Following a couple of years of cutting his teeth playing shows across England’s northwest, Manchester-based Joe Kutryk makes a quietly powerful entrance with his debut single ‘Rearranging’. The origin of this track is arguably an allegory for modern-day working-class life and it undoubtedly captures unexpected moments of inspiration.
We’ll let Kutryk transport us back in time: “I was working a zero hours night shift at an Amazon warehouse, you weren’t allowed to listen to music but I would hide my earphones under my hood. I think I just had Laura Marling’s ‘Song For Our Daughter’ on repeat. Anyway, one of the foremen spotted them and asked me to leave, I had only been at work for 20 minutes max and it was probably about half 2 in the morning so I did what anyone would have done, went to McDonald’s…”
This led to a surreal and solitary early morning in a 24-hour McDonald’s after being dismissed from that fateful zero-hours Amazon nightshift where he poured his feelings into a song. Manufactured writing sessions really are a poor replacement for intuitive inventiveness.
As you’ll hear, ‘Rearranging’ is a track steeped in exhaustion, longing and love. This songwriter’s lyricism shines throughout this indie-folk number, conveying a desire for closeness while navigating a long-distance relationship. There’s a sensitivity and vulnerability that reminds us of Hazlett, Dom Malin and Laura Marling (the last of whom soundtrack Kutryk‘s shifts on the warehouse floor). What’s so appealing about this song is its relatability; you can fit your own struggles of the heart, whether past or present, into the warm, layered and emotional textures.
Here Kutryk comments on the malleable nature of ‘Rearranging’: “It’s strange to think about how that tune has changed, I used to believe it was just a romantic song but having seen how life can move all sorts of relationships apart, it seems to mean something different to everyone. Everyone has that ‘what if’ person, either friends, family or lover it makes no odds, the feeling is the same.”
Produced by Johnny Woodhead at Stockport’s Green Velvet Studios, this is a hauntingly beautiful track that balances folk-rooted honesty with atmospheric indie sensibilities. All in all, an impressive debut from Joe Kutryk.
You can listen to ‘Rearranging’ in our Folk This Way playlist.
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