New Gear, New Ideas: Why the Unknown Sparks Creativity

There’s a strange kind of magic that happens when you try out new gear. A plugin you’ve never opened before. A synth you’ve just plugged in. You’re not sure what it does yet — and that’s exactly the point.

Many of my tracks have started this way. Not from a grand plan, but from curiosity. Tinkering. Getting lost in new sounds. Maybe it’s the excitement of going off-map. Maybe it’s the absence of routine. But something about that unfamiliar territory unlocks ideas.

“You start with nothing and learn as you go. That’s the best way. You discover.”

Aphex Twin (The Wire, 1999)

When you don’t know exactly how something works, you listen differently. You react instead of direct. You stumble into textures you wouldn’t think to create on purpose. It’s a fragile, fleeting moment — that first session with something new — but it’s often where the magic begins.

“Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature.”

Brian Eno (Wired, 1998)

This is more than a gear thing. It’s a mindset: beginner’s mind. That space where you’re free to explore without pressure. New tools just give you an excuse to find it.

So if you’re stuck, or chasing that next spark, maybe it’s time to load up something you’ve never touched before.

Not to control it.

Just to hear what happens.