Name: Billy Raffoul
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Billy Raffoul's For All These Years is out via Nettwerk.
Recommendations: Cub - Wunderhorse

If you enjoyed this Billy Raffoul  interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official website. He is also on Instagram, twitter, and Facebook.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

It can come from anywhere.

Sometimes I’ll write about current events. Sometimes about something someone close to me is going through. Even something as simple as a movie.

I have a habit of making a big deal out something small, so it doesn’t take much!

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Sometimes I don’t need to see the end goal. Though that’s not always the case, if I don’t start writing about a specific topic I’l just let the song go wherever it feels right.

I’m either really strict about how cohesive an idea is or not at all. No in between.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Not really. I’ll either start writing down words/lines/concepts as they come to me or I’ll just pick up the guitar!

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

Coffee is definitely a ritual! Especially when recording and writing. I’ll go through a whole pot.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

I have no rules when it comes to the beginning of an idea. Melody, lyric, chord progression, concept. It doesn’t matter to me what comes first!

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

I will often have a good chunk of the lyric done before I put it to melody and music. Not always, but most of the time.
 
What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

I am definitely a lyric first listener.

While I appreciate melody (so much) the biggest connections I have with songs are when I can follow the writer and what they’re trying to say.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I think it’s discovery. Everything has been created already in my opinion.

Maybe you’re discovering a new way to present it.  
 
From your experience, are there things you're doing differently than most or many other artists when it comes to writing music?

I don’t think I’m doing anything different. I’m such a fan of songwriting and songwriters.

I’m just happy to be a part of the community.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I like to try and allow the narrative or idea to go where it naturally feels like it should.

Even if it’s not a song I’ll ever sing or maybe it’s not for me.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

I often arrive at a fork in the road. I’ll try a couple different roads and pick the direction that feels right for what kind of song I want to make at the time.

It won’t always be the same direction and sometimes I end up with two entirely different songs.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

It’s not necessarily spiritual for me but it definitely comes in waves and when I’m in it, it feels like it’ll never stop.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice?

Every song is different for me In this regard. Sometimes I’ll spend months even years refining something. Other times the song will be done the day I write it.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?  

I think this differs from song to song. I try to write songs that can stand on their own with maybe one instrument but sometimes production can take songs to a new height.

Mixing and mastering (or lack thereof) is so important to me, it has saved songs for me.  

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

For me it’s such a freeing feeling. Now that something is out in the world I no longer have any control and therefor I don’t have to worry about it any longer. It’s no just mine anymore.

Returning to the creative state is natural after that.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

I try and stay away from the YouTube comments but a couple of my more political songs (“Homegrown,” “Western Skies,” “A Few More Hours at YYZ”) have been misunderstood by some people.



I do my best to ignore it.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I think there’s no difference! I’m no cook but my partner Bianca is incredibly creative with ingredients when she’s making something.

For me in many ways music is my only outlet. When I want to talk about something important to me I’ll try to write with it.