The Heartstrings Project Finds Freedom in Motion with Reflective Single “30”

Built from journal entries and deep conversations, The Heartstrings Project’s EP ‘Into the Wild’ is an evolution of the band – offering an intimate, intentional collection that acts as a heartfelt distraction from everyday life.

follow our Today’s Song(s) playlist

Stream: “30” – The Heartstrings Project

There’s something meditative about cycling through New York’s Hudson Valley.

Along the winding roads, rolling hills and shifting light, the noise fades away and the sound of your breath and pounding heart become the rhythm that gives your thoughts room to move. For Luke Wygodny of The Heartstrings Project, it’s not just a scenic ride – it’s a sanctuary where honesty and intention come alive.

It was on one of those rides, reflecting on entering his thirties, that the chorus of the song aptly named “30” came to him: “And I’ll hold my ground / And I’m never gonna give up.”

It became the heartbeat of the indie folk band’s latest single, and a powerful reminder to keep moving – through doubt, change and whatever lies ahead.

“I was just riding, breathing, thinking about my dad, thinking about getting older, and words came out. The motion gave me permission to say something honest,” says Wygodny.

That kind of honesty is a through-line on Into the Wild, The Heartstrings Project’s latest EP, a five-track collection that unfolds as a reminder that staying emotionally present is a radical act in a distracted world.

Built from journal entries, voice memos and conversations among close friends, the EP leans on intentionality as its compass, moving from the deceptively upbeat “The Wild” to “Hello,” written in the aftermath of a school shooting – not as a political statement, but as a deeply human response to the aching need for real connection.

That sense of connection isn’t just in the lyrics – it shows up in the way the band works together. After more than 10 years as a group, The Heartstrings Project is grounded in mutual respect and a shared creative vision. The artists on Into the Wild are founding brothers Luke and Elias Wygodny, who are joined by Marina Pires, Dan Tracy, Morgan Parker, Nyssa Grant and Sam Quiggins. Each member brings their own perspective and skill set, whether it’s strings, vocals or arrangements, and that mix is what shapes the band’s eclectic sound.

Following their debut album Shadow People, the group has continued to evolve both sonically and personally. Into the Wild reflects that growth – intimately and intentionally. As they head back into the studio to record two new songs, Atwood Magazine sat down with Luke Wygodny to talk about the making of Into the Wild, the healing power of live performance, and the freedom he finds – on and off the bike.

— —

:: stream/purchase Into the Wild here ::

:: connect with The Heartstrings Project here ::

— —

A CONVERSATION WITH LUKE WYGODNY

Atwood Magazine: I cannot get “The Wild” out of my head! For me, that song is a cure for depression, as dramatic as that sounds. I love that song!

Luke Wygodny: Oh my God, thank you! I’m so happy that you connect to it and said it’s a cure for depression. Even though it’s an up-tempo vibe, the lyrics are about being trapped by screens and society, so I’m happy that you heard it the right way.

The whole EP sounds deeply personal. Can you tell me where you were mentally and emotionally when you were writing this?

Luke Wygodny: The EP is all about being trapped inside your mind, instead of being able to see beyond it. All these songs are me trying to understand the world.

The way I’ve always liked to write since I was a little kid, is journal entries and bringing them into music. This whole EP is trying to understand how we live in a world that seems to be so isolated. It’s also me trying to understand romantic relationships, and in turn trying to understand my relationship with the world.

I was talking to another artist recently who said something very similar. His label is giving him pressure to create content, and he said, “That’s not why I got into this.”

Luke Wygodny: We love playing live, but our violin player, Nyssa, also directs videos. And we had a long talk about finding that pure art form, like when we were in high school running around with the big cameras. There’s art in the art making of social media as well. We’re trying to find our artistry in that.

The Heartstrings Project's Luke Wygodny © 2025 — The Heartstrings Project’s Luke Wygodny © 2025

Do you feel a responsibility as an artist to have a message today? I see artists who get political get slammed by fans who want them to keep to the music.

Luke Wygodny: I think good art gets slammed, and good art gets loved. I don’t feel a responsibility to have a political message – I feel a responsibility to have a truthful message, and if that’s political, it’s political, if that’s about someone who I love very deeply, that’s that.

The whole point of the EP, the reason why it’s called Into The Wild – it’s not about going into the country, it’s about going into social media and not knowing how to live in that world – in the wild, another world that we all live in now. So it’s all about that and staying truthful, remembering who you are so you don’t get caught in the vortex.

I also thought it was about cycling, because I know you’re an avid cycler and I thought it could be your reprieve from the craziness.

Luke Wygodny: Yes, it is! And the song “30” I wrote on the bike and it’s all about my relationship with getting out of my head and also my relationship with my dad. And it’s all about motion, because you’re not on your phone and you’re moving forward. It’s a saving grace for me. Music is too, but also working out and taking care of my body. I’m happy that you caught that because that’s a part of it, too. It allows me to live in the wild, because I have another outlet.

You said performing live is one of your favorite things. I’ve never seen you live. Can you explain that experience?

Luke Wygodny: Wow, that’s such a beautiful question! When you come to see our shows, that’s when I mostly feel like myself. It’s hard to explain, but there’s an energy with the audience. I saw James Taylor’s brother, Livingston Taylor once. I was in the back row of the theater, and for some reason after the show, he came up to me and said “it’s our job to heal the audience, and it’s their job to heal us.”

That’s how I feel about it. It’s a window into who we are. The live shows are everything – they’re very vulnerable. We tell stories between songs, we’ve known each other for so long, and everyone is so talented. It’s a very communal feel. There’s a healing that takes place at our shows that’s really important.

I’m going to flip it around. When you’re on stage and you see people in the audience singing your lyrics back to you, probably with a lot of emotion, what does that feel like?

Luke Wygodny: It’s emotional, and it’s new that that’s happening, because even though we’ve been playing for many years, we’ve had a slow start. We never had that thing that went viral. We have loyal fans and friends. It almost feels like the song’s not ours anymore when that happens, which is beautiful, because it becomes other people’s mantras.

I imagine you’ve made some strong connections with your fans. Is there something someone’s said about how your music has impacted them?

Luke Wygodny: There’s a lot of them. It’s more after the shows when someone comes up to me or anyone in the band and they just say “thank you.” I just think people are thankful when people are around a band who is truthful and unapologetically themselves. And there’s no bells and whistles – we’re all acoustic instruments. It’s all organic – cello, banjo, acoustic instruments – the closest things to the heart; the heartstrings project.

I want to ask you about the name of the band. It feels like there’s a lot of significance there.

Luke Wygodny: The Heartstrings Project didn’t start as a band, it started as a project that my brother Elias and I started when we lived together in New York City. And we’d invite friends over and no matter what field they were in – poets, musicians, doctors – and they would talk about what tuned their heartstrings. And then it turned into a band, and we keep that intention – what tunes your heartstrings.

To get back to the EP, were there any songs that surprised you how they came to be, how they came together or how they turned out?

Luke Wygodny: “Waiting” really resonates with me because I spent a lot of time waiting for things to come. It could mean so many things. The bridge of that song “I didn’t sleep the night that you were there” which gets more specific about a type of relationship. There’s a lot of trust issues in this as well. And I think the core intention behind all of these songs is how do we live in a world where we’re constantly being distracted from our truth?

I’m really curious about “Liar” and where that came from.

Luke Wygodny: That’s an interesting one because it’s really like three songs in one. It starts off the Heartstrings’ way – it’s very journal entry, but then it’s a shift. And when we play it live, we really exaggerate it live, and Sam, our cello player, holds a note and then we dig into “I just lied to you.” I recorded that song in one take – I turned on my voice memo on my phone. When I got in the room with the band Morgan brought the song to another level with her explosive drum part. It’s about not being able to say what you want to say to a person; it came from a phone call that I had with a friend and I couldn‘t explain how I was feeling on the phone, so I did it in a song after.

As a collective, how do you balance making sure everyone has a voice, but it sounds unified?

Luke Wygodny: I think we all have different perspectives, and I think that’s why it works. But we all share the same intention – being truthful. I’ll bring the songs to everyone and then we will create an arrangement together. For example, on “Liar” there’s this back and forth with the strings which is Nyssa on violin and Sam on cello.

And side note: I did two touring productions – one was American Idiot and the other was Once. I met Nyssa doing Once and Sam doing American Idiot. And one of my favorite gifts of the world was to connect them musically. When they play together, it is so mind-blowing.

On “Liar,” there’s this relationship they have – almost like the strings are voices. There’s something beautiful hearing all these different lines and swells, and everything is intentionally placed. Dan, who plays the piano, repeats this one note and it’s so brilliant. Everything is so intricate. Someone came up to me at our last show and said “I love your arrangements.” And it’s so wild to me because I don’t think of them as arrangements; I just think of them as a conversation amongst life long friends jamming together and finding each other through the music.

What do you most want people to know about the band or this EP?

Luke Wygodny: It’s a cry out to stay engaged and I hope a gift for people to remember who they are.

— —