Song Q&A

What’s the song about?

For me it is about living life, really. It’s about finding certainty in what you’re doing, and finding meaning in your life. It’s about choosing your way forward. And the name is kind of a reference to the challenges of moving forward.

I didn’t really originally choose that story that it was telling. The hip hop artist’s lyrics really laid that out, and combined with the lyrics of “do you realize there is more to life” really guided what the song was all about for me, and made it much deeper emotionally and helped cement everything together.

How this one started

I started with some samples, including the lickin’ sound and the drums. They had an amazing echoing quality to them, and great energy to them. That inspired the rest of the song.

I then moved into arranging them and adding layers of vocals on top. After a while, that seemed insufficient, and I then added in the rapping samples, and man, that made it all get really solid.

What sounds or textures define this track?

Well, there are some vocal layers going, which add a very pretty, soothing sound, which contrasts nicely with the rapping and lickin samples. The drums aren’t super dominant in this song, and I used less heavy bass lines than I often do, but they are sitting there to round out the sound.

A production choice I’m happy with

I’ve been trying to vary up the sound within songs more, and this was one of the first songs that I felt like that really worked well. I also had some fun with the record stop effect. The lickin sample has some reverb on it, and I really liked that effect.

Was there a moment you knew this one was good?

(Laughing) I never know if my music is good. I did get a lot of positive feedback when I shared it with other people, though, and that is often the best measure. So when I got good feedback from other people, I thought, oh, this might actually be okay.

Lyrics you’re especially proud of?

I didn’t write the lyrics, but I really liked what the hip hop artist did with the lyrics. I want the music to have some authenticity and reality to them, and I thought his lyrics were just so finely done. Wish I could give him credit for it directly (but since I use the samples from Splice, I’m contractually unable to credit him for it!)

How this fits into the arc of the work

A lot of my music over the last year has been about dread and anxiety about the direction the world is going. And this piece was more about one’s place in the world and how you show up in the world, how you choose to live. It seems very in line with the types of themes I like to explore in my music.