Singled Out: Aryk Crowder's What You Want

Chicago soul/roots rocker Aryk Crowder recently released his new EP "2x4, Vol.2" and to celebrate we asked him to tell us the story behind the song "What You Want". Here is the story:

Writing "What You Want" came at a point in my life where I was dealing with a lot of complex feelings in questioning myself as an artist and a musician. The events of this song came shortly after coming down from the end of a relationship with a woman whom I was in love with. As a lot of us do, I found solace in someone new, but didn't want to dive into a relationship quite yet. I could tell she felt otherwise. I really liked her company and she was great to be around, but I was apprehensive about making a commitment. It weighed heavy on my head as I know that if I kept her at arm's length that her interest in me would eventually be lost and she'd be gone.

Around this same time, I was also starting to experiment with this looping thing where I can record what I'm doing live and put it into a playback loop via a device at my feet. Never one to be fully satisfied with the beautiful simplicity of a vocal and acoustic guitar, I started figuring out how to do some basic beatboxing as well as some sounds on how to make my acoustic guitar sound like a bass. Melodies started to come as soon as I figured out the device and how to make all these sounds intertwine. What You Want was the first song I wrote with this new set up (see the original composition here ).

For me as a songwriter, the melody describes what I'm feeling while the lyrics describe what I actually want to say. The two don't stray far from one another. I recall this song coming together rather quickly as the events of it were heavy on my mind. By the time I wrote this song, the opportunity of having a relationship with this amazing woman had passed and I dropped the ball. We still remain friends, but I've never told her about her being the subject of this song.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and watch the music video for "What You Want" here and learn more about Aryk and the new EP right here!