Interview: The Star Prairie Project Looks Inward on “To Warm a Cold Heart”

The Star Prairie Project continues to dig deeper with “To Warm a Cold Heart,” the second preview from their upcoming tenth studio album, Shadows on the Wall. What began as a simple question during a walk evolved into a thoughtful rock track exploring compassion, empathy, forgiveness, and what it takes to break through the divisions that separate us.

The single also reflects the band's increasingly collaborative approach, with Nolen Chew Jr.'s lyrics serving as the foundation for the music built around them. We caught up with Nolen to discuss the inspiration behind “To Warm a Cold Heart,” the evolution of The Star Prairie Project, and the unexpected themes emerging across Shadows on the Wall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj-Dqdk-6KQ&list=RDsj-Dqdk-6KQ&start_radio=1

The idea for "To Warm a Cold Heart" began during a walk. At what point did that observation transform into a song concept you knew you had to pursue?

Nolen: Pretty much right away. I knew I would write a song revolving around that theme. That inquiry, ‘How Do You Warm a Cold heart’ I began mulling the idea around? So when I got home and I prepared some notes about the idea and I wrote at the top, To Warm a Cold Heart and that became the song title.

The central idea being that question involving how as individuals, groups or as a species. How do we open up our hearts? How do we stop the suffering and the cruelty? I think the awareness is key followed by forgiveness and a personal attempt to strive to be decent and kind people. All the worlds religions and philosophies delf into this area although the ideas themselves transcend religion and cultural boundaries. We all know how hard it is to change paradyms and patterns very hard thing to do, especially in todays polarized and conflicted world. It is very thought provoking song. At least I hope it is.

The arrangement balances delicate acoustic moments with powerful guitar passages. How did you decide on that dynamic structure to support the song's message?

Nolen: Well you really need to interview Marcello and Dikk and Sandrine too. They created that dynamic structure after I sent them the lyrics. For this album we tried some new things and one of them was for me to write the lyrics first then they would build the music around words. In the past I had pretty much written all the music and lyrics. But as a whole the writing in this project has really evolved. Every artist in the Star Prairie Project now are very creative writers. There’s a lot of energy and enthusiasm because everyone creates and shapes the music and everyone is motivated to prioritize the music and the art of making music. This song is a really good example. Songwriting, vocals and production are what makes a great song. I think this song excels at all three aspects. That’s what creates that dynamic structure.

Compassion is often viewed as vulnerability, yet this song presents it as strength. Why was it important for you to explore that perspective?

Nolen: In the new Speiberg movie “Discloser Day” the actor Emily Blunt stated, in the movie, that her characters superpower was her empathy. I think her message is poignant and powerful and spot on. Jesus, Buddha and many other spiritual teachers have taught about the power of love. One could say that they meant something like Love is a frequency a very powerful energy.

We can all dial into that frequency. And those that can resonate at that frequency range can experience a new world. They said that energy can be manifested through our intentions, focus and our thoughts and actions. It is a creative force that can literally manifest the kingdom of heaven upon the earth. When Jesus taught at the sermon of the mount the beatitudes served as his roadmap for us access that kingdom. What if this isn’t myth? What if this was literally true and not just symbolic. What if Love was the universal language? That’s pretty powerful stuff.

This is the second preview of Shadows on the Wall. How does "To Warm a Cold Heart" fit into the larger narrative or themes of the upcoming album?

Nolen: It’s funny. In the beginning our goal was to make a fun album, a party album but it got pretty deep in a couple of places. But I grew up rocking out to Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and Alan Parson’s and they got pretty deep. That’s really the challenge. The history of rock and roll is replete with examples of how rock has no boundaries or borders when it comes to messaging while rocking out. So when we began there was no theme or larger narrative but on your way to making an album strange things happen. In this case the message was embedded in the album song by song and they just popped up like clouds in the sky, stormed a bit and then the sun came out again, all on it’s own. And afterwards you notice the connections and you say to yourself “well that makes sense” and it just happen instinctively in real time. By the way, I think it is a pretty good party album when all is said and done.

After reaching your tenth studio album, what continues to inspire The Star Prairie Project to keep exploring thoughtful, philosophical themes through rock music?

Nolen: It’s just who we are. There’s no branding when you’re making music. The music defines itself afterward. This is such a different album than our last album ‘Little Gems’ in style and substance. But not in quality. They are both awesome albums and I’m very happy and proud of both of them. It’s just that they are so unique and different. Often times when the song is done I’m like, “I can’t believe we just did that”! It’s a lot of fun and just the process of making something from nothing is a trip”! That’s what inspires me.