Canadian artist, CON THE ARTIST, has released a catchy new pop anthem, “All My Friends.” However, it is more than a pop anthem. It expresses feelings of loss and nostalgia brought on by lost friendships. If you’ve ever lost a friend, especially one you thought you would always be friends with, this song is for you. We had the pleasure of interviewing CON THE ARTIST, and here’s what he had to say:
Q: First of all, I have to say I really loved the lyricism and how well you captured that feeling of being left out in a friendship. What was your songwriting process for “All My Friends”?
CON THE ARTIST: I have a notepad on my phone of thoughts and topics I think could translate well into songs. A lot of time when writing music I refer to this notepad to see if there’s a thought process or topic I can expand on. This is how it went down with “All My Friends”. I showed up at Ori Rose’s house in LA and we wrote the song together after finding “Moving on from old friends” in my notepad. I think that topic also resonated with him at the time.
Ori started laying down some drums in logic and I picked up a guitar and played along. We were on fire for the session, and by the end of it, we had the whole song laid out. Ori is a great collaborator and a talented dude. It was a therapeutic one for me lyrically because the idea of losing touch with friends has been weighing heavy on my mind lately and going through the process of writing the verse lyrics was very nostalgic. I think I still have a lot more friend-themed songs in me… there’s a lot to unpack there.
Q: Can you walk me through the production of this song?
CON THE ARTIST: Production-wise, it’s a pretty simple song. The drums are what makes it in my opinion. I’m not sure if you can hear it but there are a lot of breaths in there, almost like breathing new life, which was a happy accident. When Ori was programming the drums he breathed quite loudly at one point and I thought that was intentional, it wasn’t but it worked well with the beat so we recorded him breathing percussively on the iPhone and put it in. I think it adds a lot of life to the movement of the drums.
The guitar and bass were played by me and were just a DI tone with a logic amp simulator on it. There’s very minimal synth on, which I like because this song feels organic. It’s definitely on the pop spectrum but we kept most things organic so that it would translate live well.
Then Ryan Worsley mixed it and took the song to new heights. What I perceived as a little bedroom lo-fi pop track turned into this angsty pop-punk mix by Ryan, and I couldn’t help but love it. He definitely poured some love and magic into it.
Q: I see you were recently accepted into the highly coveted CFC Music Residency and the Screen Composer Academy where you will be working with a 34-piece orchestra! How do you feel about this? And what are you looking forward to the most and hoping to learn from this experience?
CON THE ARTIST: So far it’s been great! I’ve been in LA the whole time on zoom sessions with my other talented cohorts, but next week I relocate to Toronto for a few months to meet them in person and collaborate on music together. I think it’s going to be pretty transformative and will shape me musically in ways I can’t predict. Everyone works so differently so it’s inspiring and eye-opening. New questions are formed and everyone has a different way of answering them. Shout out to CFC for having me on board!
All I know is that I’m going to be coming out of the other end with a lot more to say and with a better knowledge and skills on how to say it. I think it’s going to push me further as both a pop artist and as someone who’s pursuing the art of orchestration.
Q: What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?
CON THE ARTIST: So far, experiencing my music in the same theaters I would go to as a teen to watch my favorite films. I composed music for the feature film “Portraits from a Fire” with my friend Andrew Dixon. That whole process was pretty great, and I’ve just started on my journey as CON THE ARTIST so check back with me in one year and I’m sure I’ll have something to add to that world.
Q: If you could perform at any venue in the world right now, where would you love to perform? And why?
CON THE ARTIST: I would definitely play Red Rocks Amphitheatre no doubt. I don’t care what I have to do to get there but that is it! As far as venues go, that looks like the big cheese.
Q: What advice would you give to up-and-coming musicians trying to hone their craft and gain some visibility?
CON THE ARTIST: Create. Create every day. Whether it’s a demo, or a video to go with that demo, just do something. Don’t think of yourself as just a musician because these days you have to be so much more. I’m still figuring that out too. Thanks for having me!
Interviewed by Zoey King
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