In the age of social media, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not. The internet often seems like a flawless world - endless picture perfect views of other people’s lives, seemingly so much better than your own. I had fallen into the trap of selecting the best bits of my life and putting them on display - A Song In Seven Days was no exception. After months of choosing the funniest moments, the prettiest cities and most intriguing songwriting techniques, it was time to tell the truth - in September 2018 nothing was going on.
The month before had actually been quite exciting - I’d been to Amsterdam, Denmark and Edinburgh within a couple of weeks! But then I landed back in Doncaster with my normal routine and it was time to face the facts. I was waiting for inspiration, a sign or an invitation to pull me away from my boredom - but alas, it never came.
The month before had actually been quite exciting - I’d been to Amsterdam, Denmark and Edinburgh within a couple of weeks! But then I landed back in Doncaster with my normal routine and it was time to face the facts. I was waiting for inspiration, a sign or an invitation to pull me away from my boredom - but alas, it never came.
Then I remembered why I’d started this whole project in the first place - I had wanted to show the world what it’s like to be a songwriter in this day and age. Sometimes, we’re lucky enough to be influenced by wonderful places, people and things - and sometimes we have to do our best to make something out of nothing.
In the midst of all this, I discovered the work of one of my now favourite filmmakers - Casey Neistat. Just before I started writing the song I’d seen this video from him about honesty on social media and how people modify their content to make themselves look happier. So I decided the Vlog I made alongside the song would be more truthful.
So for the first time, I stared down the lens and said ‘I’ve had absolutely no idea about what I’m going to do!’ There was no point in pretending there was a divine point of inspiration - because there really wasn’t! I decided that the song would be called ‘Nothing’s Going On’ and believe it or not, it was going to be about the fact that nothing was going on...
I started as meant to go on and as the song came together I tried to add as many ‘honest’ elements as I could. One of these was recording the song totally live, with continuous takes on each instrument. This meant there was no room for editing or correcting mistakes afterwards - I just had to get it right first time! For me this was one of the hardest bits and I even left a slight guitar mistake in the track itself...
There was something tremendously refreshing about writing this song. It taught me to find inspiration in the ordinary and work with limited resources. It also changed the way I present myself online. Since then I’ve been more honest about the less-than-perfect elements of being a musician in 2019 - and I’ve felt much better for it!
Let me hear the song!In the midst of all this, I discovered the work of one of my now favourite filmmakers - Casey Neistat. Just before I started writing the song I’d seen this video from him about honesty on social media and how people modify their content to make themselves look happier. So I decided the Vlog I made alongside the song would be more truthful.
So for the first time, I stared down the lens and said ‘I’ve had absolutely no idea about what I’m going to do!’ There was no point in pretending there was a divine point of inspiration - because there really wasn’t! I decided that the song would be called ‘Nothing’s Going On’ and believe it or not, it was going to be about the fact that nothing was going on...
I started as meant to go on and as the song came together I tried to add as many ‘honest’ elements as I could. One of these was recording the song totally live, with continuous takes on each instrument. This meant there was no room for editing or correcting mistakes afterwards - I just had to get it right first time! For me this was one of the hardest bits and I even left a slight guitar mistake in the track itself...
There was something tremendously refreshing about writing this song. It taught me to find inspiration in the ordinary and work with limited resources. It also changed the way I present myself online. Since then I’ve been more honest about the less-than-perfect elements of being a musician in 2019 - and I’ve felt much better for it!