Leaving Laurel’s sophomore album, “when the quiet comes,” was released on May 19th via Anjunadeep. This marks a new beginning for bandmates Gordon Huntley and Griff Fulton, who have endured the difficult loss of their talented friend, Pierce Fulton. The album serves as a tribute to Pierce while showcasing the unwavering power of music. The first single “one last thing you never said” sets the tone for the reflective record, featuring warm piano, inviting textural percussion, and delicate melodies.
In a recent interview with us, Huntley shared the unique songwriting process behind “when the quiet comes,” which was inspired by forgotten recordings he and Pierce had made years prior. The record embodies the resilience and dedication of the band, both as an intimate eulogy to Pierce and a testament to the power of music in navigating grief and hope.
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This article delves into the creative process and inspiration behind Leaving Laurel’s latest album, as we pulled some of the most insightful and forward-thinking musings of Huntley that he shared over the conversation. Having conducted the initial interview a few weeks before the album’s release, we had a chance to think over all that he said and reflect on the knowledge shared; specifically in how it related to the music of the album. Drawing from our in-depth interview with the artist, we offer a glimpse into the mind of a musician finding solace in the unbreakable bond of friendship through the power of music.
This is the album I always hoped Pierce and I would make together one day. It’s my attempt to continue the dream we had, to take what we had started with our first album to a secret place beyond the club. To make a soundtrack for the moments where everything stands still. A record that could showcase the culmination of every unique influence we shared as friends. A record that could be important enough to outlive us both. A record that I hope would have made him proud.
It’s the hardest I’ve worked on anything in my entire life, and the proudest I’ve ever been of any music I’ve made. If the road for leaving laurel were to end here, I know I gave it my all. I created something with the pieces of what Pierce and I had started, and it feels like the most honest album I could show to the world.” – Gordon Huntley
Purchase A Limited Run Of The Album On Vinyl Here
Keep Their Feet Tapping
“If your breakdown is just like pianos and a melody, everyone stands still because they don’t know where the rhythm is anymore. So if you don’t at least give someone like a high hat or like a shaker loop or something, they’ve lost the rhythm entirely.” – Gordon
Newer producers often make the mistake of doing a hard reset during the breakdown of their melodic tracks. This involves removing all elements except the heartstring-pulling melodies and atmospheres, drawing all attention to the more ambient elements before ramping up the energy for the song’s climax. However, Gordon argues that this can quickly lead to losing the dancefloor when playing the same song in a club or mix. To avoid this, always give your listener something to tap their feet to and maintain a sense of momentum.
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Although a shaker or similar top loop is the easiest recommendation, anything with rhythm will suffice. Leaving Laurel expertly employs this technique in the second track on the album, ‘you need to be there for them,’ using a rhythmic white noise that continually pulses throughout the breakdown, providing a similar sense of motion that gives the dancefloor something to sway along to during the calmer parts of the record.
Use Analog Techniques To Extract More Emotion From A Sound
“The texture and the sound of everything is so much more important to me than worrying about if it was about being super high fidelity or if it was about it being really interesting sounding. Texture instantly evokes a nostalgic sounding quality for me which is the foundation of my music” – Gordon
Every sound, sample, and recording is filled with artifacts and details that are often invisible to our ears. But through different types of processing, you can make those details and artifacts come to light. And while software and plugins are great for emulating such effects, nothing can beat analog gear’s ability to draw out the details and textures in the sounds you’re using and really extracts as much emotion from them as possible.
“For me it’s more about recording to cassettes and dictaphones to give it the lo-fi sounds of old tape. The Tascam Portastudio 424 gets heavily used, as well as a FoldyMakes Sidecar. I collect all sorts of cassette recorders from thrift stores to instantly add that noise and texture I’m after.” – Gordon
Because analog gear not only helps bring out the textures and details in a sound or sample, but also imparts their own sonic qualities to the sound which often makes the end result far great than the sum of its parts. And while the bright and brittle textures easily obtained through modern processing might make aggressive dubstep tracks slam in a club, the more detail-oriented and melodic music of Leaving Laurel requires a softer and more nuanced approach. It’s essential as well to remember that different gear imparts different artifacts and textures to the sound, meaning that two different tape recorders or analog distortion devices can sound entirely different from one another (which is an easy justification for hunting down and collecting a wide variety of studio toys).
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‘from nothing came something and you last..’ is a perfect example of the emotional qualities such processing can bring. Listen to how the drums are as impactful and punchy as they need to be to be effective, and yet still have a dusty authenticity that makes them feel as though they are right in front of you and all around you at the same time.
Keep Your Music Moving
“Electronic music inherently can sound like it was made by machines. So to make it sound human, you have to do a lot of things. Like adjusting filter cut offs and having rising motion with every little detail and so I find I spent a lot of effort trying to make every loop iteration sound somewhat different.” – Gordon
In almost every case, dance music is a series of loops stacked atop each other. And while newer producers often make this painfully obvious, more adept producers can create entirely evolving stories and soundscapes within the music and loops they use. Leaving Laurel manages to achieve such a sound through his exacting attention to detail, having multiple lines of automation going for every bar and having every sound modulate to some degree so that all of the movement and changes over time compound in a way that no two bars or loops every truly is the same as the song plays out.
There are countless ways to do this as well, and an endless supply of details to adjust to achieve this end. ‘better days will come’ is a masterclass in evolution and progress, not only changing the parameters on many of the synths and instrumentation as the song progresses but also weaving in a textural foley-sounding atmosphere in the background that creates its own world for the music to evolve in. Overall, incredibly inspiring and inspiring to say the least.
Melodies Are Invaluable
“In instrumental music, if there’s not a way for you to describe the song to someone, then it’s just a deep house track. That’s cool. But for me, I’m always looking for a hook, or some sort of earworm that makes it instantley recognizable.” – Gordon
In today’s era, grabbing Ableton and creating a track by putting together loops has become effortless. However, songs still hold an exceptional power to connect with an audience, evoke emotions, and linger in their minds long after they have stopped listening. Even if a few snappy drum samples and Omnisphere presets can produce an upbeat rhythm, a track cannot survive the test of time without a melody or motif that captivates the listener’s attention.
The song “you need to be there for them” proves that not all hooks and melodies require a lead synth. The bass line is equally enjoyable to sing along to, just like the dominant lead pianos. Every layer of the song has something that stays with the listener, which is why Leaving Laurel’s music has gained immense popularity. Their songs stay with you instead of fading away like the fleeting winds of most music released today.
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Let Intuition And Experimentation Guide Your Workflow
“I’m not really expecting anything. I’m kind of just trying stuff and letting the music dictate where it needs to go” – Gordon
Dance music production has to follow a certain formula to be effective and the artistry comes from what a producer does within the confines of that formula. And while most producers follow the same types of patterns and arrangement moves, only because they think they have to, knowing these rules well enough to break them in your own way is where the magic really starts to show.
‘one last thing you ever said’ is a clear example of this, as its 4×4 kick pattern and driving groove and percussions make it an ideal club record during its peak moments, but its delicate and extended groove (completely void of percussions) would make it a DJ’s nightmare to play in the club. But using the conventions of the genre, Leaving Laurel is able to craft a sonic story, soundscape, and world all within music that still comfortably sits within the genre of music that he’s become labeled as,
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
