The Wireless presents the premiere of Chris William's new single 'Worse Than Me'.
‘Worse Than Me’ is the latest single from Chris William, the Christchurch-based musician who has previously played bass for local acts Amiria Grenell, Sparkle Kitty, Matt Smith and The Goldonies. Now breaking out on his own, Chris has been working on his solo material for the past couple of years. We hit him up to find out about the story behind the song and to ask about when we can expect to see even more.
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You’re based in Christchurch? How do you see yourself fitting in with the scene down there?
I think people know me here as a bass player, but not as a composer or bandleader. Eventually I'd like to start playing this music live. I'm mulling over how exactly that will be possible. I love the energy and interaction of performing with other people, so it definitely won't be just me.
What’s the story behind ‘Worse Than Me’?
I find the initial spark of songwriting exciting and easy, while the commitment to drudge out the rest is much harder to muster.
I started writing it a year and a half ago, then kind of cast it aside. I later got my friend Jonty to add some Machinedrum to the track, and he took it into a much more electronic and synth-heavy direction, which inspired me to rewrite the lyrics and finish it. I find the initial spark of songwriting exciting and easy, while the commitment to drudge out the rest is much harder to muster.
Lyrically it's about looking outward and realising no one else knows what they're doing in life either, and we're all making it up as we go along. Inexplicably, the song is also about getting an enormous fright from a cat.
You released ‘Not The Same’ last August. Do you see these recordings coming together in the form of something bigger like an EP, or are you just testing the waters?
I'm working towards releasing an EP later this year. I've got a bunch of music that's half finished, I really need to pick a few tracks that sit really well together lyrically and sonically and be done with it!
That's the problem with doing it all yourself; if you're prone to procrastination, you can churn up far too much time tweaking minute details or endlessly second guessing yourself.
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