#independent songwriter

[emilytaylorkelso]

The Beginnings: 2010-2011 (Bandcamp Exclusive)

I didn’t always call myself a “songwriter,” but I always wrote songs.

When I was a kid, I’d write songs around one word or phrase that would pop into my head.

When I was a pre-teen, I’d write songs about real life friendships and bullies but try to disguise them as love songs because I thought that was more relatable.

I used to feel like my songs would never be “good” because I’d never been in love or had a real relationship. But somehow I ended up capturing exactly how I felt in that transitional phase of my life, between a child and a teen, between junior high and high school, between naive and a little wiser.

Are the songs I wrote between 13 and 15 fantastic, Grammy-worthy songs? Probably not. But they’re my babies, and I have a sentimental attachment to them. So I re-recorded some of them in 2022 to give them the life and perspective they couldn’t have back then.

2010-2011 produced only 5 songs I felt like sharing (again… if you were here in 2010-2012, you might have heard the OG recordings).

Been Here All Along was inspired by my first crush and the fantasy I created in my head of how it would feel to date him.

Back to Me is about leaving junior high and being separated from the little class of 12 (sometimes 13) kids I grew up with when we moved to a bigger school the next fall. Knowing not all of those kids are still with us today made this one extra emotional.

I Try was inspired by my grandfather, whom I lost when I was 6 years old. Turns out the first death you have to deal with takes quite a while to really process.

I Fell Anyway came from my first attempt at a “relationship” when I got to high school and how it felt when it started falling apart.

When the Sun Goes Down came from the same situation, but I feel like it nails how I continue to grieve all my relationships. 

[grhmwtts]

“I’m half as bad and twice the enemy”

— “The Enemy” by graham watts

[turtwig387]

So baby, can I slide into your DM, ask how your weekend going 🎶

Kelv-X is a young independent artist from Nigeria.

He’s made a handful of songs and I believe is currently working on some more right now.

You can listen to Slide and some of Kelv-X's other music on Apple Music and Spotify!

The picture of the pink phone above was drawn by me. It's an interpretation of the lyrics and an alternate interpretation of the cover art for Slide.

(I don't know who made his cover art, or I'd credit them).

I like to imagine the pink phone as belonging to the girl that Kelv-X is talking about in the song.

You can support Kelv-X by listening to his music on Apple Music and Spotify!

More info after the "Keep reading"!

Kelv-X is a very good friend of mine.

I believe in him and I love his music so very much.

He’s living in Nigeria right now and, to say the very least, life is hard there.

I think his music is good! And music is his passion.

I would love if you go check him out!

Link to Kelv-X on Apple Music

Link to Kelv-X on Spotify

[natalyarose]

𝒶𝓃 𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 :) 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝒶 𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓃!! 🩷🫶🏼

woo! :) 'cause the world needs more sweet but cringy love songs lol

[kingaofhearts]

Forgive me fandom for I have sinned... etc. etc. ✍️

Anybody would want to see the whole thing? Anytime soon? @neil-gaiman? Goethe? God? — she said, looking up at the sky, strumming F major.

[kuhusaha]

Often, I tend to see myself as a secondary character in my own life. I wrote Stay with the same feelings of not being the one and just a temporary stop in someone's life. I believe society tends to label and box people up in archetypes and I always saw myself as the girl that the main character dates until they realise that they were in fact in love with their best friend all along. If you have ever felt that way, maybe this could become a song we cry and bond over.❤️

I would be so grateful if you could check out and support the song and the music video!🫶

[everybodysworriedaboutowen]

Here’s a secret demo before I post it anywhere else. Might come back here since every other social media site makes me want to eat silica gel

[teach-or-trav]

😂🤣🤪

[ibendotcom]

girls of the underworld, unite

[ohgeeeznotagain]

The story of FOREST FIRE: (Trigger warning: discussion of depression)

Writing a song specifically about mental health and depression is an odd feeling to me. It’s not a topic I discuss with many people - publicly or privately. But as we crafted this album about venturing into the wilderness and encountering monsters all along the way, it was obvious that one of those monsters would be your own mind. Not only that, but the bands and artists that are most influential to us have made mental health a cornerstone of their artistry. I knew we couldn’t follow in their footsteps without staring into that inferno ourselves.

“Forest Fire” is about the most vexing part of depression to me: the fact that it never goes away. Even during good times, it’s always smoldering somewhere in the background, ready to flare up and consume again at the first sign of fuel. This can make trying to manage it seem futile - why bother, if you can never ‘fix’ it?

As you let your mind smolder and burn long enough, eventually the notion of being without the fire becomes an unimaginable, even terrifying notion. Who are you if not unwell? Navigating the world without it would mean re-learning everything. Would you be able to handle that?

For me, there’s never been an easy answer to these questions, and while I’ve been lucky to have supportive hands around me, I know there are many who don’t. You never know who those people are - the fire burns hot but frequently unnoticeable on the outside.

“Forest Fire” is for all of who battle on in silence, unsure of what the next day holds. While neither I nor this song have answers, all I can offer is my story and my hope for the future. While we may fight in silence, we don’t fight alone.

“Forest Fire” is out now 🔥🌲

Video by Joe Ludwig, cover artwork by @rileyclaw

[mushroomsleepy]

Hello! I hope you're having a nice day. This is my new song on soundcloud. It's about the complicated relationship I have with my mum.

I think it's just a societal expectation or even an obligation for a parent and child to love each other. It seems like a bit of an obvious thing, but as I've gotten a bit older, I've started to change my thinking towards authority figures, really seeing them as their own conscious being; realising that they're individuals too with their own emotions, complex minds, and a whole history behind them. I've realised that they're not scary tyrants who want to rule over my life, they're just people. We're all just people.

Over the years I've really struggled with my relationship with my mum. However, I'm realising more and more that it's just as much a struggle for her as it is for me. Maybe I was just too young to understand that before, or maybe I'm just a horrible child, but I think we're finally getting to a point where we're trying to understand each other; starting to love each other for who we are and not just out of stilted obligation.

I hope this song can help anyone with a similar experience. Thank you so much for listening, it means a lot to me :)

[jannadecierto0824]

Aftermath of Us

August 2024 | All versions of my song "Aftermath of Us" are out!

⏺️ Live Version

⏺️ Aftermath of Us

⏺️ Aftermath of Us (Acoustic Version)

⏺️ Aftermath of Us (Sad Girl Version)

⏺️ Aftermath of Us (Instrumental)

⏺️ Aftermath of Us (Lofi)

[zophiadramatica]

original music from me, an indie trans/queer artist making some bedroom rock. Thank you. :) Please subscribe <3

[lucasmellone]

"Aujourd'hui" — full circle.

I painted this piece in November 2022 using oil pastels.

I had just quit my job as an architect and my only short-term plan was to rest. The pandemic was a difficult time for me, so I wanted to imagine a place I could turn to when things got tough. I wrote a song about my father—who passed away from Covid—and about the disconnection of adulthood and how friends can come and go just by mundane circumstances. So I guess both of those would represent a period of time where I just wanted to rest and hope for a better future, to reconnect my future with a past that was there and was there. Now after a few suggestions, I added another intervention on top of it that represents some of the things I was initially feeling inside while painting it. In retrospect sometimes I think anxiety does play a major role in my life for many, many reasons, and it inundantes even my hopes for a moment or two. Being able to represent different sides of the same piece makes it full circle, now.

It also makes me think of what I want of my newest (debut) EP as a music composer and artist. I really want to show people how was my personal journey during the pandemic, and I know many people felt lost during those years. Hopefully it can speak to my friends and family once it's out, in a sense.

In anyways, go get some rest.

[barnabytremayne]

Forgotten Musicians, Lost Music: A Plea for Preservation

I used to be a musician. A pretty good one, too. I had a record deal, I toured all over the country, and I had a few songs that made it onto the radio. But then, things changed. My record label dropped me, my band broke up, and I faded into obscurity.

It's been a few years now since I've released any new music, and I'm starting to feel like a forgotten musician. No one knows my name. No one cares about my music. It's like I never existed.

But I did exist. And I made music. And that music is still out there somewhere.

The problem is, most of my back catalogue is unavailable. My record label went bankrupt a few years ago, and all of my masters were lost. So, if you want to hear my music, you have to track down old physical copies of my albums or singles. And even those are hard to find.

Which is why I consider myself to be borderline lost media. My music is still out there, but it's buried deep in the obscurity. And if no one seeks it out, it will eventually disappear forever.

I know that I'm not the only forgotten musician out there. There are countless other artists whose music has been lost or forgotten. And that's a tragedy.

Because music is important. It's a part of our culture. It's a way to express ourselves and to connect with others. And it's something that should be preserved for future generations.

So, if you're a fan of lost media, or if you're just curious to hear some music from a forgotten musician, I encourage you to seek out my music. You may be surprised at what you find.

And if you do find my music, please share it with others. Help to keep it alive. Help to prevent it from disappearing forever.

Thank you.

Barnaby J. Tremayne.