I love writing songs. Taking words, melodies, rhythms and bringing them all together is one of my favourite things. When writing songs for a specific project, I often take a scattered approach to writing and end up writing more songs than needed. This happened during the writing of our Rivers & Robots album, The Eternal Son, I was left with many songs that didn't fit on that project, either musically or lyrically. I ended up recording some of those very simply and putting them out as an EP called By The Streams.
Back when I first started Rivers & Robots, I really enjoyed the simplicity of coming up with an idea, recording it on my laptop and then releasing it straight away. I didn't know any other way of doing songs really, and as the band has grown I've learnt the lengthier, but often more rewarding process of going through the stages of demos, rehearsing with a band, recording each part in a studio, mixing and mastering. Since becoming a band in 2012, our subsequent albums such as All Things New and The Eternal Son have been a lengthier process, and songs go through a lot of behind the scenes work before making it onto an album. It's this process that often refines the song and makes it better than it was previously. And I think our later albums have been a real step up in quality for that reason.
But there's still a part of me that misses the spontaneity of capturing that first idea and spark, the first demo, and sharing that. This year, as we're between albums with Rivers & Robots, and still in the transition period of trying out drummers and touring, I wanted to have a creative outlet for the songs I was writing this year. And a return to the simplicity of just sitting at home, writing a song and then releasing it. I've been trying to stretch myself to think outside the usual boundaries of the genres I feel comfortable writing in, and I've been trying out various styles. Presenting all of these songs at once would feel so varied it would probably be confusing, so I came up with the idea of the seasons project.
I'm aiming to write and release four EPs this year, based on the four seasons. Each one done in a different style. The first of those EPs, Winter, was released just a couple of weeks ago. The theme of that one was to record something 'stripped back', with very few layers and effects. The majority of the EP is acoustic, with some electronic touches here and there.
I've started work on the Spring EP now. Spring is a time when things come into bloom, things brighten up. It's a beautiful season. And I want to reflect the beauty of the season with rich, lush arrangements. I'm excited to start recording these tracks.
Have a listen to Winter on the links below!
- Jonathan
