New York, NY (Top40 Charts) "Let Me In Again," which is coupled with "A Fine Surprise" on the latest offering in
Louise Goffin's ongoing digital singles project, might seem like a plea to an old lover, but it is really a plea to our tech-centric world. The song was inspired by Goffin noticing we spend so much of our time online that we "miss out at being present to what's available around us." She delivers this highly relevant message for our time in a beguiling ballad that deftly balances a raw simplicity with a subtly sweeping arrangement.
The song's opening line "No one has time" is actually what Goffin first said when she met with Marvin Etzioni (Counting Crows/Peter Case producer) to try to write together. The phrase instantly sparked with them. Goffin recalls "knowing it was great" just listening to an early version and now feels the song reveals even more poignancy in its finished version, which she co-produced with Dave Way and, as Goffin describes them, a "to-die-for band."
"No one has time," in fact, was the song's title until an engineer mislabeled their demo as "Let Me In Again," a title Etzioni and Goffin both agreed was better. Etzioni has nothing but praise for his collaborator. "She would pick up an idea where I would leave off, and finish a chord progression that would take the song to a new level," he shares, adding that Goffin "not only is a gifted artist, but she is also a sweet spirit in a world where her voice is needed and welcome."
"Let Me In Again" also proved inspiring to filmmaker/actor/musician Billy Jayne, who heard a rough mix of it that Goffin played at a photo shoot in the Joshua Tree desert. Finding the song highly visual, he offered to make a video for it - and, several months later, Goffin took Jayne up on his offer. The video, Goffin explains, goes back to a time where she is remembering her younger self. It tells the story of two teens experiencing love and intimacy for the first time, and how you can't really understand it as the best time of your life until you are older.
Goffin describes "A Fine Surprise," the other A-side on her new digital single, as actually being "a fine surprise." At first, Goffin admits, the song was deathly slow; however, a key and tempo change took the tune to where it need to be. The track now is a captivating piece of swirling, super melodic pop that is "about finding light at the end of a tunnel when it all feels like it's going to be dark forever."
"A Fine Surprise" resulted from Goffin's initial song-writing meet-up with singer/songwriter Billy
Harvey (Patty Griffin, Bob Schneider, Slaid Cleaves). The two realized that all their songs were about break-ups, so they resolved to write a love song together. The song's lyrics, Goffin shares, deal with coming out of grief and experiencing the "fine surprise" of discovering that there can be hope and a new life on the other side.
"A Fine Surprise" wound up being the first of around a dozen tunes that Goffin wrote with Harvey. The two of them, Goffin reveals, had "chemistry from the get-go…where we run with each other's ideas and there's a compatible ease with one another's process." The duo, in fact, performed some shows together - and the name they chose to call themselves, not surprisingly, was A Fine Surprise.
The "Let Me In Again"/"A Fine Surprise" single follows the October 11 release of "
Revenge"/"Bird Of Paradise," the initial release in Goffin's digital single series. She plans on releasing a new single around every six weeks. This project represents the highly creative period Goffin is currently experiencing. Much of the past year she spent recording with Way, a four-time Grammy-winning producer/engineer. So far, they have co-produced 24 tracks, which Goffin considers her best work to date. She is thrilled too over the amazing group of guest musicians, including
Rufus Wainwright, Chris Difford (Squeeze), keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty), drummer Pete
Thomas (Elvis Costello), and guitarist Ben Peeler (Shelby Lynne), who contributed to these sessions.
These digital singles also exemplify Goffin's desire to get her music out quickly and be heard. Her determination to "make music and share it" stems greatly from her frustrating experiences in the major label world. After releasing her debut album Kid Blue while still a teenager and being the youngest artist on the Fast Times at Ridgemont High soundtrack, Goffin grew exasperated over the slow process to get her albums released. For example, she turned in the music for her 2002 album Sometimes a Circle (which wound up being her last major label release) in 1999.
Since starting her own Majority of One label around a decade ago, the quite productive Goffin has put out four well-regarded CDs, three of which came out within a year of one another, Bad
Little Animals (2008), Songs From the Mine (2014), Appleonfire (2015) and The Essential
Louise Goffin Vol 1. (2016), which mixed several new tunes with tracks from her three prior albums. Appleonfire was inspired by, and a tribute to, her father, the great songwriter Gerry Goffin, who passed away in 2014. The disc features three songs co-written by her dad, one song she co-wrote with him, and two of her originals. She has worked with her mother
Carole King during the past decade too, producing King's 2011 Grammy-nominated A Holiday Carole CD, which Goffin says was a truly fun collaborative time.
Goffin's music biz adventures also inspired her in the past few years to lead master classes. More than just giving a lesson in songwriting, Goffin shares the wisdom of her professional experiences, while trying to save others from the pitfalls that she encountered. Among the messages that she imparts: people waste a lot of time seeking external assistance and approval, and they really need just to take the reins of their career and "create their own momentum."
With the release of the "Let Me In Again"/"A Fine Surprise" digital single, Goffin is launching into 2018 with the music and momentum to make it an exciting year for her. For more details on her digital singles series, visit www.louisegoffin.com for updates.
