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The Sound Philosophy
A practical system shaped through an audit of lived experience.
A field manual for musicians and other independent artists, writers, or creators of all stripes, looking for clarity, discipline, and momentum instead of stagnation.
A toolkit to overcome resistance, avoid distraction, and end procrastination.
Curse Mackey calls it, "The Sound Philosophy."
In the wake of the Pandemic, lifelong working musician and visual artist Curse Mackey was, like so many, facing life on hard mode. Rather than give up, he undertook a months-long reflection through daily journaling.
During this process, he mined his many years of real work in touring, recording, publishing, curating, running creative businesses, losing momentum, regaining it, rebuilding, rebranding, and trial-and-error. From these experiences, he rediscovered the hard-won lessons acquired across decades living the art life in the creative trenches. And then, he committed to applying them daily in a disciplined, practical, common sense, and no-nonsense way.
The end result?
His output and opportunities didn't just return to their previous highs; they catapulted to greater heights.
The Sound Philosophy is a standalone book that also serves as an entry-level introduction to Curse's process, reworking portions of his journals, illustrative road stories, and anecdotes into 100 micro essays that lay the foundation for a practical, sustainable approach to creative living, which will be expanded upon more deeply in future works.
A field manual for musicians and other independent artists, writers, or creators of all stripes, looking for clarity, discipline, and momentum instead of stagnation.
A toolkit to overcome resistance, avoid distraction, and end procrastination.
Curse Mackey calls it, "The Sound Philosophy."
In the wake of the Pandemic, lifelong working musician and visual artist Curse Mackey was, like so many, facing life on hard mode. Rather than give up, he undertook a months-long reflection through daily journaling.
During this process, he mined his many years of real work in touring, recording, publishing, curating, running creative businesses, losing momentum, regaining it, rebuilding, rebranding, and trial-and-error. From these experiences, he rediscovered the hard-won lessons acquired across decades living the art life in the creative trenches. And then, he committed to applying them daily in a disciplined, practical, common sense, and no-nonsense way.
The end result?
His output and opportunities didn't just return to their previous highs; they catapulted to greater heights.
The Sound Philosophy is a standalone book that also serves as an entry-level introduction to Curse's process, reworking portions of his journals, illustrative road stories, and anecdotes into 100 micro essays that lay the foundation for a practical, sustainable approach to creative living, which will be expanded upon more deeply in future works.
268 pages, Hardcover
Published April 21, 2026
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October 7, 2026
This book says many of the same things that other books on the artistic/creative process say. It does so in an aphoristic manner, often distilling that knowledge into one page or less per idea. Someone reading many books like it may find it redundant but I think that it expresses these thoughts in a way that makes the next steps in the readers creative journey clear and easily actionable.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review