Episode 13

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Published on:

14th Mar 2024

A Chat with We Are All Fossils Part 1

The Art of Connection Through Music: An Interview with We Are All Fossils

In this episode of Curious Goldfish, host Jason English engages in a deep exploration of music's power to connect people, using the Ubuntu philosophy of collective achievement. The podcast features an interview with Deist, the South African musician behind the project 'We Are All Fossils', now based in Great Britain.

The discussion embraces the emotional and communal aspects of music, highlighting Deist's journey from covering songs to creating original music inspired by listeners' stories through the 'Songs for Strangers' project.

Deist shares his experiences of musical evolution, noting the influence of artists like Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, and Gregory Alan Isakov. The episode concludes with Deist’s performance of 'Mountains', a song encapsulating hope and connection, embodying the episode's central theme of finding unity and shared humanity through music.

00:00 Introduction: The Competitive Nature of Music

01:08 Welcome to Curious Goldfish: A Music Podcast

01:43 The Magic of Music: Shared Connectedness

02:15 We Are All Fossils: A Unique Musical Project

02:50 The Power of Music: Connecting Strangers

03:08 Discovering We Are All Fossils: A Personal Journey

04:27 Interview with Deist: The Man Behind We Are All Fossils

05:47 The Story of We Are All Fossils: From South Africa to Great Britain

07:01 The Meaning Behind 'We Are All Fossils'

09:31 Musical Influences: Sufjan Stevens, Damien Rice, and Gregory Alan Isakov

11:59 Songs for Strangers: A Unique Musical Project

24:49 The Evolution of Sound: New Releases in 2023

28:10 The Story Behind 'Mountains': A Song of Hope

31:43 Live Performance: 'Mountains' by We Are All Fossils

34:35 Conclusion: Stay Curious

Transcript
Speaker:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): There's

a competitive nature that's come

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into music, or maybe I'm just a bit

more aware of it now, which, doesn't

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really embrace, a collective win.

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Uh, you know, and all the time, there's

a thing called Ubuntu, it's something

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which comes from like the African cultures

where, um, you know, you all win together.

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You all kind of.

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You know, achieve things together

and dunno about yourself.

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But when you've achieved something

on your own and you turn around,

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there's no one to celebrate with.

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It's kind of a hollow victory, but if you

can share it with someone, the struggle

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and the, the the end result, and if

it's good, you know, you kind of, it's,

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it's something you can hold onto now.

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I think it just propels you to be maybe

a bit more, um, giving of love rather

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than living in a fearful state, you know?

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Jason English (Host): Welcome to

curious goldfish, a podcast community

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where music and curiosity come together

through interesting conversations

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with the music makers of our world.

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I'm your host, Jason English.

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You can find curious goldfish and all the

major podcast and social media platforms.

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And of course, we have all of

our content on our website.

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Curious goldfish.

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com.

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There's magic in music on so many

different levels, and it's one of

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the coolest aspects of doing this

podcast to learn, understand, and

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yes, be curious about how magic

presents itself in a song, in a lyric.

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In a performance or in a musician.

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One of the most magical

aspects of music is the shared

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connectedness that you can feel.

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Whether at a show, sharing a playlist,

jamming with friends in a car, music

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can connect even the most disconnected

souls together into a moment of shared

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experience that can last forever.

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Connectedness is the heart of We Are All

Fossils, a musical project created by

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a South African musician who's called

Great Britain Home Now for two decades.

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The concept of We Are All

Fossils is a unique one.

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And I'll let Deist, its founder,

explain more in more detail in our

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conversation, but it's all about

connectedness and shared community.

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There's a connectedness in his sound

that on one hand is so recognizable,

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it feels completely comfortable, but

it's also so unique that you can, you

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kind of have to listen to it several

times in order for it to sink in.

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I talked to Deist about all that and

how he was able to throw original music

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together for strangers on YouTube.

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Those strangers would just give him

a theme or just a couple of words.

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And he was able to write some

original songs on their behalf.

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Again, music connected them,

even though they were strangers.

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I found We Are All Fossils by

listening to one of my favorite

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playlists on YouTube and Spotify.

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It's called Indie Folk Central,

and I highly recommend it.

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I felt so connected to the music of we

are all fossils that I reached out to him.

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Just cold and asked for an interview.

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He accepted, and I'm so grateful to

be the first American media outlet to

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interview We Are All Fossils, who will

surely have an emerging role in the

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singer songwriter genre for a long time.

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I felt like I found a soulmate

after speaking with him.

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We spoke for an hour or so recently.

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We connected through mutual love of

artists like Sufjan Stevens, Damien

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Rice, and Gregory Alan Isakov.

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Again, music has a way to

connect people, even complete

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strangers 5, 000 miles apart.

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This is part one of that interview.

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He performs a song for us called

Mountains, which is what got me hooked

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on We Are All Fossils to begin with

part two will be published soon.

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And both parts will be posted on

YouTube as this is also the first video

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podcast episode in the short history

of the curious goldfish podcast.

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My guess is that you will also feel

connected to Deist and We Are All

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Fossils after listening to this

episode and his thoughts and just

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hearing him play his incredible music.

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We are all fossils.

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Let's dive in.

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Hey Deist.

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Thanks for your time.

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): Hello.

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Thanks for having me.

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Very excited for this.

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Jason English (Host): So it's a Monday.

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Tell me, tell me something

good about your weekend.

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): I got to

spend it with my two closest friends.

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and we all had like a bit of a catch up.

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We hadn't seen each other for a little

while, so that was the highlight.

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Had, maybe too much coffee,

but, don't regret it.

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Jason English (Host):

really appreciate your time.

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So I came across you and your

music probably over the holidays.

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I was streaming.

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Uh, there's a great channel on YouTube

called Indie Folk Central and every

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month they come out with like a playlist

of, indie folk songs from really all

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over the world, A lot from Australia,

some from the States, and then Europe.

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And uh, I just remember.

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In the, in the midst of a

lot of really good songs.

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I had actually had to go back

and play yours a couple times.

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Uh, I think it was called Mountains,

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which I hope to talk to

you about in, in a minute.

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But, uh, that's how I,

I was introduced to you.

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it's a pleasure to, to talk with you

and, I can't wait to learn all about you.

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): oh, no thanks.

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Thanks.

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I mean, that, uh, playlist was so

influential to how things changed for me.

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Um, rufuss, uh, Indie Folk Central

is it's been so kind with his support

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for, um, for what I've been doing.

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and I think if you went back and you,

you know, listened to that track again,

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there's so many good artists that he works

with and he curates that's really kind to

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hear that, you know, it stood out 'cause

there's so many good things on there.

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Jason English (Host): so tell us

a little bit about your story.

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Uh, I think you're in Great Britain now,

but you're originally not from there.

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Right.

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): Yeah, no, I'm

currently living, um, if you're familiar

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with the uk, it's, in Essex, but if you're

not, it's not too far away from London.

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I was born in South Africa in a, on the

east coast in a place called, uh, Durban.

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Um, very, very beautiful.

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Pretty much like a surfers

like haven, you know?

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Very nice, like beaches, Indian Ocean.

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It's, it's incredible.

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Um, I, you know, I still wonder why

my parents moved here, uh, and, you

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know, swap the whole thing around.

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'cause uh, you know, summer, I was

born in January, I had a summer

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birthday and now I have like this

really cold January birthday and just

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pining for something I used to know.

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I do love living here.

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Um, it's really, really, really nice.

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It's, it's nice to kind of interact with

the different cultures and, you know.

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Enjoy it for what it is.

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being this close to London,

it's quite multicultural.

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You, there's so much out there to

interact with and it's, it's wonderful

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that's great.

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And how long have you been there?

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So I think it's gone into 25 years

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okay.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Getting older now.

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Yeah.

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Well, you can't be much

more older than that.

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No, I, I, well

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Are you in your thirties or what?

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yeah.

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Uh, 35.

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Um.

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Okay, cool.

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Jason English (Host): So your name's

Deist but your stage name of, of you

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in the group is called We Are All

Fossils, which is really interesting.

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I guess what's the origin of that name

and then, uh, yeah, what, is there

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a specific meaning behind that that

sort of sparked everything for you?

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): I, I

remember just, I was in between

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kind of projects with music.

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I used to do kind of a solo thing,

uh, which was a bit more poppier or

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I wouldn't say pop in the traditional

senses, but just a little bit a

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singer songwriter with, you know,

more of those mainline hooks.

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And I started falling into like,

love with a whole different kind

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of music that was coming out.

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I felt like a name change

was gonna be there.

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And I don't really have the most,

like, easily, you know, I don't

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have a memorable name really.

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My full name is Yako, so that's

not gonna, you know, do that good

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over, you know, I think, um, even my

English teacher got my name wrong.

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Uh, and then just,

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They had a nickname for me that they

stuck with, I guess, just to keep it safe.

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but yeah, so I, uh, I was going through,

I was just trying to like, find words that

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felt kind of right for where I was going.

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And, uh, I remember listening

to, uh, Sufjan Stevens Oh, nice.

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Yeah.

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my, my John, my beloved.

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And um, there's a line there

where he talks about fossils.

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Uh, I think it's the fossils that fall

on my head, something similar to that.

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And I remember the.

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Word Fossil was just kind of jumping

out and I had a little note, you

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know, bit in my phone and I was

trying to, like, I put, I remember

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putting all the random like words

down and I was like, well, something,

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these things are just poking out.

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And then, yeah, it just kind of happened

where I was like, I wanted to create a

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name that was quite unifying and, you

know, you could, I think from being so

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like on my own with my name, it was quite

individual so I wanted to have something

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that was quite, you know, unifying.

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And then we are all fossils was, um.

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The first half of a sentence, like

we're all fossils in the making

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is the, is the full sentence.

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But the, the beauty in that was for me

that, we're all fossils is something

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which, you know, once our lifespan and our

time together, has its expiration date,

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you we're all end up in the same place.

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And sometimes we can feel quite,

individual and, and not connected

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as the human race, but effectively.

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We will be at some point in

very similar states again.

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So yeah, it might be a bit morbid

some people, but I was like, that's

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a really strong kind of thing.

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So I could build a project out of

that, that, that felt really, uh,

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in line with how I was feeling.

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Jason English (Host): that's incredible.

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I mean, Sufian Stevens is awesome, right?

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Like that.

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That's amazing.

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Uh, I would love to talk about Sufian and

so hopefully we can come back to that,

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but,

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so as we are all fossils, is

that like a name of a band?

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Uh, I've seen references to interviews

that you've done where you, you sort

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of allude to it as, as a, as a project,

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): Yeah,

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Jason English (Host): you,

uh, can you expand on that?

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): I think from

the way that it started, I, I was writing

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songs and I was interacting with a few

different musicians and labels sometimes

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do get in the way, of creativity.

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You know, sometimes you cage your

ideas too tightly and they can't grow.

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Um.

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So we're all fossils to me was just,

it was a project that was just kind

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of evolving with who was around and

who wants to be part of it and who's

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kind of in tune with what's going on.

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It's not any massive pressures

on who's involved or not.

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I just, I do a lot of the music with my

best friends and I interact with them and

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on like, the music's like the byproduct

of the time we have together and it's,

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I don't really ever want to change that

too much 'cause it's just, I've been in

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places before with music where you try

and create, um, things that you think

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people will like and they will enjoy,

and at the end you just kind of end up

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in a place where you don't want to be.

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So We Are All Fossils is just

a, an evolving project that I

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don't know what it's gonna be,

but I've enjoyed what it's been.

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Jason English (Host): All right.

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That's, that's incredible.

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And I think the point you made earlier

around, you know, a community and, and

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sort of being connected, isn't that

sort of the essence of music as well?

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): I.

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A hundred percent.

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And, uh, I think that's, we

kind of lost sight of that as.

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There's a competitive nature that's

come into music, or maybe I'm just a bit

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more aware of it now, which, uh, doesn't

really embrace, uh, a collective win.

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Uh, you know, and all the time,

um, there's a thing called

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Ubuntu, which is, I think I'm,

uh, like pronouncing that, right?

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It's like, it's something which comes

from like the African cultures where,

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um, you know, you all win together.

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You all kind of.

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You know, achieve things together

and dunno about yourself.

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But when you've achieved something

on your own and you turn around,

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there's no one to celebrate with.

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It's kind of a hollow victory, but if you

can share it with someone, the struggle

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and the, the the end result, and if

it's good, you know, you kind of, it's,

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it's something you can hold onto now.

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I think it just propels you to be maybe

a bit more, um, giving of love rather

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than living in a fearful state, you know?

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Jason English (Host): Oh,

that, that, that's incredible.

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And then, as was this before, we are

all fossils, uh, or as part of it, you,

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you did, which I think is a pretty cool

project called, uh, songs for Strangers.

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Um,

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can you tell us about that?

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'cause I, I thought

that was pretty unique.

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): songs

for Strangers was, there's a little

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bit of story before that, which I'll

tell you, I'll give you a bit more

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insight as to why that came about.

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But I, um, I was in music,

like writing my own stuff and.

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I wasn't too sure if I was, if I had

a bit, it sounds really strange, but

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I had a bit of a commitment issue.

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'cause I would, I'd have all these

goals, but I couldn't really piece

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together the steps to get to anywhere.

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And it always felt like a little

bit of a circle of failure

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that I kind of found myself in.

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So I, I swapped the idea

a little bit and, um.

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There's actually an accidental

thing that happened that made

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me kind of change my approach.

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I watched, um, Damien Rice, which is

one of my favorite singer songwriters,

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is, um, perform a song on Jules Holland.

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And I remember just,

just loving it so much.

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I'm a huge fan of his, and it was a long

time that he hadn't released an album.

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And I was like, okay, great.

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You know, I was like sitting there.

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I effectively felt like I had popcorn

and I was just ready for this moment.

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funnily enough, I dunno why I did it,

but I took a video of the screen and

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then I posted it out on social media

or I posted it on YouTube or something.

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'cause I felt like it was a real

moment for me that I wanted to share.

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And then the next day I remember getting

like this cease and desist thing from, uh.

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YouTube or something.

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Like, they're like basically saying,

you've done something really bad.

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You, you need to stop,

uh, you know, doing this.

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But then I saw the numbers of how many

people watched it and I was oh, but there

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are people out there who are thinking

like me and are interacting in my way.

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So I, I thought I'm gonna cover the song

and just see if I can connect with them.

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And that kind of like, had

exactly the same thing.

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I got connected with a lot of people who

had the same moment as me and we had like

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our little, you know, like hopefully me

and you're gonna talk about Sufjan and

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you know, like deep love for certain

artists and, uh, so I, I, I try to then

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make it so that my commitment thing,

I can try and see if, if I can just.

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Challenge that.

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And I, I put forward that I

would release a new single,

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no, a new cover every Friday.

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I used to call it a

series of Fossil Fridays.

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Um, and that would be my, the, my way

of seeing if it's a commitment issue.

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So for a year I did these covers and I,

and I did it, and I saw these numbers.

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And, um, the, the best thing about it

was the numbers didn't mean as much

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as the connection with the community

and the people who interacted.

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Um.

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And then I, I, on the back of that

was like, well, I'm gonna message a, a

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manager of one of my favorite artists.

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Um, or maybe it was a booking agent

of, um, Gregory Alan Isikoff, a

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guy called maybe Colin Keenan.

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And, um, he, he replied and he said,

and this is the best thing that

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you, you could hear from someone.

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He's like, I'm really impressed with

what's going on, but these are all covers.

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They're not about you.

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Like, where, where are you in this?

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And then I look I was like,

well, yeah, where am I in this?

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So then I didn't wanna lose what I

was doing with the Fossil Fridays.

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With the people who are coming in.

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'cause it's hard for them to take

the jump from an artist that they

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know and already love and then come

into the world that I'm gonna create.

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So I tried to create a middle point

between us where, um, I, I did like

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an a video and I just said like,

if you are watching this, um, send

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me a letter or an email or anything

like that about any story you want.

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Uh, true or false, or you can keep it

anonymous and I'll write a song out of it.

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Um.

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And just see how that's gonna work.

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So that's how Songs for

Strangers really came about.

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It was, um, the way to still be

connected and, and in a weird way,

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you are writing with the people

who are watching your videos.

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And I think the, the, the aspect of

keeping it anonymous was really good.

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'cause then you can, there's this

like truth that come, that can come

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through and I will never forget those,

those letters that came through.

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And then I think we, we released

the EP a couple of years later.

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It took a little bit of work, but.

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It was just a phenomenal journey and I,

I learned so much about telling someone

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else's story and how much you wanna

stick to it and not, you know, jack it

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up with your own ego or like, know, or

like take the wheel a different way.

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It was, it was a disciplined writing act,

but I, I've learned so much from that.

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Jason English (Host): Yeah, so somebody

would just send you a couple of words,

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a theme or poetry or lyrics or, you

know, or did it just range like from

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less detail to more detail and you had,

you had to kind of work off of that.

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Deist (We Are All Fossils): it

was literally just that whatever

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you felt comfortable sharing.

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Um, and one of the ones that I can

share, and it's a really amazing story.

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There's a song called, um, just A

Little Spark, which was the end result.

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But I got a, letter from,

a very young, lady who.

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Was basically saying, she's at the age

of 17 now and her life is nowhere near

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where she thought it was gonna be.

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And she had a lot of issues with, um, you

know, the family life and um, you know,

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the kind of things you have as a teenager.

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But there was a whole different

ball game in play as well.

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There was obviously, other

emotional elements which were

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really pulling at the strings.

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You know, she didn't go into that, but

it was very clear that that was going on.

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And she said that there

was a song by Paramore.

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called Last Hope.

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I'm, I'm sure it's called

a song called Last Hope.

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And that changed her life and that that

was something which, you know, and I

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remember writing those lyrics in there.

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'cause I was like, oh, you need

to see that you are well, to me

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it felt like someone who could see

a turn and, and do something in.

339

:

Maybe this will help shape her future

into something, you know, being more

340

:

alert of what the things that she

doesn't want in her life and the things

341

:

that she does want in her, in her life.

342

:

she, uh, actually replied on Instagram.

343

:

I.

344

:

A couple of years later and just

said like, uh, I'm, you know,

345

:

I'm so thankful for the song.

346

:

Jason English (Host): gosh.

347

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): we follow

each other and I just kind of like,

348

:

every time she pops up and I just

see like, happy moments and things.

349

:

I mean, of course there's still gonna

be challenges and everything in life,

350

:

but, um, it's just, I have a really,

uh, like a warm spot in my heart for,

351

:

for her and all, all that that happened.

352

:

And I feel like I'm just like a, a,

fly on the wall of this kind of thing.

353

:

And it was, yeah, it was incredible.

354

:

Really,

355

:

Jason English (Host):

Oh, that's incredible.

356

:

So music can be obviously very personal,

I would imagine as a, as a songwriter.

357

:

What's the difference between writing

something personal based on experience

358

:

and, and, and, and observation versus.

359

:

Taking somebody else's situation

and ideas and, and, and trying to,

360

:

like you said, you don't want to

have your imprint on it too much.

361

:

What's the difference in that in

terms of a process or, or mindset?

362

:

I.

363

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): So I developed

a particular way to write those songs.

364

:

Um, I actually tried to use their words,

reworked it back, and then would finish

365

:

them, you know, if it was like a rhyme

kind of scheme that I was gonna go for.

366

:

It was, they kind of like

gave me the rough sketches of

367

:

what the lyrics were gonna be.

368

:

I just created the melody that I thought

fits the notion of what they're saying.

369

:

'cause that's the best thing I could do.

370

:

I was kind of like.

371

:

Well, if I stick close to what

you're saying, I'm, I'm sure

372

:

like the aim is, is near enough.

373

:

Correct.

374

:

Um, so that was, that was that, and the

reason why that was useful for me as a

375

:

songwriter, um, you can kind of maybe

try and be too artistic with what you

376

:

wanna do or you try too smart or too,

you know, um, pull out something that

377

:

is just maybe jarring the listener from

what the meaning of the song actually is.

378

:

So.

379

:

Sometimes if something comes easy and

it's quick, it's obvious and it's good

380

:

for the song, don't worry about that.

381

:

That's okay if you don't always

have to work really, really

382

:

hard for, for, for the result.

383

:

But, um, that taught me just to kind of

be okay with, sometimes the answer being

384

:

literally in the email that was sent to me

385

:

Jason English (Host): Yeah,

don't, don't overthink

386

:

it.

387

:

That's great.

388

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): Exactly.

389

:

Yeah.

390

:

Jason English (Host): Yeah.

391

:

So songs for strangers that are

are we able to listen to that on

392

:

Spotify or, or YouTube Right now?

393

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): Yeah.

394

:

Yeah, that's out, um, everywhere.

395

:

um, I'm not sure if the, um, I'm not sure

what's out on YouTube in terms of, 'cause

396

:

there was demos that I released for the

people who were like, I wanted to show

397

:

them that the process was happening, you

know, so it's not just a a dead end thing.

398

:

So I did release them like weekly, um,

just to make sure that, you know, we

399

:

are still interacting with each other.

400

:

But yeah, you can stream it on all major

platforms and, and things like that.

401

:

Yeah.

402

:

Um,

403

:

Jason English (Host): All right,

so this is, it's crazy 'cause if

404

:

I, if I had to name one artist, but

let's do three that are, are sort of

405

:

regularly in my rotation of, you know,

top uh, top artists on, on my, you

406

:

know, Spotify streaming or whatever.

407

:

It's.

408

:

Sufjan Stevens Damien Rice and

409

:

Gregory

410

:

Alan Isakov.

411

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): but

for you, did you read my list?

412

:

Jason English (Host):

uh, I don't think so.

413

:

I don't think so.

414

:

So that's

415

:

awesome.

416

:

And I,

417

:

I could totally see you.

418

:

Not that you're gonna wanna be an

opening act forever, but at least

419

:

to start, I mean, you could open

for any of those guys, right?

420

:

Oh, you know mean, how,

421

:

how cool would that be?

422

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils):

Uh, that'd be amazing.

423

:

I, um, I, I actually saw Gregory

Aden Isakov play in a room

424

:

of about 80 people in London.

425

:

Uh.

426

:

It was just, it was near enough,

the nor empty Northern Hemisphere

427

:

tour, and I spoke to him briefly.

428

:

I was so shy, I was so, so shy, and I

just wanted to kind of, in one word,

429

:

just say thank you for everything, uh,

without coming across incredibly cringe or

430

:

Sure.

431

:

But, um, I, I saw him like,

do something with music.

432

:

Which was so, um, contrasting of

maybe Damien Rice, like the two of,

433

:

they, they work in a different way.

434

:

Damien Rice's vocals and, and the way

that he gets to his, his songwriting,

435

:

it feels so free flowing and kind of

like water that's just moving along

436

:

and, and you end up somewhere and you're

like, oh, I didn't see this coming.

437

:

Um, not to say that Gregory's as rigid

or anything like that, but Gregory uses

438

:

a lot more traditional instruments.

439

:

But in a way more inventive way.

440

:

So you, I guess they both kind of feel

each other's like gaps in a way where

441

:

I'm like, oh, this is incredible.

442

:

But I'm so impressed that

you are, I say impressed.

443

:

I just, I'm blown away that your,

this is pretty same as mine and

444

:

Jason English (Host): wild.

445

:

Yeah.

446

:

Yeah.

447

:

No, yeah.

448

:

We'll get to Sufjan.

449

:

So I've only Isakov seen Isaac.

450

:

Open for the Lumineers.

451

:

Uh, I think I have tickets to him,

uh, later this year, I think at Red

452

:

Rocks in Colorado, which is, uh,

453

:

Oh, that's one of the world's best

454

:

venues.

455

:

But, um, what was crazy about

seeing him with the Lumineers,

456

:

obviously I'm a huge Lumineers

fan, and so those were big stadium

457

:

stadium tours and it

458

:

was on the Brightside tour and it was

wild because, you know, he, he was up

459

:

there with his, his band, you know,

460

:

guitar, banjo, whatever, and, uh.

461

:

Everybody's there pretty

much to see the Lumineers.

462

:

And so he's opening for this big

rock band, and I'm just looking

463

:

around going, everybody here

that's like, talking and not paying

464

:

attention is completely missing out.

465

:

You know,

466

:

it's,

467

:

kind of a shame, but like, hopefully

that got his name out and hopefully

468

:

he's, he's, uh, he's leveraged that

obviously he's, he's successful, you know,

469

:

by himself.

470

:

Um, but that was i'll, I'll

never forget, like looking

471

:

around going, these people don't.

472

:

I have a clue how talented

this guy is on stage right now.

473

:

You know?

474

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): But it's,

um, I feel like the thing I love about,

475

:

um, Damien and Gregory Alan Isakov

is that they're on their own rotation

476

:

of what they're doing with albums.

477

:

They, they don't have a scheme

of, um, it's a, you know, every

478

:

other year or anything like that.

479

:

Right.

480

:

and I, they kind of, I feel like

maybe it's the songs that they

481

:

come and then the album forms and

they dunno how much time's gone.

482

:

But now it feels right.

483

:

You know, maybe that's me just

putting a lot of creativity or,

484

:

you know, stuff in there, but.

485

:

It's funny that you say about the

Lumineers tour 'cause that came

486

:

here and I wasn't, um, I wasn't

able to to go, but I have a soft

487

:

spot for the Lumineers as well.

488

:

And I remember, um, I did a cover

of, it was like a quick little reel

489

:

on Instagram of, uh, this, I can't

remember which song it was now.

490

:

It was one of the middle kind

of albums, not Salt in the

491

:

Sea, but something like that.

492

:

And they, uh, they shared

it on, um, their own page.

493

:

And I remember being confused.

494

:

I was driving in my car and.

495

:

My phone just kept going, like buzzing

and buzzing and I, I thought it was

496

:

like a dodgy charger that, you know,

you need to clean it or something.

497

:

And then I saw that they posted

out and you know, they do that for

498

:

a lot of other artists as well.

499

:

And I think that's such a beautiful thing

when there's these big, big, big artists.

500

:

'cause they're colossal there.

501

:

The Lumineers are so big.

502

:

Um, but the fact that they, they share

that kind of stuff and there's, there's

503

:

these small moments that they give to

their fans who are, who are musical.

504

:

Um, it warms your heart 'cause they

don't need to do anything like that.

505

:

Um.

506

:

But I have a soft spot for them too.

507

:

Jason English (Host): So you,

in:

508

:

a handful of singles, right?

509

:

Um, anyone's stick out to

you in terms of being more.

510

:

You know, meaningful or if, uh, if

someone, again, hopefully watches

511

:

this or listens to this and is like,

okay, which, which is the track

512

:

that you want them to kind of start

with on the ones from last year?

513

:

What, what would that be?

514

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): Yeah.

515

:

Um, so I kind of found myself gravitating

towards a bit of a, an maybe a bit

516

:

more of an evolution of my sound.

517

:

Um, a bit more of a

different, uh, landscape.

518

:

'cause you, you can create in one

place for a while, um, which I was

519

:

in for a bit and then something new

just pops in and it just makes you

520

:

want to write more and more, more.

521

:

Um, a track that did that for me was fire.

522

:

Um, I released fire near the, I think

maybe September or October last year.

523

:

And the response to it was really

incredible and it's quite funny

524

:

'cause I didn't think it was, uh, a

big change in my sound or anything.

525

:

I.

526

:

And then I, I met a couple of my friends,

uh, you know, a couple weeks after I

527

:

was out and some people who, who, you

know, listened to the music and they

528

:

were just like, we love the new sound.

529

:

And I was like, there's a new sound.

530

:

I was like, I was just

following what I was enjoying.

531

:

Um, uh, so I think that that's kind

of maybe a bit of a, uh, coordinates

532

:

for where the sounds going.

533

:

Um, I just had a lot of fun, uh, in

the studio with, with Mike Curtis, um,

534

:

who, who I worked with exclusively,

pretty much, um, on that track.

535

:

We, I, we just pushed a lot of our

comfort zones with it and things that I

536

:

remember there was this pedal for, for

a guitar part, and he, he just said,

537

:

oh, that pedal over there is very, um.

538

:

You know, it's very hard to tame.

539

:

'cause he, he was recording someone

a couple of days before and he was

540

:

kind of effectively telling me, oh, it

was a long day because of that pedal.

541

:

Jason English (Host): Oh

542

:

no.

543

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils):

and I was like.

544

:

About 20 minutes later I

think we need the pedal.

545

:

I think we need the pedal.

546

:

'cause it's sticking out like

a, like a sore thumbnail.

547

:

Like there's something about it.

548

:

Why is it coming up in

this conversation for now?

549

:

Um, from how we approach that song from

the front to back, it was discovering

550

:

things without thinking, trying to like

quieten the analytical side of your

551

:

brain and heightening the creative side.

552

:

And what we ended up doing was, um.

553

:

He was on the floor having to

like tame it as though, as all

554

:

these effects were coming through.

555

:

And it, the, if you hear the guitar on

its own, it sounds crazy, but in the

556

:

song it just glued everything together.

557

:

So it um, yeah, yeah.

558

:

But yeah, so I reckon fire

is something Fire is good.

559

:

Yeah.

560

:

Yeah.

561

:

That's the, and I did a song with,

um, a, an amazing artist called Tasha

562

:

Robertson, uh, called, When I Find You.

563

:

That was also a similar kind of process

of just throwing paint at the wall and

564

:

just seeing how much, uh, sticks and

also the sign of it going well for me

565

:

and Mike in the studio I think is, we

can't really tell what the process was.

566

:

We will just say, I just

remember then there being a lot

567

:

of solutions and not problems.

568

:

Um, so yeah, those two, um, I would say

if you are, if you're out there wanting

569

:

to try new songs or things, but yeah.

570

:

Jason English (Host): Oh, that's awesome.

571

:

So the song that I talked about

earlier off of, uh, indie Folk Central,

572

:

I think it was called Mountains.

573

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): Yeah,

574

:

Jason English (Host): It's incredible.

575

:

Uh, and hopefully, hopefully

you're gonna play that for us,

576

:

uh, after, after we talk, but

577

:

yeah,

578

:

tell us,

579

:

tell us about that and, and, uh,

the inspiration for that one.

580

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): yeah.

581

:

So, um, mountains was

actually a song that I wrote.

582

:

I couldn't really piece

it all together properly.

583

:

It just, I had all the pieces, but it

just couldn't make them fit in time for my

584

:

first album, which is called The Optimist.

585

:

And it's strange because I had to learn

how to actually sing and play that song.

586

:

It was actually a lot more

simpler and it just needed less.

587

:

Um, and in 2020 obviously that was

a very, well I say varies incredibly

588

:

challenging time for everyone.

589

:

Um, it was.

590

:

just stood still.

591

:

And a lot of us just, we didn't

know what to do with that.

592

:

Um, you know, and there was

some damage that can never be

593

:

changed from it, unfortunately.

594

:

Um, but mountains kind

of showed itself then.

595

:

I remember sitting down one day, um, I.

596

:

Just late at night.

597

:

Um, really, really missing music

and missing everything about it.

598

:

Like, you know, I didn't really know

who I was, um, from that as many

599

:

people going through their struggles

would would've, you know, the

600

:

identity gets challenged like heavily.

601

:

And I was just playing it.

602

:

And it was more just

about it being about hope.

603

:

I remember just writing, changing some

lyrics and some melodies and being like

604

:

this, I need something to just be kind of.

605

:

Had a little ember of hope that you

can just harness and, you know, and,

606

:

um, uh, I had to work remotely with

Mike and I remember, luckily we'd

607

:

done all the core bits in his studio.

608

:

So I, we could add like the kind

of textural bits, know, which you

609

:

don't have to be that penty about.

610

:

It's actually more about the vibe

and, you know, your personality

611

:

and those bits and, um, uh.

612

:

Yeah, I was able to finish it off at

home and I remember there's something

613

:

I've done in that track, which makes

me, it was like a little, uh, memory.

614

:

So every time I play it or I hear

it, there's something that I've

615

:

put in there to help me, to remind

me of how I felt in that moment.

616

:

And I dunno if you, um, remember, but I

think Tesla, they all SpaceX, they, they,

617

:

they shot up a, a, a rocket or something

in June or July or something like that.

618

:

And I remember saying to Mike, can you get

the audio of that and put it Oh, no way.

619

:

Yeah.

620

:

So, So, in the middle of the,

there's a middle eight where

621

:

there's just something happening.

622

:

There's this kind of rumble

that happens and it just goes.

623

:

And that I've put in there as a

little bit of a nudge to me of being

624

:

like, be thankful for what, um, what

you have now, again, with music.

625

:

And I remember missing so many

things and so I'm so thankful for, I.

626

:

When that happens, I go, oh, you know, I

get to play, I get see my friends again.

627

:

There's no lockdowns.

628

:

There's all these things that, you know,

you quickly forget of, of that stuff.

629

:

Um, so yeah, mountains was kind of born

out of Embers of Hope, and then amazingly

630

:

when it got released, it, it did that

for some, for, for people who I know.

631

:

And I think that's the, the

best thing about music when

632

:

it's connecting with people.

633

:

Not necessarily what you were trying

to say, but something that they really

634

:

want to hear or something that they

would love to have in their lives.

635

:

Um, you know, they can see

themselves in the song.

636

:

And if you could leave space for someone

to see themself in a song, I think

637

:

that's, that's really, really good.

638

:

Um, creative writing, it's,

it's, yeah, so I think mountains.

639

:

I'm just lucky that the process

happened and it's out there.

640

:

So yeah, I'm just thankful for it already.

641

:

Jason English (Host): No, and

I'm thankful for it, and, uh, I

642

:

know

643

:

thousands of people are, it.

644

:

It's, it's, it's really good.

645

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils): I

just wanted to say thank you so

646

:

much for making all this happen.

647

:

It's been one of the nicest Mondays

at my house I've had for a long time.

648

:

Not like it's bad, but you know,

you get used to the, the coffee

649

:

routine and stuff like that.

650

:

So this was a nice little bit of spice.

651

:

Thanks.

652

:

Jason English (Host): No thank you.

653

:

Deist (We Are All Fossils):

A stroll into the darkness.

654

:

It seems my mind wanted to keep me alone.

655

:

I wasn't scared for myness.

656

:

My eyes started to see the.

657

:

Everywhere you could see a new sun

658

:

up through the air to calm

sea, you could tear down your

659

:

mountains and leave your mind.

660

:

And I saw the small heroes

high in the air ceiling.

661

:

Oh, if we dare to dream.

662

:

I am sure we could see a new sun

again up through the air to calm sea.

663

:

It could tear down your mountain.

664

:

Leave your mind, tear down your

mountains and leave your mind.

665

:

Jason English (Host): Thanks so

much for joining us for another

666

:

episode of Curious Goldfish.

667

:

Please follow and subscribe to

the podcast and on social media.

668

:

Also tell your music loving

friends about us too.

669

:

Until next time, stay curious.

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About the Podcast

Curious Goldfish
A Community Where Inquisitiveness and Music Come Together. Inspired by the Mindset of Ted Lasso.
Launching in 2024, the Curious Goldfish Brand is inspired by two episodes from the First Season of the Apple TV+ Series Ted Lasso.

The “Goldfish” reference is about the importance of not dwelling on mistakes in life. In an early episode, Ted Lasso, the series’ namesake asks one of his players – after they were badly beaten in a play during training – what the happiest animal on earth is. The answer: A Goldfish, because it has a 10-second memory. Lasso encourages the player to forget the mistake and to not let it hinder his mindset. In other words, to “Be a Goldfish.” The “Curious” reference is born from another Season 1 episode where Ted finds himself in a dart match at a local Pub with a ruthless Football Club Owner. Lasso references a quote from Walt Whitman to “Be Curious, Not Judgmental.”

So “Being a Goldfish” is a great start, but curiosity is an undervalued trait in today’s world. We don’t ask enough questions; we don’t inquire enough about each other and about life. So I want people to be “Curious Goldfish.”

The initial premise of the podcast will center around my curiosity about music. I can’t sing. I don’t play a musical instrument, but I am inspired by artists who are vulnerable enough to put their thoughts down and then share them with the entire world. I’m curious about the songwriting process; I’m curious about a musician’s journey; I’m curious about the business of music; I’m curious about who or what inspires a sad song, a love song - and everything in between.

Though the initial premise is music, we will likely spend time discussing and highlighting all-things Ted Lasso. In its three seasons, it inspired the host in so many ways (work, personal, relationships etc).

The musical focus of the Curious Goldfish Podcast will center around up-and-coming artists primarily in rock, roots, folk, Country and Americana genres. Not every aspiring musician will earn $100 million from Spotify streaming like Taylor Swift. Our goal is to shine a light on those artists who have as few as 100 monthly listeners to those with more than 100,000. Their stories deserve to be heard because your music can inspire, and it’s time you had a chance to share them.
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About your host

Profile picture for Jason English

Jason English

Tech Exec by Day, Music Lover Day and Night. Former Journalist who is trying to be a middle-aged William Miller from the Movie Almost Famous. Also, Ted Lasso changed his life...so there's that.