Chadwick Stokes / Photo by Margarita Platis
Utne Reader is proud to premiere the song “Mother Maple” by singer-songwriter Chadwick Stokes. The song is the latest single from his new album, The Horse Comanche, which is out Feb. 3 on Ruff Shod Records/Thirty Tigers.
On “Mother Maple,” Stokes employs an old sample machine, a choir, and a really catchy hook, to frame his insightful lyrics on selfless love. Here’s what he had to say about the song, which was produced by Sam Beam and Brian Deck and features the Berklee Reverence Gospel Choir:
“I was walking around with my uncle Tots in the woods in Vermont and he was showing me some old maple trees that had since died but had given life to much of the forest around it. It reminded me of a friend of mine who’s mother had died some years back; she was always giving to everyone else and never paid attention to herself. The mystery instrument is a Sudanese homemade guitar traditionally made with a gourd, but mine is made with a frying pan. Much of the drums are an original drum track played through an old sample machine called Dr. Beat.”
