Chasing Echoes EP - behind the songs
a little background for my 2020 EP, Chasing Echoes
I started working on another post for this blog back in September, and then suddenly just… stopped. I had this whole thought process going and then it left me, but I felt like I needed to finish that post because that was the one I was working on, so I never started another.
As it turns out, I can actually work on multiple things at once. That’s what I do with everything else, so why wouldn’t it work with a blog?
One of the things I’d considered posting was backgrounds for some of my projects. Obviously I kinda spaced on that being an option for a while, but I just saw this thread on Twitter that had gone through this old interactive website a band had up for the release of one of their previous albums, and it was really cool. It was quite interesting to see what the songs were about and what the designs on the cover meant, how they connected to each song.
Seeing that reminded me that I’d wanted to do something similar, but it also reassured me that people do actually want to know this stuff. I love reading about the backgrounds behind the music I like.
I’m sure not enough people listen to my music for this to be a significant post, but it’s one I want to do, and I hope that someone might find it interesting.
About the EP
Chasing Echoes was my first music release. It came out on October 20th, 2020. I wasn’t planning to release these particular songs, nor was I planning to release an EP. It just kind of happened.
At that time, I was still regularly writing music, and most of the songs I wrote would get posted on Facebook (and eventually YouTube, you can find every single song I’ve written prior to 2024 on my music channel). In June of 2020, I posted Divided, and it got a pretty big response. No other song has ever gotten as much of a reaction as that one did. That reaction made me decide to release it, and the EP was built around that.
I chose to release Divided because it was the overall fan favourite. For the other 4 songs, I contacted my 4 biggest listeners at the time with the question “What’s your favourite song of mine?” and the answers given were added to the list.
None of those people knew why the question was asked.
The songs chosen were then put in an order that tells a story, as explained in the EP booklet.
I took these five songs and put them together, placing them in an order that came naturally to tell a story. The booklet claims that this EP follows the story of a person seeking hope. That is one interpretation, but I think it’s a very simplified one. I also think it was dulled down for publication.
But I’ll come back to that when we go into the meanings behind the individual songs.
First: the cover art.
The cover is split into sections, each representing a different song.
The background colours used have no significance to the songs, they were chosen simply because I like them. The darker colours used for the backgrounds in each section are my favourite shades of each of those colours (there are also two lighter shades used in each section, but those have no real meaning at all).
About the songs
Handfuls of Butterflies
The story starts with a person seeking hope
This song is about finding hope and happiness and seeing the beauty in the smaller, less appreciated things.
Its section on the cover art features cupped hands and a butterfly to symbolise the title.
Smile
To meeting someone who means everything
I wrote this song about someone really special. I wanted them to know that I thought they were great. Just... totally wonderful. That their smile was the brightest thing I'd ever seen.
Its section on the cover art features a smiling face.
Hearts Unplugged
The worry of losing a person who meant so much as they start to drift away
This was written around the time I stopped talking to a specific friend. It was before we stopped talking, but not long before. It was about knowing an end was coming to the friendship, but hoping it wouldn't really get there.
The song tells a story of a friendship that started out good and strong, but faded over time. It starts out with the realisation that the friendship is fading, and that there was a chance that it had been fading for longer than they'd realised. There comes a point where one friend still wants to save the friendship, but they're starting to see that the other doesn't seem to be bothered by the deterioration and is making no effort. Perhaps the friendship didn't really mean much to them. And finally, the first friend realises that they're fighting for something that isn't worth the trouble. Something that may only be doing them harm. It sucks, but they have to let go.
Its section on the cover art features a heart with a cord attached, much like an electric guitar, but the cord has fallen to the ground instead of being plugged into the amp next to it.
This could also have been done as a wall socket, but I liked that “unplugged” could be interpreted as acoustic. Perhaps it makes more sense the other way, but I like this one.
Need You
Understanding that sometimes it’s okay to lose someone. That sometimes we’re better off without them.
I wrote this after falling out with a specific friend. We’d been going through a rough patch for a while prior to this point, where almost every interaction would end in an argument.
Often, when we’re really close with someone, it can be difficult to recognise certain faults or bad habits, things they do that damage us in small & subtle ways that slowly build up to a bigger problem over time. This song was about taking a step back and recognising those problems, understanding the less obvious ways people can mistreat us, and having the strength to let go and not let it go on.
Take your heart back
I don’t need it anymore
Take your love back
It was only ever yours
This section specifically refers to how some people view friendships not as something to be in together, but as something to gain. I don’t need your love because it was never for me in the first place, you were only looking out for yourself.
This song is about escaping a long-term friendship fuelled by manipulation, dishonesty, and abuse.
Its section on the cover art features a mouth with little x symbols floating above it. The song references lies several times, and the x symbols represent this. X means something is false or incorrect, and the mouth means something spoken.
Divided
Also realising that sometimes it can be hard to lose someone, it’s okay for us to admit that it’s hard, and some part of us may always feel and remember that loss.
This song is about the realisation of betrayal by someone you thought you could trust. It contains references to other experiences that shared a similar theme on a smaller level, but it is largely about believing you’ve been welcomed into a safe space only to find that it’s not safe, and that the person you trusted with your life is not who you thought they were.
It’s about the distortion of relationships when that recognition sets in.
Am I overreacting?
Should I brush it off and remember them as they were before?
Has it always been this way and I simply never noticed?
Is it better to stay and hope it’s an isolated incident, or get away before it gets worse?
Believing something about a person for many years only to discover they’re something different can lead to a lot of internal division, split or mixed feelings, and questions about both yourself and the other person.
It’s also about feeling trapped in a situation you have no control over, being stuck somewhere with no way to escape and everything is spiralling and you can’t do anything about it.
Its section on the cover art is the boundaries between the sections, representing the division and separation of different pieces.
I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a while, and it was a fun post to put together.
Let me know if you’d be interested in a similar post about another release (poetry, stories, or music). I’m also tempted to do posts doing a full line-by-line breakdown and explanation of some of my songs, but not sure if anyone would want that, or which songs would be most interesting. Maybe one day.
Where to find Chasing Echoes
Amazon Music ♫ Apple Music/iTunes ♫ bandcamp ♫ iHeartRadio ♫ iTunes
Ko-fi ♫ Spotify ♫ Square (CD) ♫ YouTube Music ♫ YouTube