Pen to the Writer by Alert312 & eb83

For being such a heavy song, ‘Pen to the Writer’ was a rather smooth production effort. 

What helped was that Esteban took to the track immediately. He liked the dissident chords, the ringing space in between chops and the energy the track gave. And generally speaking - writing wise - what you hear was laid in the initial writing and recording session. Yea some phrases were tweaked and bars tightened up in follow up sessions, but the idea was there from the get go. In and through, in and through.

But music wise I struggled with the track, even though Esteban liked it out the gate.
And I could never put my finger on the reason why.

So I take it back - maybe this wasn’t such a smooth production effort…

In a previous post I wrote about some personal guidelines I placed on myself in producing this eB83 batch of music. ‘Pen to the Writer’ met none of the guidelines and criteria. LOL.
First, the song was made well into the 21st century.
Second, it's under 25 years old.
And third, it’s not from Latin America.
The only criteria it met was that it was an actual song from an actual album that was not previously curated from a website, channel or platform.

But hey, if it’s dope, it’s dope. Chop it up.

For months I reworked the drums and the mix to chase this abstract feeling of why I wasn’t liking where the music had arrived.
Should I add a new drum break here? Nah… 
Change the snare there? Maybe…

At one point I suggested that we cut the song. 
Esteban quickly veto’d my suggestion. 
But eventually, after baby steps forward, we arrived at the master we have today.

And yes, I like the song.

But I’ll be honest - during the process of creation I often worshipped ‘the pen’.
I could become so fixated and confident in the process of using my skills, gifts, and passion for creation - in order to arrive at a place that I was satisfied and pleased and proud of what I made - that ‘the writer’ was nowhere to be found in the process.
Me, the pen, didn’t need God, the writer, to be apart. At least while getting this beat right.

I can ‘write’ myself, I thought.
I can inspire myself, I believed.
I can be creative all by myself, I concluded.

Now there is nothing wrong with processes, routines, and creative practices. God indeed uses those things, he uses the ink inside the pen. Those things aren’t sinful, but there is something off when we place the power, hope, and our satisfaction in the created thing - the song, the verse, the vid, the sermon, the effort, the person, the process, the pen - and not the Creator. God himself.

Romans 1:25b (NLT)
So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise.

If you’re anything like me, I often need gentle reminders to align my focus back to the One who is most worthy of praise.
Often. Because daily I am approached with things that beckon praise from me. Things that attempt to convince me that they are worthy. 

But daily I need the gentle reminder that God is more worthy than those things.
He is more worthy than the process.
He is more worthy than the idea.
He is more worthy than the platform.
He is more worthy than the pen.

Prayerfully, may Pen to the Writer be a musical reminder to us all - makers, creators, administrators, parents, cooks, Uber drivers, all of us - to shift our eyes to the one who is most worthy of praise: God, the Writer.