Feature: Fendahlene Decodes “Where I'm Going”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "Where I'm Going" and the story it tells?
Paul Whiteley ( singer and guitarist ): “Where I’m Going” was originally written as a songwriting exercise. I was trying to just describe what I could see - so the verses are basically just descriptions of what I could see from the terrace of a holiday house I was staying at in Cornwall (UK). The verses were all largely about uncertainty and conflict or contrast, so for the choruses I wanted a positive message. So the song became about someone looking out on the chaos of the world, but not letting it worry them because they are happy and centred where they are.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for "Where I'm Going?"
The recording session for this one was actually really quick and efficient. I think we were well rehearsed and we knew what we wanted and so the tracking process was very fast. As usual with our recording sessions, perhaps the most memorable thing was an accident. The main riff in the song, which sounds like a guitar through a Leslie speaker, was actually a piano part. The piano wasn’t sounding right though - it was too clean - and so Dan Cox (our engineer) decided to put it through a rotary speaker and dirtied up the sound a bit and it sounds great.
What impact do you hope this song will have on your audience?
First and foremost I’d like listeners just to enjoy the track. People can put their own interpretation on what the lyrics mean - for me it’s about being comfortable in your own skin even when the world outside is crazy. But each listener will have their own interpretation - or none at all! It’s also just a good song to sing along to.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
Fendahlene is me (Paul Whiteley) on lead vocals and guitars and Ashley Hurst on bass. I suppose we fall into the indie rock category, but when it comes down to it, we're just a rock and roll band. We were regulars on the Sydney live circuit for around ten years, which was an absolute blast. In those days there was no shortage of venues and opportunities to play. During that time we released an album, a couple of EPs and a double album which we called A Decade of Near Misses – half new stuff and half the more popular older songs. The name was pretty apt...
We moved to Europe separately – me in 2005 and Ashley the year later, then after a break, we recorded a new album, High and Low and Back Again, at London's Urchin Studios in 2018 and 2019. It was released in mid-2020 on vinyl – a first for us, something we'd been dreaming of doing for years. Sadly it was right in the middle of the first wave of the pandemic, so we couldn't gig to support it. Since then, we've kept releasing new stuff regularly and are starting to get back into playing live.
Are there any specific themes or messages that you aim to convey through your music?
I don’t think we consciously set out to convey specific themes or messages, but, having said that, when I look back on our songs there some ideas that seem to come up again and again. There seem to be a lot of songs dealing with finding your way in an uncertain world, and there is generally an underlying positive message that, in spite of all the craziness, everything will be okay.
