Q: “There You Go” is a high energy, positive attitude anthem. What inspired you to write this song?
WARD: Honestly, the frustration of seeing people with so much privilege either take it for granted and squander it, or only see the world in a scarcity mindset and complain about it. Gratitude and abundance are things I prioritize, but the world around me doesn’t always align. That kind of friction led to me writing this song. From seeing it in people I know well as well as people in our global society. It was hitting me from all angles and I wanted to write a song that punished that behavior.
Q: Who would you most like to collaborate with, if it could be anyone in the world?
WARD: Caroline Polachek.
Q: In your own words, how would you describe the music that you typically create?
WARD: People have come to know me as an “indie-folk” singer because of my acoustic Sondheim covers, but that was just a style and a genre that fit the project. In regard to my own original music, I’m an ethereal pop artist. I decided to come up with genre titles that I felt aligned with my new music and arrived at Astral Acoustronica and Introspective Celestica. There’s something sparkly and magical about the sonic world I’m drawn to making while still making room for all sorts of different textures, both organic as well as electronic.
Q: Where did you get the inspiration for the “There You Go” music video? Walk us through the process of creating it.
WARD: I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea of a silver platter. That was the first thing that stuck. The whole premise of the song is creating my own karma for the ingrates of the world, so what if the silver platter their lives were served on was empty? That’s where I began and then kept brainstorming more ideas that fed into that overarching theme of rectification. That’s when I came up with the lemons and the lemonade. The people who complain can begin to immunize themselves against positivity. Positive people can be such a killer of their negativity parade, I thought why not have the lemonade act like a kind of positivity poison? I made the entire thing by myself with my iPhone in my apartment. I shot it over two days and edited it over two days. It was a satisfying DIY experience!
Q: Was there a pivotal moment in your life when you decided to follow your path as a musician?
WARD: I’ve been doing music my entire life, starting with piano and violin lessons at the age of 5, wherein I began writing my own compositions. I’ve also done musical theatre since I was 8, beginning voice lessons. It wasn’t until the Sondheim covers that I saw my two artistic worlds begin to converge, but now I feel so dedicated to my own voice, I’m really following where my original work takes me. Being a multi-hyphenate can be confusing at times because you have so many passions, skills, and perspectives you want to participate in, but I’m letting my path dictate where I am meant to be. And right now, the path is taking me to Ethereal Pop Land.
Q: What is coming up next for you?
WARD: I can’t wait to release more music and ultimately release my full album. With that, I want to create a theatrical and personable live musical experience to go along with it. I want to tour these songs in my own way and give people a transformative night of music and connection.
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