Indian Run: In the Studio with Musician + Producer Shane Becker

If this pandemic has been good for one thing, it has forced people to be home and explore alternative ways to complete work projects, keep making art, and generating a living. For musicians, especially, the world of performing came to a grinding halt with little opportunity to collaborate with other artists due to travel restrictions. But it’s also led to creative solutions that have allowed musicians to collaborate in ways that they may not have otherwise. I was surprised (though I shouldn’t have been) to hear that Shane Becker of Indian Run music has been busy behind the scenes not only producing his own music but helping other artists in the production end, and is as busy as ever in his home studio.

Although I love and appreciate good music, I know nothing about all of the cables, synthesizers, microphones, and instruments that Shane has carefully organized in his at home studio, but I do know that I find it incredibly tempting not to touch all the buttons. All of the colors and elements and design make them so visually interesting for me, so when he invited me over to help with some images, I told Shane ahead of time to grab his notes + notebooks, and objects that were of personal importance in his music production. I had an idea in my head of how we could make a really bold, graphic type image that would showcase the story behind Shane’s music production and the elements that drive his creativity. We played around with different combinations of objects + instruments and as we moved things around, Shane was actually playing songs that he either had been working on or was just creating on the fly. These are the stories behind the images that make them work + give them soul, and in a way, you can feel the energy of his music in the images. My original vision was the first set of images above, but when I looked back at my contact sheet, I re-worked some of the types to bring in all images of Shane’s hands busy at work, creating art that has so much of his signature on it. Sometimes, when I say to someone, “so I have this idea . . . “, I cringe on the inside because only I can see how amazing this could be! but it’s not always easy to get the idea out of my head and onto a print. In this case, I’m grateful for the trust of a friend, because it turned out exactly how I envisioned it.