Tag: singer songwriter

MIXTAPE: Jill Andrews’ Soundtrack for the Making of ‘Modern Age’

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

I wrote the songs for Modern Age over a period of a few years. It was a time of reflection. I was looking back on my past, because I had recently gone back to my hometown to sing at a childhood friend’s memorial service. I’m normally a present and future thinker, but this gave me the opportunity to sit with my past for a bit and spend time remembering. I walked around my old neighborhood and drove by my high school. I sat in my car at the park that my friends and I used to go to after school to talk and hang out. The songs that came were a mixture of simple, joyful childhood memories juxtaposed with the beauty and heaviness of adulthood. I listened to quite a bit of music over this period of time. Most of the songs that I was drawn to had beautiful melodies, lush production, and very descriptive lyrics. Here are a few of my favorites. – Jill Andrews

“Beauty Into Cliches” – Madison Cunningham

I first heard this song on the Cayamo cruise, which is a music cruise that sails through the Caribbean. I was a featured artist on the ship, as was Madison. I love the way Madison calls out the beauty standards of our society in this song. As a female artist, this feels especially poignant. There are extra pressures to look and act certain ways in the music industry. Madison’s lyrics are creating space for everyone. Not only is it a positive message, the melody is lovely and the rhythm is so vibey.

“Nightflyer” – Allison Russell

Allison and I run in some of the same circles in Nashville, so when I heard she was putting out an album I immediately checked it out. I was drawn to this song for the obvious reasons, the melody and overall vibe are gorgeous and, in addition, the descriptive nature of her lyrics really made me feel like I was in the same room with her. She uses all of her senses to let the listener in. It’s so descriptive and sings like a poem. “I’m the melody and the space between. Every note the swallow sings. I’m 14 vultures circling. I’m that crawling, dying thing…”

“Pressure Machine” – The Killers

The desperation of this song gets me every time. It describes hard living in a small town in such a visceral way. “A mattress on a hardwood floor. Who could ever ask for more? I’ll get up and cut the grass. Ain’t nothing wrong with working class.” I have listened to this song over and over. It always hits me in a new way. The melody is so delicate and gorgeous.

“First Time” – Becca Mancari

“I remember the first time my Dad didn’t hug me back. Under the porch light with my sister’s old cigarettes. With your hands hanging to your side and my face to your chest.” I love Becca’s description of this moment. It’s so sad and so beautiful. After I heard this song, I messaged Becca and asked her if she would sing on Modern Age. We had met a few years prior, but didn’t know each other well. She ended up singing on three of the songs: “80’s Baby,” “Kids,” and “Better Life.” She is such a talent.

“Teenage Drug” – Ethan Gruska

The production of this song is really cool. It feels very alive, the way that it moves and breathes. I love how the melody follows the instrumentation in the chorus. I first heard this song on a playlist when I was jogging. I kept coming back to it over and over.

“Chemicals” – Gregory Alan Isakov

I played a show that Greg was on a few years back with Hush Kids. When I saw him live, I fell in love with his music. I have listened to his album, Evening Machines, hundreds of times since then. “Chemicals” is my favorite song on that album. I love the lines, “You saw her bathing in the creek. Are you jealous of the water?”

“The Night We Met” – Lord Huron

I first heard Lord Huron play this song at Forecastle Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, a few years ago. I had just gotten done performing and I wandered to the nearest stage to see who was playing. Seeing it live got me hooked. This song feels like a dream. I think it’s a mixture of the heavy tremolo on the electric guitar and the vast reverb on his vocals that capture this dream-state so perfectly. The lyrical theme of wanting to go back in time sits so nicely in this vibe.

“Slow Burn” – Kacey Musgraves

I love the vast soundscape on this song. The album Golden Hour is such a good example of music blurring the genre lines in whatever way feels natural to the artist. These songs could have been produced in a traditional country format, but instead she and producers, (and buddies of mine!) Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk, decided to take it a totally different, interesting way. This was incredibly inspiring and helped guide my way of thinking during the making of Modern Age.

Photo Credit: Fairlight Hubbard

LISTEN: Hallie Spoor, “Julia”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Hallie Spoor
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Song: “Julia”
Album: Heart Like Thunder
Release Date: August 22, 2023 (single); October 17, 2023 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Julia’ is the first song I wrote for what would eventually (three full years later) become a new record, Heart Like Thunder. I had just seen a Bonny Light Horseman show at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, NY, and was very inspired by the performance. Their music has a grounded and natural energy, and that was how I approached writing the song that evolved into ‘Julia.’

“‘Julia’ is a strophic song – meaning it’s a very simple, three-verse format that is a tad unusual to the way I typically approach songwriting. (Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, etc.) But I think the simplicity of the form is what allows the story to shine. ‘Julia’ is about losing your lover to their best friend. In real life, we humans can be jealous bitter creatures, but in art we get to be wise and soulful. ‘Julia’ ultimately is about forgiveness – and I hope that feeling of peace is what the listener takes away.” – Hallie Spoor

Photo Credit: Sierra Voss

LISTEN: Jon Danforth, “Can’t Stay Here”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jon Danforth
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Song: “Can’t Stay Here”
Album: Repetitions
Release Date: August 18, 2023 (single); October 27, 2023 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Can’t Stay Here’ is a bit of a rambling song, but it is also self-aware enough to know that rambling is typically not a solution to life’s problems. The song acknowledges the strong impulse and the feeling of needing to get away while admitting that, most of the time, that won’t solve anything. It’s a reminder that most of our problems need to be addressed by doing the work on ourselves. At the end of the day, as the saying goes, ‘wherever you go, there you are.'” – Jon Danforth

Photo Credit: Faith Alesia 

LISTEN: Sandy Bailey, “Like You Loved Me”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Sandy Bailey
Hometown: Northfield, Massachusetts
Song: “Like You Loved Me”
Album: Daughter Of Abraham
Release Date: August 18, 2023
Label: Red Parlor Records

In Their Words: “I first wrote and recorded this song about 10 years ago and never released it. When we were tracking it, the drummer started crying and I realized I had written something that would resonate with people. Still, in typical artist fashion, I constantly second guess myself and try to perfect things and get in my own way. Because of this I have a whole catalog of songs that will probably never be heard. The only people who ever listened to what I recorded were my kids. They made me play this song for them all the time, it was one of their favorites. I decided I wanted to finally release it on this album, but I had to make a new recording, because my voice had changed 10 years later. Not only has my voice changed, but so has my son’s! I guess it turned out to be fortunate that I waited, because I was able to record his new man voice for the background vocals on one of his favorite songs.” – Sandy Bailey

Photo Credit: Anja Schütz

LISTEN: John McCutcheon & Tom Paxton, “Life Before You”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: John McCutcheon & Tom Paxton
Hometown: Smoke Rise, Georgia; Alexandria, Virginia
Song: “Life Before You”
Album: Together
Release Date: October 13, 2023
Label: Appalseed

In Their Words: “Tom Paxton and I started writing together early on during the pandemic and, with seemingly endless time on our hands, we tackled all manner of subjects and ideas. This one started out as a pretty standard love song. But, often, along the way, one of us will say, ‘Wait a minute, what if this turned left instead of right?,’ and we’ll bravely go down that blind alley. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Tom was particularly enamored of the way the ending comes out of left field to the listener, a real surprise. He breaks into a big grin every time the end of verse three rolls around. One of the great joys of songwriting teamwork is to see your partner so delighted with the final result. Doesn’t get any better…” – John McCutcheon

Photo Credit: Michael G. Stewart

WATCH: Arny Margret, “waiting”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Arny Margret
Hometown: Ísafjörður, Iceland
Song: “waiting”
Album: dinner alone EP
Release Date: September 22, 2023 (EP)
Label: One Little Independent Records

In Their Words: “Sometimes you feel like you’re waiting for someone, or for a moment to say something, but the person doesn’t really see or give you the time. This song is about a lot of things: feeling left out and alone, feeling unheard and unwanted. It’s a song that was scary for me to write. Like most of my newer songs, I feel like I’m starting to write in a bit of a different way, a more honest way. This song is all the things I would never say out loud to anyone, I’m not using any metaphors or trying to mask anything here. That’s a pretty scary thing to do to, at least for me.” – Arny Margret

Photo Credit: Keiko Ichihara

LISTEN: Scott Sean White, “Hope You Never Do” (Feat. Radney Foster)

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Scott Sean White
Hometown: Dallas, Texas/Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Hope You Never Do” (Featuring Radney Foster)
Album: Even Better On the Bad Days
Release Date: August 18, 2023 (single); January 19, 2024 (album)

In Their Words: “Eric Erdman and Radney Foster were writing at Radney’s house one day and the news or something came on the TV while they were having lunch. Whatever it was, it made one of Radney’s kids say, ‘Dad, I don’t even know what it’s like to ball up my fist to hit someone.’ And Radney teared up and said, ‘I hope you never do.’ Eric gave him a minute and then said, ‘We’re writing THAT!’ They got stuck on the idea for some reason and couldn’t get it where they wanted. It was a year-and-a-half later that I met Eric for the first time and for some reason, he thought I was the guy to help them and their other co-writer, Chad Wilson, get it unstuck. We got together over Zoom one day and left with this.” – Scott Sean White

Photo Credit: Ted Parker Jr.

WATCH: Rachel Gore, “Good Death”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Rachel Gore
Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina
Song: “Good Death”
Album: Forgotten Woman of Folk
Release Date: August 11, 2023 (single); October 6, 2023 (EP)

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Good Death’ in the midst of dealing with a lot of anxiety – specifically surrounding death. I feel like it’s a topic that’s not normally discussed openly, so I wanted to write a song that took that fear and made it into something really beautiful. I recorded the song with Americana artist and producer Sarah Peacock, who transformed it into something beyond what I could have ever imagined.

“Much of ‘Good Death’ and the upcoming EP surrounds spirituality and Southern upbringing, so I knew for the video that I wanted to find some really beautiful old churches in the country. I brought this idea to the director, Corbin Eaton, who just blew it out of the water. We spent a day roaming around rural Tennessee finding the most incredible historical chapels, and we even got invited to record inside the last one we were filming. I’m so thrilled to share this song with the world, and I hope there are people who feel like ‘Good Death’ is exactly what they’ve needed to hear.” – Rachel Gore

Photo Credit: Corbin Eaton

LISTEN: Kim Moberg, “The Eighth Fire – Wings of the Winds”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Kim Moberg
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the traditional territory of the Indigenous Nauset and Wampanoag Nations
Song: “The Eighth Fire – Wings of the Winds”
Album: The Seven Fires Prophecy
Release Date: August 11, 2023

In Their Words: “The Seven Fires Prophecy teaches us that the Native Elders go to sleep because the people turn their backs on their ancient wisdom and teachings. It also tells us that if we learn to live with one another and our environment in peace and respect, the Seventh Fire will light the Eighth Fire which is the fire of brother and sisterhood.

“It is my never-ending hope that, with a lot of work, we can and will accomplish this.

“I wrote ‘The Eighth Prophecy – Wings of the Winds’ as my vision of hope after hearing a comment by National Indigenous Archbishop Mark McDonald who said, ‘When it is time for Indigenous People to return to the land, it will be the artists who will call them back.’ I believe the time has come for artists — songwriters, musicians, painters, dancers — to awaken the Elders by being open, listening, understanding, and learning from their wisdom and sharing what we learn through our art.

“The song title honors all directions of the winds – north, south, east, west, up and down – winds that carry the ancient wisdom of the Elders to us. That wisdom tells us that we already hold the power to rise up and take action for peaceful and positive change. All we have to do is listen.” – Kim Moberg

Photo Credit: Barry Schneier

BGS 5+5: Julian Talamantez Brolaski

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Julian Talamantez Brolaski
Hometown: Goleta, California
Latest Album: It’s Okay Honey
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Julian & the Knockouts

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

JTB: Probably the poet William Shakespeare. I know that sounds cliché to say. I love the way he combines words which have their roots in Old English with words of Romance origin, like his line: “The multitudinous seas incarnadine / making the green one red.” He drank deep from the fount of English, and I’m grateful for what he gave us — language that sings.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

Poetry, in both its written and oral forms. I think of folk music as a kind of oral poetry. And I love to see the trajectories of the way songs are passed down, change, and mutate, like a game of Telephone. The song “In the Pines,” for instance, or “Wildwood Flower.” There are so many versions of those songs, and stories around them, wayward histories, misheard and remade lines. I like to think of my songs as operating in that tradition, rhyming and stealing, dressing up old songs in new clothes. My song “Goodbye Brother,” for example, is a rewriting of the Carter Family song “Lula Walls.” And “Covid-19 Blues” is basically a ripoff of “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” by Hank Williams.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

I do these vocal warmups before I sing that a teacher in Philadelphia taught me. They’re very annoying sounding, like a bratty baby crying, and then like a whining witch, and so I get kind of self-conscious doing them, but it really makes a difference. I meditate and try to get myself into a calm place, and focus on my intention to really be there with the songs, to sing them with my heart, and to give my all for the audience.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

My grandmother Inés told me whenever you are speaking or singing, always do it from your heart. Over the years, I came to understand that that is not a metaphor, that the feeling is actually quite literal, and bodily. So I try to feel that heartspace physically, and to remember to direct my songs from there. I think that’s a good piece of advice for life, too.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I live near the ocean in Goleta, California, near Santa Barbara. I love to sit and feel my toes in the sand, walk along the cliffs, smell the enmineralated air. I go to the ocean whenever I feel upset, and it always helps me. Sometimes, I write poems down there, or I bring my guitar and sit on my tailgate and watch the water. It’s very meditative to be in the water, too, swimming or surfing, and it’s humbling and exhilarating to feel the ocean’s power. I always get ideas in the water — if someone could invent a wetsuit with a zipper pocket for a waterproof notebook, that would be amazing.

Photo Credit: Owen Duncan