Allocai discusses the creation process for his album ‘Black Silver’

The creative process is a rather nebulous term and once that can apply to a great many things. Recent scholarly research has investigated whether constraints placed on an individual can have positive benefits for their creativity. The study aimed to add to the knowledge of how constraints affect the creative process by analyzing the impact of constraints at the process level. The article conducted a study of over 300 individuals who were given a restaurant development task to complete and were given different constraints depending on their particular group. The results of the study, “suggest that introducing constraints prior to problem identification improves creative performance on final proposals and that constraints foster idea evaluation.”

Allocai is an artist who has taken a rather extreme approach to add constraints to his creative process for the betterment of his music. He isolated himself for several months so that he could think deeply about himself and his feelings as well as how to best convey this through music. The result is the album Black Silver which is an undeniably intimate, authentic and engaging musical experience. 

Allocai and his creative process

Allocai operate primarily in the realms of alternative pop and rock. However, that has not stopped him from incorporating both synth and jazz elements into his latest album. This album is the result of months of isolation and self-reflection. Months which have been spent carefully considering emotions and how these emotions can be effectively conveyed through music. In order to convey the feeling of loneliness which he felt during this process, Allocai wanted the entire album to have a dystopian feel to it. This serves as a means of making the listener feel some of the intense emotions which Allocai felt during his creative process. 

Allocai felt that his first album was edgier and more uncontent than Black Silver. This was an intentional creative choice on his behalf as he wanted the album to convey these emotions and feelings. They were a reflection of the artist in that period of his life as well as being a reflection of the emotions which he was feeling. This edgy and unkempt nature was also influenced by Allocai finding his own way through his creative process. He has stated that he was still working out how to best create music at this time and he has subsequently got the process down to a tee for Black Silver. 

The sonic aesthetic is not the only aesthetic which Allocai considers when creating his music. He is also concerned with the visual elements of both his and the album’s presentation. As a result of this, he has specifically curated his public appearance to cohere with the aesthetic of his new album. This means that he has favored a lot of black and white photography with bold lines and geometry. This lack of color highlights the stark nature of the loneliness which he felt well creating his album. It also serves as a means of isolating Allocai within a frame. 

Another essential element of his creative process is his understanding of himself. He feels that there are a great deal of ways in which people can express themselves and their humanity. He also feels that people should not be defined by their labels, rather people should define their labels for themselves. Experiencing a wide range of different people and their own brands of self-expression have helped Allocai to find his own identity and his own voice as an artist. This has in turn added greater depth to his songwriting and has ability to create an intimate and expressive piece of music. 

Final thoughts 

Allocai is a complex artist who has utilized a creative process which requires a great deal of solitude and introspection. This has in turn influenced the album and its sonic characteristics. Allocia used various musical elements to create a dystopian feel to the album so that listeners can better understand the emotions which he was feeling when he created the music. As a result, listeners are met with an intimate and authentic experience which is a credit to the artist. Although his creative process for Black Silver was demanding it was ultimately worth it because of the striking nature of his achievement.