Goldwash - Interview
The AUX is excited to drop our first ever interview with singer, songwriter, and producer @goldwashmusic! Read on to hear more about Goldwash, his songwriting process, and the making of one of our favorite albums this year, Flat Earth Surf Club. Also make sure to stream Flat Earth Surf Club out NOW on ALL PLATFORMS!
What has been the most rewarding part of creating this album?
Up until last week (before the album was released), I would’ve said that the best part was getting to feel proud of a project. But since it’s come out, I’ve been getting incredibly thoughtful, kind messages from people saying how they’re listening to it front to back, feeling kinship with the ideas and emotions that inspired the music, really getting something out of the project. So that’s definitely the most rewarding part.
How would you describe your sound?
Either “surf music for flat earthers” or “flat earth music for surfers”. Or maybe “flat earth surf music for clubbers”.
What is your songwriting process like? Were there any parts of the making of the album that were especially challenging?
My songwriting process is pretty labored. I usually start with a melody and chord progression on piano or a keyboard, and I’ll tweak it for hours or days, until every new change I try makes it feel worse. Then I’ll try to write lyrics to that melody (or snippet of melody), and sometimes I’ll completely re-write a verse or chorus up until very late in the process if the production and arrangement and lyrics have taken the song into a different place.
Re: production, lots of the sounds on the album were a challenge. I often had specific tones in mind, and I couldn’t really afford to rent out a proper studio or even proper mics. I couldn’t make all of the album sound like an expensive, polished studio recording, so I focused on making sure the tones were cool, the recording mistakes were not too distracting, and the performances were interesting.
I did have some incredible luck in working with great musicians and engineers for the parts I couldn’t fake myself. Baird played guitar and bass on a lot of songs, and Owen Forgione Hill played bass and tracked most of the more challenging instruments on the album: live drums by Brijesh Pandya, sax by Ryan Parrish, trumpet by Matt Shulman, trombone by JP Floyd, upright bass by Olivia Salas. And there was additional vocal production by Ted Trembinski, mixing by Seth Manchester, mastering by Bazza Grint. It took a team.
Who is one artists dead or alive you would have wanted a feature from? Which song would you want them on?
Oh man. I got an absolutely incredible vocal feature on the album already (Ayanna Woods on “That Buzz”) but that came about relatively late in the process. Had I known how great it would be to get top vocalists on these songs I might’ve done more… I’d say Frank Ocean on something but there’s no way I’d want my singing next to his, even in a theoretical scenario… let’s say MF Doom on an extended version of Flat Earth Surfing Pt. 2?
How do you see your music evolving in the future?
I’m exploring songwriting that sits in the lower range of my voice; I think I finally have the confidence for that. And I’m excited but very intimidated about the potential of storytelling in lyrics. Production-wise, I’ve been building more experimental, playful, lush textures for some other projects I’m involved in, so I’m looking forward to bringing that looser spirit to my own songs. I’ve also gotten heavily into chamber string arrangements and quartets, so I’m trying to incorporate that instrumentation.
Which artists are you currently bumping?
O Terno, Blood Orange, Baird, Ahmad Jamal, Koffee, Leos Janacek, and (as always) Joni Mitchell.
What is one thing you want fans to know about you?
I think people can already find out enough (and maybe too much?) about me from the songs if they listen closely.
