UK singer-songwriter County Line Runner is using his honest and introspective observations to create special songs chronicling his life, and the lives of those around him. We sat down to talk with him about the moniker County Line Runner, where he finds inspiration for his music, and his new single “Saw You In A Dream”.
BTS: How did you get started making music?
CLR: I was about 14 years old, there was this band in England called Oasis and they’re from the same part of England that my family is from. I was blown away by them as a kid. I started writing lyrics and realized I needed to learn to play an instrument, so I bought a guitar, and then off I went.
BTS: How did you come up with the moniker County Line Runner?
CLR: It was on an old TV show called FBI Files or something like that. There was a story about this guy who robbed banks, but in a polite way. He would leave a note and be like “sorry I needed this amount of money” and take the money and he’d go to the county line to avoid the cops. They didn’t know who he was so they called him the County Line Runner, and I thought it was kind of cool. They never caught him, which was the other thing that I thought was amazing. That was really it, it’s unusual, so I really like it because of that too.
BTS: How would you describe your sound for someone who hasn’t heard it before?
CLR: Authentic… maybe emotional? It’s sort of over emotional in a way almost. Lastly, deep. Authentic, emotional, and deep.
BTS: Who and where do you draw inspiration from for your music?
CLR: Real life events, like big, almost traumatic real life events. I like to write about things that really effect me, that’s almost kind of subconscious. It’s usually things that leave a mark on me subconsciously. I just live my life and tap into that. I think I’m just over sensitive, a little sentimental as well. It’s surprising, sometimes I’ll write a song and look back at it and think “Wow that event or moment was a lot more important to me than I thought”.
BTS: Are all of your songs autobiographical?
CLR: Some of it is autobiographical, some of it is things with friends or family. Sometimes it’s just writing something to try and reach someone to tell them things are going to be okay or trying to be positive.
BTS: What’s your new single “Saw You In A Dream” about?
CLR: Most people have vivid dreams, and I’ve had this dream a few times of this person, and it was just so vivid for that 5-10 minutes in the morning just after you wake up where you lay there and think about how real the dream felt. It’s about those few minutes after you wake up and those really vivid dreams feel real and your mind isn’t caught up with reality. The lyrics are really about getting on with your life, they’re not about a certain person or whoever it is.
BTS: Are the artwork and visuals that go with your music and overall project important to you? The single art for “Saw You In A Dream” fits the song and its meaning very well.
CLR: It is! That’s something I’m still taking song by song though. With the cover for the new single, it does fit the song really well. I wanted to make it a photo of me but I also wanted to incorporate elements of it that weren’t real, so there’s that kind of reality juxtaposed with the rest of the image that goes well with the song.
BTS: How was the writing process for “Saw You In A Dream” different compared to the process for songs like “Hard To Find”?
CLR: “Hard To Find” I wrote very quickly. With “Saw You In A Dream,” I had most of the song but the process for putting the whole thing together was a lot slower. I really just connected with the lyrics, and I revisited the song a number of times. It was one that I really spent a lot of time developing, I would try a few ideas, and then work on other things, and then come back to “Saw You In A Dream.”
BTS: Is that usually how your process flows when it comes to writing music?
Kind of. I don’t really have any crazy ways of writing music, the way I write is very straight forward. I still write the way I wrote songs when I was 15. I found a process that I like and that makes me comfortable, and that’s not really something I want to change. I’d rather just respect the process and respect the music for what it is. I think the moment you start to be too clever about it, you lose what you had. I’m very precious when it comes to analyzing things during the writing process. I try to keep the approach very simple and easy for myself.
BTS: What’s been your biggest struggle as a musician so far?
CLR: I think to just keep going and making music whether the success came or not. I used to just write songs and not play them to anyone because it was something I liked doing. When you get a bit older and the real world kicks in and you have to pay the rent or haven’t got the time to be pissing about, that can be hard. To be honest, it’s all been really nice and fun. I’ve never had any major expectations, I never felt like this was something I needed to do to become famous or have money. I’m happy in my life outside of all that, so whatever else comes along outside of that is a bonus. I think if it starts becoming negative, then I’d just walk away from it because life’s too short to just wallow in that negativity.
BTS: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned through your journey as a songwriter?
CLR: Probably to not take what people say too seriously about you or your music, good or bad. Some people can get carried away and praise you and tell you what you’re doing is really great, or vice versa because it’s just people’s opinions. If it’s something you’re into and people connect with it, then it is what it is and you should just be happy being yourself.
BTS: That’s what matters more than anything.
CLR: Yes, exactly! If people get along with it and like it, then great! If they don’t, then just move on. A lot of the time people can also say things are really great or really bad even though they have no idea what they’re talking about. So you really can’t take it too seriously. You can appreciate the praise or the criticism, but you can’t take it seriously or personally. You have to have confidence in yourself and your work.
BTS: That really is just a good life lesson in general.
CLR: Exactly! It doesn’t matter if you’re doing music or you’re a salesman or you clean the streets – if you’re happy with yourself and your life, then you don’t need to reach out to people to get that kind of opinion.
BTS: What do you have going on for the rest of 2019?
CLR: Quite a lot actually, I’m going back to England and we have some festivals we’re going to be playing. We also have a UK tour in October, we have some other assorted shows here and there as well.
BTS: That sounds fun, how are the shows coming along?
CLR: The shows are coming along great. The few shows we’ve played so far have been very enjoyable and a lot of fun. They aren’t too stress either, which is a relief. But the shows have been great, I can’t wait to get out to the U.S. and play some shows as well.
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