Episode 790: Tove Stryke

[00:00:03] I have had long rollouts before. Usually it's been because of the fact that the album hasn't been finished and it's been delayed. So the rollouts become longer. But this time it was deliberate because I wanted to release more music before the album came.

[00:00:38] And I don't know, like now looking back at it, I don't know if that was a good or a bad thing. But there really wasn't any other way I could have done it. Because I really felt like I needed to release the song Prayer in January.

[00:01:00] And I really feel like this album had to come out in the fall. Like it's just the nature of the music. Like it had to happen now and it had to start happen then. So here we are. It was just a fall, it was like an autumn vibe record. Like seasonally you were just you were sitting on it, you were waiting for it because it just it felt like a fall record.

[00:01:23] I think all music really belongs to it has like a time and a place. And every single with this album, I've been really, really trying to match the timing with the mood of the song. Like me and you for instance, that has always been like a like a late summer driving in like the sunset kind of song.

[00:01:51] It's just that's the way I've like I've discovered it. And that's the way I want somebody else to discover it. And, and every release has just felt right in that way. Like it's landed where it should.

[00:02:07] It's nice to be able to have that level of, I guess, sort of control over your schedule where, you know, you can talk to, I don't know, is it the record label or who ultimately makes these decisions? You can say, hey, I'm I, this is all recorded, but let's kind of sit on this for a little bit.

[00:02:25] I mean, it's a discussion. It is, but I have a lot of, I mean, they, the people who work with me, trust me, they trust my vision. And thankfully, so it's very hard to work. I feel like when there are too many chefs.

[00:02:53] It is, but it's also hard, I think, just generally speaking, obviously been doing this for a while, but it's hard to get to a point where you've gained that level of trust. I guess. I, I've just always expected it.

[00:03:14] I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Yeah. I, I, I just, yeah, I, I guess I'm just sort of thinking just like largely speaking with, as I've spoken with people in the past, they certainly like dealing.

[00:03:26] And this has changed. Um, the nature of the music industry has changed. Um, the nature of music publishing has changed, but, um, you know, a lot of times, depending on the label and, uh, your relationship with them, you know, there, there isn't always that level of trust that's put into the artist. Certainly when it comes to something that I, I guess would be regarded as like a business decision in a certain sense.

[00:03:54] No, of course. I mean, like, and I've been, I have been working, I have been working, uh, with this releasing music for, uh, 16 years. Um, and I've actually, I've been with the same level, label, um, through all this time.

[00:04:14] Um, so definitely there's, there's been trust that has been built through the years, of course, but yeah. Uh, but it's always been a good relationship. I feel like, um, but yeah. One of the things that I, that you spoke about around that time period, around sort of like March, February, when you were doing, uh, a certain bit of press around it was the name change.

[00:04:41] And that struck me as a really interesting that it was, it was actually a pretty profound realization. It seems like that you came to in the process of, I don't know whether it was writing or recording these songs or a realization about this sort of the nature or the, the, the themes of the songs themselves.

[00:05:02] Like, you know, what's interesting is that it was the releasing of the music. It was releasing the music. Cause I had, I had everything finished, uh, end of last year when I started releasing music, everything was done. I, it was, I was mixing the album. Um, and I thought I had it figured out.

[00:05:27] I thought I knew what it was, but this year has been so wild to me. I've never in these 16 years ever experienced, uh, like releasing music to be so intertwined with my emotional life. Like it really, really had an impact on me. Uh, and the, the longer I've been living with it,

[00:05:59] the more I've been talking about it, the more I've been talking about it, like in interviews and with friends and like with my therapist. Um, I'm realizing that this album, this music, it's part of a much bigger journey than I'm on. Uh, it's a journey of healing of like self acceptance of, of, of, of like, just like coming to terms with who I am in my life.

[00:06:28] And, and, and this, and this, and this time that we, we are living in. Um, and, uh, yeah, I always like, usually I've always kept like a certain distance to, to the work that I'm doing. It's safer that way. You're, you're not putting yourself out there too much. I like that, you know, that safety, but it becomes so much more interesting when you, when you dare to like, really like tear down those walls and, and, and speak truthfully.

[00:06:58] And honestly, I want to talk about that distance because is that, you know, there's, so there, there, there's, there's two things here, right? So there's, there's just the distance, generally speaking. There's, there's distance as far as, um,

[00:07:11] Um, you know, maybe, maybe in interviews, not giving up too much of yourself. Um, you know, not like not showing your hands, but then it sounds really like the, the primary distinction, at least up till now has been experiencing those things in real time. Like that's the big differentiator here, right? Is, is that you've allowed yourself to, um, to go through this process prior to actually fully releasing the record.

[00:07:38] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. So I feel like it's almost like a performance art piece in, in that way. Like it, it, like, and, and, and it's, um, uh, a lot of this, like,

[00:07:54] inner work that I am doing, like for me personally has been about trying to make my inner world, what's going on inside of me, my self image, uh, and what I show the world and what, what you perceive in me, try and make those worlds become a little bit closer. I mean, they will always be different. Like,

[00:08:18] you, you, you, they can't be the same. They just can't, but, but, but, but, but at least they can like be in balance with each other. And I think I've often felt, I've, I've, up until this point in my life, I felt like there hasn't been balanced. I felt, I felt like,

[00:08:37] like, like misunderstood. Uh, and it's not because, because of the observer, it's because I don't dare to be myself, um, uh, around other people and publicly or anywhere. Like, cause I, cause I haven't fully accepted me myself, um, as I am. So it's, it's, it's, um, um, Um, and, and, and the album, like it, it like describes that process.

[00:09:06] How old were you when you were on Swedish Idol? 16. 16. Okay. So I mean, that, that, I, that explains a lot to me as far as like being, um, you know, being, not secretive, but, but playing things close to the chest. Mm. I think you have to like, cause it is,

[00:09:32] as I said before, like, like putting yourself out there, like you're, you're opening yourself up to harm. Uh, you want to protect yourself. That, that's why, that's, that's what those walls are for. They're protection. Literally being a 16 year old girl on national television, like that's the, that's, that's an extremely vulnerable position regardless. Mm. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Uh, and I also think that like,

[00:10:02] as the person, I always had, uh, a lot of like integrity, like even before then. So that, that like, uh, all of a sudden, like being in the spotlight like that, like, uh, being like front news, like every week, that was such a weird clash. And I think that really made me like, um,

[00:10:31] retreat even more into myself and hold, even guard myself even harder. I think, I think a lot of like, uh, celebrities and artists and, and, and like, yeah, uh, uh, people like that do that. In a very real sense, you feel that it's been difficult for you figuring out who you are, or at least who you've grown into as a person over the past, um, gosh, how long has it been? You know, 15 years as you,

[00:11:01] as you said, um, because you have been in the public eye for so long. It's not, it's not just that, but it's part of it. It's part of it. What, what, what else would you attribute to, uh, that to? It's everything in life. Everything. That's what I'm, that's no, but like, that's what I'm learning in therapy. I will sit there every week and be like, but there is not, there isn't anything. It's been fine. I've been, I've been so loved.

[00:11:30] My parents were so great. And then you will like, uh, after like a couple of times, there will be this one little thing that you thought was like, Oh, but that's so obvious that that can't, that can't matter. And then you start crying and you get so emotional because there was this knot somewhere in there that was stuck. And you like, you just have to take it out. You have to look at it and like, okay, this is what this is.

[00:12:00] I'm accepting it. And now we can move on. I've just always tried to move on, look forward. What's the next thing? What's the next thing? And that's really, that's, that's not a sustainable way to deal with, uh, your emotions. You said, as you said, your, your, your parents were, were loving and supportive. And I know that, you know, your, your father has a, you know, a musical, had a musical career, was in the public eye as well. Were they,

[00:12:30] how were they able to support you putting yourself out there at such a young age? Like any parents would, I think. I think a lot of parents just wouldn't, you know, just, you know what I mean? Most wouldn't. Yeah. New, no, but I, yeah. Okay. But yeah, that, that's different. Like, uh, in my family, most people didn't finish school and most people did get into some kind of like,

[00:13:00] um, creative profession. Yeah. Performing. Yeah, exactly. It was either dance or music. Uh, and you did both, right? I mean, you had both sides. Yeah. And a little bit of everything. I do a little bit of everything. I still do. Um, uh, so yeah, no, of course there, there wasn't any, um, resistance, uh, in going into that, um, that field. No. Did you not, did you not finish school?

[00:13:30] I didn't. I regret that so much. I really do. But, but cause, cause then like once, once you're like start earning your living, uh, doing, doing this, it becomes really hard to motivate yourself to go back and like finish it. Cause I used to think like when I, when I dropped out, I used to think like, Oh, but I can just like finish it later. Whenever there's time, there's never time. Cause now you have a job. Uh, I should have just done it immediately.

[00:13:57] I will never allow my kid to drop out of school ever. It's one of those things. I think like, I think when that happens for a lot of people, they're like, well, you know, I mean, maybe this won't work out. And then if this doesn't work out that I could do it, but like you were almost like cursed by your own success, right? You didn't really have a chance to take a break and go back and do it because like, it sounds like this has been a pretty consistent thing since you had that first break.

[00:14:29] Yeah. Pretty, pretty consistent. You've allowed yourself to take a little bit of time then. I mean, a little bit of like breathing room. I mean, I know that like a few, a few of the things that you mentioned, a few of the things that I think were mentioned to me, um, as far as what's happened between the last record in this one, some of them professional, you know, the, um, the state, the Bowie stage play, which is very cool.

[00:14:58] But also you had a kid. I had a kid. And then what's really fascinating to me is, uh, biodynamic gardening. Yeah. Is that like, is that like, I almost picture that being like homesteading or something, or are you, are you living on a farm now? I'm not, I'm not, I want to. That's like, that's, that's what I fantasize about. Like when, when,

[00:15:26] when I go to bed and I'm like, Oh, what should I like dream about now? I'm going to dream about my farm. I'm going to dream about the chickens I'm going to have. And I'm like planning, planning it all out. uh, but seems like an achievable dream or is there something holding you back from that specific dream? It's just like each thing and it's right time right now. We're,

[00:15:56] we're living in this area in Stockholm that is, it's so hard to leave because the community here is great. It's, it's, it's like, um, suburb that's really close to the city, the South of Stockholm called Hagestan. It's, it's a really hipster area. Uh, but, but like, and we have all our friends here. Uh, there's like all these like nice cafes and little like wine bars and like the

[00:16:25] restaurant where they like know you. It's, it's, it's, that's, that's worth something like community. Our, we, our daycare is tiny and all the parents are like friends. Like it's, it's, it's, it's very, uh, it's a convenient life that, that, that's really suitable right now. But I think, I think like in the future, um, every time I moved in the city, I keep moving further out. I think I will,

[00:16:54] I will keep moving further out until I have my chickens. But, um, uh, yeah, but yeah, the gardening, it's, it's, I don't know what happened. It just, just one day, just, it just hit me and I was hooked. Yeah. Yeah. No, I, I, I moved, I was in, um, I was in New York City for like 20 years and I bought a, I'm about two hours North now in the Hudson Valley up at a house.

[00:17:23] And then the minute I got a little bit of room, I just became like plant, plant guy. It's like everywhere. As you, as you do, you do. Yeah. But, but, but, but I think what I, what I, what I think, I, I, I think there's something more interesting. I play here. Cause I, again, this is something that I, I've seen you discuss, discuss quite a bit. And to a certain extent,

[00:17:50] I think something that living through the pandemic really, um, instilled in us is that, uh, analogs aren't really a replacement for, um, human interaction. Um, and, and how, how, how easy it is to become isolated now, how important it is to hold onto those bonds,

[00:18:19] especially the, those, those real world bonds. And, and, and I, I, I talked to a lot of people about this, that I, I'm convinced that certainly here, I'm, I'm sure that there's, uh, a strong correlation, a strong parallel in, in, uh, in, in Sweden. Well, I know all across Europe, but that a lot of the current ills that we're dealing with right now are a direct product of this isolation.

[00:18:50] Hmm. All the anger that's that were, that just sort of a lot of the ills of society, right now, a lot of the political problems, the struggle, um, you know, a lot of the violence, quite frankly, is, is, uh, a, a product of, of, of social isolation. Hmm. I think, like, I, I've, I've thought about this so much, uh, like, and, like, I feel like we,

[00:19:20] as a society, like, or, I mean, like, at least the way that we're living here, like, in the Western world, um, um, we've, uh, done a really good job at separating ourselves from our original context, which is nature. Yeah. Often we even talk about it as, in terms of, like, man versus nature. And that's such a harmful

[00:19:51] way to, to, to, to, to look at this image. Because, like, what do we need as humans to feel, um, to, like, live a good life? We need to feel like we have purpose, like there's meaning. And, in nature, there's, your purpose is already there. You just need to live. You just need to exist

[00:20:21] for there to be purpose. That, it's, you're part of the whole thing. But we've removed ourselves from that, like, cut that connection in such a violent way and, and, placed our, our, our value, like, like, like, like, tricked ourselves into thinking that you need to start a business to be valuable. That, that, like, it's, and, and also, like, I think

[00:20:51] this constant, like, striving for, uh, efficiency and self-sufficiency, like, you can order everything on an app and you can, you can even, like, decide beforehand that, that the Uber driver is not going to talk to you because you're not comfortable with that. Like, you can live your life completely customized without even interacting with another person. We're removing, like, the cashier,

[00:21:20] you're doing the automatic checkout, checkout, but we need to, we need to interact with each other. We need that friction, like, the social friction. It's, what are we doing otherwise? We're just existing. That, that, like, it's, it's, um, um, it's terrible, I think. And it's both in the physical world that we, that we're doing this. Just, like, push a button

[00:21:49] and there's food outside your door. You didn't even say hi to the delivery guy. And, uh, you order clothes, you don't know who, who made them, what it cost them, what the real cost for that was. Um, but also in our digital world, we live in separate, we, we, you can, we, we completely separate worlds. Me and my neighbor can have completely different

[00:22:18] views or thoughts or about, like, what, what's, what's true, what's really going on because, because, because of the way that, like, our digital spaces are shaped now. and I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm terrified of it. How old's your kid? Three. Three. Mm-hmm. How, when we're talking about, you know, sort of the way,

[00:22:48] I, I, I guess the way that, um, your interactions with the world has changed. I mean, I assume that, like, in, in a number of ways having a child has a pretty profound impact on that. One is just social. I, you know, I talked to a lot, you know, a lot of people, they have kids and then all of a sudden like their social circles change, but also, for, you know, very obvious reasons you start to tend to think about the future in a different way. Mm, the future becomes scary. Uh,

[00:23:19] I, I almost don't go there. I try and be more in the now and in the present moment. And, and like, my mom is calling. Not now. He put her on. You really, we make this a group, a group session. Oh, I don't think, I think she would be quite surprised. Like, who's this lovely man? Um, no, but, uh, where was I? Um, but up, the future, yeah,

[00:23:49] and like how having kids, uh, changes you. I think, like, having kids, it, it's not the same for everyone, I bet. But, for me, I feel like it has made me more fearless. And, for this, I am thankful. Uh, it becomes so clear, uh, when you become a parent

[00:24:19] that what's important and what's not. um, so it's made my, the things I'm making, the creating, my art, my music, it's made everything better because I, I've stopped looking at it from the outside or like thinking about what are other people gonna think? Like, I truly don't care anymore. Um, and, um, I'm living more, also like, way more,

[00:24:49] like, aligned with my, my, my true beliefs. I'm, I'm living up to, like, my own morals. I'm thinking more about my morals. I'm thinking more about, like, what kind of world I want and I'm trying. I'm trying. I'm not perfect in any way but I'm, I'm trying. That's like all we can do. I started a political band even, like, it's like, it, it, it,

[00:25:18] it drives me to just, like, do more. I wanna talk about that. Yeah. You started a political band with your partner, right? Yes. We, we thought we'd never collaborate like that. I know. It's, it's, it's, I was just talking to somebody about this recently and it was just like, yeah, that's, that could go either way. You know, I mean, I know a lot of people, you know, as a writer,

[00:25:49] like, oftentimes I've tried to avoid dating writers because, you know, sometimes, like, it can be trouble when you're, like, in the same, but it sounds like that's been going well. It's, well, so far. Yeah, so far, so good. So far, yeah, no, but I think, I think, I think the thing is with us is that we, we, we, we started out working together in 2014. That's how, how. 2014? Yeah. Oh,

[00:26:18] so you've known each other for a while. For a while. And so in the beginning we were just, she was just playing guitar in my band. And then a few years later we had become really good friends, drinking beer all the time in, like, the local pub. And, um, and a few years later, maybe this is a me thing, it's something,

[00:26:48] like, people can't really change, like, the way you look at people. It can really, really, really change over time. Like, when I, when I first got to know her, I thought that we wouldn't even be friends. I was sure, I was sure, like, we, we don't have a lot in common. Like, we don't have much to talk about. All we do now is talk. And when we were friends, I wasn't looking at her,

[00:27:18] like, in a, like, any, like, romantic way at all. It was just, like, it was something different. And then it evolves, and it, it, it changes. And, and I think it's because, like, you change. And they, like, we change, we change all the time. Yeah. And, and a funny thing like that could happen. Uh, it, it did to us. It's, it's, um, really interesting, I feel.

[00:27:48] If I heard you correctly before, it sounded like you, the two of you, like, hadn't collaborated in a little while, and this is sort of your return to collaborating music again. So we never wrote music together. So she, she used to tour with me as a guitarist. Uh, so I was the boss, I was the artist, and she, and she played, um, along with, a number of other very talented, uh, musicians. Uh, so we're,

[00:28:17] we're used to, to being in a work environment together, and we're very good at collaborating on things. I've noticed that, like, we're, we're, we're good at, like, renovating, moving houses. Like, we're, we're just good at projects. Oh, you mean literally renovating houses? Oh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, we're, we're just, like, good at, good at, and, um,

[00:28:47] uh, we, we, we, we, we've been talking so much about politics, about the state, um, like, like, how things are in Sweden. It's, it's quite a strange time. Sweden has, like, historically been socialist, socialist, and it hasn't

[00:29:16] in a long time. like, like, Sweden has really, like, there's, there's been really big changes since, since we were kids. Like, the way that, like, society is now. And, and we even have, like, a far right, uh, party in our, in our government. Like, right now we're in between governments, but, but, but, but it's, it's the third biggest party in Sweden. And it's, um,

[00:29:47] it's, it's, strange and, like, unfamiliar. Yeah. Place in, in, in, in many ways. So we've, we've been talking so much about, about all of these things. And then I remember one day we were just like, why? Cause, cause there's this old, there's this like tradition or not, uh, but in the seventies, there was this musical, like movement, uh,

[00:30:17] like a progressive movement, uh, in music. Um, that is very, I saw referred to as Prague. I'm like, oh, it's, it's, it's something different than when we talk about Prague rock. Yeah. It's not like Prague rock. It's, it's, it's, it's not like Ken Crinson. It's more, it has more to do with, like folk, uh, I would say, but, but, but weirder and, and, uh, and like super political.

[00:30:47] Um, and, and that was in the seventies. Um, and there has been a tradition of, of, of like very political music in Sweden, like punk as well. Like we really had, had like really the great, moments, but now it's been a while. Uh, and, um,

[00:31:17] we just felt like we, we, we, we, we need to reconnect to, to this thing. It feels very interesting, uh, right now to reach back and, and, uh, but at the same time do it in a, um, contemporary way and sing about what we're seeing now, what we're living through now, because it's so different from how things were in the seventies. I'm really, I'm, I'm going to like dig more into that music after we're done talking. Cause I'm,

[00:31:47] I'm, I'm really curious about it. But, um, one of the things that I noticed looking into it is it seems like it was like a fairly short lived movement. Yeah. Uh, very short, uh, late seventies, I think. Hmm. So there's a political aspect and then just, um, like musically you're, you're kind of carrying on as well. Musically you're, uh, sorry. So, so, um,

[00:32:16] you know, when, when you talk about sort of connecting to that kind of music, so it's like, yeah, adequately, but also in terms of like the, the genre as well. Yeah. I mean, there are, I would say that on our album, we released an album, uh, one week before the election here in Sweden, called Årets Var 2026, which translates to the year was 2026, or it was the year of 2026. Um,

[00:32:45] and it's like a little document of this time. Uh, and I mean, I'd say that there's everything from like psychedelic rock, there's crowd influences. There are like more straight up, like, like ballad singer songwriter things. Cause like every good prog, like Swedish prog record has,

[00:33:15] has, has, uh, a, a, a love song in there. Cause we, like you can't sing about politics. You can't sing about society. If, if, if, if it's quiet inside your heart, you have to like, it's cause it, it is our lives. You have to like the, just like the human side of everything is, it's, it's important. Um, and, um, and,

[00:33:44] and then there are a few, like some tracks there that, like you can't really call them anything else. Then you can't really categorize it as anything other than that genre, because it's so like specific in the way it just moves. It's, it's, it's a very theatrical kind of style. Fitting again, like I, were you doing prior to, to Lazarus, Lazarus, were you doing, um,

[00:34:14] a lot of theatrical work? No, that was a first for me. Uh, I don't even know how they got the idea to ask me, but I'm so glad that they did because that, that experience was really fun for me. Um, I've, I think it, I, I keep coming back to this thing that Jonah Mitchell has said that she, she thinks about like creativity, uh,

[00:34:43] as crop rotation. You have to do crop rotation. Uh, do you know what that is in gardening? Yeah, exactly. No, but some people are like, they stare at me, uh, when, when I say that word, like, yeah, you got, you got till the soil and yeah, you can't like, yeah, exactly. You can't, you can't grow the same, uh, crop in the same place every year. You have to move. So,

[00:35:10] so that it shifts to keep the soil healthy and to keep, keep, um, keep everything in balance. Uh, and she, she talks about like the, like treating the brain in a similar way. Um, like she was like a big, like jazz, like a jazz head. Right. I mean, she was really mixing it up musically. Yes. And she also, she's, she, she's a gardener. She's painter.

[00:35:40] She's a poet. She sings and she plays beautifully. She does all these different, uh, artistic like things. And what she says is that you use different, and this is so true. You use, you use different parts of your brain when you do different stuff. You don't use the same part of your brain when you, when you paint something as when you're sitting and writing text, uh, or when you're planning a garden, but all of it is creative.

[00:36:10] And once, when, when you've used something, when you, if you've sitting, sitting and like been like writing lyrics for a long time, that, that, that part of the brain gets tired and you need to rest. But then what's nice is what I always did was I, I was always so tired. Uh, I didn't have any energy to do any more music at once I finished an album. So I had to take time off,

[00:36:37] but what's better is that you can move on and you can do some other creative work. And that when, and creativity will always, um, bring forward more creativity. They inform each other and you become better and you get, and you, you get to keep doing what you love, like express things and just exist in all, in all this, you know, without, without having to take a break because,

[00:37:05] because that part of your brain got tired, you move on, you use a different part of your brain. So, um, I really recommend that to everyone to try and like do many different things. Yeah. And, and when it comes to specifically something like, like writing lyrics or coming up with song ideas, like those are the things that often come to you when you're out gardening,

[00:37:33] not when you're sitting there trying to force yourself to write. No. And in the shower. Yeah. You come up with the best melodies in the shower because you're not thinking about writing a melody. You're not on your phone. It's like the only place you're not on your phone. But yeah. Yeah. Was she part of the reason why you started getting into gardening or is that just a bit of a coincidence? Who? Joni Mitchell. Oh, uh, no. Uh, but I,

[00:38:03] I feel, I feel like, um, kindred spirits. Yeah. No, no, we don't dare say that. She, she, she's God. She's a top tier. Um, but, um, no, but I think many roads lead to that. Well, one of the things that was really interesting to me, like, cause I wasn't familiar specifically with the term biodynamic gardening.

[00:38:32] And one of the things that, I mean, the primary thing that I thought was really interesting about it. And I think that this gets back to raising chickens is it's, it, it seems like it's more about thinking of gardening or farming as an entire ecosystem. Yes. Uh, you look at the, you look at the farm as, uh, uh, one, one thing, one being,

[00:39:03] one, one organism, exactly. Uh, where everything has its place. And where, like, I mean, like, for instance, this is very big in, um, uh, people who, like, uh, vineyards, like wine. Uh, because, because, uh, the, do you know the term, to, to, as it's called that? I think so. Uh, like the, the specific,

[00:39:33] um, uh, like nature of the place of the soil. Like, so the idea is that you use, you have your own animals, everything moves, like, as, um, ecosystem, like, locally, so that the soil, like, you really,

[00:39:58] really hone in on the specific qualities of that place. Uh, and in grapes, for instance, and then in, in the wine, like, you can really taste the difference from different, like, places where the, it's, it's been grown, like, that's, like, you know, wine, well, my English is, is, is, is leaving me at this late hour. No, but, yeah. The, like,

[00:40:28] acidity of the soil has a bearing on it. Exactly. Yeah. Like, the minerals, the specific combination of minerals in that specific place, and exactly how often it rains, like, all of that, like, really affects the crops, and, like, what they taste like. So, I think it's really cool, like, like, uh, where I go to school, like, all the, all the best, like, the nicest restaurants, they get their produce from there, because it just, it, it just tastes

[00:41:00] so good. It's, it's, it's, it's, and I, I, I think there's, there's some secret sauce in that, just, like, cultivating that specific place that you're in, and not bringing out, bringing in a lot of things from the outside, other places, but really, like, okay, this is, this is where we are, this is where we're working, and, and then just, like, building, and building, and building, and making, making, making that place the best it can be,

[00:41:29] by what you got there. We were talking at the top about the importance of timing, of, of the date, of, of the seasonality of an album. So, obviously, you know, and, and seasonality playing, plays a huge role in gardening, as well, and in the crops that you grow. And I'm, I'm curious, you know, when, when you think about putting a record together,

[00:41:58] let's talk about this record specifically, um, how big of a role ultimately does place play? The, where it's recorded, where it's written, who's around, who you're with, what's happening in your life? All of it. All, all of it, all of it should be in there if it's done right, I think. But not by, uh, uh, uh, like,

[00:42:28] um, like, placing it in there. It, it should already, it should, it should, it should just be there. Like, my, my process this time, I decided, and I, I, I don't, I, I really, I was like on a mission with this album to not interfere,

[00:42:56] to just let it happen. And, and, you had to get out of your own way? Yes. Not invite any, uh, judgmental, look, on it, and not invite any fear, um, not analyzing it, at all. Just,

[00:43:26] creating, creating, creating, and creating space, a space where, where, where you feel completely safe to just do that. There's this Tyler, the creator quote, create like a child, edit like a scientist. And I think that's perfect. That's exactly the way you should do it. The, the first, where you're creating, when you're coming up with the idea in the, uh,

[00:43:56] when, when, when everything should just like come into being, there shouldn't be anything stopping you. Um, and, there's no, there's, there, there's, there's no like bigger obstacle. There's, there's no like, than, than, than like inviting fear and like judgment into that, that process. You can't, you can't, you, you want the process to be like free

[00:44:25] from logic. Because also like, life is not logical. And with, with everything that we make, we're portraying life. And we all often try and like, like compartmentalize and like conceptualize too, too much. Um, uh, and I think the things you make will be much more interesting if you, if, if you just let it come, if you just let the universe like do its thing through you, because then you're using

[00:44:54] everything you have, you, you're using all your memories, all, everything that's there just like intuitively, everything you've ever learned, everything you've ever dreamed, every, everything that we, we haven't processed yet. It's, it's there. If, if you, if you let go of control and, and that, that's how I made this album and like, did, I, that I didn't even fully understand before it was finished.

[00:45:24] I still don't, it's still revealing itself to me and, um, I will never create in a different way because it's, this is just so much more profound than anything that I could rationally sink into being. than anything. I still don't know what's happening. what's happening. Thank you.