A month after dropping his captivating single 'A Prayer', we caught up with NYC songwriter Couvo to see what he's planning next!
Last month you released your new single 'A Prayer' and you have plans to release an album 'The Drinks Are Always Free In Purgatory' in the near future. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the upcoming album? How does 'A Prayer' fit into that narrative? A Prayer is actually the closing track of the album! The song itself is about one summer when I was broke and unemployed--which is really what the whole album is about too. I remember waking up in someone’s bed on Devoe Street in Brooklyn and just lying there, wondering what I was doing with my life and where I was going. But it’s also my attempt to find meaning out of my life and the aimlessness I felt. It’s a discovery of the beauty that’s entwined in our day-to-day suffering, and our collective ability to imagine a better world, despite the constant onslaught of pain that should make any sane person feel hopeless. There’s salvation in our ability to continue to dream of something better.
What does your songwriting process look like? It starts with a line that slowly collects mass like the way atoms might attract one another until eventually, you have this huge piece of marble you have to try whittling down into something digestible. Now talk about mixed metaphors…
Do you have any live dates coming up? What would be your dream venue to perform at? Playing at The Nest in Brooklyn in 6/30! Dream venue right now would probably be Sultan Room.
'A Prayer' is about using your mind to pull you through difficult times through a hope for something better. Would you say this is something you practice in your every day life? It’s certainly something I try to do. But I’d say the song is more about accepting that those difficult times are inherent in life, and that’s it carefully intertwined in the beauty of existence.
Where do you hope to be in a year's time?
Still in Brooklyn. Except by then, I’ll be the next Bruce Springsteen. One can dream, anyway. As the songs says, “May you always dream of something more.”
'A Prayer' is out now!