Watching The Stars, Vol. 2 Album Note

Release Links:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/12iiOYFX74uhlUtl5EDsh3?si=AoOtPkRoT4GzScm8WYcO-A

AppleMusic: https://music.apple.com/de/album/watching-the-stars-vol-2/1497209531?l=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kWTHsa4ONZzDtN_xeStu7svVpfDBjzHe0




Songs:

1. Let Her Go
2. Sitting in the Kitchen
3. Don't Forget Your Coat
4. Hey Jane
5. I Miss
6. Watching the Stars, Vol. 2
7. Interlude
8. The Last Survivors, Vol. 2
9. Pretty Lion
10. Talk to Me
11. She, Vol. 2
12. Interlude/Ticking
13. You're Okay
14. Sitting in the Kitchen, Vol. 2
15. Too Late
16. She

Album Note:    

 I don't really know how to start this. This album has been in the works for years now. It's something very dear to me. I think a lot about me as a person and my traits. I guess from the outside many people will notice I'm an open person and a fun person. I guess that's not the side of me you'll find on the album. My other side is that I'm a very thoughtful person. I catch myself a lot daydreaming with anxious or depressed thoughts. That's something I tried to catch in the album. My love for music, as most of you know, is influenced by my family. My parents, my siblings and my larger family are passionate listeners and a lot are also musicians. The album is me I think. It's a diary of the last couple of years. Mostly stuff that happened with girls but also thoughts that crossed my mind a lot. It depicts recent and older phases where some things happened that had a large impact on me. I wanted a raw atmosphere. So it helped that I just recorded it via my phone on GarageBand in my mums living room. It's very much back to basics and not too much thought was put in adding various instruments or using synths, FX or mixing and mastering around too much. I want the listener to have the feeling as though they're in a pub or out and about and randomly listening to my music. Or they could imagine playing in front of them as a one on one session. 

          

           Watching the stars started as one simple idea which grew religiously in my mind. I wrote the first song from the album before I knew what it meant and I'm still always learning. Obviously. I’ve learnt to accept that music is a hobby and that yes I might make money out of it but it could be so much more just in my mind. It's a therapeutic and meditative way to cope for me. It's a time to reflect and it's a game. Creativity is in everyone and I'm glad that I've realised that mine is this music. My biggest influences are Ben Howard, Fink, Charlie Cunningham and Nick Mulvey. Amazing artists if you don't know them then you should check them out.

My hope for you listening is that you feel something. Maybe you're proud of me, or maybe you get me and know what I've gone through. I don't have any favourite song anymore on the album. 

Thanks for reading and enjoy the album. You can also give me Feedback via Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, email, normal mail, smoke signals or morse code (not the last two, I can't read those).

           Watching The Stars was written in 2017. I and my girlfriend at the time were outside at night for a walk when I said the words: "Now we're watching the stars/ doesn't matter if it's cold outside". She told me to write them down. A couple of days later I tried them out. A few months passed and I forgot about the lyrics. When I flew back from Thailand in April 2018 I had an epiphany about a solo project which would revolve around the idea behind Watching The Stars. The song does mean a great deal to me and the concept of watching the stars as a whole has been something I've always done. I remember it as an activity I did where I could dream. 

On my own but also with my closest friend I would have the deepest conversations. Interlude and Talk To Me deal with anxiety. They were very much just recorded and written when I wasn't feeling well. Let Her Go, Hey Jane, Too Late and She Vol. 2 were written in between Christmas 2019 and January 2020, they were inspired by some things that happened then. Lets just say it was an interesting time where I could get very creative. I also wrote Don't Forget Your Coat and Sitting In The Kitchen Vol. 1 and 2 then. I liked both versions and couldn't decide which one to cut. The other songs on the album are a rework of The Last Survivors and Pretty Lion as well as some songs that I have uploaded videos of or played live a few times. So if you've followed me for a while or seen me play live you might recognise a few songs such as She or I Miss.

           I had writers' block for about a year between the summers of 2018 and 2019. I only wrote two songs during that whole time for this album. Everything else that I did during that time wasn't up to par lyrically. Luckily I developed my voice and my musical skills further during that time, so it was still a good time for me. 

           The idea of a solo project started in 2016 after I recorded some stuff with my old band, but things started to get stale. The decision and preparations to go solo started in Thailand and the first part came out in the summer of 2018. Now two years later you will hear improvements and changes in style. It took me a lot longer than planned because I think I was very perfectionist and I didn't know what I wanted from my music. I now know that I want it to be raw and real. It should capture the emotion and it should give out different vibes. The lyrics should be as important as the way I play the guitar. It should fit but I shouldn't worry about playing something wrong. That makes it an artistic choice!

           With this album, I have created a dramatic, melancholic and simplistic listening experience which goes back to the roots of any musical endeavour. It is just me and my guitar mostly. Sometimes strings or drums or bass was added it needed but mostly it is just a simple recording of me and my guitar.