My Spotify playlist now contains not only my own songs, but also songs by other artists that I like. Sometimes I consciouscly use other songs as inspiration. Of course I would never copy anything, but always make sure that my song sounds differently than its source of inspiration.

Bitcoin Bull Run has been inspired by two songs from the 1970s. When I started working on new songs about Bitcoin, I happened to listen to an old Reggae hit from 1978 on the radio. It was Uptown Top Ranking by Althea and Donna, which I vaguely remembered and really like. I looked it up on the Internet and used the same chords – just a minor and a major chord – and a slightly similar rhythm of the words.

For the chorus I got inspired by a completely different song, which has nothing to do with Reggae: Porque te Vas by Jeannette, a Spanish hit from 1974. I think it was the first song in Spanish I ever consciously listened to. I used the same chords as its chorus and at first even a bit of its melody. This of course I changed, so my song has a different tune now, but if you listen carefully, you can still feel the influence of Porque Te Vas.

The third song I include on my new PLAYTWIST is Clandestino by Manu Chao. There is no direct influence of it in “Bitcoin Bull Run”, but when I briefed my producer I asked him to create a similar vibe as Manu Chao. Like me, Manu is not from Jamaica and doesn’t even try to sound like an authentic Roots Reggae artist, but creates his very own Reggae style.

Then I added a bridge which goes “Let’s go to the Bull Run Party, let’s pretend we’re arty-farty”. It has not been inspired by any other song, and it isn’t even a typical Reggae line, it has a bit more of a Balkan flavour.

So I mixed all these different elements together and the result is a song about Bitcoin, which focuses on its freedom aspect. I am telling you all this to give you a little insight into my song writing process.

Picasso once said “Bad artists copy, good artists steal”. I wouldn’t agree with that quote, but it is clear that every artistic process is somehow influenced by something else, in visual art as much as in music.

The art is to mix the ingredients in a new way, so that the new painting or piece of music doesn’t look or sound like a copy, but fresh and original. It may even pay homage to the works that have inspired it, which I love to do.

So, please save my PLAYTWIST and you will find more songs that are inspirations for my music!