It had been eight years since I'd stepped foot on the island of Nusa Lembanogan off the east coast of Bali in Indonesia. A whole life had seemingly passed before me in that time as I ventured out into the dim early morning light. Six months previous to this trip I had endured the trials of spinal surgery after being bedridden for many months before that. This was my first long haul flight since my operation and I still felt vulnerable and cautious to push my body. Medication had taken away my coordination to sing and play an instrument during those months and I had recently reconnected with my dear old friend songwriting. To return to a place is to acknowledge what has been as much as it is to reconnect. Change is inevitable. I write and think about change a lot nowadays. It's a theme that features heavily on my new album Fell For The World. With an increasing fascination I've grown to be ever more comfortable and familiar with impermanence.

I love words. Music and lyrics have always coexisted for me as a songwriter. Words usually introduce themselves as phonetic sounds to begin with. A verbal dance with the music that’s unfolding. Following a stream of conscience like this is where I'm happy as a writer. Perhaps it is for this reason that I've always loved obscure lyrics. It is this obscurity that often draws me deeper in. Suddenly out of the swirling depths comes clarity: a word; a line or couplet that cuts through and stands crystal clear. 

The scrambling mystery that follows a twist of words as you absorb, process and interpret a new combination of elements reminds me that we often crave these fresh experiences. There is a fluidity between writer and listener. A space where interpretation and projection coexist. A place where all who care to immerse themselves are welcome. An open place of no wrong conclusions. I love that obscurity. It is for this very reason that I've always hesitated to explain my intentions behind lyrics and meanings of songs. Believing that the journey of a song and of sound itself is only completed, and to some extent only really exists, when it reaches the listener and they invite it in. Much like a rainbow only exists when the angle of light hits the eye of the observer ( see previous blog post ). 

Sometimes a song arrives with such clarity and ease that it's immediacy can throw you. It can cause you to doubt yourself for a moment. Once you've established that it isn't a song that has already been written after all, and that it's familiarity is not because you’ve heard it before, but rather that a pattern has emerged from this swirling intricate life that resonates in that particular moment. You suddenly find yourself in the right place, connected, awake and in the flow.

I sat down to write later that morning. My wandering had revealed changes on the island that now sat awkwardly in me. Plastic pollution had started to gather at various points on the islands beaches and in the forests where eight years ago there had been none. My heart ached and my conscience cried out in silent guilt over the changes that our modern world had brought to this paradise. Many other similar experiences had gathered in me while traveling over the years. Deep within the forest a yellow Oriole’s call echoed as I stumbled upon the opening melody. I vowed to myself that this song would only exist to give back in some way. A reminder that, although change is the most fundamental nature of existence, we can learn, respond and interact with that change with compassion, wisdom and love. 

All proceeds from the sale and streaming of Still Here will be donated to The Ocean Clean Up indefinitely.

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