A Chat with Trevena (30.11.22)
At the age of 21, singer-songwriter Will Prince packed away his guitar deciding that the music business was not for him. Skip for 35 years and he’s back with a vengeance. Along with vocalist Chris Cron and producer Joe Lonsdale, Prince is creating a unique sound for the masses as Trevena. We speak with Prince about Trevena’s album Distant Lights, what animal he would be, his greatest achievement and future plans.
OSR: What drew you to music?
Prince: I first became interested in music when I was 10 years old. I spent hours listening to old records at my grandparent’s house most weekends. I first played guitar seriously when I was 15 years old and joined a local band when I was 16.
OSR: What inspires you to make music?
Prince: I’m inspired by classic, guitar-based rock music from any era. I like music that has a good melody and interesting lyrics. Trevena songs often combine electric guitar riffs with acoustic guitar like many of my favourite songs.
OSR: What can you tell us about Distant Lights? Is there a theme or a backstory?
Prince: The album title Distant Lights is the first line of ‘Drift Away’ which is the first song I ever wrote and is the final track on the album. The song has special meaning to me because I wrote it following the untimely death of my youngest brother, Ian. It tells the story of a lost soul who doesn’t want to be saved and is told through the imagery of drowning. The album artwork is also based on the song ‘Drift Away’.
OSR: What was the most exciting thing about making this album?
Prince: There were so many highlights making the album. The producer of the album, Joe Lonsdale, is an amazing talent and a pleasure to work with. Joe also played various guitars on the album and co-wrote some of the songs. The most exciting thing about making the album was being in Metropolis Studios London at midnight watching the master lacquer being cut for the vinyl then hearing my music played on vinyl for the first time.
OSR: Did you face any challenges when creating Distant Lights?
Prince: I was writing the songs for Distant Lights pretty much as we were recording the album. We would be recording one song and I’d be writing the next one! There were a couple of times I thought I don’t know if I can write another song! Covid created a further challenge as we couldn’t get together in the studio and it lead to us replacing the original vocalist with Chris Cron. Chris has brought so much to the Trevena sound so it all turned out well in the end!
OSR: If you could change anything about Distant Lights, what would it be?
Prince: That’s a difficult question! I’m really pleased with the album but I should have recorded it 20 years ago.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Prince: I just want people to enjoy some classic guitar-based rock music and bring a smile to a few faces.
OSR: What is your greatest achievement?
Prince: Writing 10 songs for an album!
OSR: If you could be any animal, what animal would you choose and why?
Prince: A Water Horse. According to Celtic legend, a Water Horse is a shape-shifting spirit. It sounds like a load of fun and I’d settle for that.
OSR: Do you have future plans as Trevena?
Prince: We have lots of plans for the future. I am writing songs for a second Trevena album and will be getting together in the studio with Joe and Chris early next year.
Many thanks to Will Prince for speaking with us. For more from Trevena check out their official website, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
