Life is a journey, so we’re told.

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 We are born, then educated during our youth, before growing into an adulthood of increasing workload, conformity and responsibility. So often at the latter stages of life, we are inclined to look back and reflect; Did I really make the most of my time? Why didn’t I break free from this race? Would I do it differently if I had my time again? 

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Inspiring wanderlust and a spirit of adventure regardless of age or circumstance, ‘Train Stories’ is a music book of stories and Americana nostalgia through the eyes of a lifelong European; yet it is also much more besides, for this album serves notice to everyone to have the courage to embrace lifelong fantasies and embark upon their very own voyage of exploration. 

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It is at once Americana album and travelog; a self-expression of release and freedom via a lifelong fantasy of travel and exploration. ‘For Roses and Rain’ explores the sense of anticipation of a journey still to come, whilst ‘On The Train Part 1’ confronts a fear of missing out on the tapestry of experiences of the initial 52 hour trip from Chicago to San Francisco.

 

Each song in turn relays a story or an encounter, or the whimsical ponderings of a solitary traveller as they yearn for interaction whilst simultaneously relishing the opportunity for contemplation. Inspiration was everywhere, I wrote all the time whilst on the trip; what I saw, what I felt, what I heard. Words called out to me, based on experiences, coincidences, or sometimes just something I’d seen on a road sign.”

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Working with co-producers Henning Sernhede and Frida Claeson Johansson, I managed to encapsulate the spirit of many of my North American influences in both vocals and storytelling; be they Gillian Welch, Band of Horses or Cat Power, there is an astute eye for observation in evidence from the outset, as much as there is a celebration of my own enjoyment of the Americana lineage which clearly runs throughout. 

 

The album, like the trip itself, culminates in New York City; I was at once excited to return to the Big Apple, but also sad to leave behind my new life of dining cars, rivers, and great plains. 

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Listen to Train Stories on Spotify