Relationships and all their complications make for pretty excellent music (most of the time). In her case, Mr. Little Jeans was practically struck by her song, “Forgetter.” She tells the story best, and we loved hearing about it in our latest Behind The Song:
The inspiration behind “Forgetter” was a feeling of superpowers that came over me after bouncing back from a rather devastating breakup. Meeting my perfect partner shortly thereafter and realizing how toxic my old relationship had been made me see the world through pink colored glasses in a way I haven’t experienced before. My worst case scenario had become my best case scenario. It all made me feel a little invincible and ready to take risks and try out new ideas in a way I haven’t felt comfortable with in the past.
Music wise I think I was listening to a lot of West Coast rap like NWA and Dr. Dre around that time and fell in love with a baseline from a song Dre produced on “Compton.” I don’t think I ever got a baseline like that in any of my songs, but the inspiration was definitely there.
The general writing process usually starts in the studio. With me and a producer (occasionally more people) with either an idea inspired by something (like that baseline) or just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing where it leads us. Once the basic track idea is in place musically, I like to freestyle (whilst recording) over the music to see if anything comes. If there are melodies I like, I try to piece my mumblings together until there’s a fully formed song. Once the melody is down, I write the lyrics at home where I can sit in peace and quiet and take my time with it. It can take anything from one day to a year. (I never claimed to be prolific.)
“Forgetter” pretty much came together in a couple of hours. Tim put the beat down with all the fills and everything and I jumped out of my seat (or specifically the sofa I was sitting on). It felt exactly like the direction I wanted the new music to venture. I free-styled a melody over it and then it just sat there for months… and months and months. I got stuck on the pre chorus and didn’t know how to get out of it. One day I listed back to the freestyle I did that day and found another pre-chorus that had been there all along. I wrote the lyrics over the next week or so and put the vocal down and that’s that. EZ! Kinda.