It’s fair to say 2015 has been an absolute cracker of a year for US based indie-soul artist Son Little. He’s toured with the likes of Kelis and Mumford and Sons, produced an EP for the legendary Mavis Staples, played the Bonnaroo Festival and made his national television debut in the U.S on CBS This Morning, Saturday.
He also unleashed his self-titled record via ANTI- and it’s an impressive sonic journey, one that’s greatly influenced by his fascinating life.
Born to a preacher and a teacher in Los Angeles he learned how to listen and how to play music before moving east to New York and New Jersey. He dropped in and out of schools and scenes in Manhattan then Philadelphia, and there he collaborated with acts like The Roots and RJD2.
He first planted his flag as Son Little with last year’s highly praised EP, Things I Forgot, a small collection of big songs that showcased his ability to hop across genres as well as he does state lines.
To celebrate the release and to get to know Son Little a bit better he kindly gave us a track by track run down of the album which you can check out below. Give it a spin and if you like what you’re hearing pop by his Facebook page for more info.
I’M GONE
A few of my friends have passed away in the past few years it’s got me thinking about the sort of randomness of life. You play the hand you’re dealt for better or for worse. But that can liberate you do the best you can with what you have.
NICE DREAMS
Human beings can turn just about anything into a drug, including each other, which is even weirder when combined with additional substances. This song is about surfing on a cloud of smoke, two ladies, and a shotgun.
YOUR LOVE WILL BLOW ME AWAY WHEN MY HEART ACHES
Probably written as fast as any song I’ve ever made, I stood next to my dresser and slap the hell out of it. i recorded myself doing this while free styling lyrics and melody. After six or seven minutes I had the arrangement and all the lyrics. There’s even another verse I didn’t use
TOES
What do you do when you find yourself disappearing into a relationship with another person? Or when someone just pushes your buttons again and again and you feel like you’re losing your mind? Maybe you write this song…
CARBON
It’s simple: A riff and a groove and then I riff on the groove. Boiling things down to their essential elements—the mystery of our existence; an early sexual encounter; the psychology of wealth, money, and power.
DOCTOR’S IN
Is the last of four songs I wrote during a 36 hour writing/recording binge in Woodstock. I was so tired I didn’t realize that none of the drum mics were on except for one that was buried in the couch.
It sounded ridiculous, but the feel was dead, so I kept it. The mistake forced me to get creative with drum program and left a lot of space for the other instruments. I pretty much live for happy accidents like that. This was a fun song to make.
O MOTHER
I wrote this song on the day when I almost defeated to France; it’s about how, even in 2015, i often feel like I live in exile in the country where I was born.
GO BLUE BLOOD RED
My friend Martin is the garage sale king and often comes home with weird vintage instruments. One day he picked up this Blue Man Group kids’ keyboard. It had optical triggers so you don’t even have to press the keys to make sound.
I decided to make a little orchestra out of just one of the sounds and that set the tone for GBBR. Also this song is about the mind numbing uselessness of our two party political system. Blue Man Group for president.
LOSER BLUES
Every once in awhile Ilike to use a standard blues format and see what I can do to ruin it. in this case I had written the lyrics about a year in advance. I like to think ideas have no expiration date, as long as you’re willing to haggle with the muse.
THE RIVER
Is meant to make you jump and clap and stomp, without a doubt. it’s fitting called the River because once I got those claps down, everything else jet flowed very easily. at one point I hesitated because there are so many songs about a river, but then I thought— there’s good reasons for that! Where would we be without rivers?
The river itself has the power to move us and other things from place to place. it both shapes and is shaped by what’s around it. it’s a great metaphor for the veins in our bodies. in this case, the moon is full, and the river is racing.
ABOUT A FLOOD
I’ve struggled with depression a lot throughout my life. I’ve also been very lucky in a lot of ways. ‘About a Flood’ is somewhat a self pep talk— a reminder that in difficult times we must always be grateful for the good things we have. St. Peter is not usually associated with catfish, but ‘tilapia’ didn’t quite have the same ring to it.
WANTED TO
They say the road to hell is pave dwith good intentions. I’ve paved more road than the crew holding up traffic on 95 south outside of Philly. I have no doubt the construction will still be going on whenever you read this.
CROSS MY HEART
Was supposed to be lighthearted party song but when Trayvon Martin’s killer was found not guilty, a long festering anger in me found its way out. I never want to feel this way again, but I know that’s not possible.
REAL GOODBYE
I once played this chord progression for eight hours straight. Not sure why. I think I was trying to hypnotize myself. It’s probably the most ‘old’ sounding of all my songs. this is also the first song I’ve ever written using a capo on the guitar
Son Little’s self-titled record is out now via ANTI-
