We have had a quite a few questions about our song writing process recently so we thought we would write about it in this instalment of ‘Folk & Mirrors’. Anyone who has had a crack at song writing will know that there is rarely a set ‘process’, and each song has a different journey that brings it to life.
When we first started writing songs together it was not very cohesive. We progressed our ideas quite far
individually and would work on them together towards the end. Neither of us had a lot of experience with writing songs and we were still in the early stages of our friendship, so it took a little while to build up the creative vulnerability that is needed to write songs with another person.
We played to our strengths - Rhiannon with lyrics and Jax with chord progression and rhythm. Having someone to write with really elevated our personal ideas and turned them into something special. We are very proud of the our first original tracks (available now on our debut EP ‘Acoustic Sessions’). On reflection, the separation in the creative process has resulted in quite a random collection of songs. This makes sense, as we were still finding our feet as musicians and as a band.
The song we enjoyed writing the most was ‘Susan’, because we worked on it together in the same room. Moving forward, we knew wanted to do more of this, and it became much easier over time as we grew closer as friends and creative partners. It's much more fun to write songs together- we wrote a song about a pirate ('O'Malley') while drinking red wine and eating pizza. It has also allowed us to write songs that are even more authentic and represent us not just as individuals, but as a duo. The more songs we write together, the more we are refining our sound and pushing the boundaries of what we want to create. We think this will really become apparent when we release our first album (likely early 2025).
Another benefit of working more closely throughout the song writing process is stepping out of our comfort zones. Jax has been writing lyrics and Rhiannon has been contributing more with the composition of the music, making us both stronger musicians. This really came to a peak in our song ‘Broken Glass’. Jax wrote the lyrics, and Rhiannon helped with editing to get the song the right length without losing any of the emotion. The chords and melody were a joint effort, with lots of experimentation to get the right combination. The song also demonstrates Jax's progress when it comes to singing, making us more of a true ‘duo’.
Writing in the same room helps you to be more honest with yourself and each other. You can play the song
together as you are writing it and see which bits aren't working and what needs changing. We definitely experienced this while writing ‘When Morning Comes’. We had all of the elements of a great song but it took several attempts to put them together in the right order so that the structure and rhythm of the song was right.
‘O’Malley', ‘Broken Glass’ and ‘When Morning Comes’ will all be released this year as part of our second EP that was recorded in November 2023. Keep an eye out for announcements on our social media pages and sign up to our mailing list for the latest updates.
For us, there are a few things that are absolutely essential when it comes to writing songs together. Respect, vulnerability, open-mindedness and patience. And a bottle of red wine always helps! We trust each other enough not to hold back when it comes to emotions, thoughts, ideas, and mistakes. We've really got into the swing of it now, so much that we have to stop ourselves from progressing any idea too far until we can work on it together, ensuring that each song is a true ‘Act Happy’ creation.
Going forward, we want to really explore the ‘dark folk’ element of our music. This means digging deeper into difficult emotions, pushing ourselves when it comes to melody, harmony and overlapping our contrasting vocals, and experimenting with new sound effects and equipment. We are really excited about the future of Act Happy and the evolution of our music - stay tuned for more updates along the way!