Photo Credit: Joel Johnston
It’s been well over a decade since I started swapping questions and answers with creative souls from around the world, and each of them often leaves me with a little nugget to hold onto. With Far Caspian, it’s the common ground of missing friends who seem to have gone on to bigger and better and the acceptance of that. We touched upon that as we got into the incorporation of the cello, fall touring, and ‘The Last Remaining Light,’ the new album that drops on all major music and streaming sites on July 14th.
Kendra: I found it interesting that there’s this running theme throughout your 2023 release, ‘The Last Remaining Light,’ of routines, and the release itself sort of feels like your own musical routine because you’ve been consistently releasing work since 2021. Are you someone that’s just constantly writing new material?
Far Caspian: Pretty much, yeah! If I’m at home, I’m usually working on something. Because it’s a solo project, and I produce my own stuff, rather than being able to get into a room with the other bandmates and work out songs, I have to do that myself in some way. So I’ll usually demo a song as I’m writing it and work out the parts as I go along. Then eventually (if I don’t end up hating it), I’ll re-record parts and make it into something that I’d be happy releasing.
Kendra: Was there anything in your life that was happening during the creation process of ‘The Last Remaining Light’ that you felt pushed you in a way that surprised you?
Far Caspian: I had just moved back to Leeds from Ireland after the lockdown, so everything felt exciting again. I was reconnecting with friends and had begun seeing my now girlfriend. I definitely felt rejuvenated after a long two years, like everyone else around me, and having new experiences definitely added to the creation process when it was time to write.
Kendra: Let’s talk more about “Own.” This song really hit me because I think as a creative person, you have to accept that riding the struggle bus to your goals is more common than not, and while we struggle to get to our destination – friends who chose more traditional paths are fine and flourishing. We’re not mad about it, but at the same time, we miss them. All of that said, is this a topic that’s been floating around for a while, or is it something new you felt like exploring on this record?
Far Caspian: The concept of friends moving on has been with me since it started happening after school. I’ve only really made peace with it in the last few years, and in the past year, a really close friend moved to a different city, and we lost touch in comparison to when we saw each other every day and went through a lot of darkness together.
It’s a jarring feeling knowing there’s a person out there that knows you so well, and yet you both are in different lanes now and are slowly becoming strangers. I wrote that song based on that thought. I think I wrote the chorus first, which originally was based on a younger version of myself moving away from home, but once I started writing the verses, it switched to being about someone else.
Kendra: You also learned to play the cello for this song. Is that a self-taught situation?
Far Caspian: Most certainly. Any actual cellist would be able to tell you that immediately haha!
I bought it off a friend who was looking to get rid of it as I had always enjoyed the sound of cello on indie music. I’d tried using plugins to get a cello sound, but they always sounded fake, so I thought if I could at least bow a note, I’d be able to cut them all together to make a phrase, and although it would be annoying, at least it would sound better than midi!
Kendra: Did you break out the cello when you played Primavera Sound Festival at the end of May this year? How was that? Festivals during the summer are usually a great time.
Far Caspian: I didn’t, unfortunately. I can’t imagine it would’ve done too well in the luggage hold, let alone the price to take it over for me to play some very poorly played notes.
Kendra: You’re also heading out on tour this fall. Are you playing any venues that have been on your bucket list?
Far Caspian: The Islington Assembly Hall is a big one for me. I love that venue and have always wanted to put on a gig there.
Any venue in America is technically a bucket list tick-off, as it’s always been on there to tour the states. Whether big or small, I’m extremely happy to be able to get over there to play.
Kendra: Time for a side note – this month, we’re asking everyone to pick a song for our ‘ZO Summer 2023’ playlist. So what summer anthem would you add, and why?
Far Caspian: “Storm” by 22° Halo. Their album ‘Garden Bed’ came out last summer, and this song in particular takes me back to that time. The whole album is perfect for a summer afternoon. We were lucky enough to have them support us in New York in Spring, and Will from the project has guest vocals on ‘Heirloom Part 1’, which is a bonus track on the album.
Kendra: Lastly, with ‘The Last Remaining Light’ out on July 14th, what else is on the horizon for you at the moment?
Far Caspian: We’ll tour the album this autumn, and then who knows what next year will bring. Hopefully some bigger summer festival slots and more music!
I’ve started my own label (Tiny Library Records), which is putting out some new music in the coming months, so I’m really looking forward to that as well as hopefully signing some more bands in the next year.
