Katie Crutchfield, singer and songwriter from Alabama, breaks down how she made the song 'Fire'. She discusses its inspiration, the collaborative process with her producer and band members, unexpected musical elements, and crafting a tormented yet warm vibe. The episode also includes a reading of the lyrics and announcements for a new show.
Pushing through writer's block can lead to breakthroughs in creativity.
Collaboration with producer and band members is crucial for a successful creative process.
Deep dives
Overcoming writer's block
Katie Crutchfield from Waxahatchee discusses her experience with writer's block and how pushing through the difficult moments can lead to breakthroughs in creativity. Despite feeling a sense of quota and fearing she would never write another good song, she found that persevering and continuing to work on her music ultimately resulted in writing the song 'Fire.'
The creative process
Katie shares insights into her creative process for making the song 'Fire.' She reveals that the melody came to her during a trip to Birmingham, Alabama, but she was initially too distracted to fully capture it. When she started driving back home, she repeated the melody and began adding lyrics. Katie gravitates towards electric piano for this album, as it allows her to focus on melodically exciting sounds rather than being constrained by her knowledge of guitar chord progressions.
Collaboration and recording process
Katie highlights the importance of collaboration in her creative process, specifically with Brad Cook, the producer of the record, and the band members. While recording the song 'Fire' at Sonic Ranch in West Texas, the team intentionally avoided overthinking the song, creating an unspoken agreement to leave it for later. They experimented with analog instruments such as electric piano, drums, and guitars, adding layers of synths and organs to create the desired poppy and uplifting energy. Katie also reflects on the ease and vulnerability of her vocal performance in the studio.
Katie Crutchfield is a singer and songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She’s been making music under the name Waxahatchee since 2010. Her fifth album, Saint Cloud, came out this past March. Pitchfork named it Best New Music, and The Guardian called it the best album of the year so far. In this episode, Katie breaks down how she made the song “Fire."