III.
GAZEBO | WILDFLOWER
"Wildflower" is an apology letter to nature. Using a representation of the environment we are all familiar with.
This song is a dialogue for us to recognize human behaviour towards nature in the past and in the present. The future starts with admitting the responsibility that needs to be taken and respect that needs to be given.
Subtropical humidity, crickets chirping and the constant grazing of a large herd of cattle formed the perfect setting to write this letter. A true team effort led this rudimentary, raw and honest plea to the Wildflower.
"It got to the point where I started dreaming about the song,
getting really obsessive and frustrated, very happy and then sad. It was truly a wild
rollercoaster of emotions for me."
- Marie
"Cows grazed around us and the sun shone ten plus hours a day. But it was impossible not to notice the waste we created while we were isolated. The world needs to be the number one priority."
- Mitch
"It was a very organic process, however, the longest one of all the songs with many ups and downs."
- Marie
"Although we didn’t want to talk about our fears for the environment too much, it was obvious we took our concerns there with us and we found ways to bring into the lyrics."
- Michael
"I remember going to Jarred and Marie, sitting on the swinging bench. They were working on the bridge section of 'Wildflower'. I traded places with Jarred while he left to take a break. I opened up to Marie about the things I wanted to say to nature if I could. That conversation gave us the bridge as it is now. We had an extra line at the end and weren't quite sure how to make it work and rhyme. Mitchell came over and we asked him what he thought. He told us it didn't need it. We knew he was right and jumped up and celebrated with him. We finished the lyrics."
- Michael
"We arrived at the retreat having so much to say that we were almost too overwhelmed with all the things we wanted to express through the music."
- Marie
"It was amazing to see how we all adapted to a central process that was clearly defined unconsciously, like through-composing to an unintentional tee!"
- Victor
"I got
to write the lyrics of the bridge with Michael and most of the melodies of the song."
- Marie
"The experience was a fantastic blend of bonding, creative artistic expression, and overcoming obstacles as a team."
- Jarred
"My experience writing this song was challenging, exhausting as well as exhilarating and fun."
- Marie
"After the first day, my passionate feelings about the current environmental issues came up. That's when the title 'Wildflower' came to me."
- Marie
"This Isolation, I shared my feelings about the environment openly with Marie. This was only part of an ongoing discussion that gave inspiration behind some of the lyrics."- Michael
"Marie came up with the title ‘Wildflower’ and the concept of
writing an apology letter to the environment."
- Mitch
"'Wildflower' was a tricky one."
- Jarred
"During the trip we still went and bought styrofoam packaged eggs and ate with single-use plastic cutlery now and then. I’m hoping that with the months to come, the lyrics of "Wildflower" will sink in, in hopes that we too can help the world recover from humanity’s environmental abuse. It would give the apology letter we wrote the congruence it deserves."
- Michael