As the countdown continues towards the release of my new single ‘The Year of the Rabbit,’ it’s the perfect time to share some backstory behind its creation. So, let’s jump straight into it. Allow me to take you back almost 6 years, to a cold winter’s evening on a remote property in Upper Brogo, a suburb on the far south coast of New South Wales.
Always on my mind
At that time, I was in the midst of an ambitious songwriting challenge–creating 100 songs in 100 days. It was a creative journey filled with exploration and discovery. And on that particular evening, sitting on a hill outside an off-the-grid rental, I found myself experimenting with a unique guitar tuning that had caught my attention just the day before.
From here on out, “The Year of the Rabbit” became an ever-present companion. Every time that I planned towards releasing new music, I’d try to find a way to finally complete the song, to fit it into whatever plan that I was formulating – always unsuccessfully. Over the years, I would often revisit the original demo recording I made on my phone, even just for a brief listen – to double-check that it was really worth the piece of real estate that it was constantly occupying within my subconscious.
Shower thoughts
Fast forward to early 2022, in the midst of another COVID lockdown. Inspiration struck as I was having a shower – this is more common than I would care to admit. In a wave of clarity, I decided then and there that I would create an arrangement of the song written for string quartet and voice. “Eleanor Rigby” has always been one of my favorite songs by the Fab Four. By chance, I had attempted to transcribe the song a few months previously, just to peer behind the curtain of George Martin’s masterful skill in arrangement.
I immediately jumped out of the shower, towel and all, and sat at my desk to get working. The creative process flowed naturally, and over the next few weeks, I gradually refined the song until I had an arrangement that I was truly proud of. Lyrics were changed and culled, new melodies were created, the song was finished.
The recording and production phase
The next stage was to bring the arrangement to life through a professional recording. Stay tuned for the next post, where I’ll introduce some of the important people who helped me to get this track recorded and how I’ve gone about prepping it for release.
Pre-save and pre-order now available
You have the opportunity to be among the first to experience ‘The Year of the Rabbit’ by pre-saving it on Spotify and pre-ordering it on iTunes. Words cannot describe how much I value your support, and I am eagerly anticipating the moment when I can share this exciting chapter with all of you. Thank you for being a part of this journey.
Tags: music, songwriting, creativity, recording process, pre-save, pre-order, inspiration
Categories: Music, Songwriting, Recording, Inspiration