After originally breaking through with a flurry of immersive delights in previous years, Wiltshire’s Gus White now makes his long-awaited return to deliver his shimmering new single ‘Country Song’.
Bringing back more of that warm and alluring indie-folk aesthetic he first emerged with, ‘Country Song’ sees him back in the fold with one of his more passionate delights to date. So we took the chance to sit down with him to find out more about his origins and influences over the years.
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What inspired you to start making music, and when did it all begin for you?
Where I grew up there wasn’t much else to do. We had to amuse ourselves. I found my dad’s old dual cassette recorder and started making recordings with friends from the village. Summer holidays were spent with duvets over our heads, singing quietly into a SM57.
How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before?
Organic. Bittersweet. A bunch of good pals in a room together.
What’s your creative process like when writing or producing a track?
I like to record everything together and really capture a moment/performance. The whole band including vocals. These days I find multitracking more and more soulless. I’m trying to move away from that whole thing..
Who are your biggest musical influences, and how have they shaped your sound?
That’s a hard one. Some of my mentors are my greatest influences. My songwriting mentor at university perhaps..
As for artists, Neil Young maybe? I remember listening to Harvest on the bus journey to school aged 15 and thinking ‘no one gets me and I don’t care’. That album was a little island of beauty and calm where no one could touch me.
Recently I’ve been blown away by a few albums, like Dance of Love by Tucker Zimmerman. Wow that record still brings me to tears.
What themes or messages do you find yourself coming back to in your music?
Hmm I guess it depends what’s happening in my life. I tend to write as a form of therapy, to process whatever I’m going through. Sometimes I’m just mumbling away over some chords and I suddenly utter some real truth about what I’m feeling, and I burst into tears. That’s when I know I’m on to something..
Tell us about your latest release — what’s the story behind it?
This song is a plea to keep a relationship alive, when you’re in the dark together and you’re trying to remember how you lost the flame that sparked up so easily in the beginning.
What’s been the most exciting or surprising moment of your music journey so far?
I played a show recently that changed my mind about everything. I hadn’t played my own music for years, and had no idea if anyone wanted to hear it. But out of nowhere it sold out, and the atmosphere was… wow. There was such a sense of community, humanity, and vulnerability in that room. There were shouts of joy and sobs of tears. I felt truly supported and humbled by the whole thing, and it spurred me on to release the music.
What challenges have you faced as a new artist, and how are you working through them?
Being a record producer full time, I find it hard to find the time to pursue my own music. And because I work with so many amazing artists, I often feel a bit shy about my own stuff. I am, however, getting better at scheduling time for my own projects.
How are you using social media and online platforms to grow your audience?
Some nice video content of me in my studio in Wiltshire I think.
What’s your vision for the future? Any dream collabs, goals, or projects you’re working toward?
More records, more friendship and good times. More time spent with my partner and my dog. The great and meandering project that is the pursuit of a good life?
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Listen to Gus White’s new single ‘Country Song’ below.