Today I’m thrilled to bring everyone the latest single and music video from South London indie folk band, Gently Tender, called “Wild In The Uplands.” The band explains, “‘Wild in the Uplands’ is a song about escape from city to country. It’s about not having respect for fences and private land, roaming free and getting into mischief. Out of all the illegal activities a person can partake in, trespassing is one of the most exhilarating!” The second single from Gently Tender’s new EP called This Was Once Fields, “Wild In The Uplands” captures the free spirit of the band perfectly. If you’re enjoying the video, please consider supporting the band here.
You’ve all gone through such intense personal changes since Take Hold Of Your Promise!—how did those experiences specifically shape the emotional tone of “Wild In The Uplands,” and did the song evolve as those events unfolded?
”Wild in the uplands” is the last song we wrote for this EP. I think at this time we were coming out of a lot of emotional stress of our personal lives we were starting to work it all out, we could really see the light at the end of the tunnel. A world where releasing music and playing shows was becoming more and more of a reality and less of a pipe dream. The song has a strong essence of euphoria and captures the joy of adventure and exploration. It was a reward for what we had been through.
The EP draws heavily from the contrast between city life and the countryside—how do those two environments shape your songwriting differently, both lyrically and sonically?
Thats kind of you to say, those are nice words! This song was the Northwest London part of the recording experience it was recorded in the mesmerizing assault and battery studio in Willesden. We were lucky enough to work in some incredible studios all across London and bore witness to the magic of producer and mixer Matt Wiggins! When you get a hot late summer’s day and have an array of amazing vintage synthesizers and the best producer /engineer in the south of England, only good things can happen!
Fryer mentions writing melodies that “make me want to cry”—when you were building “Wild In The Uplands,” was there a particular musical or lyrical moment where you felt you’d hit that emotional threshold?
I think in this particular song the moment that makes me emotional is the reference to the village green. And is a direct unashamed nod to The Kinks’ the village green preservation society album and also the latter preservation act 1 album which shaped my soul and has never left it since I was a young teenager Ray Davies as a writer captured something so special with those records. So the lyric in our song, “there is a soft dwell that i’ll forever turn to” is a reference and a direct pathway to the part of my soul that Ray writes about in his music. The never-ending beauty and simplicity of rural England.