Singer-songwriter Scott Maher has garnered much attention from the Irish music scene with the release of his brilliant new single ‘If We Were Lovers’. Scott spoke to theLastMixedTape’s Stephen White about his songwriting and how the song came to be.
How did you first write ‘If We Were Lovers’?
Last Christmas I got a survival book from my girlfriend called The Worst Case Scenario. I couldn’t put it down and it made me laugh at all the insane different circumstances found in it. So, I decided to write a love song, for fun, where it would include all these scenarios in it like “I could escape a sinking boat, I could land a plane”.
Did you know straight away that the track would work as a single?
It’s always hard to tell, sometimes when you write a new song you can think “this is the best thing I’ve written” and completely ignore a better song from a year or so ago that actually is better. With this song there was a demo where I was playing with the band and you can hear on the recording saying “either that is shit or amazing” (laughs). But when I tried it out live it got a great reaction with people singing along during the choruses, so that’s a great indication of how it can translate.
How did the single take shape in the studio?
I tried the song out using different instruments like piano and guitar, just to see how it fit best. Then I sat down with Keith Farrell on bass and me on acoustic, and that really filled out the song. Brining in Binzer on the drums gave it that full band feel. We wanted to keep it as stripped down and raw as possible, we didn’t want to go too big with the production.
Are you currently working on more new material?
Yeah, I’d love to do a new album. I definitely have enough songs written for one but it’s all about filtering them down and picking the best ones. I’d also like to write and collaborate with other artists as well. I’m very open to writing songs for other singers too. This song, and appearing on the Late Late show etc, has given me a great sense of self-confidence. Knowing that people like your music can be important sometimes. I have a gig in Whelan’s on April 5th and I’m going to try out a lot of the new material there and use it as a kind of litmus test to see what works and what doesn’t.
Check out Scott Maher’s single ‘If We Were Lovers’ by clicking below. The singer-songwriter will perform in Whelan’s of Dublin on April 5th.
Singer-songwriter Scott Maher has garnered much attention from the Irish music scene with the release of his brilliant new single ‘If We Were Lovers’. Scott spoke to theLastMixedTape’s Stephen White about his songwriting and how the song came to be.
How did you first write ‘If We Were Lovers’?
Last Christmas I got a survival book from my girlfriend called The Worst Case Scenario. I couldn’t put it down and it made me laugh at all the insane different circumstances found in it. So, I decided to write a love song, for fun, where it would include all these scenarios in it like “I could escape a sinking boat, I could land a plane”.
Did you know straight away that the track would work as a single?
It’s always hard to tell, sometimes when you write a new song you can think “this is the best thing I’ve written” and completely ignore a better song from a year or so ago that actually is better. With this song there was a demo where I was playing with the band and you can hear on the recording saying “either that is shit or amazing” (laughs). But when I tried it out live it got a great reaction with people singing along during the choruses, so that’s a great indication of how it can translate.
How did the single take shape in the studio?
I tried the song out using different instruments like piano and guitar, just to see how it fit best. Then I sat down with Keith Farrell on bass and me on acoustic, and that really filled out the song. Brining in Binzer on the drums gave it that full band feel. We wanted to keep it as stripped down and raw as possible, we didn’t want to go too big with the production.
Are you currently working on more new material?
Yeah, I’d love to do a new album. I definitely have enough songs written for one but it’s all about filtering them down and picking the best ones. I’d also like to write and collaborate with other artists as well. I’m very open to writing songs for other singers too. This song, and appearing on the Late Late show etc, has given me a great sense of self-confidence. Knowing that people like your music can be important sometimes. I have a gig in Whelan’s on April 5th and I’m going to try out a lot of the new material there and use it as a kind of litmus test to see what works and what doesn’t.
Check out Scott Maher’s single ‘If We Were Lovers’ by clicking below. The singer-songwriter will perform in Whelan’s of Dublin on April 5th.
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