Goldpark
Biography
For the members of Goldpark, the best music comes from true collaboration. The Nashville-based alternative rock trio, which formed in 2019, finds inspiration from bands like Coldplay, Kings of Leon and Death Cab For Cutie –groups known for thoughtful songwriting paired with lush soundscapes.
The band connected when Andrew moved from Memphis to Nashville, meeting Wes through a work colleague. The pair was immediately struck by their similar musical sensibilities, and they began filling in for each other at various gigs around town. Kyle soon joined the mix, and by early 2020 Goldpark had begun writing the songs for their first album.
“The thing that pulled us to each other was our common ground of musical influences and instincts,” Andrew says. “I love the way Wes writes songs. His voice is unique and something I latched onto immediately. The three of us get really excited when each of us is in our element. We love playing together and experiencing each other play. We all compliment each other and it really works. The foundation of the band is collaboration and honoring each other.
”Ironically for a band focused on live collaboration, the pandemic prevented Goldpark from playing live shows and testing out their new songs on the road.Undeterred, the musicians spent the first half of 2020 writing before heading into the studio with Nashville producer Hunter West in August to lay down four tracks. The songs draw their inspiration from the visual landscape of the desert, a place Wes has often returned to in his travels. The vast scope of a barren desert plays into the music, reflecting a tension between beauty and desolation that also pervades Wes’ thoughtful lyrics.
“There’s so much tension in every moment,” Wes notes. “Nothing is ever one way. I love when a song has conflict and resolution, where it brings you from feeling hopeless or sad to a feeling of optimism or peace. Or maybe it’s the opposite. Life is like that. Some days you’re feeling great and other days are not that way. It’s a transparent way of writing. I’m not trying to pretend one is more dominant than the other. Most of the time both feelings exist in a single moment.”
That sensibility is revealed in“Beautiful Desperation,” a propulsive rock number that ruminates on the seeming lack of hope in the desert as it waits for rain. “Morning Light,” a cinematic track rooted in the history of storytelling, seeks light in the darkness, while anthemic song “Running” is about the dual feelings that accompany a new experience. “You can live on a high and then come down into self-doubt,” Wes says. “There’s an internal battle with those feelings. A lot of my songs look at two sides of a coin.”
That tension is also apparent in the ups and downs of how Goldpark came to write their debut album in quarantine. Writing these songs as the world devolved into chaos shaped their perspective, reminding the musicians that sometimes challenges are accompanied by opportunity. These songs might not exist if everyone hadn’t been forced to stay home and slow down.
“We quickly realized we needed to be especially intentional with how this record was going to sound,” Andrew says.“It would have been easy, because of social distancing and remote sessions, for this record to sound like it was made solely with a computer. In a time when human interaction was scarce, we aimed to make songs that sounded like humans playing music together. These songs are a pillar of hope, like the light at the end of this tunnel.”
Goldpark’s songs are a point of connection not only for the band, but for the listener too. Even as the musicians examine the highs and lows of human existence, they also lean towards that optimism. In hard times, music can be what guides us back to ourselves.
“Our goal is to be able to write songs about things that touch people,” Andrew says. “The world is hard and a lot of bad things happen, so we want to offer a different perspective and try to give people some hope.Yes, life can be painful, but there’s also a lot of beauty and a lot of beautiful people and a lot of love.”
“We want to be a group who makes records that inspire people,” Wes says. “We don’t want to be a flash in the pan or treat this like something that’s short-lived. We want to build this into a steady career where we grow and evolve. And we want to be a source of good and beauty in the world, where whatever we create resonates with our audience.”
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Press Releases
Goldpark Release “Beautiful Desperation”
February 12, 2021
Goldpark “One” EP
August 20, 2021
