Foto-© Peter Larson

In den letzten zehn Jahren ist S. Carey hinter den Kulissen zu einem der fleißigsten Bienchen der Songwriter-Szene geworden, ist der Songwriter, Produzent und Multi-Instrumentalist doch einer der unverzichtbaren Kollaborateure innerhalb der Bon Iver-Gemeinschaft, hat am Sufjan Stevens Album Carrie & Lowell mitgewirkt, mit LOW und anderen Songs geschrieben und produziert und sich auch unter eigenem Namen mit diversen Alben eine stetig wachsende Fan-Schar erspielt.

Heute erscheint das neuste Album Break Me Open des in Eau Claire lebenden Musikers, der die neuen 10 Songs in der herausforderndsten, wie von Veränderungen geprägten Zeit seines Lebens geschrieben hat. Das Album zeigt, wie Carey den Schmerz über das Auseinanderbrechen seiner Ehe, das Ableben seines Vaters und das Aufwachsen seiner Kinder verarbeitet, nur um mit einem überwältigenden Gefühl der Dankbarkeit und Großzügigkeit daraus hervorzugehen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer Pandemie erschütterten diese Erfahrungen von Trauer und Verlust ihn bis ins Mark und ließen ihn sich fragen, wer er war und wohin er gehen wollte. Doch mit dem Versprechen, präsent und verletzlich zu bleiben, ging er weiter nach vorne, fand heraus, wo die Angst schwelte, und kanalisierte diese Gefühle in die Musik. „Change is good. Fucking hard, but good. For many, to say the last two years have been difficult would be an understatement. Stress and uncertainty about life in general, family, friends, kids, even Mother Earth has grown exponentially. There is a heaviness to human consciousness right now, a darkness at the surface. Break Me Open is about love – past, present, and future. It’s about fatherhood – the overwhelming feeling of deep love for my kids and the melancholy of watching them grow up right before my eyes. It’s about accepting my faults and wrongdoings, exposing myself, and trying to know myself better than I did the day before. But above the darkness, it’s a message of hope, honesty, and growth. It’s a call to be vulnerable: Break Me Open.” Für uns hat S. Carey noch mehr unter die Oberfläche seines Albums geschaut und ein Track by Track mit allem Wissenswerten über die Songs geschrieben!

1. Dark

This song was either going to be first or last. It starts the record in a heavy way, but it sets the tone. I remember driving around and blasting a demo I made with a couple cheap synths and some blown out drums and feeling like this was something special. I began to imagine a long outro where the song dissipates into a beautiful chorale with brass instruments. Thematically the song is about the deepest love a parent has for a child. The biggest fear then of any parent is losing a child. So this song is contemplating that feeling and facing my fear.

2. Starless

This was co-written with my bandmate, Ben Lester. He came up with this haunting Prophet 6 patch and I love all the layers of other sounds that come in and out, whizzing by like insects in the night. The lyrics are inspired by the stress that climate change plays in our lives as humans. Modernity vs. power of nature.

3. Sunshower

While much of the record is about heartbreak, Sunshower is about heart-open, heart-hope.  That wonderful feeling of rain falling with a sun breaking through. The opening of the sky in water and light.

4. Island

This is a song for my daughter. Another co-write with Ben Lester. I love the way the synth and electronic drums marry with acoustic instruments like upright bass, strings, horns, and piano. I also really dig how each section of the song comes together at the end in an almost symphonic way.

5. Waking Up

This is the most laid bare track on the record. Intimate instrumentation, delivery, and lyrics. The song is about loss, change, heartbreak, and waking up to a new reality.

6. Desolate

This was one of the first songs we worked on for this record. I feel like it’s cinematic in a way. I get a lot of imagery and visions when I listen to it. I like the juxtaposition of kind of dark abstract lyrics with more driving kick drum pulse.

7. Paralyzed

Here’s another song from a parent’s perspective – watching your kids just grow up way too fast. For me, as a touring musician, I spend a lot of time away from home so this is me dealing with those feelings.

8. Where I Was

This song was the last one to take shape on the record. Another one about grief, but a little further on in the process, towards the “bottom.” I love the sonic landscape here and the effected vocal just kind of lives within the track in a beautiful way.

9. Break Me Open

The title track from the record. It’s a call to be vulnerable. Not only does it take a lot of vulnerability to write and share an album like this, but more importantly it became like a mantra of how I want to change my life and the way I live. I remember writing the lyrics sitting under a huge oak tree in the forest, wondering what was next for me in life.

10. Crestfallen

I actually had this basic synth idea and melody laying around for years, and finally found a home for it. Last track vibes all over it. I’m really happy with the vocal performance on this one and the arrangement – it’s patient, epic, and hopeful. I love how it grows to encapsulate the record as a whole, and ends on a more upbeat light note.