When the world went into lockdown, singer songwriter Scott Lloyd began volunteering as a gardener in the spectacular grounds of Cheshire’s Dunham Massey Estate and immediately connected with a new feeling of inner peace. Without weekly gigs, the connection with outside space became necessary to Scott’s music, allowing an almost meditative experience to evolve into song writing inspiration. The result is his second studio album, Waterlands, released in April.
The sounds of nature that Scott encountered in Cheshire make it onto the album, with natural imagery, sounds and lyrics featuring throughout, not least in the title. Despite the natural and rural backdrop, the album deals with emotions of love, mental health and loss. Scott says
“This album feels like my love letter to the rural side of life. I have grown a passion for all things nature related. Walking, gardening, bird watching, fishing and an all round love of nature & wildlife are things that have become a mainstay in my life, and they have become more important since the first lockdown in 2020. Nature was a huge solace for me when all my gigs and work quickly vanished. Daily walks and being out working in the garden changed my life for the better. The album isn’t entirely about these loves, but each song became more of a reality to me from the calmness, happiness and wonder that the outdoors brought me, and through that the songs came into being.”
The best track on the album is the penultimate, ‘Miss You Dearly‘, a song with immense danceability that gives the listener a feel of freedom and joy. Although the song deals with moving on and missing someone, it still feels joyful; moving on does not have to be a sad or bad thing. It’s a seriously singable song, complete with crowd chant that will have you instantly joining in. ‘California‘ coming immediately after has a similar, Americana vibe and leaves the listener on a high after eleven tracks.
Scott deals with mental health issues sensitively, perhaps best seen on ‘In the Water’, a gentle song that morphs into more of a toe tapper, having given us simple yet moving imagery of “sinking like a stone in the water”. The similarly toe tapping ‘With Different Eyes‘ shows us Scott’s talents as a lyricist with “come out the other side and I’ll see the world with different eyes”.
Other notable songs are ‘Old Scrapbook‘ and ‘It’s All For You‘ – different musical styles but both beautiful words about love.
Scott’s advice to aspiring musicians is all about the ‘why’ you want to make music:
“My advice to any aspiring musician is to always do it for the love of it. If you’re doing it for fame or money or popularity you’re going to struggle. I always say that I do it for the feeling I get when I’ve just written a new song that I love, or written a melody or a lyric that I think is great. That feeling when you’ve just created something beautiful in that moment is what I do it for, even before anyone’s heard it. I do it for that moment. It’s just your creation for that moment. I know I wouldn’t be happy if I was just doing it to get the recognition or credit from other people, or needing people to say ‘well done’ or ‘that’s great’ because that doesn’t give me what I’m after. It’s a bi-product of what I’ve done. For me, my success is determined by what I create and how I feel about, that way I’m in full control of my success and creativity. You’re the captain of your own ship and you aren’t relying on others to have the same vision. I need to do it because I love song writing, I love music and I feel compelled to it.”
Waterlands was released on 29 April. Get your copy here.
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