Boston-based emerging artist The Soldier unveils a profound new single, ‘Napalm Skies’, marking a significant evolution in his musical journey. Born out of introspection during the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘Napalm Skies’ is a poignant reflection on life’s uncertainties and the quest for personal fulfilment. We chat with The Soldier about this latest incredible release…
Can you share the inspiration behind your latest single, ‘Napalm Skies’? What prompted you to explore themes of resilience and living without regrets in this song?
When I wrote Napalm Skies, I was experiencing a buildup of despair and anxiousness. I had no choice but to deal with those feelings because they were so overwhelming. The song just flowed out of me, almost like my body knew what I needed to write so I could get past that buildup. I experience that a lot, where I need to write a song to work through some emotional breakthroughs. I’m so grateful I have music to process things like that.
It’s amazing that you produced ‘Napalm Skies’ yourself. What was your creative process like for this track, and how did you collaborate with Logan Ryan on the mix and master?
Napalm Skies started with a vocal melody and this folky acoustic melody that I wrote in 2020. A couple of years later I was playing around with bossa nova beats and I realized the Napalm Skies chords fit perfectly with a bossa groove. Once that happened, I knew the direction I wanted to take to complete the track. I used synths to add a thoughtful atmosphere, electric guitars to expand the song’s energy, and bass to double down on the song’s rapid movements. I loved collaborating with Logan cuz he was so respectful of the song’s demo form while evolving it to a higher level. We took several weeks to go through a bunch of drafts and versions, exploring how we wanted the elements to fit together and how they were presented in the soundscape. One thing that’s very important to me is making sure the original idea of a song can still be felt in the final version, and Logan was the perfect guy to make that happen for the mix and master.
Your debut EP, ‘Stories From The Dungeon’, introduced listeners to your musical journey. How has this EP shaped your artistic identity, and what lessons did you learn from its creation?
Stories From the Dungeon was a huge deal for me. Ever since I was a kid I’ve always just played with a guitar and my voice and tried to take a safe route with my lyrics, but I’ve got all these other instruments I can play and ideas that I feel need to be created, which is where The Soldier comes from. There was a very specific time in my life where I needed to break free from my old way of doing things and move onto what I knew was best for my growth, especially as a musician. So Stories was essentially a transition from my previous musical expression into a preview of how I’m going to do things from now on. It’s still got a simpleness to it that fans of my old stuff will enjoy, while introducing a new world of sound that I was stepping into. It was basically like “Here’s what The Soldier is all about. Here’s a preview of the types of themes and emotions I’m going to explore and the sounds that I’m going to build upon.” With the release of Napalm Skies, that transition period is over and I feel confident in my artistic identity to go places that I would have been scared to go before.
You’ve mentioned that music helps you navigate life’s stages. How has your personal journey influenced the evolution of your sound, especially in tracks like ‘Napalm Skies’?
Yes, music has always been a way for me to navigate life and understand myself. It’s been a way for me to escape the world and to overcome it. My personal journey is very closely tied to my artistic journey, and it’s been the most important thing to me to figure out who I am and my reason for living. Napalm Skies isn’t just a song to me, it’s an achievement that tells me I’ve been walking the right path and that I should be hopeful about the future.
What role do fictional narratives, like ‘The Soldier’, play in your songwriting process? How do these stories complement the themes and emotions conveyed in your music?
I use an ongoing fictional narrative to expand upon the ideas expressed in my songs. It gives me another way to realize what’s going on in my life and it makes it easy for me to reconcile the seriousness of life with the need to enjoy it. The themes and emotions of The Soldier are quite intense when you really take the time to examine them, so having a fictional narrative where I’m able to expand upon them provides me with a way to convey those intense themes while also using fiction to prove they’re able to be identified and navigated.
Thanks so much for talking with us The Soldier!
Listen to Napalm Skies on SPOTIFY | APPLE MUSIC
Follow The Soldier: Website | Instagram | Spotify
