Emmy-nominated composer David Norland talks to Happy Ali about optimism in music and about how he set about creating that in his latest work.
Optimism comes naturally to some people, but not all. Some have to work at having a positive attitude. The subject fascinated Emmy-nominated composer David Norland so much that he wanted to create that in his music.
Thursday Optimism one of the titles on Glam Tear Stain, an album of neo-classical music that is receiving critical acclaim around the world. This simple piano tune has a feel-good factor that’s all about positivity and bringing strength in an oftentimes difficult world.
“Are you a glass-half-full or a glass half empty kind of person?” David asks.
“Optimism is an attitude of mind. It’s how we see things. Some people will see a positive outcome to the same event that another person will see difficulty and failure.”
“Being someone who has always had to work hard on being an optimist, I wanted to put that attitude to music. So Thursday Optimism is a piece of music that achieves that.”
Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. I hope this piece of music brings about a feeling that there is an opportunity always, even in times of difficulty.”
David Norland is known for scores for films and television, (HBO’s My Dinner With Herve, starring Peter Dinklage, and Anvil! The Story of Anvil).
His recent solo album Glam Tear Stain has been adored by critics, and found its way to some interesting musical corners of the globe, like Jamaica, where reggae impresarios Sly & Robbie loved it so much, they have remixed of one of the tracks.
Find out more about David Norland here: https://www.davidnorland.com/
