Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest single from Chris Garneau called “First Man.” On this vibrant single, it finds Garneau plumb the longing of a person’s first crush: the excitement, surprise, and, eventual heartbreak. The song comes from the forthcoming Out of Love release by Garneau. I was also able to catch up with this talented artist for a brief interview below.
”First Man” is probably the edgiest song on the record sonically, could you talk about the songs production and how you were able to create the smoky saloon atmosphere on the track?
Yeah this track went though a lot of stages: I recorded the piano in a proper studio on a concert grand, and then recorded all the vocals on my own at home. I live in the country in upstate NY, and no matter what kind of sound proofing I use, in the summer you can always hear crickets, they always break through. All the instrumentation was acoustic. The guitars and upright bass were recorded remotely by Kirk Schoenherr and Catherine Popper respectively, and I think between the three of us you had a lot of brighter, high-end frequencies and a lot of room sound (like the crickets upstate, for the other musicians there was some NYC traffic and noise pollution…), some of it intentional and some of it natural. That brightness can really bring forth a certain analog quality, and it very much did in this production. Dan Marcellus, currently my hero, recorded drums on and mixed this track. He heard what I wanted to hear, and he really helped illuminate that sonic atmosphere. Same with Ruairi O’Flaherty who mastered the track — everyone was on board with this vibe.
What do you hope people take away from the new EP?
I hope people connect to the storytelling. Sonically, and at times lyrically, there is a sort of longing for the past here, this EP feels nostalgic to me and like a harkening back to an older sense of Americana. I hope the songs resonate with people even if they don’t totally know why. Since these songs are all about being transformed in some way by love, I do feel that they are hopeful, even while they maintain a sense of pining. But that’s more in the music than the lyrics. Ultimately each song has resolution in love and in the divine, through self-love, the universe, sexuality, sensuality, queerness, all that stuff.
As we’re on the precipice of Out of Love’s release, what comes next for Chris Garneau?
I’m working on a full length album now, finishing this up over the winter and planning to release it in the fall, I’m sure I’ll tour in the US and Europe to promote the release next year.