Inspired #91 - Ed Prosek
Berlin-based singer-songwriter Ed Prosek recently returned with a poignant new single, 'Mercy'. With his band members self-isolating, Ed made light of the situation, taking it upon himself to perform all elements in the video thanks to some editing magic. We had a chat with him to talk about the fuel to his fire.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
I’m sure everyone has a difficult time nailing down only 3 pillars of inspiration, but in terms of songwriting I’ve always admired Paul Simon for his intricate lyrics, Sting for his intuitive shoot-from-the-hip melodies and more recently I’ve fallen in love with Emily King’s music for the little bit of magical ambience inspiration to add to the previous two.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
I probably watched the nightmare before Christmas when I was 4 or 5, but after not seeing it for over 20 years I only just rewatched it to find out that Danny Elfman’s brilliant melodies have completely seeped into my subconscious and come out in all kinds of interesting ways over the years.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
Berlin. I live here and it has exactly what I want in a city: Room for improvement. Having come from rural Northern California I’m used to boundless incredible natural beauty, but when everything is already so perfect what is there left for an artist to say? Berlin is grey and rough around the edges but there's something unmistakably charming about it that allows for creative room to grow and at least for the past few years, it served me very well.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
I met the legendary producer Rupert Hine (Stevie Nicks, Tina Turner, Rush) in 2012 when I first started my career and he took me under his wing and became not only my publisher but also my mentor. Every song I write goes through his insightful and visionary lens and it has been such an honour to work so closely with such a prolific artist and incredible man, and I’m happy to call him a friend.
What were your inspirations when writing the track?
I was going through a phase of not really enjoying the music I was writing and wondering why, but I came up with the melody of Mercy and was so transfixed by it that I decided to dedicate the lyrics to my “Muses” or whatever mystical power gives me the ability to write songs continuously (I’m superstitious, I know).
I must admit, If I was trying to get myself back on track writing-wise with Mercy, it must have worked because the songs coming next are even bigger.
How would you like to inspire people?
I think our culture has become overly obsessed with entertainers, celebrities and icons. It’s rather understandable as we live in a time of unprecedented quantity and access to entertainment but I think that its important to remember that the objective value of art lies in the actual art itself, rather than the persona or ego it finds itself attached to. In other words, I believe the job of an artist is self-improvement. The goal is not to become more successful, it is to better oneself as a creator and a person and only then can one hope for the other shoe to drop.