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This week’s offering, the third in our current session in which we create a new song each week, comes from actor, musician and Songs on Sunday Founder, Jordan Woods-Robinson.
SOS: What were your main influences for writing this song?
JWR: My songwriting usually starts with a certain chord or rhythm I like, then the melody forms on top of that. With this song, I was playing around with some tuning options on my guitar and I settled on this drone. A melody of ooh’s and aah’s quickly turned into “And I see the sky fallin’ like a cannonball.” That’s where the song lived for quite a while, with just that 1 line. Then I had to create a world around that line that would support it and make sense. In the end, the lyrics are about a man who is emotionally driven, so much that his emotions usually shape how he sees the world, and his only way to see things clearly is by connecting with his loved one.
SOS: Has this idea been in your head for a while or did you think it up especially for SOS?
JWR: The basic chords and melody for the chorus came to mind a while back but, for the most part, this song was written specifically for the SOS collaboration. I hit a bit of a dead end with where it should go so I wanted to send it out to these awesome collaborators to see where they would take it.
SOS: Given that this is a collaboration were there any surprises with the final production from how you envisioned it?
JWR: I’m so excited with how this song turned out! When I wrote it, it sounded great in my head but then I hit a dead end when I started recording it. I couldn’t figure out where to take it next so, when I sent it to the collaborators, it was very bare bones with just my voice and an acoustic guitar. When I heard the final mix, I was so excited to hear how many different ideas were laid down that would never have even crossed my mind. The SOS process totally took this song to the next level!
SOS: Describe your experience of making music with people who are not even in the same room as you?
JWR: If I’d had this service when I was growing up and first starting to write music, it would have completely changed how I view the music scene. I can fake a lot of instruments but there is something so amazing about knowing that each person who lays down a track is a master of that instrument. So you’re going to get the best possible version from their mind. And I think that’s the main thing… If I were doing this myself, all the tracks would be from my mind so they would all start to sound similar. Working with collaborators spread out all over, we’re taking all the best ideas and putting them into one song.
SOS: Do you have a website where our audience may go to hear more of your music?
JWR: The majority of the songs I’ve written recently are on SongsOnSunday.com but I also have a bluegrass album, Red Haired Boy, available on iTunes.