what is going on around me . And you know what ? Whatever is going on in my life ? I have always used music for that , being expressive for myself . And it could be the news , it could be the fires , or it could be other things going on , settled or unsettled . It doesn ’ t matter . I play differently every day , I find , when I go down to my little studio . And my iPhone is now my cassette
recorder , so there are thousands and thousands of ideas that I record almost every day when I ’ m home , and they ’ re all different . Some are landscapes , like Bitches Brew , and more outside than anything I ’ ve ever done . And I ’ m actually looking forward to recording them , so probably the next solo album I do will be a straightforward blues album . An outside , avant-garde , Miles Davis style of record , like Bitches Brew .
IE : Your new Freedom cut “ Still Believe in Love ” sounds all shimmery and almost prog . NS : And that came from me just messing around downstairs . And believe it or not , I didn ’ t write it on guitar , and I had not played any guitar on the track . As it was written , I looped the verse , and I came up with this dreamy , R & B-type thing . I had it really nice and floating , and I really liked the atmosphere of it , so then I sent it to Jonathan , and he came up with the chorus that really lifted the song , and then he ended up writing the lyrics and the melody that went along with it . . And then we cut it , and I still had not played guitar on it , but I thought , “ I really don ’ t hear myself playing chords on this song because it ’ s so ethereal and floating .” I kind of
wanted the synth and the piano to sit there by themselves and leave a lot of space for the vocals . So I told Narada – since we were co-producing the album – that I was just gonna play some lead guitar , from beginning to end , in just one take . And I had not even heard where the lead vocals were at that point or what they would be doing , and I just left it at that . But after the vocals were sung , after Arnel did all his vocals , I listened to it , and it all kind of worked , you know ?
IE : Do you ever listen back to some of your iPhone fragments and scare yourself ? Like , “ Holy crap ! What was I thinking that grim day ?” NS : You know what ? I ’ m like all over the place , musically , day to day , and some of the stuff is
Continued on page 19 newreleases August 5
Calvin Harris Funk Wav Bounces Vol . 2 Kasabian The Alchemist ' s Euphoria Lauv All 4 Nothing Neil Young Noise & Flowers The Flatliners New Ruin
August 12
Boris Heavy Rocks Danger Mouse & Black Thought Cheat Codes Danny Elfman Bigger . Messier . Erasure Day-Glo ( Based On A True Story ) Hudson Mohawke Cry Sugar Kiwi Jr . Chopper Osees A Foul Form Pale Waves Unwanted
August 19
Cass McCombs Heartminds Hot Chip Freakout / Release Marketa Irglova LILA Panic ! At the Disco Viva Las Vengeance The Mountain Goats Bleed Out
August 26
Bret McKenzie Songs Without Jokes Ezra Furman All Of Us Flames Julia Jacklin PRE PLEASURE Muse Will Of The People Pianos Become the Teeth Drift Stella Donnelly Flood
Calvin Harris
Ezra Furman
10 illinoisentertainer . com august 2022