Balancing life and music can be impossible and is likely the leading factor in why producers abandon their dreams of making music a serious part of their lives in the long term.
Because most producers get into the profession early in life when they have lots of free time, but over the years, as their skills improve, the demand for their time increases, work, life, relationships, and more stack up. Soon music can slowly drift to the backburn.
Ben Tucker has been able to beat the odds and still make some of the best music f his career while juggling work, international moves, life, and more. So to celebrate the release of his latest remix, we sat down with Ben to discover his secrets on making music a major part of your life while also holding down a fantastic job and more.
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Steam Ben Tucker’s Remix Below
Ben Tucker’s latest release is a remix for an artist named Breno Mos and was recently released on David Hohme’s imprint – Where The Heart Is Records.
The track is an airy rolling organic house tune that takes the listener on a listful journey from start to finish. Ben Tucker’s fresh take brings a slightly more day-time party and dance-friendly vibe to the original mix.
Purchase Ben’s Remix On Beatport Here
How do you find the energy for music after finishing work at your 9-5?
For me, it’s all about looking after myself. I’ve shifted many things around in my lifestyle to balance everything I enjoy doing, emphasizing prioritizing my health.
The healthier you feel, the more energy you have, and everything else falls into place! It’s going to sound cliche as fuck, but I am an early riser, and it makes a massive difference to me. I’m typically up at 5.45 am every morning, listen to any tracks I currently have going on the way to work, do gym during lunch, and squeeze in 2 hours of studio time a day once I’m back home.
However, if I’m not feeling it, that’s okay!
On weekends, I spend half the day in the studio and half the day having fun—balance, balance, balance.
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Do you have any advice on prioritizing and deciding what to sacrifice to make music a part of life?
All your unhealthy habits.
But seriously, I don’t believe you should feel like you are sacrificing anything. If you enjoy what you do, go for it, whether that’s music or not. Inspiration and creativity come naturally in the flow; I follow how I feel.
When I say no to a party or hang out with friends (which some would call a sacrifice), I choose what I want to do while being disciplined with my routine.
I am a firm believer in the fact that you can’t tip the scale too much towards either only flow or only a strict routine. You’ve got to mix it up and follow your heart while having a strategy, a plan for your direction in life.
That way, nothing feels like a sacrifice to me, and I can always find time for the things I love, balancing music, work, active social life, and fitness. If you only spend a couple of hours in the studio a week, that’s fine if you find your flow state when it feels right. And if sometimes life gets in the way, you get pulled with other priorities, and you do nothing in the studio, that’s okay, too! Creativity and flow won’t work when you’re forcing it.
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How important is a community to balancing production and life?
Connection is one of my most significant values and one of the reasons I love releasing music; there is nothing more rewarding than seeing others connect with the music you have put your heart and soul into.
Having a team or community when balancing everything helps – sharing ideas, chatting through challenges, and getting feedback are better with a team that can support you while pointing to any potential blind spots that you might miss out on as a one-man army. I’m all for a collab or two and have some in the works at the moment; it’s such a fun way to explore different talents, strengths, and styles.
In saying all that, I also love my solo time regarding anything creative. However, much inspiration is drawn from experiences and connections with others. It is then my interpretation of these experiences that comes out in my tracks.
Looking for guidance in your music career? Discover ‘Finding Mentors in the Music Industry: Entel Shows How Finding a Mentor Can Define Your Career’ – shape your future here.
Share some advice for staying inspired while spending time away from music
I don’t think it’s about “staying inspired.”
Inspiration always comes and goes.
You can’t be inspired 24/7. Spending time away from them also helps me with zoning into my productions. It sounds counterintuitive, but it allows me to be more present with other experiences in life to draw from, and it also creates a unique space for the time I set aside to hone my productions and express my ideas.
There have been times when I just haven’t felt any inspiration for weeks. I used to try and force it in the past, but I was surprised! It didn’t work.
I mainly was never happy with those songs. So I started taking that as a sign to step aside and focus on other things. Funnily enough, after taking the pressure off and giving myself time away, whenever I come back to it with a fresh head, even just a weekend in the studio is usually full of ideas, and I can finish 2-3 tracks in a few days!
Do you have any life hacks techniques to help manage life and music production?
Daily exercise and meditation help me find a balance within myself for everything that comes my way. Meditation brings me back to the center and exercising releases any tension so I can stay fresh and healthy to have the energy to balance life and music. There’s a lot of magic in setting aside the time just to be still and going for a run to clear the mind.
Although, the most significant life hack I’ve learned in the last six months is the importance of getting enough sleep.
Until last year, I used to push myself to accomplish more in a day and usually function on only 4-6 hours of sleep. This was something I used to compromise on. But, ever since I’ve changed my sleep routine to a non-negotiable 7-8 hours a night, I’ve found that I have more consistent energy and inspiration throughout the day. I don’t believe in burning myself out anymore.
Setting up my studio space is also designed to keep me from distractions and fuel creativity. A clear space allows for a clear mind, so I must not clutter my studio space.
How do you personally work smarter and not harder?
Keeping samples organized is a must. I also tend to save fx chains, presets, etc.
If I can feel exactly what vibe I am going for with a song, I start with a template with the number of tracks and instrument types ready to go. It never ends up being a “template” track, but I find it’s a great building block to flesh out ideas quickly.
Even small things like creating notes for each track when it comes down to idea hits also help. Those spur-of-the-moment inspirations can easily be forgotten if you don’t write them down. The notes app on my phone gets a real workout, and I’ll even admit the voice memos do too, if I have any melodic ideas.
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Tell of some advice on time management that you wish you would have learned ten years ago.
Two things – calendars and task lists.
That’s it.
I used to avoid structure and organizing things like this because I wanted to “go with the flow.”
However, things are now very different – blocking out time in my calendar, whether it is for brainstorming track ideas or more technical aspects of production like mixing down, really allows for more freedom in the process. Like that quote by Aristotle goes, “Through discipline comes freedom”, it’s ironic, but it’s true.
We can create more flow in our lives by giving it structure. A flow state is where the real magic in music production lives.
Planning my time this way has allowed me to feel accomplished and productive while ticking off a realistic list rather than continuously getting distracted and working aimlessly, burning myself out.
Interested in crafting unforgettable dance tracks? Explore ‘Songwriting in Dance Music: Tim Green Shares How He Writes Music That Stays with You’ – enhance your songwriting skills here.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
