Ethan Gold listens to the silence in his head
Recently, the album “Earth City 1: The Longing” was released by the American Ethan Gold, who is usually referred to as a singer-songwriter in the media. But with that we do him short, said the idiosyncratic musician in an interview with Maxazine. ‘That description is too narrow.’
‘I was barely 2 or 3 years old when I started singing and writing songs,’ said Ethan Gold. ‘I was early indeed. I sang about my family and as soon as I saw a piano I started playing. In school, I did nothing but writing songs. I learned more from myself than from the school.’ Ethan Gold is a self-taught artist. On many of his albums, he plays almost all instruments himself. ‘I started writing, then piano and then synthesizer. I mainly learned to play guitar and bass during hours and days of jam sessions with friends on various stages in California, my home state.’
Singer-songwriter is too limited
With the title singer-songwriter, you do Gold short. ‘I compose, make film scores and instrumental albums et. I think the description is really too simplistic and too limited,’ said Gold, slightly irritated. When asked, strangely enough, dreams are Gold’s main source of inspiration when writing his music. Dreams he remembers. Whether the dreams are also his source of inspiration for his striking and creative video clips is left open to the artist. ‘Videos often appear during mixing when I adjust the sound. Then images appear. A video never accurately reflects the content of a song.’
Lost years, focus on the future
That brings our conversation to his brain and – almost inevitably – to the accident a few years ago that left Gold for years with brain damage, the consequences of which he still notices. ‘I really lost some years, couldn’t speak for years and didn’t go out on the street. I didn’t know who I was and lost friends. Yet I was always aware of my situation. But I’m lucky because thanks to a good psychotherapist and an effective acupuncture treatment, I can now function and communicate again. Doing two things at once is still difficult. Sometimes I panic when I think about the past. That is why I am only concerned with the future.’
Talking about the future. Gold does not hide his concerns about climate change on his website and the video clip for his latest single “Storm is coming”. ‘My latest album and the single “Storm is coming” is about how we treat our planet and each other. I want to spread a message and connect people. To make the earth better.’
Climate change
For the time being, Ethan Gold is spreading his message to the world through his albums and videos. That’s where his focus is now. There is no touring yet. ‘Here in California, there are still too many COVID-19 restrictions on live performances. For example, my favourite stage is still closed. I am now focusing on recording the second album in the “Earth City Light” trilogy. Then I think about touring. Hopefully also to Europe’, said Gold, whose tour through Eastern Europe in 2020 was cancelled due to corona.
As said, Ethan Gold – he does not want to mention his age – mainly looks ahead. Out of necessity. From month to month and with a focus on recording his trilogy. This time with guest musicians. ‘To get energy from other people and learn characters.’
Silence in my head
When asked what music he himself still listens to in between, an answer follows that only Ethan Gold can give. ‘My head is so full… And rarely quiet. But when it’s quiet in my head, it’s that silence that I prefer to listen to.’
