Simply put, “And I Will” was a slog.
“It went through so many forms,” says Grand Nathaniel’s J Burton. “The basic premise is: You find yourself alone one day, but you’re still hungry for adventure—in my case, making a record. You have to dig deep and find the courage to face your fears. You tell yourself, ‘This is what I need to do—and I will. I can totally do this alone. And I will.’”
Anchored by a rhythmic acoustic guitar line, the track is perhaps the most organic and straightforward entry in the nine-song “video album” Lonely Wanderer, a “visual pilgrimage through solitude and dream logic” harnessing film and sound for an immersive, almost-otherworldly experience. Such multidisciplinary ambition is par for the course when it comes to Burton, a Louisiana-based, ’80s-leaning synth-pop fabulist with roots in the Athens, Ga., music scene.
“The irony is that ‘And I Will’—and certainly the entire album—would never have been completed without the amazing friends/collaborators that stuck with me through this entire arduous process,” says Burton. “And that’s depicted in film.”
We’re proud to premiere Grand Nathaniel’s “And I Will.” Look for the self-released Lonely Wanderer November 14.
—Hobart Rowland
