Know where you come from

Although memories and nostalgia have rarely been of interest to me, I do believe it's important to know where the roots for my musical tastes lie. Whether making music, writing about it or just enjoying it, the artists and composers we grow up listening to must have an impact on what we associate ourselves with musically in later life. I know, for example, that my near-religious appreciation of the sound and feel of black vinyl comes from my Dad's decision to introduce me to records such as Led Zeppelin's IV at a fairly early age. This also helped to plant the seed for the longing to be in a band creating music as an organic, collaborative experience shared between individuals with different ideas and often a similar passion.

My parents, along with my time spent studying music in school, learning to play instruments and singing in a choral setting also provided me with a good solid grounding in the form of an understanding of classical music. Although so far in my twenties I have neglected to dedicate an appropriate amount of hours to its nurturing, I still feel I was set-up well and 'sent on my way' into my own musical discoveries with a set of survival skills I could rely on. Every time a beautiful film score sweeps across the cinema in a dramatic Hollywood scene, I feel I know a little more about why it is moving the audience the way it does.

So dust off that old CD collection and go back a few years - chances are it won't be as bad as you think, and hopefully you'll be able to see some connections between what you were listening to then and where you are now. Among the rubble, there may be a few tracks or records you desparately needed reminding of which are once again ready to be obsessed over. And while I'm not one to stand in the way of progress, I feel incredibly privileged to be able to go through my CD and vinyl shelves in search of such gems, having narrowly missed being part of a generation which will one day look back on its past by clicking 'arrange by date' in their iTunes collections.