Double Triangle On the Making Of “Running From Yourself”
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "Running From Yourself?"
DOUBLE TRIANGLE: I listened to Roisin’s album ‘Concrete and Trees’ and as soon as I heard “Running From Yourself” I was inspired by what I could do with it as a producer and put my spin on it, really loved the song even appeared in my most played playlist of 2023. There are a few big musical influences on this track. I was listening to a lot of 90s UK Garage and also any modern Garage. One I can share is I had the idea of recreating something similar to Soulwax Another Excuse (Dfa Remix) totally not UK Garage at all but like the idea of picking influences from anywhere and putting them in different places. I used an Arturia Microfreak for this. A new synth I was testing out. Johnny Marr has said this, you can feel like a new instrument has stuff embedded inside waiting to come out and can get off to a really good start.
What inspired you to write the lyrics/music for "Running From Yourself?"
ROISIN: the lyrics for this song were written in hindsight (a wonderful thing!) , but they were basically me speaking to myself, telling myself that I can’t keep running away from who I am and what I want from life. I spent quite a few years living in what I’d call “survival mode” and not really understanding why I was there or how to get out of it. Writing songs and lyrics really helps me to put the difficult stuff we go through in life into some kind of order and make sense of it all. Then you can say, “Well that was s@*t but at least I got a song out of it”. Writing songs is such a cathartic process.
DOUBLE TRIANGLE: I really identified with the lyrics when I first heard them. Telling the piano your problem, music can be a great way to channel emotion in a positive way. I think I was inspired by the original track and took it in a more moody darker UK garage feel.
What impact do you hope "Running From Yourself" will have on your audience?
ROISIN: I always hope my lyrics and sentiment will connect with someone out there. I absolutely love the way Double Triangle has remixed it, and this new flavour will get the lyrics to a wider audience. I believe good songs are genre fluid and remixing is such an amazing way to connect with people who are lovers of that genre.
DOUBLE TRIANGLE: I’m hoping it opens my audience to something different a lot of my audience are from all over the world and they might not even know what UK Garage is. It was quite a London thing as the song goes. Also for us growing up going to the same school, there was a big sound of local nightclubs in the Harlow and Essex area. I like the idea of experimenting and not keeping tightly to Synthwave or other genres I’m known for previously and hope the audience will come along with me. I felt I did what I felt was right for the original song and the inspiration it gave me wasn’t as synthy as some previous releases.
Collaboration is often crucial in music production. How do you collaborate with artists and other professionals to bring a project to life?
ROISIN: I believe collaboration is all about being open to your collaborators’ ideas and vision, holding a balance between what you’ve created and trusting what they want to do. I think especially with having a song remixed, you need to be open-minded and not be too precious about the original song. I’m a big believer in adapting, sampling and building on existing material being an absolute art form in itself, which Double Triangle shows with his remix.
DOUBLE TRIANGLE: I think I’m so used to working on my own but I realise collaboration is where some real magic can happen. I worry I’m a bit of a control freak and so used to making music alone for years. But it’s good to work on a remix with a song that’s written then there’s a clear, the vocals and song is done, then your job is producer and remixer. I’m yet to collaborate with a producer but open to the idea. When it’s vocals and production a clearer job role and can see where I can’t sing or write lyrics. This has been a great step to opening myself up for more collabs in the future.
How do you hope your music resonates with your audience? What message or feeling do you aim to convey through your vocals?
ROISIN: as I already said I just love to connect lyrically with an audience. But these moody garage vibes bring another depth to the song I think. Id like to think that people who remember UK Garage the first time around will resonate with the track, and that people who have connected with it in more recent times will enjoy it too.
