Behind the song: forces of nature
Forces of nature is a song that I wrote in two places. In my bedroom at the piano… and on the floor of my shower. I wrote the piano part first, which helped to build the structure for the song. Once I had written the piano part I started playing with lyrics and came up with the first verse. The opening line was originally different from what we landed on. This is because as I kept writing I wanted to really lean into these over-dramaticized, not too on the nose, super visual lyrics.
“I remember when I fell for your big, brown eyes”
As I continued writing, I quickly realized that the opening line didn’t fit with the style of the rest of the lyrics that I had written. It didn’t feel as profound and dramatic as the rest of the first verse. That’s when I decided to pick a piece of nature to describe the color of the eyes rather than just naming the color outright.
“I remember when I fell for your willow eyes
and your incandescent smile
You brought me back to life
- I can’t quite explain it
With you I lose track of time
and the seasons go by and by
I’m taken by the tide
- I don’t need saving”
I came up with the pre-chorus and chorus for this song where I come up with most of my best ideas… sitting on the shower floor during a late afternoon everything shower, lost in my thoughts. I came up with the melody and started playing with different lyrics until I finally landed on the ones that you hear in the track today. Once I had those I knew that I couldn’t forget them, so I sang them over and over through the rest of my shower before getting out and frantically running to the piano to play along with what I had written and record a quick demo.
The first demo of the song had no bridge, but right away I knew it needed a big, dramatic guitar solo. I played the song for my partner before sending it to family friend, fellow artist, and mentor, Dave Barrett for feedback. His only feedback was that it needed a bridge, which I disagreed with at first, but now we know how wrong I was to disagree with that.
I left the song as it was for a while until, once again, I returned to the shower… and we all know what happens when inad is alone with her thoughts in the shower. I was singing through forces of nature when I came up with an idea for an ascending bridge leading into the guitar solo. I sang it over and over in that shower, changing lyrics until I landed on the ones you hear in the final track. I wanted it to oppose the rest of the song and explore what might happen if all of these beautiful and magical forces of nature stopped “nature-ing.”
“And if the clouds get heavy
I trust that we won’t fall
You hold me sweet and steady
- we make the perfect storm”
Once I had written the bridge, I recorded a final demo at the piano and knew the song was done. I also knew that I wanted to record it as soon as possible so that I could share it with the world.
I brought my song, forces of nature, to producer Justin LeBreck at Waysound Recording Studio in Fox River Grove, Illinois and we set to work. The production for this song is heavily inspired by Take Me To Church by Hozier and So It Goes… by Taylor Swift. Big, dramatic, synthy, and emotional.
One goal that I have with any media that I create is to make the audience feel something. Whether it’s a song, a piece of visual art, a dance, or any kind of writing or performance, I always want to make the audience feel. I think that Justin really created a soundscape that makes the audience feel something when they listen to this song.
When it came down to the guitar parts, Justin brought in the incredible Kevin Spielmann, who wrote all of the guitar parts and came into the studio to record them. Working with this group in the studio was such a fun experience as we really dug in to sculpt the sound into what you hear on the track today.
I want to thank everyone who was involved with making forces of nature what is is today in any way shape or form.
Thank you to my partner, who inspired the song. You are my favorite topic to write about and the easiest topic to write about for me. You inspire me every single day to get better at my craft and to step out of my comfort zone to try to achieve something bigger than myself.
Thank you to my family friend, fellow artist, and mentor Dave Barrett for always giving me valuable feedback and advice on my music and always being honest with me about it.
Thank you to Producer Justin LeBreck for taking the time to work with me and using your talents to make the song come to life. I love the creative process and working with you at Waysound. It is such a welcoming space where artists can come to create, grow, and evolve.
Thank you to guitarist Kevin Spielmann for taking the time to write incredible guitar parts and for taking the time to come to the studio to lay them down for the song. The guitar parts really rounded out the soundscape and created such a soaring energy throughout the song that was so necessary for what we were trying to achieve.
Thank you to my mom, dad, and little sisters for always being so supportive of my journey as an artist and for always being honest with me about my music and my lyrics. Also, thank you for being my best friends. I have so much love for you all.
Thank you to anyone who listens to and enjoys this song on any streaming platform. Music is meant to be shared and bring people together. Thank you all for being part of this journey with me. I really appreciate you taking the time and energy to listen and enjoy and feel.
