By: Staff
With a unique styling and terrific production, we were introduced to “Love Is Going” by Wesley Harper.
Ethereal, deep, and imaginative, this song opens with a space-like glow. Teases of drum fills fill the soundscape while Wesley Harper enters with a soft and just above whispery vocal display. We absolutely loved this opening. It felt like a Broadway play with the character and landscape being introduced. This created such a mind-captivating and enthralling experience, making us wait for the momentum to build. We are told lyrics like, “Try to recognize the changes now is what you want,” are the introspections that make you want to find out the true meaning and emotion of this singer. With a dramatic drop immediately following these lyrics, Wesley Harper is clearly going a distance to make sure that this song is drama-filled and hypnotic. He enables an audible sound to create a visual display in our minds. Bold and more powerful now, the singing is growing alongside the musical arrangement, creating a sense of angst. When you get to the middle of the song, the change in tone and keys at the pianos and synths are an absolute win for us. We loved this part so much. Creating a sort of solo piece with the pianos and the drums and then synthesized ear candy exposes us to the mind of this profound artist. “I couldn’t mask the heartache,” we hear him with despair. For us this was magical because the music absolutely matches the lyrical explanations. This song would undoubtedly be fantastic in a movie or television show as sync support, especially at the end, creating an even more drama-filled experience for the viewers.
We were even more impressed when we read that Wesley Harper plays all the instruments on this song, except for drums which are played by Dylan Nowik and Jon Notar. Outstanding performance from all these artists!
Wesley Harper's “Love Is Going” is a fantastic song for those who would like to really immerse themselves in a listening experience, creating a journey with this song. We suggest you stream, playlist, and share this today.
You can find this on any major platform and see below for links to take you straight to some of the profiles.
Powerful Quotes about this Artist:
”Wesley Harper's album "Fun Pain" is a practice in following your gut and embracing uncertainty. Through its intricate sonic shades and lyrical sincerity, the album feels both familiar and strange, like déjà vu or a contorted reflection in a store window. It honors the moments that make up the chapters of our lives without weighing too heavily on them and instead, molds them into patient retrospectives, ready for something new.” - Sammy Maine
“For me, human intuition is the closest I get to feeling a spiritual connection,” Wesley says. “I think we all have that capacity to reach out in front of ourselves and pull something that's true.”
Wait, there's more!
We caught up with this exciting and emerging artist for:
“The Cage” Music Blog, to talk about music and learn more about them.
Here’s how it went:
Begin Interview
How long have you been making music?
For absolutely my entire life… but in earnest for the last 8–10 years. In 2014 I told myself I would put music over everything and it has changed life significantly for the better.
We read your description of this song and it was intriguing and also the most unique description of a song (and we have heard many) we have heard to date.
You said: "Love Is Going" is a pop song with a bit of the 80s, a bit of nostalgia, and a celebration of the changes that grow the moments of flowering and fruiting in our lives.”
Can you please tell us more about this for us? We really want to hear about it in more detail.
Haha sure! It’s maybe my version of pop, just because of the chorus – I wanted to make a song that felt euphoric and big musically, but was actually about sadness or doubt or reexamining a personal reality and questioning it. That’s fun for me I guess.
On the emotional and lyrical side, there’s a feeling you get when you know something is changing — because you look and, actually, it has already changed. You have already changed too. This song lives inside that moment: premonition, realization, and reflection, and it’s all happening at the same time. It’s beautiful, too, because change is the essential nutrient in the soil that feeds growth. That’s the only way you will grow a flower and then the fruit.
Someone leaked to us (we have people! - jk - maybe?) that you have a music video you are working on or may have completed. What can you share with us about this?
That’s true, it might actually be out by the time this goes live. It’s on YouTube and directed by my friend Lucy Bohnsack in her photo studio in Catskill. She told me to be a character who is way too into making a performative video for himself … and then all of a sudden, I realize the whole set is wrong and I need to rearrange it immediately. So that’s who I am in the video.
We read you played all the instruments on this song, except for drums which are played by Dylan Nowik & Jon Notar. Can you give a breakdown of what they are and tell us something about the recording process and any obstacles they present?
I played synths (DX7, Juno), piano bass, electric guitar, and technically a drum machine on this track. Dylan played the acoustic drums on the verses and Jon played the drums on the bridges and the instrumental section. It was fun to piece this one together – the biggest challenge was the transition out of the instrumental and back into the 3rd verse. There was a lot of playing with the drum and percussion stems to get it right.
What emotion do you feel inspires your writing process the most, ie sadness, worry, happiness etc.?
Nostalgia, struggle, emotional distress – just generally having something to process and work out on the inside.
Can you walk us through your songwriting process and where the inspiration comes from for this latest project?
When I write a song, I’m usually playing a guitar or a piano. I’m singing or humming along and when I get to the right chords, I starting singing words. They usually don’t make sense, but as I keep repeating the words start to take shape and take their place. It feels like making a sculpture, just refining with each repetition. Inspiration for Love Is Going came from Paul Simon’s Graceland, for sure. I love that album. It’s a perfect blend of sounds you’d never think of together – pure songwriter melodies and lyrics with full production and some of the best fretless basslines there ever were.
Who decided on the theme for your artwork, and what inspiration and intention did you want the observer to absorb from it?
I decided on the artwork, once I saw some film photos we - myself and my girlfriend, Stephanie (Ibarra) - got back from a trip to California. We were going to the beach and I had had an intuition to pack my fancy clothes on that trip. We took a few photos against this beautiful rock formations, a few against the sea, and I was loving the feeling of holding a purple flower I’d found sitting there on the beach. It just looks like the music, to me.
Where do you create your music, i.e., in a home recording studio or with a producer? How do you finalize your finished work, ie self-mixed/mastered or another source?
Nowadays I record music in my home studio, but Love Is Going and the other songs from my album were recorded with Jon Notar at Elbow Room in Saugerties, NY. I learned so much from Jon, and from my friend Dylan Nowik who mixed the album, that it propelled me into recording and producing seriously for myself and others. I still like to have help though – it’s more fluid and fun to have someone there helping to turn my ideas into reality.
The album was mastered by Josh Bonati in Brooklyn, and Dylan and I went to the session. He has an incredible room and it was special to hear the album in there.
What was the most challenging part of bringing this project to life, from the initial idea to the final recording?
Getting all the sounds out of my head and into the tangible sonic world, and then blending them together. There are a lot of immediate transitions in this song and the rest of this album – I spent a lot of time making them work and achieving the effect I was going for. I’m very happy with it now.
Where do you currently reside and what is the live music venue scene like there?
I live in Catskill, NY and the music scene here is incredible. I’m in two other bands – Camp Saint Helene and Gary’s Dream – and am releasing music across a few projects right now. At least half of my friends are musicians and it’s just an exciting time to be around each other.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I’d say keep going, and try to have fun while you grow.
What instrument do you not play, but wish you could conquer?
Cello.
What is your favorite song to cover?
Crayon Angels by Judee Sill.
End Interview
Check out this latest release and listen to more of Wesley Harper on Spotify & YouTube.
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