Unstabile here, I’m an independent singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has been steadily developing my process of home-recording intimate, spontaneous tracks over the past few years.
Originally from the Washington DC area, and currently based in Western Massachusetts, my output so far has consisted of lush textures, field recordings, harmonic subtly and sensitive vocals in music that ranges from direct songwriting to more experimental production.
My new EP Glimmers was an attempt to notice both the clearings in my mind, and the light in a dull place, however small or brief, and to allow expression in those moments. I recorded it in the winter, when the sky was mostly gray and blank.
Sun was a rarity, and in general I was dealing with feelings of dullness and trying to see through that, trying to be carried by whatever light I had to ground out of the fog of excessive thinking. In going through a tough time, recording was a way of staying present and checking in with myself, it was me doing my best to keep faith and keep doing it.
I found some of that light in keeping things simple, which helped distill what I experienced while also helping my focus. In a cold and quiet time I seemed to gravitate to these ambient, at times sparse, slow burning tracks. At the same time, I was trying to be concise and more direct than I had been before.
“Falling” for me is a song about trying not to lose myself to depressive thoughts and inattention that seems to tear you out of your senses… remembering to fulfill basic needs, like singing, and the feeling of sunshine on my face, being hydrated.
It was recorded when I was feeling really scattered, and down, feeling unable to focus on anything. Just playing that simple bassline was the only thing holding me down, and from there melody came to me.
In “I Am (Before I Think)“, I’m addressing how I attempt to heal myself or “find relief” in my creative process. The hook plays with what to me is a vital contradiction – the recognition that your being exists before your thoughts, and yet at the same time, your thoughts and the way you think manifests your reality.
With “Interlude“, I wanted to speak on how our own magic can go unnoticed, how thoughts can get in the way of seeing what you’re capable of and appreciating it.
When I make music, sometimes I either tell myself it isn’t very good, or I just make it and move on, and then later, I might downplay it like “oh I barely made anything today”. So it was one of those days, and I found this instrumental I had made earlier or the day before.
I thought it was good, and was confused as to why I had thrown it away, and so I was compelled to speak on it. I know I can’t be alone in unconsciously shrinking/undermining/forgetting things you’ve made or effort you’ve put in.
“On My Way” is a loving song, a way of telling myself that I really only feel bad about where I am in life when I think I’m stuck, or I’m waiting for things to be different.
If I’m able to trust that I’m moving towards who I want to be, and recognize that process, I’m much more accepting of the present. It can seem easy to feel defeated, either in your craft or in a relationship, so I think reminding yourself you can move along the path you want is important.
“Sun Dust” is a track I don’t really have words for, other than the title. It came from exploring harmony on bass guitar, thinking about glimmers (before I had titled the project) and ultimately being drawn in by this naturally emerging shift between 2 rhythmic feels. One of those times where it was just a flow that came pretty much all at once.
“Lost Touch” again has a sense of contradiction, trying to lighten up feelings of being let down or left out by someone, by also acknowledging the other side of it.
How we conceptualize our relationships can cloud how they actually are or how the other person feels, but anyway I think that people not being there for you when you thought they would be is a really particular feeling a lot of people experience. This was just my take on it, my experience of it in that moment.
“Closet” is a very intimate song to me. The initial organ chords became a space for me to reflect on a special friendship, somewhat wistfully, and fill in what I wasn’t self-aware enough to see in it when it took place.
“11:11 (Bath Music)” is a track inspired by a feeling of floating, like a sea of existence before or without thought. It was floating through space, or the ocean, just a beautiful vastness.
Listen to the full Glimmers project below:
