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

Deist (We Are All Fossils): There's

a competitive nature that's come

2

into music, or maybe I'm just a bit

more aware of it now, which, doesn't

3

really embrace, a collective win.

4

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

a thing called Ubuntu, it's something

5

which comes from like the African cultures

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

6

You all kind of.

7

You know, achieve things together

and dunno about yourself.

8

But when you've achieved something

on your own and you turn around,

9

there's no one to celebrate with.

10

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

can share it with someone, the struggle

11

and the, the the end result, and if

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

12

it's something you can hold onto now.

13

I think it just propels you to be maybe

a bit more, um, giving of love rather

14

than living in a fearful state, you know?

15

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.

146

And I started falling into like,

love with a whole different kind

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of music that was coming out.

148

I felt like a name change

was gonna be there.

149

And I don't really have the most,

like, easily, you know, I don't

150

have a memorable name really.

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My full name is Yako, so that's

not gonna, you know, do that good

152

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

165

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

170

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,

190

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

192

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

196

songs and I was interacting with a few

different musicians and labels sometimes

197

do get in the way, of creativity.

198

You know, sometimes you cage your

ideas too tightly and they can't grow.

199

Um.

200

So we're all fossils to me was just,

it was a project that was just kind

201

of evolving with who was around and

who wants to be part of it and who's

202

kind of in tune with what's going on.

203

It's not any massive pressures

on who's involved or not.

204

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,

206

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

208

people will like and they will enjoy,

and at the end you just kind of end up

209

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

210

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.

214

And I think the point you made earlier

around, you know, a community and, and

215

sort of being connected, isn't that

sort of the essence of music as well?

216

Deist (We Are All Fossils): I.

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A hundred percent.

218

And, uh, I think that's, we

kind of lost sight of that as.

219

There's a competitive nature that's

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

220

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

really embrace, uh, a collective win.

221

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?

223

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.

226

You know, achieve things together

and dunno about yourself.

227

But when you've achieved something

on your own and you turn around,

228

there's no one to celebrate with.

229

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

can share it with someone, the struggle

230

and the, the the end result, and if

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

231

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

233

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.

262

'cause I felt like it was a real

moment for me that I wanted to share.

263

And then the next day I remember getting

like this cease and desist thing from, uh.

264

YouTube or something.

265

Like, they're like basically saying,

you've done something really bad.

266

You, you need to stop,

uh, you know, doing this.

267

But then I saw the numbers of how many

people watched it and I was oh, but there

268

are people out there who are thinking

like me and are interacting in my way.

269

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

and just see if I can connect with them.

270

And that kind of like, had

exactly the same thing.

271

I got connected with a lot of people who

had the same moment as me and we had like

272

our little, you know, like hopefully me

and you're gonna talk about Sufjan and

273

you know, like deep love for certain

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

274

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.

280

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

282

as the connection with the community

and the people who interacted.

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Um.

284

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

300

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.

305

It was, um, the way to still be

connected and, and in a weird way,

306

you are writing with the people

who are watching your videos.

307

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.

312

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

314

up with your own ego or like, know, or

like take the wheel a different way.

315

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,

317

a theme or poetry or lyrics or, you

know, or did it just range like from

318

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

320

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.

324

Was basically saying, she's at the age

of 17 now and her life is nowhere near

325

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,

327

the kind of things you have as a teenager.

328

But there was a whole different

ball game in play as well.

329

There was obviously, other

emotional elements which were

330

really pulling at the strings.

331

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

it was very clear that that was going on.

332

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.

335

And that changed her life and that that

was something which, you know, and I

336

remember writing those lyrics in there.

337

'cause I was like, oh, you need

to see that you are well, to me

338

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.

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Jason English (Host): gosh.

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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.

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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,

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.