If you feel this post is craven self-promotion, then please go ahead and delete it! But that’s really not where it’s coming from.
My talented niece has made two short films about the genesis, thinking, and process behind the making of my last album, and I just thought other composers might find it interesting. You also get to see my setup - and I’m sure we’re all curious about other composers working environments! 
Anyway, here’s the 1st film (2nd one out in a week).
That’s a quite honest and humble video. I always appreciate the people who create their music by their pleasure in the first place. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for your warm and kind feedback. It is very much appreciated.
I will be uploading the 2nd part of this film on Sunday, and I’ll post a link in this same thread, if you’re interested.
Thank you.
And here is Film II!
Again, very well explained that what drives one’s passion for music. Congrats to Milla for the great video.
In time, after hearing a lot of musical works of many genres, I think I can tell if the concern is trying to create or replicate what you “dream” versus putting “worries” ahead, related to how well it could sell if it’d done in certain ways or in short worrying about the numbers it could generate.
How lucky are the people who are can free to create whatever kind of tune they want. I myself being one, and I appreciate this opportunity. I’m glad to see that you too.
I guess, being free is the effortless way to create beautiful tunes like yours.
Congratulations!
Once again, thank you so much!
O know I am very lucky to be able to write music without worrying about an audience or income from it. On the other hand, I have paid for this luxury by putting my music on hold for 35 years while I had a different career to earn a living! So I do feel I have earned this now…
Of course I would still love people to hear my music, and ideally to like it! My greatest pleasure - after creating it in the first place - is if/when people really feel something from listening to my music. And in truth it is a struggle to get it out there and find those people.
But the option of composing to find an audience, rather than what I want to write, would be an empty one for me, and make that 35 year sacrifice meaningless! So all I can do is write the best I can, from my perspective, and just hope I can find others who enjoy it too!
Once again, thank you for your lovely feedback.
Mark
It is my pleasure Mark.
I agree that it’s sometimes not feel natural to find right distributor and deal with all those work required by the streaming platforms. It’s just not like working on your project, materialize your thoughts. It’s boring, sometimes nonsense and felt like unrelated to what you do.
I saved your album on Youtube in order to absorb it with pleasure. I can say that so far these amazing works, songs are “my kind of tunes”. Articulations and performances are so brilliant.
And I must add that I like your album art and album name. Beautifully done.
As poet Baki said,
“âvâzeyi bu âleme dâvûd gibi sal
bâki kalan bu kubbede bir hoş sadâ imiş”
Approximate (my) translation would be;
“Release your voice to this world like Davud
what remains in this dome is just a pleasant sound”
Have a great day.
PS. I like to use these lines of Baki time to time.
If you wonder who is Baki: www.britannica.com/biography/Baki
Baki sounds very interesting. I’ve been looking for some text to write a choral piece with. Will check him out. Thank you.
Just to say, I have released it on most the streaming platforms. (You can find links to them here: Music To Dream With by Mark Lewis ). That bit is not so hard.
But getting people to listen to it…and then to react to it even if they do…that bit is hard!!
And yet I know there are people out there who would appreciate it and enjoy it (as you seem to - and once again, thank you so much for your comments) so all I can do is keep plugging away, and trying this and trying that, and see if something works. But the main thing is to keep writing the music that I love
Today’s music (music business) is on an interesting point. These lines from an old song of well known Turkish Musician. I think it suits very well with the situation;
"If gold thrown to trash, will it lose its value?
If you polish the tin, will it ever make a quarter gold? " - Barış Manço
Anyway, if you are looking for a text for your projects, I may suggest you the Rumi. When it comes the deep, meaningful sayings about life, he is my favorite poet and philosopher.
Here you’ll see, one of his sayings already adopted into a song, which is a part of a documentary called “Anadolunun kayıp şarkıları”. The man reading the text in (I suppose) Persian/Farsi, subtitles are in Turkish.
Here is the approximate translation of full text:
Come, whatever you are, come again.
Whether you are an infidel, worship fire or idolater.
Come as you are.
This is the lodge of hope, not despair.
Whoever you are, come that way.
I asked him where are you from.
He said to me with a playful smile
“I am half Turkestan, half Fergana.
Half water, earth, half heart and soul,
Half sea, half pearl all through”
Let’s be friends then we’re not strangers" I said
He said with a smile,
“I do not distinguish between relatives and strangers, acquaintances and unknowns”
You’re me, I’m you.
So why this fight?
-Rumi
Some sayings of Rumi (Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi)
Mark, I appreciate this. After watching it, I’m beginning to think that the things I’ve been doing aren’t too far off track. Thanks!
Once again, your music is beautiful and your life story is inspiring. I think you would enjoy the film about Seymour Bernstein on YouTube and the book called Play Life More Beautifully, by Seymour Bernstein and Andrew Harvey. Your ideas are so similar and so moving.
Thank you, and I’ll check both those out.
Great! I think you will recognize your own philosophy of life and music! I am almost finished reading the book and can relate to all of it!
Sounds interesting! Thanks.