Who: GoldenOak

From: Portland, Maine

Song: “River”

Latest Record: Foxgloves

What About It: “I spent the winter of 2018 living on a bridged island off the coast of Maine, nestled between National Park land and the cold Atlantic ocean. I had graduated from college six months ago and for the first time in my life, I was committing my self to music. “River” came out of that period in my life. Donald Trump had been president for a full year, many friends of mine had moved away after college, and the Maine Winter was in full swing. My thoughts were consumed by the movement of time, from one experience to the next. I think growing up and living in Maine you develop an appreciation for the seasons. No matter how long and hard the winter is spring always comes. That’s were the inspiration for “River” came from, the hopefulness and guarantee of a brighter future, but also appreciating the current situation for what it is and understanding that it too might serve a purpose. 

“River” began as two songs. The first section, driven by bass and drums really developed from a desire to feature our band members Mike (bass) and Jackson (drums). They had been playing with us for the last few months and I was excited about writing a song that was inspired by the new sound they were bringing to our music. At the same time, I was working on an acapella piece with lyrics that reflected the exploration of fluid Identity. One day when I was playing around with each tune it suddenly clicked for me that they really were mirrors of each other. Lena and I worked out the bridge between the two, and the song developed into something we felt really strong about. 

We spent two days in the studio in November. We worked with Jon Roods at his studio in Portland. We went into the studio with a strong foundation for the song, and this really gave us the chance to experiment with the different qualities and instruments we could add to the track. As we were working through the bridge section Jon started messing around with the Wurlitzer Piano. We didn’t yet feel confident about the transition from the main theme to the acapella, but the Wurlitzer really brought it to life. Its tone sits right in between a natural piano and an electric synthetic organ. It really helped pull the song together for us.” – Zak Kendall 

Photo by Heather M. Bowes