May Newsletter: Silent Film
Happy May!
Your free demo of the month is… Silent Film!
But before I get into it, some news. First of all, check out these amazing enamel pins!!!!
Thanks so much to the folks who have ordered them!!
Second of all, I recently released another new single! It’s called “Envelope” and it’s a weirdo synthy dystopian song. It’s available on Bandcamp as part of the new, remastered album version of Look at the Harlequins!, which officially releases later this month but is available on Bandcamp NOW! You can also get “Envelope” as a single. It’s actually probably one of the least single-y songs on the album, but I’m fond of it. If Bandcamp isn’t your style, you can find it on Spotify, Apple, Google Play, and Amazon.
If Bandcamp IS your style… Bandcamp is waiving its revenue share TODAY (May 1) and June 5 and July 3, midnight to midnight PDT, to support artists impacted by COVID-19. So today is a fantastic day to buy music, a pin, or other merch!
Now, for some of the most exciting news I’ve EVER had: I’m working with Mathias Kunzli on my next album!!! Mathias Kunzli, if you don’t know, has been Regina Spektor’s drummer since 2012, and has drummed for artists like Lauryn Hill and Moby. He’s tracked drums/percussion for nine songs on Sparkbird already, and they all sound phenomenal. (Plus he’s incredibly sweet.) Hopefully I can scrape together the funds to finish the album over the course of this year for a 2021 release. (If you know anyone who wants to take online piano lessons, send them my way!)
This month's demo, “Silent Film,” is a sad one. I wrote it in January after Gabby, our African Grey parrot, passed away unexpectedly. It was my first night home alone since she’d died; Adam had missed the previous two nights of work, so he needed to go in.
Normally, when Adam was gone, the apartment would still be full of Gabby’s noises. We called her our foley artist. If I was in the kitchen and knocked a spoon a few times on the side of a bowl, Gabby would call out, “Hello!” as if someone was at the door. When I picked up a glass, she’d make a water noise, and when I set it down, she’d go clunk. If I dropped something, she’d say, “Whoops!” If I started eating a snack, she’d make a lip-smacking noise and coo, “C’mere!” And at 8 o’clock on the dot, she’d loudly announce, “It’s time to go to bed! Goodnight! Get ready to go to bed!”
So even with my Senegal parrot Georgie there to keep me company, the change was drastic. She’d been with us for six years, and suddenly her enormous — often annoying, often endearing — presence was gone.
I tried to distract myself from my grief with a TV show but only lasted about 10 minutes. There was no getting around it, only getting through it.
I never write songs in a single sitting, but that’s what I did with this one. I sat at the piano with my notebook and worked on it until it was finished. The song begins by capturing my feelings from the frantic confusion surrounding her last moments, and goes no further in the grieving process than that lonely night of songwriting. I wrote it about Gabby, but I was also thinking about how it would feel to lose Adam.
As sad as the song is, writing it really helped me. It got some of my feelings out and gave them a place to live.
The demo is nothing but piano and vocals, with stacked vocals on the choruses. I worked a little on a strings part, but it weakened the sense of isolation you get from just the piano and vocals, so I left it out.
Thank you so much for letting me share new songs with you, and the stories behind the songs. And remember, I always like hearing from you! You can email me, or reach out on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Take care,
Stephan
PS In case you missed it, I still highly recommend watching the lyric video Micah McCaw made for “Why Snow White”.