We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Benjamin Beak a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Benjamin, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

It’s starts from a thirst for knowledge, and the finding of the first seed. You need a foundation, and that can be acquired from school, mentorship, conversations with peers etc. Once that foundation is built, it’s up to you to grow your own tree. When it comes to music, and music production there is a long desert of obscurity that you have to traverse through to create something meaningful, and to capture your own voice. You have to sit in that uncomfortable chrysalis, and really transmutate from within, or you are bound to follow the path of others and echo the same song. Each new skill you hone serves multiple functions, interweaving the web that makes up you as a creative, and serving as inspiration for the next project you bring to life. So you have to be constantly learning and acquiring new methods to actualize your vision, Manuals are your best friend, they don’t beat around the bush. Reading a manual is like Neo learning Kung Fu. You read it, you apply it, and the knowledge is yours. Ask the internet questions, move socratically, and with every answer, a new question will arise that will lead you closer to understanding. Do it everyday, and don’t make excuses. Work on it, and silence the voices around you. Don’t spend all of your time cross training, and just do the thing! The pebbles will form stones, and the stones with create a path, and after a long time crossing the sandstorm, you’ll see the light, and become yourself.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Music Producer, artist (Benjamin Beak), mixing engineer, mastering engineer, and co-owner of a music production + music video production one stop-shop company called Ancient Burd. I was always an artist, but the rest of my skills came from a genuine desire to help those who I believe in realize their vision and to help bring their dreams to life. Growing up, I was surrounded by many talented musicians, and started a band with some people who I really wanted to make music with. We wrote some great songs, and had a sound, but in reality none of us knew what it took to make a record. So, after that fell apart, I decided to learn, and I spent the next 10 years of my life on the journey to become a music factory in it of myself, so that it could share those skills with others and let them bypass all of that time it had taken me to make the music I heard in my head. I have an agenda, A reason for it all. The vast majority of music is a lie, It doesn’t get to the bottom of it. It’s besides the point, and a lot of cases a misrepresentation of the human experience, watered down, and bureaucratically manufactured on a conveyor belt, where by the time it reaches you it’s meaningless. Well for the entirety of my conscious life, i’ve been sick of that, and it’s something I, and the people I work with, and believe in are going to change.The mission is the re-individualization of the artist, and the realization of the human spirit, Ancient Burd is the extension of that idea, into a partnership with Nolan Englund, DP, Director, and creative, who shares those same values, and together we offer Music Video, Live Performance footage, and social media content packages, to bolster artist’s brands and help them fulfill the entirety of the artist’s creative vision in one place. The music video is a singular work of music and visuals, so why bring in a new group of creatives long after the song has been completed? At Ancient Burd, we conceptualize the song and video at the same time, so that it comes together as one creative work. We skip the waiting time on hiring those additional teams, skip the lag on pre production, and get it done in a budget that the artist can actually afford.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

At the core of my reasons for doing what I do, is the desire for fulfillment, and understanding. It’s about knowing the self, about being at my death bed one day and wondering if I did all I could – if I truy found meaning, and if my dreams came true. Did I retain myself on the quest of ambition, and did I keep the people I love at my side on the quest for theirs.

These works have helped shape that philosophy.

1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
2. Naruto
3. V for Vendetta
4. The Fountainhead
5. The Alchemist

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Pay them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Ancientburd.com
• Instagram: @BenjaminBeak @Ancientburd

Image Credits

Some photography by Nolan Englund