A Song to Save Us All - New Song! (Patreon)

Hello Beastlings!

How are you doing? I hope the change of seasons is treating you well so far!

I am happy to finally present to you “A Song to Save Us All” - a song I wrote and recorded for Real Fur Film, a documentary to expose and eliminate the fur industry in Canada.
 

You may recall, in my Creator Chronicles Episode 15, I was working in Planet Studios on a new song and video - well, this was what I was working on! So, here I am presenting to you the song along with a lyric video (just so you can follow along and have something to look at while you listen), but the actual music video is yet to come. Real Fur Film had a private premiere recently and this song is intended to be a cinematic soundtrack for the film.

This song has been in the works for a long time in a lot of places with a lot of people so let me take you through the process! Just as an FYI, my solo record is metal and sounds nothing like this, but I do have a soft spot for piano ballads 🎹!

So - I first started writing this song while jamming with a very talented musician and singer with whom I have been jamming for 25 years now 😱 - Melina Soochan. We sat at her grand piano and created the music and mood for the song together in Montreal.

I wanted to cover the entire spectrum of emotions that I experience when fighting for animal rights. So I chose to have an uplifting and hopeful chorus with a contrastingly dark verse. Can you hear that shift in the song?

I also included two bridges - one melancholic and desperate, the other impatient, tense and angry. In the first verse I bring up a more rock style 4-chord progression to create a strong sense of unity. In the second bridge I have a snare drum roll to insinuate marching into battle.

I ended up writing the vocal melody for the song entirely while in the shower. I quickly grabbed my phone and sang the whole thing a cappella so as to not forget my ideas (no bts footage of that 🤣). Then, I sat down and penned the lyrics in one sitting according to the melodies I had established. Sometimes it works that way!
 

Next, I worked in Spin Studios in Brooklyn with a string quartet, world percussionist and pianist. The string players were Tom Chiu (violin), Audrey Hayes (violin), Leah Asher (viola) and Meaghan Burke (cello). The percussionist was Gilford Dudley. The pianist, David Shenton, also arranged the entire song and I can give you that sheet music if you are interested! The entire musical intro is improvised in one take by David. Knowing this song would be a film soundtrack, I wanted to include lots of musical passages. I also really like how this intro serves as a prelude. The engineer was Nik Chinboukas and he also mixed and mastered the song. We aimed for a more "analog" mix since almost the entire song was done in one take; I wanted it real and intimate. One of the more fun parts was the tuned tabla, which is that scooping sound you hear starting in the second verse!

The string parts starting around 6:20 are intended to mimic the buzzing of bees, as bees represent such an important pillar of environmental health. At 5:40 the strings imitate the cries of animals.

The photo in this lyric video was taken by Sascha Gerstner. The video was edited by Beatriz Mariano.

I hope you guys enjoy this song! It is exclusively for Beastlings here on Patreon but you can listen on your phone as much as you would like through this post! Stuff like this would literally not be possible without you so thank you for helping me make this happen!

Side note: I will be doing the VMG a bit earlier this month - most likely next week!

Thank you for taking an interest in what I do and for all your support!

~AWG