Free Spirit

What is the origin of this song?
This song was written the day after watching Crow at the Union Hotel in December 2017. Lyrically, it’s partially based on events that occurred that evening.

How was the recording session?
When I started writing the song, I recorded it just with an acoustic guitar and singing into an iPhone, with only partial lyrics written. It was a “sketch demo” with more vocal sounds than actual words. The original title was “Heartbreaker/Homewrecker/Free Spirit”. After finishing writing the lyrics, I then recorded a more complete demo at home using a Zoom digital 4 track and mixing it in GarageBand a few days later. This version was originally uploaded to Soundcloud and is now on Spotify and BandCamp. A third “proper” version intended for an album was begun in 2019 at a friend’s home studio but the sessions were unfortunately aborted and this version remains unreleased.

What were the references, influences or musical inspiration?
Not sure. Songs just come as they want to, really. I feel more like a midwife delivering a baby when it comes to songs. It’s like they exist somewhere in the ether and I just have to be shape and form them. I guess I was thinking a bit about David Pajo at the time. And I listened to Sufjan Stevens “Carrie & Lowell” pretty closely for production ideas. I wanted it to sound like it belonged on that album.

What do you like most about the song and why?
It pretty much wrote itself and REALLY quickly too. Other songs you can labour over for years! I guess the song is essentially about being accepting of people who may be kind of fucked up, but trying to find the positives and love them regardless. Kind of. Ever since I recorded it and played it live, people have ALWAYS responded to this song like no other song. The fact that it hits so many hearts like that is what I like about it the most.

“I feel more like a midwife delivering a baby when it comes to songs. It’s like they exist somewhere in the ether and I just have to be shape and form them.”

What did you most enjoyed of the writing, production and recording process?
The fact that it was easy really. The genesis of the song beginning from the event that influenced it, to the final recorded and uploaded demo was about 4 or 5 days.

What was the most difficult part of the process and how was it overcome?
When I did the demo of this, I was using very basic gear and learning a lot about recording myself. So production wise, it’s not very good. It’s tinny and shit, but it has a certain charm I guess. That’s why I wanted to re-record it with my friend Andrew for an eventual album at his home studio. We got the acoustic guitar down and a single basic vocal track, and he even laid down a sweet minimal electric guitar track, which I wasn’t that into at the time, but now I really really like it! But it never got finished and I don’t know if it ever will.

If you could have invited anyone else to collaborate, who would it have been and why?
Well my original plan for the unfinished and unreleased re-recorded version was to have my brother Presser from Gerling on drums, Penny from the Cannanes on trumpet and an undecided lap steel guitarist too.

What is the biggest challenge to present this song live and how has it been solved?
Trying to remember the lyrics is probably the biggest hurdle. I generally fuck it up somewhere at least once when I play it! And there’s a tricky chord that I sometimes fumble too. But because it’s usually just me solo and my guitar, I have no one to blame but myself. I should probably play “Free Spirit” more in my sets again I guess. I’ve written a bunch of newer songs over the past few years, so I generally forget to include it these days. But I shouldn’t. People like it.

Recommend us a song that you have heard lately and that you like.
“In ár gCroíthe go deo” by Fontaines DC.