Coming from Bend, Oregon, the freshly solo Singer/Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist Ian Cook and The Brightest Light releases his long-awaited debut single, "Just For Fun."
The former frontman and Songwriter/Guitarist of Larry and His Flask have endured a tiresome journey that uncovered his vast creative talent. Cook calls this new solo process a stretch of his 'musical legs,' creating everything and anything he desires within his Alt-Rock/Folk sound.
With the release of his mellow debut single "Just For Fun," Ian Cook and The Brightest Light bring the listener into poetic bliss through his carefully crafted lyricism describing a past relationship's unpredictability.
Recording the entire instrumentation from his home, we're highly impressed with the portrayal of emotions through delicately crafted melodies and dynamic tempo changes adding vast depth.
"Just For Fun" calmly opens with layered electric guitar melodies and mid-tempo drum patterns. Ian Cook's warm vocals naturally bring clarity and peace to the song as he begins to vocalize a sour relationship and coming out strong in the end. He uses excellent analogies in a poetic way to get his thoughtful message across in a highly unique manner.
Reaching the hook, glowing brass melodies enchant the song while the surrounding instrumentals break down to a slower pace, ultimately emphasizing Cook's deep lyrical message. What takes the cake are the tempo changes within this song, while perfectly backed up by the instrumentals, they effortlessly cause chills up the listener's spine.
We're highly impressed with the overall experience Ian Cook and The Brightest Light has delivered with the release of his textured debut single "Just For Fun," and we're eager to see what his musical future has in store.
Congratulations on the release of your debut single "Just For Fun," we're genuinely captivated with the entire piece. Out of all the songs you've created, why did you choose this one to lead the way of your solo career?
I think “Just For Fun” happens to showcase the breadth of my sound on my forthcoming album. It’s has a little bit of everything. From dark, brooding passages to a big sing-along, uplifting sections. There’s a little bit for everyone and in that way, I think it’s the best choice as an introduction to who I am, musically on this record. Seeing as your lyrics within "Just For Fun" touch on quite deep and reflective topics, could you take us through what initially inspired the song's concept?
My process for writing this song was a little different than usual. I decided to do a kind of free-write with it. I sort of plucked the first line out of thin air and then began building around that. It’s a really fun way to kind of surprise yourself with what comes out. In the end, it turned out to be about a complicated relationship. Two people that are somehow entwined for better or worse, from the perspective of one of the partners. We love the textured and dynamic instrumentals within your single "Just For Fun." Seeing as you recorded everything solo, how did your instrumental creative process begin? How did you build the song up?
Well, the process starts with just the basic progressions, usually played on acoustic guitar. From there it’s really just a blank canvas that leaves me to choose what direction to go in. I’ll usually lay the rhythm section stuff down after that, bass and drums. The in-studio flow is really spur-of-the-moment. As far as different instruments and additions, I just sit at the piano and write little melodies while listening to the playback until I stumble upon something that I like. Then it’s just a matter of what instrument that part would sound best to be played on. Kind of nerdy stuff but yeah, that’s about it. I love lush harmony so everything usually ends up with a giant horn or string arrangement of some kind as well. Could you tell us what inspired you to take this leap into your solo career? How long have you been planning to venture off and release music on your own?
Doing a solo record has always been on my bucket list. Having been in an internationally touring band for 15+ years, it was really hard to find the time to record anything on my own. But recently, Larry And His Flask, that’s the band, has wound down quite a lot and with COVID and lockdown, it’s afforded me the time to really dig into it, finally. I had always written songs for myself throughout writing/recording/touring with the band but with time also came maturity as far as my writing went. It all came together quite naturally and quickly, so it just felt right to take the leap and put it all out there. What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
It’s been a tough year for inspiration. But I have a lovely wife and twin boys who keep me going. I’m just trying to keep my eyes on the horizon and keep the fires burning. I’m anxiously awaiting the return of live music but as far as that goes it looks like we have a pretty long wait ahead of us. I’m just happy to be creating and releasing music and have no intention of slowing down.