“Keep the heart high.” For {Nashville based} Coyote Choir, this is less a mission statement than it is a summary of their experience. Brothers Jason and Paul Watkins (vocals and bass respectively) and drummer Mathew Linton bonded over a mutual case of musical burnout. Their collective journey of reclaiming the joy results in their debut, Volume 1. It is a sound both new and familiar—think Brandon Flowers meets The Traveling Wilburys—combining smart pop songcraft with gorgeous soundscapes. Songs like “Awakenings,” “Rainbows,” and “Sing!” declare the arrival of a new spirit of creation, and invite the listener to take back their joy from whatever or whoever stole it. In an age of cynicism and self-indulgence, Coyote Choir bellows a message as urgent as it is infectious. We’ve never needed it more.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Coyote Choir about their latest project, motivations, challenges and more.
Full Q&A along with music and links below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We’re from Oklahoma and Louisiana originally, but we’re currently living in Nashville. Our music is a blend of pop, folk, and soft rock. We enjoy all the music from our childhood and we try and inject bits of those styles in our songs. Maybe it should be referred to as jangle joy soft pop. It’s hard to describe our genre, but it does contain a familiar pop format.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Our parents introduced us to music because they loved music. Our mothers play piano. There are many singers in our families. Every now and then, we would have songs being shared at a family gathering, or at other times of fellowship. We loved the radio growing up. I think our family is what drives us to keep going. This purpose of our creating music together is not for us, but for someone else. We’re making music to love people.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
Vol. 1 was setting the tone for a personal resurrection in different areas of our lives. We started writing songs to try and bring warmth back to someone that may have forgotten the good times and the promises for tomorrow, but we were noticing that these songs were a part of our lives too. It’s almost like we were writing shades of our personal lives at different points throughout this record. We told ourselves that we wanted to try and keep the heart high with these songs. We were noticing the amount of darkness that was soaking in music these days, and we wanted to try and flip it on it’s head and let the light shine in.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
One of the main challenges is the fight for people’s attention. It seems like some listeners today don’t have lengthy patience for music right now. We do take in consideration the way our songs race against the brain I guess, if that even means anything. As much as we each love songwriting, it seems like songwriting is more mental nowadays than ever. It’s about seconds, blinking, and the gym. Maybe we should just make 10 minute songs anyway.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
You can visit coyotechoir.co or listen on Spotify.
Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you for listening, and it’s always a great day for donuts!
