A First Time For Everything
First things first
Welcome to Week One of Oh CRUMBS!
This week, we’ll be looking at “firsts”:
The first single I released
Quote(s) about firsts
A movie I wish I could watch for the first time again
A poem about firsts
And the first ever Peach Picks!
Crumbs, that is a lot of firsts!
Behind The Song 🎙️
One of the reasons for starting this Substack, other than following the crumbs of course, was to find a new way to release my music. For so many artists and songwriters, it’s becoming more and more of a challenge to be heard on social media and online - more than 80,000 songs are released each day on Spotify and Apple Music, which is bonkers!
So I wanted to try something different and see what a release plan through Substack might look like. But before throwing brand new music at you, I wanted to share my back catalogue. Many of you might know me as only a songwriter-producer, so when I started Peachkit, I was scared of blurring the lines between artist and songwriter and might confuse the industry by switching lanes. So I thought I’d make Peachkit an anonymous artist, one you could hear, but not see. I’ll explain in a few weeks how that unravelled, but the first single I ever released as Peachkit was Love To Hate.
I co-wrote it with the amazing Dario Darnell (also known as Youngr) who also produced the track. We wrote it just before the world shut down in February 2020, so managed to do most of the writing and recording in person, but Dario played a huge part in the rest of the EP which we did remotely. If you are a paid subscriber, you’ll get some very cool extras about the making of the EP in the coming weeks!
The song is about celebrity culture and the current obsession our society has with making certain individuals God-like figures - building them up to only tear them down when they inevitably let it slip that they are, in fact, human. Now I don’t know about you, but I have definitely fallen into the trap of forming quick opinions and snap judgments on people I don’t know before realising that just like me, they’re human and fallible and make mistakes. The song is from the perspective of the media, singing to their "golden gods", suggesting without their praise and adoration, they are nothing. Because to be in the public eye, you need the press, but once you’re in their spotlight, it’s hard to get out of it. And as they say, ‘you can’t bite the hand that feeds.’
Whilst I wanted Peachkit to be anonymous, I always knew I wanted visuals alongside my songs which left me in a bit of a pickle - how do you show something you can’t see? Luckily, I was introduced the amazing Jamie Korn, via the equally amazing Matt Belmont, and we came up with the idea of my mouth being the centrepiece (mouthpiece if you please) and this wonderfully, crazy, off the wall video was born.
If you are listening or watching Love To Hate for the first time, I’d love to know your thoughts!
Quote For It 📜
Whilst this section will normally be reserved for one quote, since this is the first newsletter, I’m giving you two quotes! This is partly because I couldn’t choose between them, and partly because I’m obsessed with The New Look on Apple TV at the moment. (#geminimoon)
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”
— John C. Maxwell
“To achieve great things, we must first dream.”
— Coco Chanel
Watch It 🎬
With the theme of firsts going strong, I was thinking about what film I would love to watch again for the first time. There are too many to name, but if I had to pick one it would be Sing Street. I remember when I watched it I thought, ‘I’m gutted I’ll never get to watch this for the first time again!’
If you haven’t seen Sing Street, I’d highly recommend it, and I’d also love to know what film you’d want to see again for the first time?
From The Poet Tree 📚
A section for poetry, some by me, some by others. This one is by me, and no guesses as to the theme… 1️⃣
First
It’s hard to start. It’s like walking into the ocean,
Knowing you’ll get to a point where the water reaches your belly button
And it will feel too cold to continue, so you’ll turn back, save it for another day
When the sea is warmer, when you have a friend, who’ll walk beside you, distract you.
I wonder if that’s why people jump, head first, dive straight in at the deep end -
That way they can’t turn back, they can’t change their mind
They’re in. And that’s the moment
It begins.
Peach Picks 🍑
This final section is one I’ve been the most excited about as this is where I share my Spotify playlist of “Songs My Friends Wrote”. The artwork for the playlist is by the incredible Austin Kleon, who is one of the main reasons I started a Substack, and the spotlight this week falls on Youngr (who I did the first Peachkit EP with), Kerri Watt (who was the artist I had my first cut with) and Menna (who was one of the first artists I worked with in Nashville).
Thanks so much for following this first set of crumbs, can’t wait to share more next week!
Love,
