With an unyielding vulnerability, Melbourne’s Angus Legg has unveiled his latest emotionally fueled pop heater, titled ‘Someone I Never Knew’.
Photo credit: Cian Marangos & James Dryden
Whilst the grief from the death of his father was the catalyst for this track, Angus Legg pulled profound wisdom to pen the lyrics, understanding that “a loved one cannot experience who you are today, and ultimately never know who you are to become.”. With the vacancy of being unable to share those moments with his father, ‘Someone I Never Knew’ was an expression of Angus’ pride of who he had become, as well as his gratitude to acknowledge that he would not be the person he is today, without his fathers guidance. Serendipitously, the track's release date coincides with his father’s birthday; May 24th.
Writing ‘Someone I Never Knew’ was Angus Legg’s moment to acknowledge the full force of what had happened for the first time, understanding that every part of him may not heal and that being okay. The moments spent working on the track, building inspiration in his own creativity, allowed Angus to reminisce & also move forward. Working with close friend San Joseph (Island Records) to produce the song, the two took an array of live elements; nylon string guitars, violin, cello & mandolin to build up the instrumentation for the arrangement. ‘Someone I Never Knew’ was mixed by Hayden Francis (Woodes, Boy Soda, wolfjay), with mastering at Studio 301 by Ben Feggans (Amy Shark, Mallrat, Sampa The Great).
My father passed away when I was 19, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, and passed weeks later. Someone I Never Knew is a concept that explores the grief I’ve experienced and worked through during adolescence and into early adulthood. The inevitable truth became evident to me, a loved one cannot experience who you are today, and ultimately never know who you are to become. To me that has been the hardest thing to accept about grief, all the wounds have healed with time, except the idea of not being able to share triumph and failure with someone so close to you, that’s permanent, and the saddest part about death. I express the lyric with an undertone of pride, and gratitude, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the father I had, and ironically, the growth the death of my father inspired.” Angus Legg
“The process was reviving for me, it was an incredible way to reflect and reminisce in ways I hadn’t before. It helped me heal parts that hadn’t healed properly yet, whilst also acknowledging some parts may never heal, and that being okay. It helped me fall in love with the process of making music and being creative again. It has been such an incredible experience in so many ways it’s hard to put into words. I also worked on the track with my close friend San Joseph, which was incredibly fun. We both live together so we had plenty of time to make it the best it could possibly be. Joey is an incredible producer, we used a plethora of live elements including; nylon string guitar, violin, cello and mandolin. I wrote this song in an hour, it was midway through lockdown in 2020, my body knew exactly what it wanted to say.” Angus Legg
Angus Legg’s ‘Someone I Never Knew’ Studio Diary
Celebrating
This photo is from a while into production, the track was pretty close to being finished, and we were both getting a bit excited with how it was sounding, San Joseph is absolutely incredible and it was an honour to work with him on this.
Vocal take 1
This is a video of what I believe is the take we used in the verse/pre-chorus in the final product, however I could be completely wrong haha.
Vocal take 2
This is the footage from after the previous take, and receiving feedback from San Joseph. I thought this particular video was interesting as it captures dialogue between both of us while recording the vocals, it’s definitely an interesting vibe working with your best friend in a professional environment, the energy slightly shifts and you have to be switched on, which is hard cause 99% of the time we’re usually messing around, I thought it was interesting because it captures the ‘let’s work’ energy/vibe.
Long Yell
This was a complete experiment we tried, Joey told me to just scream, this was the interaction before the yell, and post yell, including a little cameo from one of our other housemates Max. I think the scream is actually buried somewhere deep in the production.
Whether the song makes you cry, makes you feel understood, gives you goosebumps, or gives you an insight into grief, Angus Legg's 'Someone I Never Knew' is a must-have in your music rotation. I can't wait to hear what this talented storyteller does next.
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