PHOTO : MARTIN GIRARD
WRITING
Ian Kelly is a singer-songwriter , producer , and label owner from Montreal , QC . He released his fifth studio album , SuperFolk , in 2016 and recently celebrated the release of SuperFolk Remixes , featuring various Montreal DJs and artists reinterpreting the songs . www . iankellysmusic . com .
By Ian Kelly
Eat , Sleep , Songs
How do I write a song ? That ’ s a question that I ’ ve been asked so many times over the years that I ’ ve lost count .
When I was a newcomer to this whole “ professional music thing ,” I thought it was a ridiculous question . I must have been asked it hundreds of times , and I ’ ve probably given a hundred different answers . Over time , I ’ ve surmised that there really is something to be said about it ; turns out , it ’ s not a silly question at all .
Writing I could just as easily ask a “ non-composer ,” “ How do you not write songs ?” To me , it ’ s just something I do , that I need to do . It ’ s just one of those things , almost like sleeping or eating .
It ’ s kind of hard to explain , but if I really think about it , I guess I could even tell you how I sleep … Well , I lie down in my bed , or sometimes I ’ m leaning against a plane window , or trying to catch up on some very important TV show . Then , I close my eyes , or they close themselves , and then , well , I start nodding off , still breathing , still alive , but unconscious . Then I start dreaming . Or do I ? I can ’ t remember my dreams but I must have them . Oh , and I think I grind my teeth a little . At this point , we would need to ask my wife or a bandmate for more details about how the pool of saliva ends up on my pillow …
Writing songs is just something that happens organically for me . The process has changed over time , but the initial spark that starts it all remains the same . I just feel it … I just need to do it . It ’ s a calling . It ’ s just part of my life .
Not that it can ’ t be forced . We usually write some songs , produce an album , put it out , then go on tour , and repeat the process . That means you get to a point in the process when you just need to find some songs in yourself , within a limited amount of time , during what is , most likely , the least lucrative period in the creative cycle . ( By the way , after all these years and some success , I ’ m still not sure when the lucrative period in this cycle is , so don ’ t worry if you ’ re not , either .)
Words When I started out , I didn ’ t really care about my lyrics . I would write anything that sounded okay just to have some words that produced the right sounds for the music . To a certain extent , a part of me still feels this way . I am , after all , writing songs , not novels . I still very much believe that a good song will make you feel the way it ’ s supposed to , whether or not you pay attention to the words . It ’ s not a hard case to make . Two words : “ instrumental music .”
The big difference between me today and me in 2004 ( when I made my first album ) is that now , I believe that my songs aren ’ t just chords and melodies ; the lyrics should also serve a purpose . They can definitely make or break a piece .
One thing hasn ’ t changed , though . I still feel a song should express some universal emotional truth – one that anyone can relate to , regardless of language . Looking back on Ian Kelly ’ s Insecurity , my first record , I have to admit that I ’ m not particularly proud of the lyrics and I wish that I had spent more time writing them . Getting around to writing the lyrics to a song 15 minutes before recording the album – one that will always exist and might come back to haunt you – is definitely not the way to go . Also , I never put anything out now until someone else has gone over it .
Actually , I used to write my lyrics really late in my songwriting process , but on each album over the years , I ’ ve addressed it earlier and earlier . For SuperFolk , my latest endeavour , it pretty much happened simultaneously with the music . For me , what ’ s cool about writing that way is that the length of the prose might get you to do something more original rhythmically . You might add a bar or take out a beat to accommodate the lyric , and that can lead to a more intricate song .
In many ways , I still don ’ t feel like I ’ ve really found a “ method ” to write my songs . Every song comes about in its own way . And I ’ m still trying to write the song : a masterpiece like “ The Boxer ” or “ Suzanne .” Know what I mean ? I think after writing something like that , you could probably just quit . If it ’ s about progression and not perfection , there might come a time when it ’ d be best to just throw in the towel and do something else if you feel you ’ ve written the best song you could possibly write .
So yeah , I still haven ’ t written my “ Imagine .” That ’ s a blessing in a way , because I get to keep trying – and that is the most interesting part of it all .
58 • CANADIAN MUSICIAN