A Chat with Song For Wild (29.01.2021)
Drawing on his experience as a psychiatric nurse, avid book reader and nature lover, Song for Wild draws you into a meditative state of reflection with the tones of In The Bath. His first album envelopes you in a warm embrace as the folk soundscape washes over you. Using the idea of music for the trees, Song for Wind leaks it to the human population for a restive and restorative listening experience. We sat down with Song for Wild to talk about the album, personal expression, musical influences and much more!
OSR: In The Bath is your debut album, what prompted you to release the album now?
Song for Wild: Since the age of 13 I have been playing in bands, too many to remember, and have always found collaborating with other people exciting. However, I realised I had been neglecting my own song-writing potential for too long and had perhaps been using collaboration as a way of putting off actually writing my own stuff. Reaching the age of 30, the encouragement of a good friend and the spare time made available from lockdown all came together to give me the impetus to actually get it done!
OSR: Is there a theme or backstory to your album?
Song for Wild: The themes I wanted to express through the album were introspection, gentleness and warmth.
OSR: The album draws on your own experiences, did you find to easy to express these experiences through your music?
Song for Wild: Each song comes its own way, some hard, others easy. I would often find it easy to write the music but the real-life experiences I was drawing on to be difficult. Writing about a difficult personal experience somehow makes it easier to manage, by framing the experience in a song I felt empowered as well as giving me a route to move on.
OSR: What first drew you to folk music?
Song for Wild: The storytelling, the honesty, the lack of pretension.
OSR: What would you say is the main influence for your music?
Song for Wild: My own introspection and a desire to document and to not forget moments of emotion I felt at the time. I want to listen back to my music and be reminded of who I was then, similar to a diary.
OSR: If people could only feel one emotion while listening to your album, what would you like that to be and why?
Song for Wild: Warmth.
OSR: The album offers a meditative and grounded sound, was this what you wanted when you started creating it?
Song for Wild: Meditative and grounded are fantastic words and I am certainly happy to have them attributed to the album. I did not have a specific goal for my sound when starting out other than to enjoy myself as well as to enjoy the finished product.
OSR: What was the biggest challenge you faced when creating the album?
Song for Wild: I find lyrics a challenge when writing a song, often getting stuck on one line which just won’t come, but with patience, it eventually does which is a great feeling! Perhaps the greatest challenge was actually recording it. I had a very basic set up where I had to record each song in one go and likewise record the extra layers over the top in one go. If I had played a perfect take and then hit a bum note at the end I would have to re-record the entire thing which could be disheartening at times.
OSR: If your music were a plant, what type of plant would it be and why?
Song for Wild: A willow tree. They remind me of being a child. I find willow trees comforting and gentle, plus you can swing on their branches.
OSR: What else can we expect from you in the coming year?
Song for Wild: I have invested in some better recording equipment and hope to experiment much more with bass, piano, electric guitar and synth in the next album. Undoubtedly the trials of the last year have provided much material to work with, however, I believe the trick is not to force it, but rather to give the process of taking stock and reflecting its own time and space and fingers crossed the songs will follow.
Thanks to Song for Wild for chatting with us! You can find more about him on his Twitter and Spotify.
