Singled Out: Interstate Island's All Of Our Lives

10-02-2023

Classic 70s rock inspired project Interstate Island lead by Eddie Andrews recently released the single "All Of Our Lives" from the forthcoming "Brave New World" album, and to celebrate we asked Eddie to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

This song came to me one autumn evening years ago, while walking along the deserted Strand in Manhattan Beach in Southern California. A woman with whom I'd hoped to develop a great relationship suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared from my life forever, and I was feeling pretty lost in the aftermath.

At one point looking out to the horizon, I realized I could see no artificial light (or other signs of life) anywhere... just the deserted beach and the moonlight on the water. I imagined it to be what it must feel like to discover a brand-new world.
That thought led me to think about the prospect of potential past and future lives... and the comforting idea that those we've lost in this life will be reunited with us at some point in the future, which became the lyrical concept of the song. What dawned on me while listening to the track with Matt Wallace (who produced the record) is that a listener won't know what the song is truly about - losing someone - until the final verse, which I think is somewhat unique in terms of a lyrical construct.

Musically, I've always been an unabashed fan of ELO's classic mid-70s albums. I wanted to try to recreate this record the same way - with a full string section, and with the string arrangements being the centerpiece. Of all the tracks on the album, I think we came the closest with this one. While it would be impossible to match the creative genius of Jeff Lynne, when I listen to this track, I can hear shades of Louis Clark in Steve Turner's string arrangement, Richard Tandy in Vince Jones' piano and the late Kelly Groucutt in Davey Faragher's backing vocal. I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention Mike Ward's soaring guitar solo in the instrumental verse... I was incredibly fortunate to have such amazing musicians be a part of this project!

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the album here