Derek Smith is an up and coming force in the northeastern US music scene. In addition to being the front-man and primary songwriter for The Cosmic Vultures, he writes and records solo material. His first release for the label was a wildly successful single, "Fire in the Forest", which has over 30,000 plays to date. The corresponding album Rubedo only fueled the demand for more music and luckily for his fans, Derek is a prolific writer. His sophomore album, Obscura, was released on July 12 just seven months later. As Smith continues to release material, including October single "Black Angel," his sonic identity comes increasingly into focus.
In your opinion, what are the essential qualities that make a good songwriter:
Derek Smith: There are a few things that I believe that make up the perfect combination of a good songwriter. The first thing is listening. Listening and studying music is of paramount importance. The basic understanding of basic structuring of a song. Also using chords as if they were mathematics. What and why certain chords go well together. Like numbers. Swerving in vocal melodies and proper instrumentation as well. All of this combined can make a good songwriter. Treat the process as if you are watering a plant. Respect the process.
What is the basis for writing attention grabbing music in 2023?
The attention span of a person in 2023 is rapidly different from say… people in the 70s. A band like Pink Floyd could still attract so many music lovers with their extremely long and avant-garde openings. Nowadays, if your song doesn’t start with a catchy guitar lick or drum beat, you may have a hard time getting listeners. Now, personally, I think a huge percentage of the people who need to be bought with a catchy opening, are not the type of “music” fans that would enjoy my music necessarily. I wouldn’t even necessarily call them music fans. That might be a hot take, but that’s just the way I feel about it. Is it dopamine? Is that what it is when receiving a catchy hook in a song or a tasty guitar or bass lick? Could be.
It’s so unbelievably subjective as everyone just has a different music taste. Sometimes a song gets popular not because it’s actually a good piece of music, but actually how it was marketed and how it was delivered to the consumer. If you ordered a steak at a restaurant and it came sort of sloppy looking in a styrofoam container, you probably won’t enjoy it. But when the steak comes looking fancy on a nice plate… then that may make all the difference. Marketing is big nowadays. And going back to attention spans, it’s like someone from 2023 watching a film from the 1940s. Most of these people will miss the art and camera work all together. They might find it boring because the editing isn’t changing a camera angle every 3 seconds. Nowadays I always give an album two full listens. Sometimes you can’t digest and understand everything on the first listen.
What has it been like working with an Indie record label as opposed to working on your own?
Well I’d say the extra publicity from working with an indie label is better than having no publicity at all. It was a pleasure and very cool to have the first album on Oak Honest Records with Too Many Shapes from 2020. They’ve done a great job promoting and they’ve grown quite a bit since 2020. It’s like being a part of a family and that is a very comforting feeling.
Can you pinpoint some specific songs and songwriters that changed the way you wrote music?
Lennon and McCartney was the start of all of it for me. And today their music still inspires me to write. Songs like “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Getting Better” are examples of tunes that I have studied over the years. I look at the chords being used and try to understand why they sound so good together. The flow of the songs and the tempo. Later I started to listen to artists like Steely Dan and Frank Zappa. The intricate compositions written by artists like that started making me think how I could attempt music like that. But I always go back to less is more. More digestible music. Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan are also huge influences.
Do you find it harder to be inspired by artists that are younger than you or are you motivated by their energy? Can you name any new artists you find inspiring?
This is a great question. I really don’t look at artists by their age. I am sure there are songs by artists I’ve heard that are younger than me that I have loved, but can’t think of any by name. But I think that I am generally inspired by bands who can weave together great chord changes and have a solid understanding of harmonies. Ultimately, I have seen artists like McCartney (who is 80) and The Rolling Stones, who are up there in age, and they have more energy than most young bands I’ve seen. To play a three-hour show every night… man… that’s impressive.
For your new album, what inspired the lyrical content, album title and overall vibe?
The last album that I released was Obscura, back in July. There were a bunch of different themes that were bouncing around my head: friendship, nihilism, dreaming, Salem, depression. Sometimes I’ll write fiction, but I found myself writing about real feelings on this album. I think that’s why the name ended up being Obscura. It was obscure to me that I was writing more songs based off of real emotion than just fiction. I think the overall vibe ultimately dipped in all of my difficulties and feelings. It felt good to get a lot of it out on record.
Do you find that you ruminate over writing songs and hold on to them for a long time before including them on a record? Or do you prefer to write them, release them, and be done with them? Do you ever revisit old material to do a re-write or once it’s done it’s done?
A mix of everything mentioned. With the amount of songs I write, I realize that some songs don’t fit with each other so I will put them on the shelf until I know what record they will make sense with. I have a number of unfinished songs that I always get excited about going back and finishing. Looking back and saying “Ooh! That song would be perfect because it’s folky.” Something like that.
Were there any lessons you learned in the writing and recording process for your current release that you will take with you into your next project?
For my latest release, Black Angel, I realized that just having a good song is not enough anymore. Production is a huge factor. Having a nice crisp sound with the correct instrumentation is so very important. And I will make sure to give all of my new material the proper treatment going forward.