Sarah Gross
I always thought my town had such interesting characters. It’s not the prettiest, but it’s special. All of the songs on ‘The Riversides’ are real stories I’ve experienced in my hometown. My main influences for this album came from listening to a lot of folk and country music with my family. As I close this chapter of being a college student in my life, the creation of this EP was a reflective experience for me to get closure on where I grew up.
The China Blue
Around a month after my last single “Nervous” was completed and released, I was in a weird spot mentally. I was very humbled by its reception from my regular listeners and the new ones I gained, but on a personal level realized how much my life contrasted with any appearance of comfort and ease I had in that time period of my life. Those people who were only there for any sort of success I experienced stopped reaching out.
NOLIE
How I Wrote: “Think Back”
‘Think Back’ was almost not going to happen. I was going through (as I think most of us were) a bit of an existential period in my life when my producer Christofi and I made this song. It was one of our last “quarantine writes” and for me, that process was not productive...I love nothing more than being with one of my friends, listening to songs that have been inspiring us, and then jamming until some, not to be completely cliche, magic wants to enter the room.
CARR
How I Wrote “LOSER”
The first elements of “Loser” came to be when my friends and I were honestly listening to 2000s Miranda Cosgrove songs and talking crap about men. It came at a time when I think we were all in a funny mood and we were just joking around writing the song, not really expecting much. My songwriting has always been brutally honest and tongue and cheek and this song definitely backs that up.
Andreas Owens
some thoughts on ‘almost everything i’ve ever wanted to say’
‘almost everything i’ve ever wanted to say’ is truly, in every way, nearly everything I’ve ever wanted to say musically, conceptually, and emotionally. I’ve always wanted to create a body of work that had no specific objective or goal in mind. Rather, I’ve tried to focus more on making a record that felt like an honest depiction of my thoughts; each song is a small piece of the collective bigger picture. At the end of the day, this EP is still just a glimpse into the vast array of experiences I’ve had over the past few years. While it can be easy to hide behind the songwriting, I’ve done my best to remain honest with myself and, to the best of my ability, convey the reality of my inner world.
Gatlin
How I Wrote “Whenever He Asks”
The beginnings of this song started in January of 2020. I sat down with my guitar on my bedroom floor like I’ve done so many times and wrote completely out of emotion about what was going on in my life then and there. It spilled out in about twenty minutes and then it sat in a voice note for several months.
Elliphant: Some Thoughts On “Emily”
When I wrote “Emily,” I was in Sidney, Australia. I was there for vacation but I also took the chance to make a couple of studio sessions. This song was worked on with the amazing guys from a band called The Delta Riggs! Over a drink, I talked to them about my childhood and eventually brought up my friend Emily. They told me: “This is the song! This is what we should write about.”
Jillian Rossi: How I Wrote “Fever Dream”
“Fever Dream” was written at the end of August 2020. I was strumming some chords on my guitar and I started mumbling lyrics over a melody about a past relationship/thing (not sure what to call it tbh lol). The chorus lyrics were the same as they are in the current version but the first draft of “fever dream” was very different melodically when I wrote it. I brought a rough voice memo of me singing this idea to the session we ended up writing the entire song in.
NYK: How I Wrote “On Me”
When I first started working on the song, I had just exited my previous, less-than-ideal contract with a label. I'd taken a break from music for a while at that point. On a whim I looked through the demos I wrote over the past few years and heard this hook I recorded on voice notes: “You can put this on me.”
Daddy NAT: How I Wrote “Elders”
It was the very end of 2019 after spending Christmas with the family. At the time, I had been listening to a bunch of Tyler Childers, Kacy Musgraves, vibing out with some Country/Folk for the first time in a long time. In fact, I listened to that music all the way back to Austin from the small town of Broken Bow, Oklahoma...So I guess I was technically in my car when the first elements of “Elders” came to be. As soon as I got home from this trip, I sat down to write a folk song. Started with the guitar riff you hear in the song, and shortly after threw an 808 / clap combo on it, and voila - “Elders” was born.
Tori Templet: How I Wrote “Ghosts”
Ghosts might be one of my favorite songs I have released because I know many people can resonate with it. It showcases the ideals of our society, and how there is a constant fear of judgment that we walk around with.
Sabrina Lee: How I Wrote “compensate me for all of my loneliness”
I didn't intentionally want to write a song the night I came up with “compensate me for all of my loneliness”. I was just trying to relax and get my mind off of things, so instead of sitting in my studio set up in front of a mic, I was literally on my bathroom floor with my guitar at like 4 am.
Sebastian Kole: Where I’m From...How I Got Here
Over the course of his illustrious songwriting career, Sebastian Kole has written for names like John Legend, Alicia Keys, Alessia Cara, Fifth Harmony, and JoJo. In his own words, the artist shares his thoughts on this music journey.
Salem Ilese: How I Wrote “Mad At Disney”
In just the span of three months, Salem Ilese’s “Mad at Disney” has become a viral pop hit, gaining over 58 million Spotify streams. In this weeks’ Artist Editorial, Salem talks about how the song was made.
SADBOii: How I Wrote “Nothing”
In 2019, Australian artist SADBOii made waves after the release of his debut single, “Nothing”. With the help of a growing fanbase, the release has just surpassed over one million Spotify streams. Now, in his own words, the artist explains how he wrote the song.