How did you write that song?

Canadian singer-songwriter Heather Hill and I caught up just after the release of her fourth album "Twilight Mist". Heather's songwriting is strongly influenced by the natural environment around her home in Canada and the twilight is a particularly productive time for her to write both in terms of inspiration and the space to be creative after a busy day with work and family.

Heather was classically trained and played classical and pop music for years before she "gave herself permission" to write her own songs. Since then she has written extensively and collaborated with many other musicians.

We played a recording of "Twilight Mist" which Heather wrote about and for her mother when she was close to the end of her life. The song itself is about transition and not being afraid of what might lie beyond. Another great story about Heather's new album is the inclusion of her mum's first ever recorded song - recorded when she was in her 80s!

It was a real pleasure to hear about Heather's passion for music and the things that inspire her.

Check out Heather's website to hear more of her music including her new album:

https://www.heatherhill.ca/

Amber Susan started to write songs after many years of classical music training in voice and piano. She had some jazz lessons, learnt how to improvise and stepped over the threshold into the murky world of playing by ear, feeling the vibe and writing songs - she hasn't looked back!

Amber and I chatted about the fun that writing songs brings and she explained how songwriting is kind of a third space, separate from the day to day - family, work etc. She typically starts with musical shapes, chord sequences and phrases which create a picture or story for her to build in a song. The lyrics she finds harder but they come from the vibe the music gives her.

Amber brought her ukulele into the studio and played her (as yet untitled) song about the space and light she feels when she is in a quiet moment playing music. The song was inspired by her experiences playing uke and singing in her back yard accompanied by the chortling tones of three local magpies! It's a beautiful airy song which definitely conveyed a sense of contentment and respite from the busy world.

Songwriter, multi instrumentalist and ukulele virtuoso, A.J. Leonard has been writing songs for 50 years. Sometimes he can write one in a single sitting, others are still not finished after decades. He sees songwriting as an alchemy which he can't quite explain but he recognises that there are mysterious forces fanning a fire within him to write songs. He does usually start with the lyrics though and the music follows.

AJ and I had a great chat and he took me right back to the start when, as kids in the 60s, he and his brother grabbed tennis rackets from the cupboard and mimed to their parents records. He wrote his first song on the ukulele in the 70s and has been a prolific songwriter ever since. We discussed all kinds of songwriting influences from 1920s ukulele music to The Beatles to Radiohead. Despite the mysterious songwriting forces which can't be completely described, AJ offered a range of very valuable tips and techniques to assist new and established songwriters to do what they do.

AJ described how he wrote a series of 12 instrumental pieces in 12 keys for the 12 months of the year. From that series AJ played "July" live in the studio, a beguiling piece written in the rainforests of Hawaii, but which left me imagining leaves blowing down a windy winter street. It's great how songs mean different things to different people! AJ also played a new and as yet unpublished song, "Growing Old Together" which he wrote collaboratively with an online lyricist friend in the US.

To hear and find out more about AJ Leonard's music:

home

I caught up with Taiwanese-Australian singer-songwriter Kim Yang when she was in Australia briefly to perform at the 2024 National Folk Festival. Kim started writing songs in her mid-twenties partly to articulate important issues in her life. Kim says that, as a shy person, she finds it challenging to initiate conversations but that writing songs can break the ice for her and get her voice heard.

Kim loves the connection with people that songwriting brings and she enjoys collaborating with other musicians. She particularly loves it when the audience sing along at gigs.

She has a disciplined approach to song writing. She often starts with a five-minute brain dump of words related to an idea or story she wants to tell. She then sets herself a time limit, say one hour, to form up the lyrics. The music comes next and the emotional vibe Kim gets from the lyrics influence the music she creates around the story of the song.

Kim performed a new song live in the studio - "All good when I'm with you" which tells the story of musicians helping and lifting the spirits of others through their songs. It's a gentle, beautiful song with plenty of spaces for you to sing along - which you'll want to!

To check out more of Kim's music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7kwuujRrUf8BEBpqsruKiW

Kieren and Luke from the band Adventure Street have got to be the most enthusiastic music besties I've ever met! They've known each other and played music together since they were kids and spent many years living next door to each other on (yes you've guessed it) Adventure Street which is a real street in Canberra!

We had a fantastic chat about how Kieren and Luke work with each other to write songs. Interestingly despite their 30 year music partnership they only really started writing and performing original songs together a few years ago. Keiren related how on a summer evening with the windows open he'd hear his neighbour jamming guitar riffs which would inspire him to write lyrics. Then by the time they both got together for a jam, a song would already be half written!

Pivotal to both of them in the songwriting process is collaboration with each other, with other members of Adventure Street and the folk that support their recording sessions and live performances. It's all about the people.

Kieren and Luke performed their song "The Road and Me" live in the studio and even roped me into play bass. It really showcases how Luke's great guitar riffs mesh in with Kieren's vocals and Miles Davis-like trumpet playing.

It was so much fun chatting with these guys. I guarantee it'll put a smile on your dial!

To hear more of Kieren and Luke's music:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2rNXpKZNR3cw4y2L0Bmp5m?si=jngqSRhoTdOU7AL5qbCJhw

AdventureStreetBand

Fiona and Blair have been songwriters and performers in various musical projects for a long time. Fairly recently they pooled their songwriting talents in the band The Lonely Fates. It was a real pleasure to hear how these two talented songwriters collaborate to build songs from the ground up. The offer ideas, they listen, they intuite, they soundboard off each other and they trust each other enough to be able to give frank feedback. The result is soulful indi folk songs that capture you completely.....and their harmonies are breathtaking. I learnt a lot about collaborative songwriting from this discussion.

Blair and Fiona described how they wrote their new song "This is what we do" and played it live in the studio. They were generous enough to stick around to record a couple of other songs too - "Catch Release" and "True North". You can hear both of these just after the end of the closing credits.

Here's where you can find the songs:

This is what we do - 15.15

Catch Release - 30.46

True North - 34.31

To check out The Lonely Fates:

TheLonelyFates

Alec Randles trained as a finger-style guitarist strongly influenced by Celtic and classical music. He then started writing songs, pop songs coming first, and then songs more and more connected to his Celtic and classical training. In our discussion Alec describes how he needs to be inspired by an issue he wants to "say" something about to write a song. He often starts with a guitar melody which conveys an emotional energy and the lyrics build on that. When he shares new songs with his bandmates the songwriting process becomes collaborative and that is always interesting for Alec, sometimes challenging, often funny and always rewarding. He is passionate about the music community he has met and become part of through songwriting.

Alec plays his song "These Days" live in the studio. He wrote the song in 2016 when he was in the USA studying politics - right in the middle of a well-known election campaign! Plenty of emotional energy comes through in the dramatic guitar licks and accompanying lyrics.

It was a pleasure to meet Alec and hear his story about the pivotal role songwriting and performing plays in his life.

To find out more about Alec and hear his music:

https://www.alecrandles.com/about

https://www.facebook.com/alecrandlesmusic/

Bec Taylor's songwriting started with big ambitions when as a 12 year old she and a friend decided to put MacBeth to music! She's written and performed a huge number of songs over the years across just about every genre you can imagine. One of her friends refers to her as the Swiss army knife of songwriting! Bec and I met on the eve of the release of the first single - Photograph - from her forthcoming album - Limbs and All - with Bec Taylor and the Lyrebirds. We discussed how she wrote a rough draft of the song with the other members of the band in mind and then bought them all together to finish it off. The producer of the Lyrebirds album also became part of the songwriting process advising on this song and how all the songs on the new album might fit together. We played a snippet of the new single and then Bec played a beautiful solo acoustic version of the song live in the studio.

For Bec songwriting is a puzzle to be solved and she often processes and organises the elements of a song while driving or walking her dog (who is definitely a great soundboard!). She's also learnt a lot about songwriting teaching students in the music school she founded and ran. Bec has a lot of great advice for new songwriters. It was a real pleasure to chat with Bec and get an insight into her passion and unbridled enthusiasm for songwriting!

To hear more of Bec's music:

Bec Taylor and the LyrebirdsSpotifyhttps://open.spotify.com › artist

bectaylorandthelyrebirds.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/bectaylorlyrebirds

Areta is a songwriter who, through her songwriting, invites us right in to share the things that are important and powerful in her life. She has been writing poems and songs for many years but only started performing them fairly recently. Areta plays live her song "Inconsolable Thoughts" and we discuss how writing the song enabled her to come to terms with and communicate about a key episode in her life. She explains how songwriting breaks down communication barriers in a unique way.

You can check out more of Areta's music at: https://www.instagram.com/untitledoriginal_/?igsh=MTNlZWpvbjRrNmQwaQ%3D%3D

Award-winning folk singer/songwriter Fred Smith has seen many things, written many songs and the world is a better place for it. In this episode Fred talks about how he started off in music playing covers in a restaurant for 20 bucks and a bowl of spaghetti and spent years writing comedy songs. Then his songwriting and work as a diplomat came together as his songs documented the trials, humorous moments and tragedies of the Afghanistan conflict. We discuss and play a recording of his song Derapet which tells the story of the death of an Australian soldier told from the perspective of another soldier. Fred believes you have to see the story you are writing songs about or observe it through the eyes of someone who was there. The stories in Fred's songs are interesting, funny, sad, terrifying - you name it - and it was great to gain a bit of an understanding of how he captures these moments and makes them accessible to others through song.

Hear Fred's music at https://fredsmith.com.au/

His new album, "Look" can be found at https://fredsmith.com.au/album/2516534/look