Songwriter Jordan Wilson has been crafting affecting indie-folk for over a decade as part of the duo Georgia Fair, releasing three albums in the process – 2011 debut All Through Winter, 2013’s Trapped Flame and last year’s The World’s Awake.
You can hear fragments of Wilson’s earlier work in his debut solo single, ‘Totem’, those traces mostly emerging through its earthy textures and reflective, old-world feel. But there’s also something distinctive about the songwriter’s first outing on his own, which we’re premiering here at Music Feeds before it officially arrives next Thursday, 10th June.
For one thing, Wilson brings a noticeably darker songwriting style to the pop sensibilities that still underpin the track, with ‘Totem’ landing someplace between Aldous Harding and Jason Molina’s more brooding cuts.
There’s also a sparseness here that grounds the track – gently plucked acoustic guitar, understated beats and flourishes of keys all layered together in a way that feels organic. That relatively stark backdrop foregrounds Wilson’s vocals and complements its subject matter – “a long relationship that ended pretty abruptly and quickly” – rather well.
“It created a real sense of loss and confusion in my life but music helped to mitigate the void that it created, in some kind of way,” Wilson explains.
“It helped me stay connected to something higher. The idea is that the process of writing, and the song itself, is the Totem – something that you can use to hang on to and worship, so to speak.”
‘Totem’ is the first song to come from a larger body of solo work that Wilson has been working on alongside new album sessions for Georgia Fair, and preparing to release his debut book, Some Short, Some Long. Listen below.
