Leaving is the follow-up single to the band's Give Myself to the World EP, a newly-written original song recorded in Calgary, Alberta in December 2020.
"I love how this one came together." says the band's acoustic guitarist and songwriter, Patrick Croome. "I had this riff and melody floating around for at least a couple of years before we sat down with some intention last Christmas. We wrote quite honestly and vulnerably about a very real situation. I am grateful for my brothers for having my back through a complex chain of decisions and helping me squeeze an authentic and relatable song out of my experience."
The song became an expression for emotions that all band members were feeling around the same time.
"We were visiting our families in Calgary for three weeks, and then we had to hit the road back down to California." says drummer and lyricist Brayden Tario. "Perhaps this allowed us to settle into the reality of 'leaving,' again… 'for the last time'. Patch, Liam and myself all have our own personal emotions and experiences behind these lyrics. At the end of the song, we’re still questioning leaving, still having doubts about our decision."
The story has been told many times: an irresistible attraction between two artistic souls and the respective muses compelling them to create. The great balancing act within a romantic relationship, attracted by their independent dreams and drives, a time will come when an apparent force pushes them apart, and synchronicities that once existed will disappear into the wakes carved by their eternal destiny.
This song is Daring Greatly’s first collaboration with Calgary musician and producer Aaron Young. Aaron produced the track from his home studio, and also played some guitar tracks on the recording.
"We used to go see Aaron play at the Blues Can in Inglewood every Wednesday," says Patrick’s brother, keyboardist and song-lyricist Liam Croome.
"I cried at most of them, to be honest." Patrick related, "Not that the music was sad or anything; it was blue-eyed soul music that moved me deeply. The tears came from a place of appreciation for being one of the lucky 60 people that got to experience what Aaron just did on that guitar solo. I soaked in every little bit I could in during that time, and I will be forever grateful to them for igniting a fire in my soul."
The band has played several shows in their hometown with Aaron at venues like the National Music Centre and the Ironwood Stage. Aaron has also been giving Patrick virtual guitar lessons for some months now, also sharing song ideas and riffs.
Daring Greatly once again collaborated with videographer and visual creator Braeden Riehl, also based in Calgary. The band spent a few weeks collaborating with Riehl this past Spring over FaceTime, while the band was getting back to regular gigs in California. Riehl used content that he captured while on tour with the band through 2018 and parts of 2019 and early 2020. The vintage typewriter used in the video has received generous praise from DG music fans.
"We bounced ideas around for a few days about which font to use,” Riehl explained, “"The typewriter font stuck out to me, and I thought it would be great to take it one step further and create a scene combining traditional lyric video styles with a touch of extra effort and immersion—and that's where the idea to use a real typewriter came in.”
Brayden (Tario) conceptualized the idea for the single artwork, who passed the vision along to professional digital artist Eric Dieterich.
"I always liked getting things in the mail." Brayden explained, "I received a necklace from this jewelry company, and they included a nice postcard with it. I thought it was a fun way to connect with their customers--so that's kind of how that idea came about. I happened to be brainstorming artwork ideas right at this time, so it felt like the perfect alignment within the creative space and frame of mind that I was currently in. I was already thinking a 'love-letter” type of theme."
Yes, fans can purchase these postcards and have them mailed with a personalized message.
To further commemorate the release of the single, the band is selling Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs); unique digital art pieces on the Ethereum blockchain. It may be time to check out their very first NFT collection, exclusively on Opensea.