Singled Out: A Heavy Quiet's Downsider

A Heavy Quiet just released their new single "Downsider" and to celebrate we asked guitarist Derek Graham to tell us about the song. Here is the story:

Songwriting is a mysterious process, sometimes ideas come easily, and sometimes requires a long search to find the right chords or notes. Most of my musical ideas come from feelings that are evoked from things I see or read about. "Downsider" was originally inspired by seeing so many people on buses and subways, holding their phones, neck bowed and staring. When the subway or bus stopped, most of them kept staring at the phone as they got off, even while walking. They just couldn't take their eyes off their devices.

The initial thoughts and feelings I had were sadness and anger. Everyone is so addicted. People are being manipulated but they don't know or realize it. These feelings turned into writing the chorus first, with the guitar chords powering up and then dropping down and then into slides. That inspired the droning verse parts which start as palm mutes and then open to build tension. Then that inspired the intro leads that weave the sections together.

When I sent the idea to vocalist Brett Ditgen, he reacted instantly saying "this is badass." He was inspired as I was and had witnessed similar things from social media and algorithms. He wrote out the vocal parts and all the lyrics. Then he suggested adding the middle section which brings the mood down when he sings "Disaster, we are just a symptom of their visionary lies." We then added the ending which turned into a long fade out. It turned out sounding epic with the vocal melodies mixed with the guitar leads. The process of song writing really is about teamwork.

From the moment of writing those first guitar chords, I had no idea that this song would develop into such a strong and powerful statement. Our hope is that people will wake up, realize they are being manipulated and choose to live free from outside influence. It's ok to use technology, just don't let it use you.

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

A Heavy Quiet Confronts Technology's Dark Side With 'Downsider'

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