Behind the Record: The One Next to You EP (2021)

 


Late 2021, I was already working on material for Eternal Allies, however to try and keep the momentum up, I decided to put out a release while I was working on material for the LP.


The EP revolves around the first two songs, “The One Next to You” and “Wonder You”, that I originally wrote a few days apart in late 2007. Despite being of two very different moods, to me they have always been tied together and both channel a medley of warm feelings and memories I associate with winter months. Just listen to the demo of “Wonder You” - can’t you see yourself walking as the snow falls gently on a winter’s night? These two songs also aired on my high school’s radio at the time - oh what a feeling it was!


This release was also intended as the "rebirth" of one of my first demo CDs, which featured the demos of “The One Next to You” and “Wonder You”, along with several others, but this time as a single featuring only these two songs. While I was working on them, I decided to add a couple more songs onto the record to make it an EP and so went on to include a remixed version of “A Sailor's Dream”, another demo from December 2011. Although I did publish it then, it wasn’t until the release of the EP several of my friends told me how much they liked that song - possibly one of the greatest compliment I got.


When the rest of the EP was ready, as a fourth and last song, I also thought of including “Come Away With Me”, another song I started writing around 2011, however the recording of it I was working on somehow just didn’t sound as good as I wanted it to. After a long session trying to get the mix right, I popped down to my local pub to take a break and hear if I finally got it right, but I didn’t. I was quite upset as I had high hopes for this song, so I went back home, picked up my guitar and tried to come up with a totally different new tune instead. The song I quickly wrote and recorded that night became “On a Winter's Night”. It is one of the very few songs where the very first demo ended up being the one to be released. It kind of captures the spirit of the rest of the EP, and tells the story of why I am so fond of the first two songs and this part of the year in general.


The One Next to You EP - Release date: 8th December 2021. 4 songs, 12 min 54 sec.

▶️Listen here




Bonus:

▶️ The One Next to You (demo, 2007)

▶️ Wonder You (demo, 2007)

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