Collin Clowes Releases His Heartfelt New Single, “Go”
Death, breakups, moves, and more separate us from people who are important before we want, sometimes before we need. But in life, people come and go.
This is the theme of Thunder Bay singer, songwriter, and producer Collin Clowes’s latest single, “Go.”
A slow, soft track, “Go,” evokes the emotion of sorrowful grief. This extremely human experience is encapsulated in the song’s tone, lyrics, and melody.
Collin is responsible for writing, recording, producing, mixing, and mastering the track, plus did the vocals, guitar, keys, synths, drums, samples, and bass. In short, “Go” is solely a Collin creation, and it comes from a place deep inside the artist.
“The past few years have been odd, and I’ve been losing people that are really important to me,” Collin explained. “It’s constantly on my mind, so I really needed to put that grief into something.”
In “Go,” Collin discusses the difficulty of releasing someone from his life who has clearly been crucial to him for some time. To process the pain, he remembers back to the good times they had together, well before he knew their parting would come like this. But still, it kills Collin to see someone he loves so much go from his life.
“And all that I wanted is haunted by
The Things that I don’t see
And when I’m older
Maybe I won’t wanna be alone
I die inside as you watch me go”
“Go” is one-fifth of Collin’s newest EP, Lily, which is centered around the musician’s experience with loss. The name comes from the flower’s reputation as the “saddest flower.”
“The white represents peace, which I think, in the process of creating this EP, I found some peace and acceptance,” Collin said. “The flower represents grief, endings, dedication, and change.”
Collin has lived a tumultuous life. When he was 17, he began to have peculiar health problems that confused doctors. Answers ran thin, but his mystery illness continued to attack his liver, forcing Collin to spend tons of time in the hospital at a time when most young people were starting their adult lives.
His years-long health battle instigated his musical career, giving him the kick he needed to take the leap while he felt he still could. Several years of working in the studio, attending music school, and playing live in Thunder Bay and Toronto culminated in 2022, when Collin released his first two EPs, starting with Sleepy in October 2021. Lily is a seven-track EP about what Collin considered the best time of his life so far.
In the musician’s two projects from 2022, he shows listeners the two sides of life. This roller coaster is full of peaks and valleys – it is at the core of our conditions as humans to experience this juxtaposition throughout our lives. They might not all look the same, but we all have our own best and worst times filled with their own uniquely fantastic, wonderful, horrific, and terrible traits.
“I love having these projects of mine existing somewhere others can stumble upon it and feel something, hopefully something good,” Collin said. “I am also very grateful to have made this and to have people give it a chance. ‘Lily’ is a project that captured an important time in my life, and I think that’s what matters most to me right now.”
Watch the video for “Go” below and learn more about Collin Clowes via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Collin & I’m a 27-year-old Canadian singer/songwriter/producer. When the pandemic began, I was able to sort of lock myself in my studio & spend a lot of time learning to get better at the whole process of making music on my own.
I struggle a lot with physical as well as mental health, so music has always been a huge help for me. That’s the biggest reason why I continue to make music.
There have been songs I hear throughout my life that have offered me comfort as well as a belief that anything is possible. My whole goal with music is to hopefully offer those same feelings to someone who gives my music a chance.
I’m not too sure on how well that’s working out for me, but it’s all about the journey & I’ve been able to learn a lot about myself as well as grow into someone I’m proud of.
Tell us about the process of writing “Go.”
I wrote this song a few years ago when I decided to leave home to attend the Songwriting & Performance Arts program at Seneca College in Toronto.
I knew I wanted to learn from professionals, so I felt good about leaving, but once I was there, I realized that I wasn’t too good at music & I also missed a lot of things I left at home.
To sum it up, It’s a story of someone leaving an important person behind to chase goals, only then to come back home sort of a failure & losing that important person for good due to being gone for so long.
I released a version of this song in the past but wasn’t happy with how it turned out, so I did everything over again & overall, I’m happy with how it sounds now. I’m hoping someone out there thinks so too!
What’s it like being a musician in Thunder Bay?
I think it’s great! The live music scene here is something that I think is special. I threw myself into the live scene when I first realized I wanted to share my music. I was super bad, but the community was always so nice & supportive to me.
The main music venues are all close to each other, so you can check out different genres of bands all in one area. Also, there are a ton of amazing, talented musicians here that really put in the hard work. I’ll always be grateful to have grown up in Thunder Bay.
Another thing I’d like to mention is the scenery on the outskirts of the city. There are so many beautiful places to see & these places have always been a huge source of inspiration for me.
Who was the first Canadian artist to blow you away?
Definitely Neil Young. He has these live acoustic sessions on YouTube I’d watch over & over again when I was really young. I always loved his songwriting & those videos are a big reason why I began writing lyrics & teaching myself guitar.
You’ve been making music for while now. What’s one piece of advice you can offer to those starting out?
I’m probably the last person to give any advice, but I’d say if you’re just starting out, put together a simple studio setup. This will allow you to explore sounds & sculpt a unique vibe.
I always wish I had bought a computer & started learning about recording, production, mixing & mastering a long time ago. It’s super hard but really rewarding once you start learning your way around.
Also, once you’re working with other people, you’ll be able to explain what you want a lot better than if you don’t know much about the process. This is key & it’ll save you money, time & a ton of stress.
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