The Artist Explains: Genevieve Dawson - 'Carry It Slowly'
Edinburgh based artist Genevieve Dawson has released the final taster of her debut album - due out in September. She took a moment to talk us through the stories behind ‘Carry It Slowly’.
So, your track ‘Carry It Slowly’ is out now, can you tell us what the track is about?
I wrote the song many years ago in those early days of falling in love. All the hope and fear that come together with that and the desire to hold it carefully. I forgot about the song for a long time - then one day around the time I was recording the album in 2018, I started singing this tune and realised it was my song - perhaps in a slightly new form. I think we can keep songs with us like a sort of talisman and it seems this one is mine, it's followed me around and meant new things at different times.
Where was the track recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the recording process you are happy to share with us?
The track was recorded in a church in North London - as was the whole album it comes from. I wanted to record an album but couldn't afford to rent a studio for a whole week, so me and Rick Leigh and Rotem Haguel who worked on it with me, borrowed and built a studio from scratch in a church where we often rehearse. The acoustics were beautiful, and they had the space to house us for a whole week. This particular track was recorded in one take, behind the altar, surrounded by duvets in a little den to try and dampen some of the huge reverb of the space.
It is a little taste of your debut album, that is out later this year - what can we expect from that?
This track is the smallest of all of them - just voice and guitar. The album is really a series of goodbyes, exploring love and the memory of it. I wrote most of the songs just after a huge life change - a relationship ended, I moved homes, I changed my whole direction of life - and I only realise now that the album is sort of a goodbye and letting go of that old life. Musically it's very textured - brass, strings, lots of harmonies in with the core band - and I think stylistically it swings between a contemporary folk songwriter sound and something bigger and broader than folk which could sit with artists like Laura Mvula who writes such rich arrangements. Because of the way it was recorded it has a very 'live' feel to it, and in that way I think sounds very alive with all its imperfections.
There is an almost poetic vibe to this track, do you read poetry? If so, who are your go to reads?
Thank you! That's high praise. I do read a lot of poetry, especially when I'm writing. At the moment I'm reading Adrienne Rich, I just treated myself to her collected works. I always return to Rumi - cause he reminds me that we've had the same concerns for hundreds of years, which is comforting.
What do you hope your listeners take from this track?
A little comfort and soothing in these deeply frightening times - and perhaps some courage to let themselves feel what they feel.