Over the last years I mostly build digital products that live in a very intangible world.

It’s really fascinating. When you think about it, you are creating something out of nothing with zeros and ones in a virtual space, distributed all over the planet. Nothing more than information that you hack into a computer and the results can potentially create an immense effect. And it’s strange. Sometimes you realize that something you have created is being seen and used by thousands and thousands of people all over the world. Sometimes people are using things I helped create on a daily basis. That is kinda mind blowing and scary at the same time.

While it’s fascinating and can be very rewarding in some ways, it can also be quite unsatisfying at times. Because at the end of the day, you rarely see people using it. You rarely see the effect you have on people. You can’t touch it, you can’t smell it, you can’t taste it. It often lacks a certain tangibility. You rarely get the chance to observe people and their experiences with it. (And depending on the product you’re making, you’re not going to evoke any emotion anyway).

So sometimes the idea of creating something physical is very romantic to me, as opposed to sitting in front of a screen all day. Sometimes, when I get too fed up with my job, I joke that I will quit and “do something with wood” instead. And I’m well aware that it’s partly a ” the grass is always greener on the other side” kind of thing, and it might lose some of its magic if you have something like that every day, but it’s still a thought that comes up from time to time. And I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

Last week, however, I received a parcel I hadn’t ordered. Unexpectedly the DHL guy delivered something and I was a bit confused at first as to what it could be. Even though I generally work on digital stuff, I do not only work on projects that are purely digital in the end result. I also have the luck and pleasure to work for artists and musicians who create music, art and concerts. And therefore very human, positive and real experiences.

And this morning the package that arrived was the new vinyl release of a band I work with. And even though my part of the whole project is a minimal one and also digital in nature, the end product I held in my hands this morning was a very tangible one. Having a physical copy of this representation, which even has my name on it, feels quite amazing. It is a welcome change from the pure digital world, which can sometimes feel quite distant, artificial and a bit “cold”.

But it’s not just the vinyl, it’s what it’s representing that makes it so valuable to me. I went to the album release concert the week before and seeing people celebrating, having fun and experiencing an amazing concert will never get old for me. At the concert, it was an amazing thing to see people being figuratively blown away by the bass of the intro to the concert. Eyes wide open as the tuba began to play a deep, long note, and the people who had been there for the first time were not sure what they were witnessing but were instantly captivated.

More and more I find myself looking at the crowd and the faces of the people at the concerts I go to. Or just sitting somewhere before or after the concert and listening to people talk about it.

At a concert last year, I overheard stories of people who had been going to see a band for over a decade, met their partner there and were now going to the concert with their children from that relationship. People forgetting their troubles for a few hours, being blown away by what they see and experience or being thrown into an emotional rollercoaster is something wonderful to watch.

And it’s not my success and all the credits belong to the incredible people who made all of this. All of this would have happened and would be possible without me. But I anyway feel very glad to be part of this journey and be able to contribute in some ways. Being part of both worlds and creating things in this incredible, fascinating digital world that seems infinite in its possibilities, but also to be part of projects that result in very tangible human experiences, where people gather and sweat at concerts and have all sorts of emotions that you can observe - even if all electricity would go out.

2024, it’s only March and this is already the second time this year I’ve been lucky enough to be part of such a project, where I got to experience the results live at a concert and even got a physical representation as a symbol. Both now sit on a small shelf on my wall to remind me of the impact my contribution sometimes has, however small my may be.

Certainly something I am really grateful for.