1.The First Song I Wrote
I don’t recall what the first song was called but it was a kind of folk mystical thing over two arpeggiated chords, inspired by ‘The Battle Of Evermore’ by Led Zeppelin. I was a late bloomer musically, so I think I was 20 at the time, locked in a cream college dorm, looking for escape. It probably contained similar references to Tolkien and had about 12 increasingly florid verses.
2.The Last Song I Released
The last song I released is called ‘Is This Love?’ The newly released version differs slightly from the album as it has been given some extra special magic from Victor Van Vugt (who has worked with Nick Cave and Beth Orton, among others). It was inspired by the uncertainty of falling in love, because it seemed to me at the time a necessary element of love was the initial fall into uncertainty and casting off a certain amount of caution.
3.Songwriting Secrets
If there is a secret, I am yet to uncover it. Perhaps it’s better that I don’t – maybe the secret lies in always reaching out for something that remains just beyond your grasp. To me songs come in their own time and in different ways; it’s a process that I feel is sacred so therefore not to be understood or controlled too heavy-handedly. Mostly I just sit and wait, though. I feel like I have become better at choosing my moments of receptiveness (so I don’t have to lose too much sleep scribbling in the dark) and also at shaping the song (very gently).
4.The Song That Makes Me Proud
I am very proud of ‘Is This Love?’ It seems like a lot of people are moved by it and that is my goal with all songs. It has been played at a few weddings and inspired a few tears. I feel like this proves that the song has touched on something essential to the human spirit. Love is one of a few things that I feel transcends all else.
5.The Song That Changed My Life
‘Suzanne’ by Leonard Cohen, from his first album. I have very early memories of my parents listening to this song and at the time it really switched a light on for me. The music was so timeless – it could have been made in some medieval chamber – and the voice was familiar and gentle. This song showed me how much a song (or a poem) could convey aside from the outward meaning of the words. I hold this work in such high esteem and now as a musician I can use it as a source of inspiration and also a standard to aspire to. A song such as this is a well that you can return to drink from at any time. It is always full and sweet.
Karl S. Williams playsThe VanguardonWednesday April 22.
