Edinburgh singer-songwriter Jonnie Wallace has released his new single ‘Milk and Flowers’. It’s a catchy tune that shows a more angsty side to the singer. I caught up with Wallace to chat about the new single and what he has planned in the coming months.
“The song came to be from events that happened during lockdown. Being treated as a lesser priority after putting in so much effort with someone was really getting to me, and this song was my way of getting that anger out.”
Wallace has a wonderful knack for storytelling within his songs and ‘Milk and Flowers’ is an excellent example of his witty lyrics and compelling storytelling.‘Milk and Flowers’ is a great title with an interesting lyric, “I brought you milk and flowers to say I love you”. The flowers make sense, but I wondered why he brought the milk.
“I genuinely picked up the lyrics when my mum was saying her shopping list underneath her breath! This usually happens, titles pop out from nowhere and I run with them!”
“All of my songs are written from my own life experiences! There is no song I have written that didn’t directly happen to me. This makes it very easy as I am telling a story that I know inside and out!”
The B side track ‘Not Tonight Honey (skit)’ is cringey but very funny. It gives a vivid insight into the narrative behind ‘Milk and Flowers’.
“Yeah I wanted to mimic a one-sided phone call, where one person is trying their hardest and the other is just not interested. Based on true phone calls I have had, of course!”
The stomping rhythm and woodblock element give an edgy quality to ‘Milk And Flowers’. I wondered if Wallace has an idea of how he will fill out his songs when he is writing them, or does that come when in the studio.
“I really put a lot of effort into the drum arrangement for this. Being a drummer first and foremost, I always like to take time crafting the right groove!
As for the rest of the instrumentation, I always hear in my head what the finished article is going to sound like, and with the help of my producer Cam Hunter, we bring it to life with added extras that we discuss in studio.”
“I have always played everything on my records, and my own parts to all instruments. There have been a few exceptions of course; My good friend and percussionist Jordan Ferguson featured on the demo of ‘Jane’, and the bass line for ‘I Talk Too Much’ was inspired by a bass line that my bassist, Lukas Christie, played while we were jamming through the tune!”
Wallace has a distinct smooth vocal delivery, which he has honed over the years through gigging. I wondered if he was always a confident singer.
“I started my solo career almost 3 years ago to the date of my writing this. Before that point I used to play pub gigs but I would mostly play cajon and maybe do two or three songs, but I was shaking with nerves when I did!
I think doing more of those pub gigs by myself and gigging more with my solo project got my vocals to where they are today, my voice definitely didn’t sound like it does now 3 years ago!”
Melodies are something Wallace has proven to be proficient at creating. Tracks such as ‘Aftershave’ and ‘Cherry Baby’ have infectious choruses and vibrant melodies that are difficult not to sing along to and highlight just how talented Wallace is at creating earworms.
“With ‘Cherry Baby’ that melody did just come to me, but I changed my method for a while; I would get my chords and then write a riff on the guitar over it and then transfer lyrics into that melody, I just found it easier to write melodies on guitar at the time. Right now its kind of a mix of both!”
The lull in shows due to the pandemic and lockdowns has resulted in many artists writing a bucket load of songs and some struggling to find inspiration to write anything. I wondered did Wallace find he was writing a lot during the lockdowns and if he has any shows lined up in the coming months.
“I have actually been writing less because of lockdown. Lack of experience is lack of writing material for me. I didn’t write a lockdown song, I don’t agree with them. Everyone went through lockdown, and a lot of people used music as a kind of escape to forget it all, so I never understood why people would write a song about the one thing that people want to get away from. But that’s just my opinion!”
“Other areas of my music life are taking precedence at the moment, so I don’t have any shows in the diary right now, but I’m okay with that! I am very happy where I am musically just now, everything seems to just be falling into place!”
I wondered if ‘Milk And Flowers’ is the first taste of an EP or album from Wallace and what he has planned for the coming months.
“I can’t promise anything but I’m building up material for an album, but I am in no rush to get it done, I also don’t have the funds for it!”
“More releases! I’m loving the creative process just now and I want to get more stuff out soon!”
Jonnie Wallace is a talented artist who creates vibrant, witty tunes brimming with passion and infectious melodies. His relatable storytelling and deft musical prowess make his songs a joy to listen to. I’m looking forward to seeing what Wallace has in store for us in the future.
Stream ‘Milk And Flowers’ below
Author: Danu
