‘Covid is causing all of us to think about purpose and meaning in our lives’

He was 12 when he first picked up a guitar and began teaching himself to play, strumming tentatively at first, then finding his stride; at 13 he penned his first song.

The 41-year-old, who, in pursuit of his love of Americana, relocated to Nashville in 2009 with his wife Emily and their two dogs Mabel and O’Malley, remembers that first tentative moment of artistic creation vividly.

“It was called In The Music. It wasn’t horrible. I’ve actually probably written worse songs since and probably will go on to write worse songs,” he laughs. “ But from that point on, at age 13 ,I was certain that I knew that was the path I wanted to travel.”

How does a song begin? Where does it come from? I ask him about what seems an enigmatic process to those of us not blessed with virtuosic musical gifts.

“In terms of songwriting - how a song comes into being - there is no set formula.

“Something usually triggers a song in you; it might be a melody, might be an idea; it could be a line that floats through your mind that resonates somewhere deeper - that’s the jumping off point.”

Like everyone, Glover has been stalled in his tracks by Covid (his brother Paul, a consultant anaesthetist, is actually head of the Covid Response Team at an Ulster hospital).

In Nashville, the epicentre of country music, where probably every second person is involved with the industry in some way (though Glover’s music is more raw Americana, plaintive, rootsy and Dylanesque, with the added twist of Leonard-Cohen type wisdom) pandemic restrictions are not as draconian as they are here, but life has still changed dramatically.

“There are restrictions here in Nashville that are similar, but not quite the same, as back home. There can only be gatherings of eight people.

Zoom is what has saved me in terms of staying connected with others.

This pandemic has changed everything. We don’t know how this will develop or what the final outcome will be, and I try not to think too much about it because there’s so much uncertainty.

“But of course I worry about the future of live music. For me personally, on a practical level, I had to cancel three tours this year.”

So, no live gigs, lifeblood for any serious musical artist who lives for the thrill of being up there amid the bright lights, entertaining a rapt audience.

“Of course I miss being on stage, where you just feel utterly present, utterly in the moment, and you lose yourself in that moment. You feel there is no separation between you and the audience.

“You feel inspired, you feel joy, you feel at peace, you feel wild, you feel so many things. You are wide open.”

Glover finds that the lull of lockdown has pushed him towards the consolations of philosophising.

“The live gig is one of the best parts of being able to be a musical or performing artist, that feeling of connection you can generate with an audience. Not being able to experience that during this pandemic has made me question what I love most about music and about what I do. Again, it’s connection. Music for me provides the space for that connection with others.”

It’s made him question too what themes most preoccupy him as a lyricist.

“For me the biggest theme I keep going back to is ‘home’, and what it means; like, what does home mean? It’s always about a geographic location, but the place where you find sanctuary. Is it where the person you love is?

“Home for me is where you find the deepest peace, the deepest joy, the deepest meaning, the deepest stillness. Is that not what life is really, trying to figure that out, discovering where our greatest joy and meaning and purpose comes from?

“The answering of these questions...that’s why we make art, that’s why people go to church. We are always searching for the sense of home or belonging and peace.

“I think music has become an important tool for people in trying to get through some of the difficulties, isolation and boredom of lockdown.

“One of their vehicles for survival has been music and film and whatever entertainment is available to them from the confines of home.”

The distinguished winner of last year’s Americana UK Album of the Year award for his magnificent selection of rootsy, emotional, poetic ballads, Shorebound, believes the effect of being housebound has led all of us to think more deeply about what really matters.

“At times like this we all question meaning and purpose.

“And for me again it comes back to connection. It’s not so much that I miss getting on that bus and going on tour but rather that feeling that I get when I’m on stage that I’ve tapped into this broader way of communicating with others.

“But the beautiful thing is that there are other ways of replicating that sense of connection outside of the live gig. Over the past six months, thinking about meaning and purpose, it’s been a great time to shine a light internally and ask those difficult questions. Meaning and purpose - how do you define them on a personal level?”

Glover describes his new EP, Sweet Wild Lily, a soulful, rich, deeply considered dose of Americana that is thoughtful, rich and pulls on the heartstrings, as one of the achievements he feels most proud of to date.

“I feel like this EP is one of the proudest moments of my career and I am aware that lots of artists probably say that about every new release, but that’s how I feel about this one.

“It was a line in the sand for me because it feels like a line in the sand for me musically.

“I feel this is the gateway to a new sound and I new chapter for me.

“It’s still Americana, but to me it’s something of a departure, although it is hard to describe in terms of genre or anything else.

“It’s the first time I have produced as well which I loved and found incredibly freeing.

“I took my time with this one, whereas with previous albums I have always recorded them in very intense bursts, usually in two weeks straight.

“I made the four songs on this EP over the course of four months, so it was a slower burn; I put less pressure on myself and I really thought about what I was doing here while crafting it.

“I kind of allowed the music to develop on its own, to find its own feet, it’s own sound. It was liberating. I felt like I was allowing the music to find itself rather than it finding me if that makes sense.

“I was letting the song come forth in its own time.”

Ben Glover’s new EP Sweet Wild Lily is available now. Visit www.benglover.co.uk/.