Forging a song from nothing is no easy task, especially for one person, but it is even harder writing as a group. For Orlando pop outfit A Brilliant Lie, this tedious trial and error hits home. The band sat down with us to chat about their process of writing their hit track, “Circles For Sewing” and the joy and frustration tethered with songwriting.
We have a unique circumstance in the sense that we truly do write our music together. This song started as a riff that had some cool chords, but no real “feel” to them. After eating a lot of Chipotle…having a few arguments…and beating our heads against the wall, it finally started to come to fruition. Two of our guitarists had an “ah-HA” moment in the rehearsal space on how the verse should go, which was immediately supported by a cool rhythm of the drums. It all left ample room for melodies and layers.
When we brought this song to our producer/engineer Jason Aaron Adams, we asked for pre-production notes. Being the VERY nice person he is, we were beside ourselves when he said that the bridge in the song was…hmm…what was the word? Oh yeah!
…”STUPID.”
Yes, he said the bridge we had worked so hard on was stupid and he hated it. Worse yet…he was right.
SO…once of our guitarists locked himself in his room for hours on end and rewrote the whole structure. And, by golly, it rocked. So thank goodness for pre-production meetings, Jason Aaron Adams, and never settling for parts that are just “ok.” ABL crisis averted, ladies and gentlemen.
A person should never allow themselves to be consumed by what other people think/say. All of us in the band (and we’re sure most people in the world) have been in social situations where people become divided. For example, you might lose friends or partners…and more often than not, the gossip of the web that is spun becomes poison in the water. This song is an honest depiction of the internal struggle of someone stuck on the outside of a proverbial sewing circle, and the critical decision to put faith back in himself/herself (rather than putting energy into other people who are poisonous).
You can check out the promo video for their hit single below.
