Earthling XO is an Ohio based Indie-Rock artist who blends melody with heartfelt instruments, and a dash of that glowing eccentric vibe. Earthling XO’s sound pulls from a wide away of different genres to create a fresh new taste on indie rock. Recently Earthling XO released their debut EP 'The Arrival' and today we're showcasing "Rum & Coke."
“Rum & Coke” featuring Ashton Wood is a fun acoustic mental relief of a record that we found very comforting to listen to. The whole focus on “Rum & Coke” is on an acoustic guitar that plays charming campfire riffs and a beautiful vocal performance that dynamically that tells us the story of washing away the pain of someone with a smooth glass of the classic Rum & Coke. As we listen to this release we felt like we are caught in the winds of sorrow and left gently gliding with the gorgeous vocals throughout our most inner pain. This is a lovely calming release that quickly was able to put our minds at ease and we think that it would help everyone feel at home.
Listen to "Rum & Coke" here.
Hey there Earthling XO! Welcome to BuzzMusic! There is a deep almost sorrow in your latest release “Rum & Coke” with Ashton Wood, was this an emotion that had was part of the writing phase? What had inspired the songwriting of the song?
This song came from a place of tough heartbreak from a short, but very intense period of my life and I felt lost when it happened and I turned to bars and drinking a lot to try to drown out my emotions instead of facing and coping.
We love it when artists collaborate with one another to create beautiful art, how did you meet Ashton Wood? What was it like to work with one another?
I met Ashton at a local art show she held at a coffee shop in our town. I loved her work so much, I commissioned her to do the art for the EP. In the midst of her finishing the artwork, I mentioned to her in casual conversation that the female vocalist I had asked to sing on the song had bailed on me so I really wasn't sure on the timeline of finishing it. She expressed that she would love to do it, so I gave her a shot. I didn't even know she could sing and had no idea what she sounded like. I just scheduled a studio session one day, and she ended up being exactly what the song needed and very grateful for that.
This release is really just all about the guitar and vocals; both of the tones are beautiful. Which guitar was used? What was the setup like for both the guitar and vocals?
I used a combination of a Mitchell acoustic-electric and a Fender Jaguar to record the entire release. The vocals were purposely driven to sound more vintage with great effects, but also still sounding somewhat natural and Ron Flack at Realgrey Records is an excellent producer who did a great job with all the tones and really getting everything to sound the way I envisioned.
The debut release is always one of the most exciting ever, how did it feel to you to finally put this out? What kind of lessons did you learn during the creation of this EP?
It felt like a relief because I knew what I had was a great release in the works and I was so anxious to get it out there and for everyone to hear it...especially when this is a new project and I had nothing out, not even a previous release to show anyone what I had. But the response has been even better than I expected and I'm really glad it's finally out.