Coming off the back of a string of stunning indie-folk singles, Drucker’s recent single ‘The News’ is an ode to the complexity of the human condition, wrapped up in the guise of a song devoted to the trials and tribulations of love. Whilst staying true to his arresting darkly earnest sound, ‘The News’ is an effortless evolution of Drucker’s artistry and is setting the stage for more upcoming releases from the rising artist. We talk to Drucker about all things ‘The News’…
Hi Drucker! We absolutely love The News here at Urbanista. It’s such a pleasure to interview you! The News is an evolution of your dark indie sound. Can you elaborate on how your sound has evolved with this single?
If anything, it’s an extension of what I’ve done, just a bit more coherently executed. My favourite thing to do in any “art” I work on (and if you’ve seen me live it can be attested to). I like to play with dynamics. I think I read an article once in Time magazine talking about the sound war, compression and the general cocaine usage of most 90’s musicians, all trying to be as loud and in your face as possible. What they lost though is the concept of a sound floor (the quietest a song gets), and the willingness to play softly. In my head, that’s where all the emotion comes from, on the sonic side at least. Feeling something grow, swell, become layered and textured is incredibly emotive. The Backseat Lovers do this incredibly, I’m just a poor imitation.
Long answer to a short question, I just got more comfortable playing with that.
Thematically, The News explores the trials and tribulations of love and the search for fame. What inspired you to combine these themes, and how do they reflect your personal experiences?
It’s just an ego trip. I had this thought that I wouldn’t be good enough to be written as a major international news story if I died young, I’d be lucky if I made the middle of the obituaries. While honest, that obviously doesn’t feel good to say out loud, that you want your accomplishments to mean something, right? So I flip it into a love story, that now is a genuine love story for everyone who hears the song. Just not for me.
Can you talk more about the lyrical meaning of the song and what you hope listeners take away from it?
Whatever the hell they want! At this point, people listening to the lyrics and not just vibing out is a very new and surreal experience for me, in all honesty.
It’s amazing that you wrote ‘The News’ whilst waiting outside the studio for a session and just messing around! How did the spontaneous approach to writing The News influence the final outcome of the single?
Don’t tell anyone, but it’s actually how most of my songs get written. Like in all honesty, about once a day I’ll be able to sketch out 60-70% of a couple of verses and a chorus in one run through. Sometimes they come out a little more fleshed out than others, but regardless, getting it to 100% is always the toughest part.
What is the Montreal music scene like?
It’s a hell of a place to write music. I really only want to be a storyteller, at the end of the day, it’s kind of why I got into all of this. Music is just the medium I’ve chosen:) The good thing is in Montreal it feels like I’ll never run out of stories. I’ll stand at an intersection for 20 minutes, and easily witness the greatest Greek Tragedy at least once a day. It makes my life easy, if you can hear yourself over the construction…
Looking back on your musical journey so far, what have been some of your proudest moments or achievements? And looking ahead, what are your goals for the future?
We’re looking back already? Christ, I haven’t even taken the training wheels off. Wait until you see me with no hands!
Thanks for chatting with us Drucker! Can’t wait to see what else in store with your upcoming releases.
Listen to The News on SPOTIFY HERE
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