The Story Behind ‘East Of The Sun’
Album Story Series: Chapter One 'East Of The Sun'
I released my debut album ‘East Of The Sun’ on Earth Day, April 22nd 2023.
Fragments of that album had been coming together for years, long before I even knew I wanted to make an album. The title though had been a concept at the back of my mind since the early creation of my 2018 EP ‘Tales From The North.’ It was a seed of an idea, waiting for the right conditions to grow.
I knew I had a story to tell, but I didn’t yet know what that story was. In truth, I didn’t know until I’d finished making the album. Even now, I wonder if it’ll continue to evolve forever.
The Birth of the Album
As time went on and I got to know myself more, and I formed a deeper connection with my creative self, songs began falling into place and the sight of a bigger project came into view. Before we knew it, ‘East Of The Sun’ was born.
There are 12 songs on the album and each one has a story, carrying its own meaning. I encourage listeners to make their own interpretations (that’s part of the fun!) but I also want to offer curious minds the chance to peel back the layers and see how the album landed on planet Earth.
Welcome to the ‘East Of The Sun’ Series
One of the reasons I set up this Substack was so that I could take you by the hand and lead you further into the MDH universe and I’m so very much looking forward to giving you an insight into the album and what it means to me.
This will be the first instalment of the ‘East Of The Sun’ series and I’d love for you to follow me and see what awaits.
Let’s start at the very beginning, with the title track ‘East Of The Sun’.
CHAPTER 1: EAST OF THE SUN
“Tell me the way and I will seek you
Guided by the wind, the moon, and the sun
I will break the curse upon us
When I reach the East of the Sun.”
I always knew the title of the album would be the opening track. Don’t ask me how I knew, I just did. I felt in my gut that it was right to set the scene of the record with the very words that sparked this project.
However, the interesting part (I think), is that while this 90-second introductory song is the beginning of the album, it was actually the very last track to be made. The final piece of the puzzle, if you will.
Why write it last?
I don’t know if other artists write their album intros this way, but for me, writing this track last was for specific reasons: the first being the track listing.
I knew I wanted the introduction song to flow seamlessly into the first full-length track, but I didn’t yet know what song that was going to be. I still had to figure out which tracks would fit where, and what arc the album would take. Track listing is tricky for me because although I want it to flow sonically (the ups and downs in all the right places), I needed the narrative to thread through, too.
Secondly, what was the story I was going to tell? I wanted the intro sequence to allude to the rest of the record, but how could I do that without the full narrative? I had to wait patiently for it to reveal itself.
By the middle of summer 2022, we had more or less wrapped up the album (the bulk of the recording process took place across the summers of 2021 and 2022 because recording an album doesn’t come cheap!). ‘The Garden’ had finally been set in stone as the first full song. Now I had the context I needed (key and tempo) to align the ‘East of The Sun’ intro with ‘The Garden.’
The Making of the ‘East Of The Sun’ Intro
Nearly all of this album was recorded and produced with my friends, Matt Cotterill and Joel Atkins, with my drummer, Jake Greville and I as bright-eyed, eager co-producers, while my long-time pals Liam Morgan and Jake Steele accompanied us with electric guitar and live bass.
Since the making of ‘The Wishing Tree’ way back in 2019 (which would become the first single from the album), Jake and I had soaked up as much knowledge as we could from Matt and Joel, grateful for their willingness to share their techniques and tools and bounce creative ideas with us.
Both consciously and subconsciously, we picked up skills along the way, excited by this sonic world that had been opened to us. We experimented throughout the lockdown of 2020 and 2021, in the very early stages of the album, and when we were finally reunited with Matt and Joel, it became a real team effort.
When it came to making ‘East Of The Sun’ as the opening track, however, it was solely produced by Jake and me. I love that it is now the first song on the album, reflecting how far we have come as creators.
How The Song Began
For a while, I toyed around with the idea of having an a-cappella introduction so that my voice was the first sound you heard as you entered my world. I still actually like that idea, but we’d done something similar on ‘Tales From The North’ EP and the ideas I was coming up with weren’t solid enough. Maybe I put too much pressure on myself to create something perfect.
We quickly dismissed the a-cappella vocals and instead felt inspired by an eerie synthesiser.
“More eeriness,” I said. “Let’s make it darker!” I cried!
We wanted swirling soundscapes, haunting textures and ominous vocals that set the tone to ask listeners if they dared enter. Jake began painting with a series of sounds and I went away to reflect on the album narrative, revisiting the very inspiration behind it. (But more on that another time - I don’t want to reveal too much just yet.)
We met back in the middle.
“Listen to this,” said Jake.
“What do you think of these lyrics?” said I.
And back and forth it went.
Writing The Lyrics
I have to admit that the specifics of writing a song are always blurred to me. I become so caught up in its very creation that suddenly the song appears and I have no idea how it got there. The details are a little hazy about how this track came together, but I do remember Jake helping me solidify what the story should be.
“Can you tell me the way then, and I will seek you — that I may surely be allowed to do!” is a quote that I will not dwell on too much simply because it is part of a much bigger story that I am not yet ready to tell, but this is what most certainly helped shape the lyrics. (Sorry to be ominous.)
Looking back at my notes right now, I’ve stumbled upon the line: “I will not wait to be rescued”, but I can’t decipher whether this was a lyric I wrote or another quote I was inspired by. Another note I wrote says: “The heroine doesn’t wait to be rescued, she goes in search of something (the planet, humans) to break the spell.” This became the overarching theme of the album.
I remember I wanted the words ‘east of the sun’ to be in the song itself in honour of the album title, and so in some ways I worked backwards to make it the final line.
I bounced the ideas with Jake, taking heed of some of his input. There are simply 4 lines to the song, no more and no less. We agreed that said enough. It is, however, repeated twice. Like a chant. Or a spell.
Otherworldly Creations
Then came the building of instrumentation. We looped the pulsating synths and added a simple rhythm to drive the song into a more fervent energy. We wanted to gradually increase the tension and urgency, but keep the instruments minimal and my vocals low and eerie in melody.
We liked the idea of the vocals sounding somewhat bewitched so we layered my voice with a vocal effect that gives the right amount of “oh, she’s been possessed by a demon”. An otherworldly voice from above - or perhaps from below! Who knows where this creature resides?
As the song builds in intensity, harmonies are intertwined with cinematic swells and sound effects that mimic the movement of the howling wind. Hypnotic and spell-like, we strived to give the song a sense of mystery about what is yet to come, opening a portal into the rest of the album. I love how the final word I sing is a long whispered breath, as if a ghostly spirit is telling you a secret. Is it a welcome or a warning? Either way, we hope it leaves listeners intrigued to step through the portal to hear more.
🧚♀️
Being the sole creators of this track, we learnt a lot about production and how to make it fit the bigger picture of the album. I’m proud of how it turned out and I hope that when you listen to it, you are transported to a place you don’t really want to leave.
Until next time,
Your friend,
Meg x
I loved reading about how the lyrics developed. I’ve played around with poetry for years and know how difficult and frustrating it can sometimes be. You’re ace!!