We had a chat with exciting UK indie outfit The Trusted about their brand new single ‘Arkansas’
Over the last five years, UK indie rock band The Trusted have established themselves as a consistent source of engaging tunes and thoughtful songwriting, crafting tracks that feel stacked full of their trademark dynamism and charisma. The outfit however, are just as comfortable penning ballads as they are bangers, and their latest release ‘Arkansas’ is a track that falls firmly into the former category.
The track was written during the enforced UK lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, and reflects a mood that many people up and down the region would have been familiar with. Themes of loneliness and dreams of escapism permeate the track, as songwriter and vocalist Tom Cunningham comes to terms with the sudden changes and the isolation of day to day life. There is an understated beauty in the track, with the outfit eschewing their usual sound for a more electronic-based mellowness that really compliments the narrative and pacing. We had a chat with the outfit about their interesting new release and picked it apart a little bit more.
We love your new single ‘Arkansas’, what more can you tell us about it?
Ah thankyou! Yeah so ‘Arkansas’ was a song born in the later stages of the global lockdown. Because we couldn’t write together in the same room, we found ourselves writing songs on computers. That was something we hadn’t really done before the pandemic.
It was a very lonely time and I think we all felt a bit lost. Arkansas is basically a sonic and lyrically representation of that feeling.
What was the process like putting it together?
It was really fun. It’s definitely the most electronic song we’ve ever written. We spent most of the early stages of the process, experimenting with different synths and soundscapes. By the time we hit the studio, the song was already in a pretty decent shape. We basically used that time to add live guitars and drums. We are really proud of the finished song
What is the story behind the lyrics and the desire to escape within the narrative?
It all links back to how I was feeling at the time. We were still in lockdown and the world was basically stuck inside a moment. I really wanted this song to be a reflection of a that sense of loss and abandonment a lot of people were feeling. I really wanted to escape everything, even though i knew I couldn’t. The lyrics are really about the tension between all those different thoughts and feelings
What was the inspiration behind incorporating things like strings and pianos into the track?
It’s all about adding to the atmosphere. Arkansas is a really delicate, emotional song so it felt
natural to take advantage of pianos, strings and airy synth pads. The more ethereal everything sounded, the better
Also, traditionally we build everything around the guitar and we thought that if we focus on other instruments, we could change up our sound.
What else do you have planned for the near future?
We have a few cool shows coming up as well tons of new music that we cannot wait to get out there!
