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The fourth song in our Summer, is a thoughtful, folky tune from Ben Levy. A new collaborator with SOS, Ben wrote this beautiful ballad and had the following to say about it:
SOS: What were your main influences for writing this song?
BL: If the ocean is raging, and theres a massive storm, and it’s too far to swim or sail back to land, the only option is to dive down. At some point, if you go deep enough, it’s calm. That was the idea behind this tune. 2 people stuck in the middle of the ocean, and it’s not going to end well, but instead of fighting it, they embrace it, and go peacefully.
SOS: Has this idea been in your head for a while or did you think it up especially for SOS?
BL: The chords have been in my head forever, and once I knew I had a deadline, I knew I needed to come up with something. The chords on changes in the song now are very different than what I started with. But after playing them over and over, trying to get a song out of them, they slowly changed into the form that you hear in Rougher Seas.
SOS: Given that this is a collaboration were there any surprises with the final production from how you envisioned it?
BL: I was very surprised when Cory sent me the mix. It’s so elegant and soft, much different than the folk, jangley version I sent out. The difference between the two are night and day, in the best possible way. It leaves so much to the imagination, letting the lead instruments just sort of dance around the song. It’s a great take on the song, props to Cory for exploring that vision.
If you want to learn more about Ben’s work as a studio engineer, then visit his website at www.benjaminalanlevy.com/
Instantly one of our favorites, Ben is sure to have a great career with SOS.
Thanks for listening!