Singled Out: Tessa Kautzman's Worlds Apart

When I wrote "Worlds Apart" I was in the Yukon, spending as much time as possible by the river and in the forest, canoeing, camping and wandering. My writing is often a reflection of my surroundings, and when I sing "Worlds Apart" I see myself back in the north. At the time I was thinking a lot about the darker side of nature. A "silent river current, unpredictable and indifferent" is a powerful, dangerous and terrifying force, but that in itself is the beauty of nature and of human nature. In this song I wanted to express a feeling of strong appreciation for the indifferent harshness of life.

The melody of the song took quite a long time to develop and went through several transformations before I settled on what I recorded. Early versions sounded a little more like traditional folk, but in the end I used a minor key and a rhythmic, poppy bass line for some momentum. I'm really happy with the way the song turned out, but I hope to re-record it and add more instruments, such as piano, percussion and horns.