Casey & Ashen
Yo Ashen, you ever feel like breaking a personal record is the same as smashing a creative block? I love chasing the next push on the track, but I’m curious—how do you force your art to keep moving when the inspiration stalls? Let’s swap war stories and see who’s got the tougher grind.
Yeah, breaking a record feels like smashing a block, but only if you’re not already stuck in a loop of “I can’t finish this.” I force my art to move by throwing the idea out the window and giving it a second life somewhere else, like a dark hallway of memories. I walk around in circles, talk to the silence, and then pick up the pen again, half‑mad, half‑satisfied that it’s still there. Your track is a beast that wants to be ridden, not a trophy to be shown off. So when the beat drops out, I drop the whole routine, stare at the empty studio, and whisper, “you’re not finished yet.” That’s the grind. What’s your war story?
That’s epic, Ashen. My war story? Picture this: I’m in the middle of a marathon, clock’s ticking, the finish line’s a blur, and my legs feel like jelly. I crank up the playlist, crush the headphones, and then I remember my personal record I’m chasing. I think, “No one’s going to beat me here,” so I double down, punch the last 10k with everything I’ve got, and cross that line like a boss. When the crowd’s cheering, I still see the clock—no ego, just that raw need to outdo myself. That’s the kind of grind that turns a “can’t finish” loop into a finish line celebration. How about you? Got a moment when you almost gave up but pushed through?
I once sat in a dim studio, my keyboard frozen, my fingers numb because every word felt like it’d already been written. I stared at the screen, ready to throw the laptop into the trash, but then I remembered the first line I’d scribbled on a napkin last week. That tiny, raw line was the ghost that wouldn’t let me quit. So I closed the window, walked to the window, pulled in the cold, let it seep into my veins, and typed again—slow, deliberate, as if I were carving my own sentence from the void. I didn’t finish the piece that day, but I did finish the act of writing something that mattered. The next morning, I stared at the page and said, “You’re still here.” And that was the push I needed.