New Song Out Today
The story behind 'Letters to a Lost Poet'
Hello lovely readers - It’s been a hot second but I’m writing to you today from my London flat to tell you that my new song ‘Letters to a Lost Poet’ is out now!
I wrote this song with my wonderful housemate Liam (Yaatri) at a time when we were both feeling very lost in life and music. Liam had set up a little home studio in the box room in our flat, keen to begin recording and producing his music in a new way whilst I was struggling to find the inspiration to write songs alone. So one Autumn afternoon we sat down to try a write a little ditty together. In an attempt to remove the pressure that often plagues creativity, we affectionately dubbed the project ‘song in a day’. And everytime we second guessed our direction or whether it was good enough we would return to the question ‘is this in the spirit of song in day?’. Following this ethos, we recorded it the same day in that little room with Liam playing the rubber bridge guitar and me singing freshly mumbled lyrics.
Over the next 6 months it stayed stewing on Liam’s hardrive before we decided that - in the spirit of song-in-a-day - that perhaps we should throw caution to the wind, take a leaf out of the pop girlie’s playbook and just release the nice song that we had made without attaching it to some greater project or purpose. So here we are. I can’t profess that it’s been easy to approach a release so casually (I am realising, albeit belatedly, that I struggle to deal with anything casually) but I feel very grateful to Liam for taking the reins in many ways and for distilling the general emotional bamboozlement of music down to what actually matters: sharing music that you made with people who might enjoy it. Writing this now, a few celebratory beers deep in the lovely home that we wrote it in, I am so happy that you get to hear it. And so lucky to have a communtiy of friends and musicians who have helped make that happen. More on this next week but an honourable mention must be made to the inimitable Sam Hobbs (Rebel Elements), long term friend/collaborator/mentor to both me and Liam who co-produced and mixed our song in his beautiful studio in Ilkley.
On that note ! The artwork is a picture of me prancing around outside that studio a few years ago whilst making a Yaatri record. West Side Story meet Yorkshire.
The song itself is a love letter to all my favourite writers, poets and songwriters who have kept me company and made me feel seen over the years. I was reading a wonderful book at the time called ‘A Life of Own’s Own’ By Joanna Biggs which documents the author’s encounters and resonances with nine different women writers at different turning points in her life. It got me thinking about how some of the most profound, validating interactions I’ve had are with writers who I will never meet or, in many cases, are long dead and what a wild and gloriously human notion that is. Also, since trundling down the creative path myself, however tentatively, I have become aware of how comforting it is to read the inner thoughts of those who share in my sometimes inexplicable instinct to write my way through life’s strangeness and pain. In many ways this song is an expression of my gratitude and awe for those who came before us, who had the courage to write it down and, in doing so, continue to hold the hand of those trying to create now.
There is a quote in Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys that sums it up better than I can:
The best moments in reading are when you come across something — a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things — which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.
In the same vein, the title Letters to a Lost Poet is a nod to Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet which had provided light and passage to so many fledgling artists over 100 years later. It is also a response to the unsettling realisation that many of these great writers led short and deeply troubled lives and trying to envision a world where artists and writers with this predisposition for or exposure to great pain can be better protected, understood and supported.
In many ways this song is the letter I wish I could write to them in the knowledge that they would understand how I’m feeling. And to thank them for all the guidance and comfort their writing has provided (not to mention all the delicious word they’ve taught me).
I hope you like our little subtle bop of a tune (one of the most upbeat to date you could say!). Some upcoming gigs below if you fancy bopping along irl.
The Curtain Call
Written and Performed by Rosie Miles & Yaatri
Produced by Yaatri and Sam Hobbs at Rebel Elements
Mastered by Raretone Mastering
Vocals, Lyrics: Rosie Miles
Guitar, Bass, Fender Rhodes, Synths: Liam Narain DeTar
Drums, Programming: Sam Hobbs
Graphic Design: Jonathan Lodder
Cover Photo: Felix Bertulis-Webb
Meet you on the stage
26th May - London @ The Finsbury supporting Harry Nye
28th May - London @ St Pancras Old Church supporting The Man The Myth The Meatslab
11th June - London @ Next Door Records 2 supporting Baba Ganoush
I hope you’ve been enjoying reading the inner-ramblings of my mind over the last 4 months. Writing has always felt like a far away dream and it’s been so rewarding to dip my toe into this new medium (and I’m loving it!). This year I’m on a quest to try and support myself more through my music and writing in the hopes that I can dedicate more time to both. In light of this, I have switched on a paid subscription to this weekly blog which you can sign up to below if you would like to, and are able to, support me on the slightly mad mission to being a full-time artist. I have lots of ideas for this year, including interviews with my producer Sam Hobbs and other artists who I look up to (and I would always love to here your suggestions for other posts!). Thanks for being here.