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Five Things I Learnt From Writing #OneSongAWeek
It takes some artists years, if not decades, to write an album they’re happy with, so what happened when songwriter and musician Frank Hamilton took it upon himself to write #OneSongAWeek for an entire year? With the release of his new album ‘Songs to Make Life Slightly Less Awkward’ looming on 17th June, we caught up with him to find out what he learnt from the experience:
1) Good things happen if you work your balls off.
“Aside from the world-first thing and the quality of the songs (both of which I’m really proud of), it was one of those rare moments where a normal bloke doing things on his own manages to trump the major label machine. Sure it was temporary, but for a few days I was selling more records than Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard and a bunch of other folks with six-figure budgets without spending a single penny… and that’s pretty cool.”
2) Routine is underrated.
“Despite being perma-stressed I was really happy and productive during #OneSongaWeek because I had a firm routine and knew exactly what I was doing. Write the song, record the song, release the song… Repeat!! I miss things being that simple.”
3) Doubting yourself is ok.
“Initially, everyone told me #OneSongaWeek was a terrible idea and there were times when I believed them. Week 9 sticks out as being a really low point and if I’m honest it wasn’t until week 28/29 that I realised this really was a good idea.”
4) People are amazing.
“#OneSongaWeek taught me to have more faith in myself and others. I reached out to so many random people, most of whom I’d never met, and all of them were lovely – receptive, interested and eager to help. I’d never have made it through the early weeks without that good will and support… and the love I felt from all angles in week 50 when the album was at #1 was just incredible.”
5) The real world moves SO slowly.
“Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever fully adjust to the reality of how long things take in the real world, particularly the commercial music one. #OneSongaWeek was so fast moving and progression was constant. These days I have to battle with people who take longer to send one email than it took me to write, record and release a song. It’s kind of infuriating.”
See Frank Live:
JUNE 19 – THE SCALA, LONDON
JUNE 21 – SOUND CONTROL, MANCHESTER
JUNE 22 – THEKLA, BRISTOL