The Band Explains: Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire - 'Violet'

Scottish 7-piece Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire talk to us about the ideas behind their poignant single, 'Violet'.
‘Violet’ is a  gentle indie folk track, magnificent in its simplicity,  taken from the band's new album, ‘Swithering’ out tomorrow (November 25th).

Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire Explains:
"It’s a song written for missing people; those individuals who are in our lives and then disappear without warning. I was interested in the idea of not really knowing a person - their inner thoughts, fears, and struggles - or truly understanding what’s going on underneath the surface of a life. The tragedy of kids who have a tough time growing up and then vanish to the streets never to be seen again was the catalyst. Accordingly, it deserved an equally sparse and low key production. Like a reflection in a pool of water - or the people who flit in and out of your life - you think you know it the first time you see it, but there are hidden depths the more you look.

When it came to recording it we had a demo version of it that had been recorded with just three microphones for the purposes of speed. The one thing I loved about it was the sheer simplicity of it, especially the drum sound. It had a magic about it. I remember on the day we tried to record the drums properly for the album sessions we spent forever trying to figure out why we couldn’t replicate the feel of the original demo. We then realised that Scott (our drummer) had been using mallets and tea towels on the snare to deaden the sound. Once we adopted that approach again, we got the sound we wanted and the whole thing flowed from there very quickly. For me it calls to mind the warmth and confessional tone of Wilco’s 'Jesus Etc'. It’s a subtle song, but one that I hope gets its claws in, in the most unexpected of ways."

Feature by Karla Harris