Singled Out: Catherine Campbell's Wild And Free

Keavin Wiggins | 04-23-2022

Promo photo courtesy NoVo

Catherine Campbell just released her new single "Wild and Free", from her "Leave No Trace" EP, and to celebrate we asked her to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

The EP Leave No Trace is an album of loneliness, questioning, overthinking and acceptance. The song "Samuel" is spiteful, whereas "Smiling" calls a lover back. The track "Right Reasons" is reassuring in the aftermath of the single "Wild and Free."

This song was written around the death of the prolific rock climber and BASE jumper, Dean Potter. When reading about Potter's life, his accomplishments included free climbing walls in Yosemite Valley, high-lining over vast cannons with no protection, and jumping from higher and higher peaks, soaring out into the nothing and the everything. What Inspired me the most was his ability to live without fear and his need to live "wild and free."

I believe that my life choices and actions have often been controlled by my fear. At a young and pivotal age, I allowed a person to take happiness from me because I was afraid to be alone. This song is about the great fear and strength it takes to extricate yourself from something that feels like your entire world. It is about overwhelming relief, lifting the world from your shoulders, jumping into the unknown, embracing your wildness, and truly living

The man in "Wild and Free" is her earth; he breathes and the wind blows; his existence echoes in the valleys, and he is the sun rising. It is because of this she must leave: to breathe her own air, feel the warmth of a new sun, move freely, and to own her inherent wild nature.

The production of this song has been a long journey. In 2016, I recorded it with my college band, The Mother Pluckers. This group was an ensemble of four female vocalists, a bass, drums, a guitar, and a banjo. Four years later, I sat in the studio with this song once again. I wanted to breathe new life into it. We layered vocal tracks on vocal tracks, guitar tracks on guitar tracks, building a lush wall of sound. But, then the guitars were stripped away, and the song soared, venturing into a new realm for the type of music I record.

I think the recording of this song suits its content well because there is a driving drum beat that persists throughout the entire song, moving us ever forward. The bass grounds us and the layered vocals create air above our heads, building a world of sound for us to sit in and experience the song.

I am pleased and honored to release a song about hope and the ability for all individuals to embrace their wild nature and experience the true freedom that comes with that.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more about the EP here