Life ain't that bad
I was composing this song initially for my wife, so it started out with some light and wholesome 'love' chords. As I'm toying around with them, I started to think about how long we've been together (10 years) and where we plan to go from here. We started out broke, living in a slumlords apartment and now we live in a nicer place. From having to tear the car apart everyday just to keep it running, to now having a decent car. From nothing to something.
While we're not filthy rich, the memories started making me feel that way. Of course everyone wants more. The nicer house, the heavier wallet, the sports car, the better job, the better everything. For me it was a reminder to look at what we do have. I could feel the song shaping into something different. Then at one point I just remember thinking...life ain't that bad.
Gratefulness
My goal was to capture that new feeling I was experiencing, Gratefulness. The reason the song's title is, Land of Angels, is because when you truly feel grateful for something, it almost feels spiritual or religious. True gratefulness alleviates all discomfort, while simultaneously filling you with joy. This feeling is what I would describe as heavenly. I thought about my wife one more time and how grateful I was to have her, then I went back to composing. So thus, Land of Angels.
Style of the song
Now that I knew what the song was fully about, I had to find the sound to capture it. I decided to go in a harp like direction. I used a piano that sounded a tad plucky and let the reverb just phase out. It allowed that distant feeling, but also like you were approaching something big. Also to sell the harp feeling, I rolled up the keyboard on the high notes to mimic that well known common harp sound. From there it was just creating a catchy hook that hopefully you all enjoyed.
If you haven't heard Land of Angels yet, check out the link below. Have a wonderful day :)
Listen to Land of Angels by Louis Matthew Bellavia here
