard to choose. Don’t you get overwhelmed by them?
Constantly [laughs]. I definitely struggle with saying no. I’m trying to get better at identifying whether or not an opportunity is something that aligns with my values and goals as a creator because if it isn’t, it’s not really in anyone’s best interest for me to take it.
Do you have any fears looking forward? If so, how do you find the courage to deal with these thoughts?
Of course- the future feels so uncertain in too many ways to spell out here right now… all I can really do is take life a day at a time and try to use my voice and art to make a positive impact.
And a little bit more about music!
The music created by you and also together with the band is very emotional, sensitive, and engaging. It‘s a result of long hours of hard work. And all creatives need to reward themselves for their hard work. Can I say that live shows are like a reward for you? What do you go through during the shows? What feelings and thoughts flow in you?
I’ve actually never thought of live shows as the reward, but in a lot of ways, that rings true. I’ve always thought about how the live show is a continuation of the life of the songs from the recordings. It’s a completely different medium, so I always approach it differently than the record. Also, I want to point out that touring is itself extremely hard and back-breaking work, the schedule, and the travel can be very challenging to keep up with. That being said, connecting with audiences in different cities, and seeing faces light up in the crowd to the music is a huge payoff and is extremely cathartic!
In April you released your first solo album called 属 Belonging (congratulations!) and in August together with Son lux you released a new album called Tomorrow I. What does it mean to you as a musician to release your first solo album? What was easier and harder/ how is it different compared to creating an album with a band?
In general, I think it was harder, but also extra rewarding to put out my own body of work. I’m much more familiar working in a group setting, so it was a challenge to make something that was my own without that constant feeling of comradery. I’m also used to working towards collective goals and aesthetics, so discovering what MY “sound” would be felt quite intimidating.
You started playing drums when you were a little kid. What was the biggest lesson learned during your career, that you still apply today?
Be open. Eat well.
Even though all of the answers above answer the main question “How to grow as a creative person?”, how would you answer it in a few words?
Stay inspired, and study what inspires you voraciously. Don’t be afraid to wander, and don’t be afraid to fail.
Written by Barte Barauskaite
Interviewee Ian Chang
Illustration Greta Cibulskaite