There’s a neurobiological theory that we are programmed to detect immune compatibility in a potential mate through our sense of smell. It has been said (by researchers at Université Paris Diderot) that we “sniff out” long-term partners based on genetic dissimilarities. We are thought to be instinctively attracted to the differences between ourselves and the objects of our affection due to an evolutionary drive to prolong our existence. Theoretically, the greater the difference in our immune systems, the higher our offspring’s chances for survival.
This theory is obviously rooted only in explaining opposite-sex couplings and human reproduction, but the concept is poetic enough to give me pause.
It’s our subtlest differences that often bring us closest together. These differences give rise to many character-building challenges. Our brains naturally resist being taught new habits and new ways of thinking. The human brain is efficient; it wants to follow the easiest route.
Couple this with the fact that the very structure of our brains can be changed by the energy that we share with one another in close proximity, and you’ve got a compelling scientific take on why some long-term creative partnerships thrive.
As we come together once again to write yet another album (our ninth, to be exact), tensions arise only to be resolved by the act of creation. The limbic friction occurring in each of our brains as we strive to follow our muse(s) is simultaneously soothed by the emotional resonance of being in a room together with a shared vision.
An ideal partnership both overcomes obstacles together and pumps emotional warmth out into the world at large. Call it “limbic resonance” or simply “a vibe.” The two of us are acutely aware of the energy we emit while we move through life as a package deal.
We merged into a partnership because we each wanted to leave the other person better off than we found them. We aspired both to support each other and to learn from each other. Fortified by an unshakeable goal to do good work, life is also sweetened by the harmony between our respective strengths.
Committing to a partner — an ally — who possessed unfamiliar instincts and an entirely different skill set felt perfectly natural to both of us and continues to pay dividends in love and art. Alone, we were oceans unto ourselves. Together, we are both at the mercy — and the helm — of two passing ships on one epic, stormy night.
