mind . It really focused me . There was something that I liked about it .
IE : How would your pandemic days proceed ? Get up , have coffee , then what ? IB : I ’ d get up at different times . I was very anxious , actually , so I was waking up a lot in the night . But then , I ’ m a bit of a night owl – I always have been . But I became a bit more like that , and a lot of the time
when I ’ m recording at home , I ’ ll tend to do that at night , as well . So there was a lot of that going on – a lot of waking up in the night , wandering up to the studio a little bit , and writing and finishing off some tunes . But I really didn ’ t want it to sound like an album that was done in the pandemic , and I hope it doesn ’ t . I think some of the subject matter is quite anxious , but I wanted it to be very positive . And I was onto that idea when the pandemic hit , so I tried not to get deflected from it in any way .
IE : At any point over the past 13 years , did you ever consider quitting and just doing production ? IB : You know what ? I was enjoying the life of a troubadour , so I was just playing live and I wasn ’ t even thinking about doing anything more . I used to produce a lot of bands , but I ’ d stopped doing that , and I was just enjoying playing , really , playing in a field somewhere at a summer festival in Europe or the UK , and I loved it . Because I ’ d always been a studio guy and a reluctant performer , really , and I had a lot of
stage fright early on . But now I think I got over that , so I felt like , “ If I write some new songs , great . And if I don ’ t ? That ’ s okay .” And when I say ‘ troubadour ,’ I don ’ t mean I turn up on my own and play on my own – I have a band , so there ’ s five of us . But I just mean thelifeofa troubadour . I mean , I wishI wasa wandering minstrel because it ’ s probably much less romantic than that . But I was just someone who plays , performs , and isn ’ t too worried about making another
record , really . I just felt like , if it happened , it ’ d happen , but I wasn ’ t gonna force it .
IE : What denotes a perfect pop song to you when you ’ re writing it ? Are there little boxes you have to tick off ? IB : Well , I hate the word` ‘ pop song .’ And I know people associate it with me a lot , but it ’ s a phrase I really hate . This idea that I ’ m searching for perfection ? I do think that the pursuit of excellence is not attempting to be perfect . And I am very one-track-minded , and I do overthink , and I ’ m a little OCD in my life , and that translates into my music , so I want everything to feel right and be in the right places and feel great . But ‘ pop ’ in the Warhol sense – where it ’ s an explosion of a certain moment , and certain emotions and sounds are captured , framed , and then you hang it on the wall , and it ’ s a recording – well , that ’ s how I view it . And I do want to make them great , but this idea of perfection ? I don ’ t know what perfection is , or would
be , or why you ’ d want it , you know ?
Continued on page 31 newreleases December 2
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10 illinoisentertainer . com december 2022