“It was pretty great timing,” says Asheville-based singer-songwriter Carly Taich about the story behind her new single, “Pollyanna.”
On March 21, Taich wrote the song, which “reflects on the state of the world while recognizing the peculiarity and potential naïveté of idealism in a time of mass confusion.” She then posted a rough acoustic version of the tune on Instagram, and about an hour learned that she’d won a songwriting contest through public charity Renew the Arts that would lead to a single and music video sponsorship.
“We decided on ‘Pollyanna,’ and instead of waiting to record everything in studio, we would produce the whole thing from our homes,” Taich says. “It felt too relevant to miss the opportunity.”
Taich tracked her vocals in Asheville and Aaron Strumpel added trumpet from Boulder, Colo. The rest of the tracking/production/mixing by James Smith (guitars) and Michael Minkoff (drums/percussion) took place at Clubmen Recording Studio in Blairsville, Ga., with Philip Hodges providing classical guitar, piano and mellotron to round out the sound.
“Atlanta-based filmmaker Isaac Deitz got really creative implementing me into the music video using my own Instagram post from March, tying the whole experience together perfectly,” says Taich, who helps provide inspiration to Atlanta actor Audrey Moore in the visual work.
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