Spencer William
I interviewed Spencer William for his first single and I must say I’ve been amazed by all the things he’s done since then. His first single was already very promising and I knew he was going to deliver more incredible songs. And he did. I’m amazed by his production and songwriting skills. And on top of that, he’s an insane singer. Today he’s releasing his debut EP titled Little Wars and it’s a brilliant project collecting his past releases with one new song titled “Good Graces”. It’s the ballad the project needed. It’s emotional, beautiful and epic. Little Wars explores important topics such as mental health and it’s another reason why your should listen to this EP :)
Spencer William is incredible artist and I hope more people will get to hear/see his talent. Congrats Spencer on this amazing project and on this incredible song “Good Graces”.
Hi Spencer, how are you? What have you been up to?
Hi Virginie! I’m doing really well. By the time this gets posted, I should have just gotten my second dose of COVID vaccine, so I’m really grateful that the vaccine is becoming more and more available for everybody. Since we last talked, I’ve been doing 5-6 (remote) co-writing sessions a week, focusing on creating social media content, and doing marketing/promotion for the songs I’ve released over the past five months.
You've just released your debut EP Little Wars - how does it feel like to release your first project?
I feel really accomplished, and I think I’ve learned a lot through this process. After producing this entire body of work myself, conceptualizing and overseeing the creation of the visuals for the EP, and learning how to release and promote music as an independent artist in the age of streaming services and social media (during a pandemic, no less), I feel much more confident as a creative professional. I started this process thinking that it could be an interesting and educational experiment to release music, unsure if I would want to again in the future. I’ve found it really enjoyable though, and I’m already thinking about what my next project could be.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this EP? When did you start working on it?
Well, the first song that ended up on the EP was written in fall of 2018, but I didn’t seriously think about creating/finishing and releasing a body of work until COVID lockdown happened in spring of 2020. These days I don’t often write by or for myself, so I have to really like an idea or emotionally need to express something for me to take the time to to build a song entirely on my own. Most of the songs on this EP started as rough production loops that I was creating for fun and practice, and as half-written song concepts that either felt too personal to pitch to someone else, or that nobody else wanted but that I still thought were worth writing. Releasing an EP had been in the back of my mind for years as an occasional brief consideration, but once COVID quarantine started I decided to actually go through with it. I finished the recording and production on the EP over summer 2020, and then began releasing songs in late October 2020.
What did you feel when writing "Good Graces"?
‘Good Graces’ was written in the first writing session I did after I moved to New York City, and It was the first time I’d ever written with my now good friend Matteo Scher (who also played the piano on the track). I don’t know if he could tell that day, but I was so depressed. I had moved to Brooklyn a couple of months previously, straight out of music college, and I felt totally lost. My whole social circle that I’d had at school had dissolved, I no longer had the day-to-day external structure of a school schedule, I was living in an unfamiliar city, and I didn’t have a job. On top of all that, I really struggle with perfectionism (as I think a lot of creatives do), and I was constantly questioning my worth as a songwriter/producer/singer/creative. I felt beaten down, like my opinions and taste and thoughts were useless and totally invalid, and that I had nothing to offer to any writing room. I don’t remember much of the session honestly, only that I brought the title in as a possible concept, and thought that it could be an interesting metaphor for never being able to measure up to my own standards. Matteo managed to pulled all of those feelings out of me that day, and helped me mold them into ‘Good Graces’.
Could you describe the production process for "The Worst"? What was the inspiration behind it?
The Worst’ had an unusual creative process for me, because I created a rough, full instrumental before I even wrote the melody and lyrics to it. I typically start with a song concept first, and write with an instrument, or a short and very simple instrumental loop, but ‘The Worst’ came to me backwards. Pretty much the moment I started playing with the droning synth that runs through the majority of the song, I knew that I wanted the song to be an “introduction song” to whatever body of work it ended up on. I also wanted to write a song that investigated where my pessimism comes from, because it’s so much easier for me to find and focus on the negative parts of my life and myself. I remember wondering if that was a product of the way I was raised, my genetics, chemical imbalances in my brain, a side effect of the career I was choosing to pursue, or some combination of those causes.
What was the hardest part about making this EP? And what was the best part?
Producing this whole EP by myself has definitely been the most challenging part of process. Production doesn’t come as easily to me as songwriting, and I also don’t enjoy it as much, but I wanted to prove that I could do it. Not to say that any individual aspect of the production process was particularly difficult, but the constant trial, error and somewhat blind experimentation was exhausting for me, and took a lot of determination. It sounds cliché, but I think the best part has been the confidence I’ve gained from this entire process. Coming from the mental state I started these songs in to the mental state I’m in now, I feel like I’ve grown a lot both personally and as a creative professional, and I’m much happier.
What made you want to name your EP Little Wars?
Little Wars was a title that I’ve had floating around in my head for a long time, but I was never quite sure how I wanted to use it. When I looked at the emotional themes and lyrical content of this EP, and also what it’s felt like to create, release, and promote it, Little Wars seemed like a really apt description. Every step of the process of creating this EP has felt like a battle, from living through the experiences that these songs are about, to producing the songs, to learning how to release and promote music, and the title really speaks to that.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
All of the album artwork for this project has been created by my partner Graham Forsman, and all the photos were taken right down the road from my parents’ home in North Carolina. Originally, I had a couple of ideas for a connective visual theme of this project, one of which was the neon shapes that are on each of the covers. However, the blurred/smeared/double vision effect in the photos was a happy accident that we discovered while experimenting with the camera’s exposure time. The black and white photos with fragments of faded color in them look like how these songs feel to me, like little glowing jewels peeking out from under a bleak, distorted experience. There’s also a reasoning behind which geometric shapes I chose to put in each song’s cover art, and I’m interested to see if anybody will figure it out.
What message do you want to deliver through this EP?
I’d like for people to take away some understanding of me as an artist, and also that it’s okay to be angry and depressed sometimes. I think we all to try to avoid and ignore emotional pain in life, but I hope I can show that good things can also come out of living through, acknowledging, and growing from painful experiences.
As an artist, what lessons have you learned since your first single release?
I’ve learned to not be uncomfortable with or ashamed of promoting myself, because no one else will if I don’t, and they’ll never do it as faithfully as I will. Also, it’s been really cool to watch people actually connect with the music, as cliché as it sounds. I think I wasn’t totally convinced that anyone would actually listen or relate to my work, and even though that’s not the only reason I make music, it has been really heartwarming to see how supportive and encouraging fans can be.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I’m not sure that I feel experienced enough yet in the music industry to really speak to this, but I will say that something like the Creative Passport that Imogen Heap has been co-creating seems like it would be immensely helpful. Going through the process of creating accounts with all the necessary services and companies that it takes to distribute, monitor, and get paid for your music has been confusing and exhausting, not to mention keeping all of my bios updated everywhere. Having a singular universally recognized digital identity as a creative professional that houses all of your credits and biographical information, and also facilitates connecting with other creatives and getting paid directly for usage of your music sounds like a dream come true.
What advice would you give to anyone struggling with mental health?
Please reach out for help, and please don’t be discouraged if the first person you talk to isn’t an ideal fit for you. There is absolutely no shame in seeking help for anything that you’re dealing with, and by doing so, you could also unknowingly be giving someone else the courage to do the same. There are so many options for therapy today (including remote services), and I would encourage anyone to try them, even if you don’t feel like you need it. You are not alone, and you absolutely can make it through whatever struggles you have.
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