✨It’s a sad kind of magic to see you again
All this time it was a question of ‘when’✨
Ohhhh my god, guys. This is the last single, before MY ALBUM COMES OUT NEXT MONTH! And it really is one of my favourites off of the album. Go listen to ‘Juan de Fuca’ now and add it to your music collection:
Listen, love, add it to your playlists, share it online, go go GO!
‘Juan de Fuca’ tugs at my heartstrings. It’s about an earthquake that happened in Seattle in 2001.This is another inspired by a Nick Zentner lecture, the Nisqually earthquake of 2001. As I sat and watched the livestream of the lesson, what struck me was all the comments being left by other online spectators: people who had actually lived through the earthquake and remembered it. There were so many interesting details: builders dropping their tools and rappelling to the ground, swinging chandeliers overhead, corn fields rippling like ocean waves.
At the time I was doing my 100 Tiny Songs challenge, and I ended up writing a song about the earthquake:
50 miles from Juan de Fuca
i get a call about my sister Jane
She says her angel fish are dying
The water’s jumping up and down the tank
I go outside to the parking lot
The telephone poles are out there swaying
There was nothing I could do to stop it
I wasn’t even praying
I wasn’t even praying
From this point on I knew I wanted to write a proper song about the earthquake, but wasn’t sure how to do it yet.
✨ See This Song Live at my Album Launch
Markyour calendars, Londonites: 6th March is when I am launching the album at SJQ in Dalston. If you know you’ll be in town then please come along! I am so excited to sing these songs live. This will be my big gig of the year, so you don’t want to miss it.
🎚️ Notes From The Studio
Here’s the first voicenote I ever made of this song:
You can hear that the final section has slightly different lyrics. Here’s both versions, together:
Original line 1: Gone in a second, I guess there’s a thread
Final line 1: It’s a sad kind of magic to see you again
Original line 2: A thousand things are going round in my head
Final line 2: All this time it was a question of ‘when’
Original line 3: Something once hidden was falling away
Final line 3: I never knew why, oh I’ll never know how
I felt like the original version hit the nail on the head too directly with the song’s theme. ‘Something once hidden was falling away’ is basically the central issue of the song: a relationship and a tectonic plate, slowly and imperceptibly breaking down. I’m glad I workshopped this part a bit and came up with the final version. ‘It’s a sad kind of magic to see you again’ is probably one of my favourite lines from this song.
🎧 Listening Kit
If you haven’t listened to the song yet, let me get you in the mood. Here’s your listening kit:
🎟️ Buy Your Tickets to the Album Launch!
Calling all Londoners, London-adjacent and people who might be in London around the 6th of March:
🎉 Comments Release Party!
Welcome to the Comments Release Party. You know the drill!
Please don a party hat of your choice: 🎩 👒 🧢
Come grab a drink from our butler: 🕴🏻🍷🍸🍹🍺☕🥛
Mingle with the guests: 👯🧑🤝🧑🤼🕴🏻
And please leave a comment: 🖋️
What did you think of the song?
Have you ever experienced an earthquake? What was it like?
Have you ever bumped into ‘the one that got away’ at an unexpected time or place?
_________ (unrelated personal opinions, thoughts and whimsies)
Typical Forever: Album Status
🔓 Single 1:🏛️ Earthquake Room [status: unlocked]
🔐 Single 2: 🏔️ Cascade [status: unlocked]
🔐 Single 3: 🌊 Coulee City Rodeo Queen [status: unlocked]
🔐 Single 4: 🗺️ Juan de Fuca [status: unlocked]
🔐 Album: 🌋 Typical Forever [status: 50% unlocked]
The full album comes out on March 7th! Mark your calendars!!!
Want more? Check out some ways you can support me & my music:
get a ticket to the ALBUM LAUNCH SHOW in London!
buying my music on Bandcamp
forwarding this newsletter to a friend!
and if you haven’t already, subscribe:
Til next time! Be good,
Olivia 🌈✨🏔🎶
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