Why I Chose Spoken Word
By Matthew Wilson For a long time, I assumed that "real" musicians sang. I also expected that, with enough time, I would naturally become a more technically proficient songwriter. I would have liked to write songs like some of my favorite artists do, but I knew early on that I wasn't going to be a carbon copy of someone else. For years, I wrote conventional songs. I tried to improve my singing, wanting my songs to feel more "complete." But because they never completely felt like me, I gradually stopped trying to force them. One of my hardest lessons wasn't learning my craft. It was realizing the craft I admired wasn't quite the one I was meant to practice. That's when things began to change. I enjoy ideas as much as melodies, love atmosphere, and appreciate space. Some of my reflections felt stronger than lyrics, as I discovered that my speaking voice communicated differently than pure instrumentals or the experiments I did with my sin...