Although I come from a Classical music background, I have been exploring contemporary composition for several years. During this time, hundreds of ideas, hooks and lyrics have accumulated into the ‘Voice Memos’ app on my phone. My latest pop / dance single, ‘To the Bass’, began in this vein and I distinctly remember recording the idea for the pre-chorus and hook together on my phone, before later working the verses and middle eight into the pattern. The process of creating my forthcoming track, ‘Control’, followed a slightly different pattern. This time I began with the first verse, which allowed me to advance the storyboard for the rest of the song.

Ultimately, the process of songwriting is different every time, but nonetheless follows a kind of formula, often built upon a series of pairings in opposition: tension / release, imagination / reality, low register / high register (to name but a few examples). A song which embodies such pairings not only offers variation, an essential element in sustaining a listener’s interest, but also appeals to the emotional trajectory of the listener.

“The success of a song lies in its ability both to create and expose feeling”

An aspect which determines the success of a song thus lies in its ability both to create and expose feeling, which can be transported by the song’s lyrical ornamentation, chordal sequences and instrumental patterns. I write music not only to check-in with my own thought process, but also in the hope of creating a connection - that is, to identify in feeling with those around me. The very magic of songwriting lies in the anticipation of creating a future bond between writer and listener, listener and listener.

In this creation, instinct plays a key role. An ability to trust one’s inner judgement about what gives a song a particular edge, and what the listener may describe as an ‘earworm’, is an essential part of writing. A question I often get asked, is whether I tend to reduce lyrics and melody to separable parts in a song’s construction: do I create the melody or lyrics first? My answer is that the two are often not so easily separated. I do not tend to create the lyrics without the melody, nor the melody without the lyrics. I actually find the two strands to be inextricably linked, simultaneously guiding one another in the song’s production.

Alongside writing and recording upbeat pop / dance records, I also have a soft spot for composing ballads, a number of which shall be released in the coming weeks. I often find the exercise of sitting at the piano for hours, chiming through endless chords, to be extremely useful and productive. The piano keys provide a wonderful framework of inspiration for a song’s inner workings and structure.

‘To the Bass’ already out, ‘Control’ out on 29th November

Spotify Link: https://spoti.fi/2Hrbigi

Instagram account: @lydeamusic