When most people think about musicians, they tend to associate them with a particular style of music. Country artists make country music. Jazz artists make jazz music. Dance producers create dance tracks. Worship musicians focus on worship music. There is certainly a good reason for this. Building an audience around a recognisable sound can be a very effective approach, and many successful artists spend entire careers mastering a single genre.
My own musical journey has been rather different.
Over the years, I have created albums that span country, pop, dance, worship, gospel, jazz, children’s music, instrumental projects, opera-inspired collections, Las Vegas-themed albums, spoken word concepts, disco records, and many other styles. From the outside, this might seem unusual. Some people have even asked whether working across so many genres makes the creative process more difficult.
In reality, I have found exactly the opposite.
One of the greatest benefits of working across multiple genres is that it keeps creativity fresh. Every musical style comes with its own traditions, strengths, challenges, and opportunities. When I move from one genre to another, I am essentially stepping into a different creative environment. The questions I ask myself change. The techniques I focus on change. The emotions I am trying to evoke change.
This variety helps prevent creative stagnation.
Imagine eating your favourite meal every day for the rest of your life. Even if you genuinely loved it, there is a good chance you would eventually crave something different. Creativity can work in a similar way. Spending too long in a single style sometimes makes it harder to see new possibilities. Exploring different genres allows me to constantly refresh my perspective.
Country music, for example, often places enormous emphasis on storytelling. The songs tend to focus on relatable experiences, memorable characters, and emotional narratives. When I work on a country album, I find myself thinking about stories. I think about journeys, relationships, places, and moments that listeners can connect with.
Dance music encourages a completely different mindset. Suddenly rhythm becomes a major focus. Energy becomes important. The goal is often to create movement, excitement, and momentum. Rather than concentrating primarily on storytelling, I may spend more time thinking about atmosphere, groove, and emotional energy.
Worship music introduces yet another perspective. The focus often shifts toward faith, gratitude, reflection, hope, and spiritual connection. The emotional goals become different. The lyrical themes become different. The overall purpose of the music changes.
Each genre teaches valuable lessons.
What I have discovered is that those lessons often transfer across styles. Storytelling skills developed through country music can strengthen pop songs. Emotional techniques learned through worship music can enhance ballads. Rhythmic ideas explored through dance music can bring additional energy to other genres.
The result is that every genre becomes both a destination and a teacher.
Another unexpected benefit is that working across multiple genres encourages experimentation. When you spend all your time within a single style, it can be easy to become overly concerned about what is considered normal or acceptable within that genre. Exploring multiple styles creates more freedom because you are constantly exposed to different creative approaches.
This freedom has led to some of my favourite projects.
Many of my album ideas emerge from combining influences that would not normally be placed together. Sometimes a concept begins with a simple question. What would happen if I approached this genre from a slightly different angle? What would happen if I borrowed an idea from another style? What would happen if I combined two influences that rarely meet?
Not every experiment succeeds equally, of course. That is part of the process. Creativity involves exploration, and exploration inevitably includes occasional surprises. However, even the projects that do not become personal favourites often teach valuable lessons that can be applied elsewhere.
Working across multiple genres has also helped me appreciate music more deeply.
It is easy to become critical of genres you do not know well. From a distance, many styles can seem simplistic or repetitive. Once you spend time creating within them, however, you begin to understand the skills involved. You start recognising the nuances that make each genre unique.
For example, creating effective children’s music is much harder than many people realise. Simplicity sounds easy until you try to achieve it. Writing music that is engaging, memorable, accessible, and enjoyable for younger listeners requires considerable thought and creativity.
The same principle applies to virtually every genre. What appears straightforward on the surface often reveals surprising depth once you begin working within it.
Another benefit has been the ability to connect with different audiences. Not everyone enjoys the same type of music. Some listeners are drawn to country music. Others prefer worship music, dance music, instrumental music, or jazz. By exploring multiple genres, I have the opportunity to create music that resonates with a broader range of people.
I find that idea quite exciting.
One listener might discover my catalogue through a worship album. Another might arrive through a country project. A third might enjoy an instrumental release. Each person enters through a different doorway, yet they are all experiencing part of the same creative journey.
Technology has played an important role in making this exploration possible. Modern music creation tools allow independent artists to experiment more freely than ever before. Ideas that once required enormous resources can now be explored much more easily. This flexibility has encouraged me to remain curious and continue pushing into unfamiliar territory.
Curiosity is really the key word.
The moment an artist stops being curious, creative growth often begins slowing down. Working across genres helps preserve that curiosity because there is always something new to learn. Every style contains techniques, traditions, and possibilities waiting to be discovered.
Perhaps the most valuable lesson of all is that creativity does not have to fit neatly into a box.
There was a time when artists were often expected to remain within a single lane. While there is certainly value in developing expertise within a particular style, I believe there is also value in exploration. Music is an incredibly vast landscape. Limiting yourself to one small corner of it means missing countless opportunities for discovery.
Looking back across my catalogue, I see more than a collection of albums. I see a series of creative adventures. Each genre opened a new door. Each project revealed new possibilities. Each experiment contributed something to the journey.
The wonderful thing about music is that there is always another style to explore, another influence to examine, and another idea waiting to be developed. Working across multiple genres has not diluted my creativity. If anything, it has strengthened it. Every new musical adventure adds another tool to the creative toolbox and another layer to the overall journey.
That is why I continue exploring different genres today, and why I suspect I always will. The world of music is simply too interesting, too diverse, and too full of possibilities to stay in one place for very long.