 Courtesy of the Artist
Ethan Buckner (aka The Minnesota Child) picked up the guitar at 16 and started writing songs after he witnessed death for the first time. Inspired by the reflective and soulful songwriting of artists such as Sam Beam, Paul Simon, and Justin Vernon, Ethan channeled his own grief and love into his newfound passion for poetry and melody.
In 2011, Buckner chose the name The Minnesota Child while on a cross country roadtrip, because “the songs I write evoke a yearning for home, whether that lies in a place, a person, or a community.” Recently, The Minnesota Child released its most expansive work to date in the form of the Fireflies EP, a record that infuses Buckner’s soulful songwriting with lush harmonies, intricate instrumentals, and powerful rhythms to produce a full symphonic sound appropriate for the open road or a hike in the woods. Here, Buckner answers his Essential 8 and talks about Fireflies, collaborating with his brother, writing in nature, and more Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? I never had one particular musical mentor, but I very clearly remember the moment when I transitioned from trying to teach myself cover songs to taking the dive into the world of songwriting. I was at a music festival in Michigan in 2008, and saw Sam Beam of Iron & Wine play a solo set. I was so moved by the warmth, vulnerability, and poetry in his songs, I knew right then I wanted to start writing. With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? I wrote the first four verses of Home a few years back but left it sitting in my notebook. I loved the melody but the song didn’t feel complete, so I never performed it. When my brother Matt and I were preparing to go into the studio for Fireflies, we decided that every song I’ve ever written was on the table for consideration. So I spent a few months going through all my old notebooks – piecing together melodies and lyrics of hundreds of songs – seeing if there were any hidden gems there worth bringing forward. I found the verses of Home and as I was sitting there with my guitar, finishing the last verse, the closing chorus came to me. I knew immediately that the song was done, and that it belonged in this record. What’s the story behind your album’s title? There was no question when starting this record that Fireflies was the anchor and the anthem. The song – and the title – encapsulate the themes of light and darkness, hope and despair, from the personal to the collective and back. Why did you choose to anchor the album with the songs you did? This album really is a deep collaboration between me and my younger brother Matt Buckner. As co-producer and drummer on the record, he helped transform my songs from raw acoustic shells into full, lush arrangements with the band. Together, to craft the EP, we really had to make some tough choices with the wealth of material we were working with. We chose the songs we did because each of them felt so different but all seemed to gravitate around some central themes, both sonically and philosophically. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? For me, songwriting has always been my most vulnerable outlet, where I express my deepest longings and fears, joys and dreams. Sometimes I find inspiration from memories, sometimes from something intense in my life or in the world that’s happening in real time, and sometimes I can draw that inspiration from my immediate surroundings. When/where do you do your best writing? My best writing almost always happens in nature, somewhere where I can listen to whatever is there within me that needs to be expressed in song. It’s a difficult process to describe. I find a spot - maybe in the woods, maybe up in the hills, maybe by the ocean - and start improvising some guitar lick or pattern. If I’m feeling moved, a vocal melody comes through, followed by lyrics. The songs that I end up coming back to in the long run I usually write in one sitting. Writing in nature helps with that because I’m able to be more present and less distracted. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? Songwriting for me is rarely an intellectual or detached exercise – it’s almost always extremely personal. And the subject matter of each song is rarely direct and literal – they are stories woven into poems, memories or ideas wrapped up in metaphors and imagery. What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? Find a writing process that works for you. There is no one right or wrong way to go about it. Just don’t go into writing thinking you have to replicate a certain kind of sound. We all have influences, absolutely. But I find the best songwriters put a lot of intention behind finding their own process and own voice that’s unique to them. Website Purchase
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