Mark Walsh On The Making Of “SATURN”
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind "SATURN" and the story it tells?
I saw Interstellar with a couple close friends when it came back to theaters for the 10th anniversary, and as anyone who has seen that movie knows, it makes you think about space and time differently. The movie came out on my 14th birthday, but I had only seen it 10 years later. It left a lasting impression on me, and as I researched astronomy on my own after, it made an even bigger one. I named the song “SATURN” because it isn’t just about the planet Saturn. The story it tells for me is that love does not know the bounds of space and time, and how no matter where you go in life (or the universe) love is the best thing we do. I wanted to tie the love I have for my girlfriend into my newfound love in outer space.
Were there any memorable or standout moments during the recording sessions for this song?
The biggest moment for me was when the lyrics came to me, gazing at a full moon on my way into work. It was the most majestic it had ever looked to me, and the lyrics “I would take a trip to Mars, send a message to the moon…” popped into my head. I couldn't explain how it happened, but I wanted to let the creativity flow take me where it was gonna take me, and so I didn’t try to put any music to it until the guitar part came to me playing later when I got home. I had no idea how they’d sound together, and after almost 50 days of recording, mixing, and bringing the song to life on my laptop it became what it is today. My favorite moment of recording was adding in the radio waves of real recordings of Earth and Saturn as recorded in outer space, to truly capture the out-of-this-world (literally) essence I was going for. The breakdown after the first chorus samples the radio waves from Earth, which is my favorite production choice I’ve ever made working on a song, even if most people will never know. If aliens heard this song, and had analyzed radio waves from Earth... they'd know where it came from.
What impact do you hope this song will have on your audience?
I hope “SATURN” makes people reflect on the beauty of the little things and the big things in life. Saturn is 900 million miles away from us, no human has ever ventured there, and I felt like even if I could, it wouldn’t be worth the risk of losing precious moments with my loved ones on Earth. Sometimes the little moments we have here are the biggest ones, no matter where your life journey takes you (Saturn, Mars, or anywhere else in the universe). I just hope that message resonates with people like it does for me.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
I started playing guitar after my “Guitar Hero” and “Beatles Rockband” days on the Nintendo Wii. When I was 8, I wanted to be like The Beatles more than anything and learned everything I could about them with my twin brother. It took years of learning the guitar, and eventually starting to sing and write my own songs to get to where I am today. I grew up in Boston and spent a lot of my time in high school at the Berklee College of Music programs, as well as the South Boston Boys and Girls Club where my Dad grew up going, and that’s where I first really leaned into learning music.
What is your songwriting process like? How do you usually start crafting a new song?
I’d like to think of my songwriting process as a flow state. If I feel like it’s not coming naturally, it probably isn’t my best work. I liked what Jack Harlow said in an interview about how he feels that the best lyrics just “come to you”, and that’s how I felt when this song’s first lyrics came to me looking at the moon. Usually I’ll start writing a new song if I feel inspired by something I played on guitar spontaneously, which happened with “SATURN”, or if I hear something that inspires me elsewhere.
