Atmospheric Folk Songwriter ALEXANDER WILLIAM Releases Brooding Single “Reaper”
February 25, 2022 BY Jason Currell
Today, Australian atmospheric folk songwriter Alexander William unveils his brooding new song “Reaper,” out now via Nettwerk. Taking cues from the likes of Leonard Cohen and Ben Howard, William crafts lush melodies woven with poetic lyricism between ethereal instrumentals that create a netherworld of textured 21st-century folk music.
Alexander William explains, “Reaper is a song born from a bad relationship. It’s about the after effects of an event or events that really shake you up. It’s about the dream-state that we enter when we go through periods like these; the visions that follow us, distinct but evanescent. We’ve all been there. Sometimes it can be rough. So really, this is a song for letting go.”
Listen to “Reaper” on all digital retailers (here).
ALEXANDER WILLIAM BIO
I grew up on the Gold Coast, Australia; A town brimming with life and a perfect blend of city and nature. Early on, I really got into fingerstyle guitar. I’m talking John Butler, big time. Eventually, Ben Howard’s tunes found my ears and my sound began to evolve. The lyrical side of my life came from the old Irish and Scottish realms, and figures like Leonard Cohen. I’ve always loved a good tale and love the songs that convey a story.
When I was 18 or 19, I moved to Africa, for a girl. We spent time there and it really affected my view on life. I distinctly remember the beauty of the place. It’s rich in a magic you won’t find anywhere else. I released my first EP that year; a collection of songs recorded in Garrett Kato’s basement called the Truth EP (2017). When I released, I was alone in London, living in strange quarters, but immensely proud of myself. It was my first step as a musician.
My first album Goodbye My Darling, My Darling Goodbye (2019) was written in a couple of months after meeting Mr. Thomas Higley. When we first played together, I distinctly recall his soft and delicate playing style, and how it complimented my more dominant fingerpicking patterns. We began tracking with Jared Aldam, at Machine Lab Recording Studios with 16 songs fully tracked in 3 or so days. After the album release, I toured Japan, in which Tom and I went and played to small rooms of people throughout Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. It was and is still one of my fondest set of memories.
At some point around here, I connected with singer-songwriter Harrison Storm. I was asked if I’d like to join him on tour. I felt pieces all falling together, and life seemed like it was in flow. Then COVID hit. Over a year passed and we finally got the chance to do the shows. They were some of the nicest I’ve played. I took Harmony (my partner), we traveled to a couple of different cities, did a lot of coffee drinking and rock climbing, and I played a lot of music.
Now I write music because I love to. Not because I feel like I need to. I write not to become a ‘success,’ but to express the parts of myself that I don’t even understand. The side of my self that’s a stranger to me. But I think we’re all strangers in our own ways. All of us, searching for some sort of connection to something. Some search through words, others through paint, or movement, or touch. I look for it through sound. Really, I’m just another part of it all, looking for a way to feel purpose, and meaning, in my little window frame of time.
