Morgan Finlay's Musical Journey - Spreading Joy and Optimism

Morgan Finlay is an Irish/Canadian musician and his songs feature catchy, infectious melodies and strong, authentic lyrics. 

Morgan's music ranges stylistically from indie rock to pop and folk to acoustic singer-songwriter. 

Morgan Finlay's professional music career began more than 20 years ago. Since then, his releases have grown into an impressive catalog of 10 records, including 2 EPs and many singles.

His songs reflect his eventful life as a globetrotter.

He has been living in Germany for several years now.

It's really quite easy to catch Morgan Finlay at one of his live concerts. He's on the road most of the year throughout Germany and occasionally in neighboring countries. 

Morgan collaborated with Jaimi Faulkner for the production of It’s Hard To Know. 

Zac Harding brought It's Hard To Know to life in a stunning and incredibly sweet video that was also released on December 15th.

In this interview, I talk to Morgan about his life as an independent musician, his endless creativity, his single release It’s Hard To Know and his absolutely remarkable optimism. 

Hello Morgan!

Thank you so much for taking the time for this interview!

1. Can you remember your first significant musical experience after you started writing songs?

I used to play at a bar at the bottom of Lonsdale in North Vancouver, called ‘The End’. I would play lots of cover songs, but from time to time I would slide some new songs into my set. It was on the way down the hill to one of these gigs that I wrote ‘zensong’, the song which, recorded in Toronto, first brought me to Germany.

2. Is there anyone who always believed in you and encouraged and supported you from the beginning?

There are plenty of people who believed in me and have supported me over the years. So it is impossible to pin it down to one or two people. One thing I can say for sure though is that my professional career would not have gotten off the ground without Sandy Parkinson’s help, back in North Vancouver, and Laura Wharton in Toronto.

©️Olaf Knoth

3. Where do you get the most inspiration for your music?

Typically I get inspiration from relationships, whether they are personal and intimate, or human and global. As I sit down to write nowadays I am particularly curious about humanity; our interactions, the way that we co-exist, our simple qualities and our complex failures. A more recent subject that I am focused on is automation, and how AI will affect our future.

4. How would you describe your music and how has it evolved over the years?

I would say that my songs are accessible, and perhaps even in a way raw. Even when they are produced in ways that make them sound big, or poppy, or loud I feel like the humanity is still very present and visible. Stylewise, probably the most accurate labels are folk, pop, and singer songwriter. As far as how it has evolved over the years, I would say that if anything, it has become more earthy. But honestly, the evolution is from song to song, from album to album, from stage to stage. It's happening as we speak.

5. Many of your songs are regularly requested at the Homebound Concert Series. What is special about the live streams for you?

The Homebound Concert Series, and all of the connections and friendships, songs, events and ideas that have sprung from it have changed my life in numerous ways. Being confined at home during the lockdowns presented me with a once-in-a-lifetime creative opportunity, and the fact that I got to share this period in real-time over the Internet with so many listeners changed everything for me. It was so refreshing and exhilarating to present a freshly-written song, twice a week to the folks in the stream, to read their comments in the chat and later, to involve them in voting for the best of these demos for the album (‘Shots of Light’). I love bringing people along on my journey and there had never been a more direct and natural way. 

Since those very first streams, the Homebounds have remained a vital part of my music career and my planning, and ‘the Family’ has organically developed into this community of positive-minded, good-hearted people many of whom have connected in person and formed friendships. 

All in all, the Homebound Concert Series has profoundly affected me and I think many others as well.

6. You've released over 100 songs and every now and then I still discover songs that I didn't know before.

Is there a song that is a special challenge for you?

There are definitely a couple songs I’ve written that are particularly challenging for me! The Homebound Concert Series has been good for exploring some of these trickier songs that I don’t play very often, because the streaming environment is so personal and non-judgemental. And I really enjoy playing requests.

I will say that I am more realistic about my guitar skills as time goes on, which is to say that I typically don’t write passages or progressions that are crazy difficult to play. When my attention is taken away on trying to play something correctly on guitar, it always takes away from my vocal performance and my vibe.

There are not too many of these songs fortunately but I would have to admit that I rarely play songs like ‘Progress’, ‘Sound of Industry’, or ‘514’ for this reason.

7. What do you see as the advantages for you as an independent musician?

And are there also things you would like to change?

I see many advantages to being an independent musician, especially in the media climate nowadays. For one, it is much easier to have direct contact with people who enjoy my songs, and far less complicated to set up shows and events. If I have any particular inspiration, for an event or a campaign or a graphic design, I can make them come to life in an afternoon, instead of having to filter them through a record label, management, booking agents, design agencies, etc (and pay them).

As far as what I would change…I have been doing this professionally for so long now that it's hard for me to imagine it any different. It would be nice if streaming revenue from the big platforms was shared more equitably, but I am not sitting around waiting for this to change.

8. Last year you were back in your hometown Vancouver after a long time and saw your family and friends again.

Would you like to share a few special moments with us that you remember particularly fondly?

It was amazing to be home on the West Coast, and I am hoping to do it again in 2024. There is something incredible that happens when your senses are full of all of the elements that you remember from your childhood, and your youth. Reconnecting with friends, as older and more experienced humans was really special. 

I had so many incredible moments, and definitely some of the biggest highlights were riding my bike around the Stanley Park seawall, driving with friends through the BC wilderness, relaxing in a lawn chair in my parents backyard, and generally reflecting and noticing all of the ways that life back in Vancouver has evolved.

©️Molly Keane

9. The Rebel County Sessions in Cork have been one of your highlights so far this year. In April, this dream of recording a few selected songs with a live Irish band came true. What were the most moving moments of that weekend?

The Rebel County Sessions were an incredible experience, not only for the chance to connect with my Irish roots (and to do it in the presence of so many people who had flown over from Germany!), but also to experience these songs I've written coming to life with traditional Irish instrumentation. It was an unbelievable feeling to sit on stage with these musicians, in the darkness of a classic old pub, with so many people that I like and respect in the audience, taking it all in with me.

10. Just in June you toured for Lebenshilfe with an incredible 13 shows in 14 days!

How did the contact with Lebenshilfe come about, do the concerts present you with special challenges and what were your highlights?

©️Ole Freier

I first was connected with Lebenshilfe in 2016, when I made a donation to the Lebenshilfe in Kinzig and Elztal (Haslach), in the Black Forest. Since then, with every passing year my involvement with the Lebenshilfe agency across Germany as deepened, and for the last few years I have been doing the so-called ‘Lebenshilfe Tour’ every June.

©️Ole Freier

The concerts, and the visits are so much fun and so relaxed, and really the only challenge for me is to not break a string, as I am jumping around! The energy and the positive vibes absolutely transport me, and I truly appreciate how much these shows, and sign posters and selfies, mean to the individuals who come out.

11. You have built up a large fan base in the meantime. What does personal contact with your fans mean to you?

Connection with, and compassion for, other human beings has always been important to me not only as a musician but as a longtime social worker. I try to honor the moments we share by actually being directly in them (not as simple as it sounds), and I find that many people who come to my shows are able to do this as well, and they appreciate it.

12 Originally you had planned to release an EP with 6 songs. Now you will release all 6 songs one after the other as singles.

When were they created and can you tell us a bit more about the individual songs?

Initially, when I approached Jaimi to record these six songs they were grouped as an EP, but as time has gone on since they were completed, I have decided instead to release them as singles. Each of them were written during the pandemic, and debuted in the Homebound Concert Series. If the songs are grouped by anything, it is by a feeling of confusion and wonder that we all felt during this time, and after. I would say they are also colored by a certain optimism, even in their darkness.

©️Olaf Knoth

13. It's Hard To Know is a beautiful soulful acoustic track.

Jaimi's guitar playing especially the slides are fantastic.

What was your collaboration like for the album?

Working with Jaimi was fluid, fun, and relaxed. Being in his studio, and spending time with him further illustrated for me what kind of a person, and what kind of a professional he is. Of course, his performances and his production gave these songs body, and still more soul. His talent on guitar, his passion for ‘the song’, his high standards and natural curiosity made him the perfect collaborator for these recordings. And the friendship that has developed over the last few years has been really important to me!

It's Hard To Know [Lyrics]

I've been standing round

letting things that I made up get me down

and been overwhelmed by little fears

cause it's hard to know what's going on here

I've been hurting such that to comprehend is sometimes too much

though I know that someone's gotta steer

though it's hard to know what's going on here

what's there more to say

that in a century will matter anyway

as the notes of normal disappear

well it's hard to watch what's going on here

oh we've all been cheating death underestimating every precious breath

on account of what's becoming clear

well we oughta know what's going on here

I've been thinking of you

feeling all the years that's falling way from view

and I'd grab the phone to call you my dear

but it's hard to say what's going on here

14.⁠ ⁠The mood at the beginning of the video is rather cloudy, and it feels like you're fighting a battle with your inner over-thinker. Please take us behind the scenes!

Indeed, this song is about dealing with all of the inner and outer confusion of our times… it’s about not being able to put the situation into words, or even explain it. I think this has been a very common feeling in the past four years. 

The video of course was entirely Zac’s concept, and one of the things I love about it is the way that he shifted from black and white into radiant, striking colours. There does seem to be a transition there, and his storyline brings to light several different elements, of beauty and simplicity. It feels like there is a clarity that comes through in the end… which of course we all hope for.

15. How did you get in touch with Zac Harding, who produced the video?

Can you tell us something about the production process, how were your ideas realised?

When I was in Vancouver in the summer of 2022, I got in touch with a childhood friend who is an acclaimed illustrator. I asked her if there was anyone in her circle that she would recommend to make a video, and she connected me with Zac, who is the son of a friend of hers. Zac is a recent graduate of the acclaimed Emily Carr University in Vancouver, and has a beautiful, innocent, fun animation style. As soon as I saw some of his work, I was immediately curious and when I contacted him, he promptly accepted the job. 

As I always do with creatives that I work with, I explained the background and the meaning of the song at the start, and then asked him to follow his inspirations and let me know when he was done. Once again, giving creative freedom to talented individuals that I trust paid off.

16. Will Christian Scharffenberg, who produced the video for Shots of Light and created 'Shemp‘, also take over the video production for one of the other songs and will there perhaps even be a sequel to 'Shemp‘?

Chris and I are in regular contact, and have a number of projects in the pipeline. He has already completed a video for ‘Allez Allez’, which I hope to release in the beginning of 2024. In the meantime, the sequel to ‘Shots of Light’ is waiting in the wings, although I do not expect this to go into production until the end of next year at the earliest.

Over the course of hanging out in the last couple years, we have consolidated ideas for four other projects that we are eager to start on, and have already more or less mapped out the rough concepts. Our friendship has blossomed since ‘Shots of Light’ and our next collaboration is never far away.

17. Can you tell us what other plans you have for this year and next year?

2023 was the busiest year of my career so far, and yet there are many plans and projects still in my inbox. My biggest plan at the moment, other than writing new songs is to relax, try to be in the moment and appreciate what has happened in the past 12 months. I have recently moved to Freiburg, and I am really looking forward to settling in to my community and getting out in nature.

For next year, I will aim to perform probably around 70 or 80 live shows and 10-12 Homebound shows. In the first months of 2024, I will release Christian Scharfenberg's video for ‘Allez Allez’, and we will probably begin a new production based on ‘Shemp’ in the spring. In April, I hope to release the Rebel County Sessions live album and videos. At some point in the middle of it all, I plan to record a new single with a string ensemble in Ljubljana, and shoot the accompanying video in Slovenia. There will also be a video for ‘The Tunnel of Hurt’, another of the songs that I recorded with Jaimi, which I expect to be released in fall 2024. 

18. Finally, I would like to mentioning your remarkable optimism and positivity, which are really very impressive and immediately strike anyone who listens to you.

Where do you get the strength to draw hope and confidence from seemingly dead-end situations, to write positive texts and to realise new ideas again and again?

Off the top of my head, I would have to say that I draw a lot of my inspiration, and owe a lot of my personal foundation to two decades of social work, that I did in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. These experiences taught me, more than anything else, how to properly listen and be aware of my surroundings. I believe that once you have learned to listen, certain skills come more naturally including empathy, appreciation, and presence.

Of course, working as a self-employed, professional musician has taught me to be humble— and realistic. The experience of the last 21 years as an independent musician, creating songs, working to gain them exposure, and drawing feedback from other humans, has been an amazingly encouraging experience.

19. Is there anything else that is on your mind that you would like to say in conclusion?

I would like to thank all of the friendly folks who come to my shows, connect with my music, and follow me on social media! And of course, I want to thank the IMFF Homebound family, and my dear Patreon supporters who have kept me personally and professionally powered up over the last five years. 

Finally, I want to thank you Susi for taking the time for this interview, and for helping my songs to be heard though Kaffeehausmusik and beyond!

Morgan - thank you so so much for the deep insights into your life.

My wishes for you for the future: Lots of energy, inspiration for new brilliant music, continued support from your fans and much success for your upcoming projects.

I’m looking forward to even more Morgan Finlay 💙

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