San Francisco-based Americana artist, Haesemeyer, released a new music video this week – a collaboration with the San Francisco hip hop community. Haesemeyer wrote the song in response to the political stagnation in Washington, DC. The song’s title and repeated chorus — “Love, why so far away?” — is a response to the animosity, spin, and political gamesmanship occurring in Washington DC while “street level” social issues (e.g., poverty, addiction, gang warfare) remain neglected. “I didn’t set out to write a rap song,” Haesemeyer explains, “but as my producer [Nahuel Bronzini] and I were shaping the song in pre-production, there was a moment where we both turned to each other, and said, “Holy smoke, this song needs a rapper!'” Facebook: Facebook.com/HaesemeyerSongwriter Twitter: @HaesemeyerMusic YouTube: YouTube.com/JHaesem1 Soundcloud: Soundcloud.com/John-Haesemeyer iTunes: “Come Along Quickly” on iTunes Website: www.Haesemeyer Scared by the prospect of writing a song that was so far from his his normal genre (Americana, Folk), Haesemeyer worked hard to tap his local music network to find an accomplished rapper (JENDOR), and develop a rap line that completed the arc of the song. Haesemeyer recounts how the rap was written. “We just started free associating images of the problems that result from poverty, and JENDOR, as if by magic, locked them into a rap. It came together very fast, like it was meant to be – a really special collaboration for me as a songwriter.” |