Three months after releasing his orchestral metal opus "The Moth", Devin Townsend was asked by Zenae Zukowski of Metal Insider whether he had started work on anything new. The number he gave is not a typo.
"Since 'The Moth' was done, I've written about 100 songs, and we're just in the midst of getting them all going now," he said. "I've got about five different projects."
Townsend is quick to insist this is not a workaholic's confession. It is, he argues, the result of finally building a system. "I would like to say I got a super-efficient process and an amazing team," he explained, describing a Patreon-funded setup that pays other people to handle everything he used to lose his days to: sessions prepped, gain structure set, automation break points cleared, click tracks laid, files where they should be on the drive.
"By the time I get back to it, all that legwork and the logistical work that I spent countless years spending most of my day doing is taken care of by somebody who really likes doing that for the first time," he said. "So now all of a sudden, my day is much more efficient… when I go back to it, I'm in a frame of mind to create, and I don't have to constantly switch between left brain, right brain."
The counter-intuitive part is what he claims the arrangement is actually optimising for. "If we're prioritizing our mental health, our physical health, our spiritual health over productivity, I think that the productivity will increase tenfold because it's not as precious."
That framing comes from somewhere specific. "When I was in my 20s, so much of my self-worth was connected to my ability to produce shit. It's, like, in absence of productivity, I'm a shitty person," he said. "And in fact, if I lose my capacity to make music, I'm still going to be me… you can't unring a bell once you start recognizing those things."
It has also killed off any lingering interest in the career he didn't have. Asked in a recent interview whether he realised how much more successful he could have been had he stayed a certain course, his response was immediate: "I don't fucking care at all. In fact, fame in general is a scourge."
Townsend returns to the stage this autumn with the "Metamorphosis" solo tour: 23 shows across 10 European countries in September and October, drawing on a 31-album discography that includes PUNKY BRÜSTER, CASUALTIES OF COOL, DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT and STRAPPING YOUNG LAD.
Source: blabbermouth.net