Everything Again feels both polished and deeply personal — what was the emotional spark that set this album in motion?
I’d written a few songs before I’d set my sights on making a full album, originally thinking about an EP. Then, I went through the biggest breakup of my life, the end of a nearly half-decade long relationship, and that led me to write the title track – “Everything Again” – ruminating on what it means to move on, love, loss, independence, everything. Contained within the writing of that song were so many emotions and questions that I knew I had to expand on them all and build it all up into this album.
You handled nearly every aspect of the record yourself. How do you balance the roles of songwriter, producer, engineer, and performer without losing perspective?
If anything, I find balancing those roles easier because I’m doing everything. From the first lyric written to the final mix, I had a singular focus on how I wanted the song to sound. For most of the songs on the album, while I was writing them, I had a really good idea of what I wanted the arrangement and production to sound like and having the experience and know-how to take it through every stage myself meant that the vision never wavered.
The title suggests repetition and renewal — what does “everything again” mean to you on a personal level?
A lot of what “everything again” means has to do with falling in and out of love, repeating the “process” only to be heartbroken, then finding the courage to try again and again. But, beyond that, that idea permeates every part of our lives, not just the cycle of relationships but of getting back up when you’re knocked down, in every sense. It’s about redemption, perseverance, self- discovery, courage, and chasing whatever dream you can’t let go of.
Covering “God Only Knows” is a daring choice. What drew you to that song, and how did you approach reinterpreting such an iconic track?
“God Only Knows” is one of those songs that has a strong case for being one of the best songs ever written. It’s harmonically brilliant, lyrically simplistic, yet has so much emotional depth and room for interpretation based on perspective; those are all things that drew me to it, and the lyrics and message fit so beautifully into the theme of the album. It’s a song I’d never actually sat down to learn until a few years ago and when I did, it didn’t sit super nicely in my vocal register. So, I tried playing on a baritone guitar (played and sounds just like a regular 6-string guitar, but it’s tuned a fourth lower, making it sit in a register between guitar and bass), and all of a sudden, the entire arrangement and tone sprung into my mind, and I knew it had to be the first cover I ever recorded. Covers are always tricky things, because you want to honour and respect the original song but make it unique enough to warrant actually recording a different version. It’s a fine line to balance, but I think it’s something I managed to achieve in a way that serves the album and honours the original.
Several songs chart the emotional aftermath of heartbreak. Did writing and recording them feel more cathartic or more challenging?
Writing those songs, tracks like “Everything Again”, “Forget You”, and “I Don’t Know Why I Miss You” were definitely more cathartic than anything. The songs on this album, I think more than any other songs I’ve written, were the easiest to write because they came from such a personal place, a place that was so freshly vulnerable. They were songs that felt like they had to be written just so I didn’t have to keep bottling those emotions up, and the process of writing them was absolutely therapeutic.
On the flip side, tracks like “Feels Like Falling in Love” radiate joy. How do you shift gears emotionally when creating songs that sit on opposite ends of the spectrum?
This album does a lot to show how tangled up those conflicting emotional states are, or were for me at the time. A lot of the album speaks to guilt – the guilt of moving on so quickly from such an intense relationship and finding genuine true love. I struggled a lot with that while I was writing the album and while I was experiencing those emotions; I’d been so devastated by this breakup but so immediately, without even trying, found my soulmate. Those two emotional states back-to-back gave me some kind of whiplash and I think this collection of songs illustrates that. I think it also goes to show that love and heartbreak aren’t quite opposites, sometimes they sit together on the same bench, holding hands and reminiscing about what was, what is, and what could be.
You’ve cited legends like Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin alongside modern influences like Tom Misch and John Mayer. Where do you see your sound fitting within that continuum?
I hope that, by drawing from such net of influences, past, present, and everything in between, it helps my music to remain relevant to listeners. I find with a lot of modern music, artists tend to chase trends because that gets listens, but it means that much of today’s music dates itself very quickly. When I’m writing music, I want to it to stand up to the test of time and still be enjoyable or still mean something to people 50 years from now. I hope that maybe someday someone cites me as a reference for their own art, I think that would be a beautiful continuation of the cycle.
Having gone viral with “The Muffin Song,” how do you view the relationship between lighthearted, unexpected hits and more serious artistic work like Everything Again?
I grappled a lot with the success of “The Muffin Song” because of the effort-to-success ratio compared to what I definitely would consider more serious artistic work. Everything Again took almost 4 years to make and “The Muffin Song” took about 4 days, so it took me a while to change my perspective on it, but now I’m really happy having them sit together in my discography. I think they show me as a whole person; yes, I’d like to consider myself a serious artist making deeply emotional and important art, but I also am a silly guy who writes stuff like “The Muffin Song” and sings made up songs like that to myself all day and loves a good lighthearted moment. Every song I release is a piece of myself I get to share with the world, or a snapshot of a moment in time, so I’m really happy that people get to share in all the different aspects of who I am, all the way from “The Muffin Song” to “I Don’t Know Why I Miss You”.
You’ve relocated from Canada to England. How has that move influenced your music, creatively or emotionally?
This album wouldn’t exist had I stayed in Canada, so the move definitely influenced my music in every aspect. It’s not massively different from living in Canada for the most part, so it doesn’t feel drastic a lot of the time, but experience life on a different continent, with all new people and places, has really opened up my perspective on a lot of my life. And the process of moving my entire life across an ocean gave me a lot of confidence in myself, something that I think has carried over to my art and the way I write music. A lot less second- guessing, a lot more taking chances, and a whole new way of looking at life.
Looking ahead, what do you hope listeners take away from Everything Again, and where do you see your artistry evolving next?
I hope listeners resonate with that theme of getting back up after a fall, whether that be in love, loss, or anything else, and I hope they find some comfort in the music, knowing they’re not alone in anything they do. I’ve already started writing the next album, and I’ve got an acoustic EP on the way in October, so I keep looking for ways to improve on what I’ve done, trying to make each project better and more exciting than the last. And I think my music organically evolves along with me – as I live more of my life I keep finding more stories to tell and experiences to share, with the continued hope that there are those out there who will find joy or comfort in hearing them.
