On the song Night, from Sean Rowe s forthcoming ANTI debut, Magic, the singer turns his rich, unnerving baritone to a moment of childhood innocence. Back then, he muses, you could fall like a floating leaf, and the earth would look up at you and smile. Rowe's deep, magical voice is nothing if not wise and experienced; he knows full well that after the innocence comes the fall. This ability to conjure dueling emotions the elation of childhood versus the bruising of real life marks the arrival of a skilled lyricist and songwriter, in the tradition of Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen.
An avid naturalist, Rowe derives inspiration from his own wilderness experiences along with the writings of transcendentalists like Henry David Thoreau. I love the simplicity and harmony of the natural world. I think it s something we have lost touch with. But it s hard to write songs about nature without sounding hokey. For me it s more about imagery and emotion and not necessarily creating a straight forward narrative.