Ethan Stauffer is the Philadelphia-based musician who has plenty of experience songwriting and performing live. As soon as iconic bands like The Beatles, John Mayer, Phish, Pink Floyd and Red Hot Chili Peppers made their way into his life, Stauffer was inexplicably drawn towards rock music and his passion later developed into picking up the guitar at 12-years-old. Soon enough, a more varied listening habit introduced him to the likes of Steely Dan, Genesis, Ben Folds Five, Pavement, The Roots, Eryka Badu and Vulfpeck. Like any guitar-wielding teenager with an appreciation for the rock classics, Stauffer had a high-school band which saw some level of success, opening for big names and performing for his city’s annual New Year’s celebration.
However, there comes a time for finding yourself and that’s the process that’s happening now with the artist focusing on his solo endeavor. Back in 2020, Stauffer has released a debut album, titled The Ones Worth Hearing, but took a couple of years to cook up the next phase of his project. This journey brings us up to the present and ‘Far To Fall’, the second track release in 2023, following up on ‘Goodnight, Take Care’. Inspiration can come from the most unexpected of places… an interaction with a stranger, a meeting at work, a walk around the block, flicking through a magazine and watching a beloved TV show. The last of these hypothetical scenarios generated the theme behind ‘Far To Fall’, as he reimagines the soundtrack to The X-Files as an alternative-rock anthem.
Here, Stauffer explains a little more about his media obsession:
“I’ve got a deep love for alien conspiracies spurred on by watching through The X-Files multiple times. I also always loved the melodies in the opening credits theme music and wondered if I could arrange them in a more catchy and danceable song. I remember being in the car driving home from work and a vocal melody popped into my head and I recorded it on my phone, and after a bit of tweaking this melody became the basis for all the lyrics in the song.”
Throughout this track, you can hear the musician’s influences with that strutting 70s funk bass line and nostalgic guitar riffs, which reflects the excitement and anticipation of the alien unknown. However, it’s not entirely retrospective, since his aim to imbue the track with a sense of futurism can be heard in the spacious, explorative synthesizers. It’s truly a unique approach to rock craftsmanship, one that doesn’t second guess itself or please the masses. It’s 100% Ethan Stauffer.
You can also listen to ‘Far To Fall‘ in our Indie Rockers playlist.
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