Wisconsin songwriter Nolen R. Chew Jr. is the heart and soul of the band The Star Prairie Project. Wanting to put his original work in the spotlight, Nolen began to unveil his craft with the purpose of packing the right kind of passion and soul into it.
Collaborating with various musicians and producers, The Star Prairie Project was born. Now listeners receive consistent fusions of country and rock collections that bring about various ambiances for all kinds of moods.
The latest release we've seen from The Star Prairie is the debut album "Panacea," which features a smooth blend of folk, country, rock, and alternative music styles. A real and authentic personality is ingrained into the fifth track on The Star Prairie Project's latest album, "Frantic Mind."
Listeners receive all of the major properties to any good rock n' roll single, starting with the slightly raspy but intensifying vocals and progressing into clean guitar strumming. With a catchy hook and melodic vocal style, "Frantic Mind" quickly becomes an original track that offers rejuvenating properties. We're mesmerized by the sheer veritableness presented within The Star Prairie Project in general, but especially when it comes to the productional organization of "Frantic Mind."
That in itself will keep our ears peeled for any future music by The Star Prairie Project, as we can't wait to see what collections the band will curate next.
Hello Star Prairie Project and thank you for sitting down with us at BuzzMusic. How would you describe the response you've received from your listening base for your album 'Panacea'?
Nolen: I'm absolutely thrilled with the response from our listeners! We had 100,000 streams on Spotify from the album before it was out a month. The first release off the album, 'Frantic Mind' charted at #63 on the iTunes UK Top 100 Rock chart. Along with charting, I think my biggest surprise was the radio play 'Panacea' is getting in Europe. Songs from the album have been playlisted and featured on over a dozen radio stations in the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, and more. It's very exciting hearing your songs on the radio and appearing on charts. To me, it's all about the music. I'm glad our listeners are enjoying the product we produce. For us its a labor of love and it's extremely rewarding to share those vibes with our listeners. Are there any properties to your latest album, and especially within its fourth track "Frantic Mind", that you feel elevated the song(s) authenticity?
Nolen: Ha! It's funny you mention 'Frantic Mind'. It's the song I'm asked about the most on 'Panacea', Marcello Vieira's vocals and Ricardo Dikk's guitar work on 'Frantic Mind' are incredible! They totally captured the feel of anxiety and panic and it became manifest in the song. What makes the authenticity so sublime is the fact that I literally wrote the song in the middle of a COVID era panic attack. People love the song because it is so fricking real and reflects the emotions we are all feeling these days. In the midst of my panic attack I told myself to get a grip and write down the frantic thoughts that had hijacked my mind, during the quarantine. 'Frantic Mind' was born. How would you describe the tactic that goes into making your music come off as genuine as it does?
Nolen: There's four of us that worked together on 'Panacea'. I was writing the songs and recording rough demo cuts from Star Prairie, Wisconsin, Rudiger was working from his studio in LA, and I think Marcello and Dikk were in Portugal. It was during the onset of the pandemic when we started the project and we all were glad to immerse ourselves in the creative spirit of the times. There was a genuine urgency to express ourselves. It's funny when several people are "in the zone" musically there's an energy and a synergy between them even if they are geographically separated like we were. There was such excitement to open the file and see what one of the others had added to the song. It was so fun to see a song born, co-created, nurtured, and polished. When it's spontaneous it's usually the most genuine sounding to me. It makes me feel good you appreciate it as genuine. To me, that's a big compliment.
Were there any challenges you faced creatively once in the writing and recording process of "Frantic Mind"?
Nolen: Actually the creativity aspect was totally seamless. There were virtually no challenges or obstacles at all. The whole process was so fluid I wish I could bottle it. God knows it doesn't always work that way. Ha! I wish it did. The song structure remained solid throughout production. The instrumentation is where it just took off. When Ricardo ripped out that lead guitar intro I knew the song was going to be special and Marcello's singing was the icing on the cake. From the time I finished writing the song to the time, it was radio-ready was only about a week. We were all very happy with how it turned out. What kind of general theme were you hoping to impose onto listeners with "Panacea" and "Frantic Mind"?
Nolen: The general theme is one of relief or distraction. Slip away from your troubles for forty-two minutes. Panacea means "a cure-all" or "elixir". I think its fitting. The other theme is one of change. Our lives have changed dramatically in a short period of time. And there is a prevailing sense that things have changed forever and with some, a longing for what used to be normal. Routines and norms have vanished and we are all trying to adapt and adjust to new normal. I know that one change in my life has been my listening to music. When I'm not writing music, I'm listening to music. It seems I always have music playing and often I slip away for a short while. What is one goal you'd like to accomplish with your music by the end of 2020?
Nolen: One goal I'd like to accomplish with 'Panacea' is reaching 250,000 streams on Spotify. I think a quarter-million streams are huge and doable. We're already over halfway there. Another goal is to release a five-song EP named 'Surreal' by the end of the year. That looks like it's on track to happen too. We just finished the fifth song and will move into the final mixing and mastering stage now.