Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single “Wildfires” is a tragically beautiful expression of depression and turmoil, longing, loss, and sadness.
— —
My heart was always breaking, always mistaking sparks for wildfires…
Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single is a tragically beautiful expression of depression and turmoil, longing, loss, and sadness. An aching cry from darkness, “Wildfires” magnifies an individual’s intimate plight into a universal release from pain and suffering.
I was born beneath the moon,
was broken, out of tune;
In the middle of the night,
I was not made for the light
“Wildfires” – Glass Heart String Choir
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/498632580?secret_token=s-OQuxK” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Wildfires,” the debut single from Glass Heart String Choir. The Seattle-based duo of Ian Williams and Katie Mosehauer (formerly The Thoughts), Glass Heart String Choir channel fragility and beauty in both name and song. “Wildfires” introduces us to a magnificent chamber pop sound that blends bittersweet tones with folk-influenced warmth. Ian Williams’ pristine voice shivers and quakes as he laments his inability to capture life’s magic moments in anything more than substantial than a memory.
“Wildfires” was inspired by a hike through the Rocky Mountains. So the story goes, Williams “stopped to photograph an aspen grove near an idyllic mountain lake. He was later discouraged to discover the pictures failed entirely to capture the moment in a way that was true to his memory; a small disappointment that let loose a flood of memories about how often what he feels he has no quarter, and the rippling rings of inefficacy that follow.”
Speaking on the song, Ian Williams explains that “It’s a metaphor for the struggle to find and hold onto any feelings of self-value and happiness — fleeting moments that disappear when submerged in the depths of that unerring depression.” He’s raw, vulnerable, and totally exposed in a breathtaking, tearjerker chorus:
My heart was always breaking,
always mistaking sparks for wildfires…
I’d wake each morning,
shaking,
thinking I heard your voice
in the lyrebird’s choir
Williams continues, “Even though we’ve worked together for 10 years, Wildfires was like a new beginning. We approached this song as true co-writers, lots of back-and-forth, with Katie changing out chords and weighing in on lyrics and vocal melodies in addition to her usual orchestration and production. It quickly became a favorite song for both of us, and ushered in a new era of collaboration. It was really freeing for me to have someone take the sentiment of a song and elevate it to the next level, making it far more beautiful than I ever could have on my own.”
I did not possess your exquisite instrument;
All the words sit in my teeth
and become bitter and weak
My heart was always breaking,
always mistaking sparks for wildfires…
I’d wake each morning,
shaking,
thinking I heard your voice
in the lyrebird’s choir
Melancholy fills the air as Williams and Mosehauer give life to feelings of wanting; there’s the sense, from the narration, that something’s been taken from the narrator. Deprived of experiencing the fullness of a time long passed, Glass Heart String Choir dwell in a beautiful, humbling darkness. Their honesty strikes the heart with a fierce blow, beckoning us further into their world of wonder and woe.
This is but a new, extraordinary beginning. Though he couldn’t recreate a moment through the camera’s lens, Williams smile knowing he and Mosehauer have managed to translate an equally magical sensation through song. Stream Glass Heart String Choir’s debut single “Wildfires” exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and indulge in their heartwrenchingly sweet sound.
— — — —
Connect to Glass Heart String Choir on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © 2018
