GARROW HILL On the Making Of “Call To The Void”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your "Call To The Void" and the story it tells?
Ever stood on top of a building and felt there was nothing holding you back from stepping off? At its core, “Call To The Void” is a conduit to the complexities of the unknown, unearthing feelings of suicide and impulsive thinking. Of course, there is a barrier to those feelings, a prevention of pain; Fear. As much an inner monologue as to try and understand the effects of loneliness and the anxieties of the human mind. “Call to the Void” is ethereal and perhaps cinematic in atmosphere, but a lighter cover does not mean we can judge the book too quickly.
What impact do you hope this song will have on your audience?
We hope there are some words, a chord or a melody that resonates with someone. As Stew King (Vocals/Guitar) explains:
"It was an enjoyable experience to write this track, not least as we’ve had the freedom to unchain the shackles of previous banners and write something people may not expect.", "I am incredibly proud of “Call To The Void” and the journey it represents. My hope is that listeners will find solace, inspiration, or perhaps even a piece of themselves within its melodies."
What did you enjoy most about making "Call To The Void?"
It was a different experience from what we’ve done before. In the past we have been on a more frustrating cycle of trying to fulfill the demand of maintaining productivity at the determinant of studio costs, which we have found incredibly stifling, not least, unsustainable.
We have gone through some complex personal situations and have found ourselves having to make decisions on the direction of Garrow Hill, to pursue a direct attachment with music. Therefore, we made a choice on personnel as well as embracing a more DIY attitude.
It's actually been a very cathartic experience, there have been teething problems, but “Call To The Void” represents a new future that is more enjoyable, creative, non-restrictive and most importantly, affordable!!
How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue pushing boundaries in your art?
Finding the inspiration to create is actually pretty easy, it's always how it turns out that differs. You often have a vision of how you think something will go and along the way, people, places and events can mold the surface into a different story. The hardest challenge is trying to balance the root core of what you want to say with pushing the boundaries, quite often they contradict each other. We are big into playing with words, analysing their meanings and changing things subtly. There is always an angle that is interesting and crossing boundaries; by genre, statement, attitude and orientation can be quite fun.
What is your songwriting process like? How do you usually start crafting a new song?
We have a certain method that we use, but perhaps in more recent years we’ve learned to adapt quicker. Most of the time we start with the music, we will already have a working title, so a theme or tone is usually already underlined, so we can start with the style of the song first. Lyrically, we sometimes have an idea of what is going in, it's usually one of us who contributes to writing the words for one particular song, then it reverses to the other. A combination of studio/rehearsal time fleshes it out until we have a solid song structure then it's a case of fine tuning the words to fit.
