Musicians are perhaps the only artists who have to live with their old work night after night. No matter how much they want to move on, they have old songs that do the job better than anything new. Better then to make every song a credo, something that you can stand behind every night, something you truly believe, regardless of how many times you sing it.
Nick Jaina started recording his forthcoming album CREDO in November of 2019 at Fluff and Gravy Studios in Portland. Nick had been living mostly in his car, and then hit a cow with his car in Utah, and was without any possessions. He used the instruments in the studio to piece together these songs, one by one, testing mics, trying guitar pedals. Then a flood hit the studio and a pandemic hit the world, and Nick was in his home with no one else around the finish the job. “Take the guitar solo myself? Well, okay, if I must!”
He arrived at CREDO, an album and a statement of belief. None of the instruments are vying for attention because they are all nodes of the same beast. As are we all, fighting and laughing in separateness until we remember we’re all one. This we believe. This is our credo.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the new single “Reverse Consciousness.” Backed by a gentle beat and the light yet moody tap of the piano, Jaina lays down heartfelt vocals that dwell on escapism with vivid lyrics. Jaina seems to write from a literary mindset, and this short and sweet morsel of indie folk showcases his unique strength as a songwriter.
Jaina describes the process and inspiration behind the song:
“Reverse Consciousness” is a song that came out of a song-a-day challenge with a couple friends, Stelth Ulvang of the Lumineers and Aviva LeFey. A random word generator came up with the title, and the song had to justify it. I pictured a complete reversal of everything a person has ever held to be true, reversing even the fabric of their consciousness as a way to get out of the complicated trauma of living in this world. I’m interested in how simple a song can be, how much space can be left inside it, and still have it contain a signature that makes it unique.
LISTEN:
