Single Release: "here" by New Lo-fi Project Weary Woodsman

By Rivka Yeker

Salem Iyabode’s solo project weary woodsman explores eery, lo-fi, bedroom emo that feels reminiscent of 2012/2013 bands like teen suicide or coma cinema and early Have a Nice Life demos. I got to speak with them a bit about their new single and what to expect from them. Follow their Bandcamp for more updates!

Where did you gather inspiration for "here"?
My inspiration for “here” came from a desire to share music on my own with the resources that I have. It took me a while to gather all the gear to record myself. The studio could still use a bunch of upgrades just to get to a more rounded level and even then, it may never be enough. But a lot of the music I'm influenced by was made with minimal gear or a sample as the main instrument and some vocal harmonies and maybe another instrument on top to differentiate itself from the source material. 

This song feels/sounds like grief encapsulated. How did you want to incorporate it into the song?

I just felt like I had a lot to say to myself or whoever it may feel relevant to. My focus lyrically was pulling from lived experiences. Putting them all into one place allowed me to speak to it all at once and move on.   

“A lot of the music I'm influenced by was made with minimal gear or a sample as the main instrument and some vocal harmonies and maybe another instrument on top to differentiate itself from the source material.“

Will your record sound consistent with "here"?

That is a little hard to answer. I am interested in writing a couple of pieces in this same space but I don't want to be boxed into this sound. I want to incorporate more live instruments as well as occasionally using samples. As I grow, the project will too.

This reminds me of some Have a Nice Life + Giles Corey demos - haunting and personal. What made you want to create music like this? is it different from what you're used to?

I used to do choir when I was in the 7th and 8th grade. It was mandatory. The school was catholic too so we occasionally sang catholic religious songs which, to me, were more haunty than gospel music. Because of this, I had an understanding of how group harmonizes worked and how the different ranges of voices were categorized (vaguely). I was also obsessed with the empire carpet commercial jingle when I was a kid so I had a favorite group harmony to kind of pick from. I did my best to draw from that and make my own choir. This kind of music is different from what I am used to because I mainly play in bands. I am currently playing bass in Tunnel, a kratrock inspired band ,(album released 12/18) and Shrike, a punk band. The main difference being I don't have band mates who I can actively bounce ideas off of and a band can definitely keep you accountable to working on material. Maybe I'd have my pieces done faster if I had a band with me but for this, I prefer to work alone. At least for now.