Mitch Rowland On His New Album ‘Whistling Pie’
A quietly instinctive songwriter, Mitch Rowland speaks about fatherhood, finding his voice through the guitar and letting Whistling Pie unfold with ease and feeling.
‘’Songs are like snapshots to me, and what may come across as just ordinary life are actually little subtle moments that have a lot of meaning’’. Mitch tells me from across the table. ‘’I often get asked if fatherhood is a topic that I focus my writing on. I don’t focus on anything, but I guess that is a subject that comes across because that is largely how I’ve been affected more than anything else. That will evolve, I’m sure’’, he remarks and takes a sip of his drink, allowing the thought to hang in the air for a while.
Taking a trip up from the countryside into London, I had the pleasure of speaking to acclaimed California and UK-based musician and Grammy-winning songwriter Mitch Rowland on his sophomore album Whistling Pie. The album comes after his debut solo-project Come June in 2023 which saw Mitch firmly establish himself as a solo artist, after first rising to acclaim for being Harry Styles’ guitarist, collaborator and co-writer.
I quickly discovered that the making of Whistling Pie differed considerably to Come June. Although both projects were produced by his trusted collaborator Rob Schnapf, Whistling Pie saw the producer leave the comfort of his LA studio to instead take a trip to the iconic Rockfield studio in Wales, famous for hosting artists such as Queen, Oasis and Coldplay. ‘’To not make a record at Rob’s felt risky – that’s homebase for him. I was actually hesitant to bring LA people to a farm’’, he laughs. ‘’But immediately they fell in love with it. It was really exciting - to be half star-struck, half inspired to be making something new in this room’’.
What’s noticeable about Mitch’s attitude to his music is his willingness to let go of any preconceived ideas about what his music should sound like and instead embrace what feels natural. This was made apparent, as I asked from across the table: ‘’did you have any ideas of what you wanted to come from your sophomore album?’’. ‘’I would have put money on it that with both albums I was making a vocal and acoustic guitar album, in the most sense solo’’, Mitch replies. And although Whistling Pie is still an ode to the wonders of the acoustic guitar, featuring an abundance of beautiful guitar melodies, the record is without a doubt a band-sounding album. Mitch tells me of the process of working out which songs were going to sound more band like with Rob - ‘’those surprises are fun’’, he laughs and leans back in his seat.
Really Ready, one of the singles from the album, turned out to be a surprise too. The track came back to Mitch unexpectedly after 7 years, he tells me as he pulls out his phone, and plays a voice note from 2017 featuring the guitar ostinato that characterises the song. ‘’Every once in a while, I would think of this song, and I never knew what to do with it. I came back to it again 2 weeks after Rockfield ended and Rob went back to LA.’’ Mitch recounts. ‘’We were listening to what we had, and we realised it wasn’t done’’, he continues. ‘’Then, a couple of months had gone by. All my guitars were in my wife’s dad’s studio, it was pretty cold and I was putting off checking on them because under extreme conditions they crack and go funny, and I was too nervous to see what state they were in. But when I popped the lids to see, they were all fine. I grabbed this 100-year-old acoustic I’ve got, and within a couple of moments, it came. Some of your best songs come together when there is zero trying involved. If I had gone in at any other time on any other day, maybe it wouldn’t have been formed’’. Mitch’s comments serve as a reminder that the best kind of music is created when one leans into life’s messiness: embracing the present and seizing the moment.
As a keen guitarist myself, I couldn’t not talk to Mitch about his relationship with the guitar – I was keen to know how it’s evolved throughout his career and how it influenced Whistling Pie. He takes me back to the start, to when he was younger, learning other people’s songs by ear. ‘’I’ve never had a guitar lesson – my ears are the biggest tool that I rely on’’, he confesses. ‘’When it then came to writing my own music, I found a really safe place in alternate tunings, they are like different worlds to me. They have the most discoveries and happy accidents. The guitar has helped me find a voice’’.
Whistling Pie delicately explores the instrument that gave Mitch his voice. It is a record full of guitar ostinatos and different timbres which tastefully accompany insightful lyrics and soft vocals. Drum machines, an addition which was inspired by legendary guitarist JJ Cale’s albums Naturally and Troubadour, feature throughout the album and add even more character. Leaving the conversation with Mitch, I conclude that Whistling Pie is an album that has been created in the best way: full of feeling and completely naturally.