Craig Gould is an enigmatic storyteller, who’s able to turn the mundane into imaginative, captivating narratives he delivers through his songs.
Picking up the guitar at 16 after watching British pop artists perform live on the television, music became an essential component to helping now singer-songwriter Craig Gould fit in with the crowd and formulate his own identity. He soon found himself playing rhythm guitar in bands with his friends. But it wasn’t until university that Gould really gave a career as an artist a real shot, devoting his free time to songwriting and honing his guitar skills. At 18 years old, he wrote his first song– and was instantly hooked. As he mentions, “After I wrote my first song, the feeling was amazing. A Buzz. Not like any other. A high from drugs.” (Gould). Now, heavily inspired by the likes of Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Damien Rice, Jo Purdy and Bruce Springsteen– Gould’s music has a 50-60s country-folk feel. However, Gould’s music doesn’t conform to one genre, as he explains:
“When it comes to my music, I don’t aim to write a song, or base my style, within any genre or pigeonhole. I focus my writing on what lands naturally to me and what comes out of the guitar when I start playing it. I feel that if too much time or energy is spent trying to create something to fit within a field, then true artistic freedom and natural creativity are taken away and therefore the results are not a true reflection of a person’s natural creative potential. Music is art, and art is a way for us all to express ourselves from our inner authentic being. My music and songwriting have always crossed the boundaries of folk, country and Americana, and I find that I seem to naturally gravitate and float around those musical cabbages like a happy little butterfly. As a listener, it’s those music styles that warm my heart, make me smile, make me dance, and make me cry.” (Gould)
Therefore making Gould’s blend of the 3 genres his own, unique sound that his fans have come to recognize and love.
Gould also spent six years away from the music scene. In that time he pursued other avenues, as well as had a personal battle with mental health. “I spent 10 years playing in a band called ‘Carousel Circus’. But it wouldn’t pay the bills alone. And I had a mortgage and family to support.” (Gould). As he continues, “Towards the end of the ban I was balancing a full-time career and music, so I started to lose my creativity. It became more of a chore. Booking gigs, managing tours… Actually playing music was such a small percentage of it.” (Gould). Creatively burnt and zapped from juggling so much at once, he stepped away from music altogether — Not writing or studying music for 2 years. Then in 2016, he was diagnosed with stress, anxiety, depression. Instead of resting and prioritizing his health, he pushed himself to keep up the workaholic lifestyle he had, till one day he collapsed from stress and exhaustion on the job, resulting in a bad injury to his head. 6 months later, he tried to go back to work– but things didn’t fall back into place. He was then diagnosed with PTSD, which forced him to leave his job behind- a difficult choice for Gould. As he explains, “ I worked there for years. I won awards in management, and everything I worked so hard for was gone in a single moment.” (Gould). Hitting rock bottom and feeling like he’s lost his sense of purpose, he found it difficult to even go to the local shops or take public transportation. This went on for a while, until one day, Gould decided to pick up his guitar. As he reveals, “I don’t know what did it, but I picked up my guitar. A song came out of me and I processed what I went through within that one song. I started getting my energy back– the more I wrote, the more of it returned.” (Gould).
Now, Gould has become an advocate for mental health awareness and to share his story in the hopes of it resonating with others and offering them support. Now he’s piloting a new project, a 12-track EP that is set to be released in November of this year. Many of the songs on the album were written during his time of recovery. As he relays, “In 2020, after a chat with my brother in law. I decided to use these songs that had to help me recover to help others/paired with campaigns.” (Gould). While many details about the EP are currently under wraps, Gould did reveal that there are several guest artists on many of the tracks. Each artist will be announced closer to the album’s release date, but he did share one of the guest artists with us – Chris Baldwin, a UK singer, songwriter, guitarist and composer. Baldwin composed original music for the film “Tyrannosaur” – written, directed and starring the BAFTA-winning Paddy Considine and also starring Academy Award Winner Olivia Colman.
Gould has also partnered with local charitable organization, ‘The Campaign Against Living Miserably’ (AKA CALM) for this album. “CALM is leading a movement against suicide. Every week 125 people in the UK take their own lives. And 75% of all UK suicides are male.”(CALM) CALM is working to change that by spreading awareness on the issue, offering free resources and a free helpline at high-risk hours for suicide.
“CALM is very happy that I’m working to support them and are looking forward to joining me on the journey. They provide essential mental health services to the people of the UK which are needed now more than ever, and I’ll be working with them to help keep those services available. To help make this happen I’ll be donating all of the profits from the album’s physical sales, as well as its streaming and digital-physical sales, to the charity, forever. I wanted to create a legacy of fundraising and ensure that help is out there for people who need it. Charities like CALM really can be the difference between life and death and I want to use my experiences from my own illness to help others.” (Gould).
“Sometimes I write a song and it all comes out at once, other times it’s the music that comes first and I have to take time to understand how that music is making me feel before I put lyrics to it. With “Marmalade Machine” I came up with the riff in my head whilst walking around Birmingham, so I quickly scrambled to grab my phone from my pocket and record the melody before it escaped me. I knew I wanted the hook of the song to be brass/woodwind based and went for a saxophone. I finished off the chord sequence of the song at a later date, leaving me just the lyrics to write. I was struggling for inspiration so decided to get on a train to London and see what I could come up with. (This was all pre-covid) I spent the afternoon around Shoreditch, watching the world go by in a couple of pubs, and began writing the song by using what was around me. The furniture in the pub, the actions of others around, the movement of the bartenders, the cars sat in the traffic. Lyrically it is just a complete over-exaggeration of what would be a normal day in Shoreditch, seen through the eyes of someone with a very curious and over-active imagination. What you have heard is just the demo – I cannot wait to finish off the full version. It’s got sass, attitude and a groove that I can’t wait to share with everyone.” (Gould)
So be sure to keep an eye out for this ‘imaginative’ new single in the upcoming weeks.
Moving forward in 2021, Gould hopes to have sparked others to have conversations about their mental health– be it with a professional, a trusted coworker, family member or friend. He also hopes to raise a decent amount of funds for CALM, leading up to the release of the record in November.
Stay up to date with Craig Gould:
IG: @craiggouldmusic
FB: @craiggouldmusic
Website: https://craiggouldmusic.com/home
Works Cited
Campaign Against Living Miserably. Campaign Against Living Miserably, CALM, 27 Nov. 2012, www.thecalmzone.net. Accessed 18 Apr. 2021.
Gould, Craig. Interview. Conducted by Kyla Pearson, Mar. 18, 2021.
Unknown. “Featured: Singer-songwriter Craig Gould”. Photo courtesy of Craig Gould. Accessed Mar. 18 2021.
Unknown. “Featured: Singer-songwriter Craig Gould”. Photo courtesy of Craig Gould. Accessed Mar. 18 2021.
