Tyler Stock shows us his talent at weaving sincere storytelling, pleasant, delicate, soothing vocals, and poetic songwriting with artistry akin to modern artists like John Mayer, James Bay, The Lumineers, Bon Iver, and Of Monsters and Men.

‘…To Be Lost And To Know It,’ the 3 track debut EP release from Tyler Stock, truly showcases a songwriter who knows the art of being vulnerable in a subtle way—delivering emotional lyrics with music that dances in a warm, hopeful presence. It highlights his knack for writing with commercial potential as a standout in the indie folk world, with the rare ability to craft songs that are earnest, yearning, and hopeful while still sounding uplifting and joyful, something heard clearly in his track ‘Everything, Always (Skin & Bones)’” The self-titled track ‘…To Be Lost And To Know It’ shines with soothing vocals perfectly cradled by guitar, piano, and beautifully simple violin work. The way he delivers it shows how he can hint at sounds like country, bluegrass, and folk, yet present them in a way that resonates widely, positioning him to build a very strong audience in this lane.

His debut EP, ‘…To Be Lost And To Know It,’ is a collection of upbeat, folk-driven tracks that celebrate the freedom that comes with being lost in life.

“For this EP I experimented with open tunings on two of the songs (Tracks 1 and 3), as well as more orchestral sounds like violins (Danny Severance) and bowed upright bass (Faraz Chaudry of Lunar Ticks). I brought together musicians from across Chicago’s wide spectrum of genres to create the distinct sonic palette that colors the EP. The drums for the EP were performed by Kyle McComb of Inoculous in a vocal booth using brushes, then layered with additional percussion. All keys were performed by Matt Coakley, who I have worked with on many of The Laughing Hearts recordings. He has also released a lot of music under his own name and with many other projects. Backing vocals are provided by Jacolyn Parker, a prolific doom-folk singer/songwriter in Chicago.” – Tyler Stock

Stock began his musical journey as the frontman of the Chicago-based indie rock band The Laughing Hearts. Over the past decade, Tyler has performed nearly 50 shows a year, both solo and with his band, and has previously released three EPs, a full-length LP, and a number of singles.

<a href="https://tylerstock.bandcamp.com/album/to-be-lost-and-to-know-it">“…To Be Lost And To Know It” by Tyler Stock</a>

‘…To Be Lost And To Know It’ was recorded and mixed by Tyler Klivikis (The Darkhorse Collective) at Chapel RCRDS, a home studio in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, and mastered by Collin Jordan at The Boiler Room in Humboldt Park, Chicago.

“I am very much interested in songwriting as a craft”

Absolutely beautiful EP, who are your biggest influences?

Paul Simon, Taylor Goldsmith, Jason Isbell, Adrianne Lenker, John Prine, Daniel Johnston to name a few. I am very much interested in songwriting as a craft and I think these are artists that approach songwriting in a way that is both relatable and inspiring to me. I am also heavily inspired by the many artists and songwriters I have met through the years in Chicago – many of which I have collaborated with in one way or another. A few artists to check out are Lunar Ticks, Jim The Kid, Matt Coakley, Jacolyn Parker, Ryan Borens, The Darkhorse Collective. There is a lot of great art and music coming out of Chicago and I am constantly inspired and impressed by the community here.

As far as style and genre, how does your approach to your solo music differ from your band The Laughing Hearts?

I don’t typically set out to write for one project or another – I just start writing and then determine later where I think it will fit best after the song is done. With The Laughing Hearts songs I think a lot more about how the song will work live, both in terms of instrumentation and energy. With the solo material I am opening myself up to more ambitious instrumentations and arrangements, serving the song above all else. I am thinking a lot more about what other instruments I can bring in, as opposed to a general rock band arrangement of guitar, bass, drum, keys, vocals. I have always started songwriting on the acoustic guitar or the piano, even when it comes to writing rock songs. I believe that a song needs to work in its most simplified form first – and then I start to consider additional instrumentation.

What is your writing process like? Do you write lyric or melody first?

A little bit of both, sometimes it’s a lyric/melody that I want to expand on (‘Everything, Always’ began like this) and sometimes it starts with a guitar part (For example, ‘You Me,’ ‘And All The Streets Between’). I keep a journal that I fill with lyric ideas, poems, and various ramblings and will sometimes dig through this for lyric ideas when I get stuck. The second stanza in the song ‘…To Be Lost And To Know It’ was part of a poem I had written before I pulled it into the song. I think you have to write everything down, because if you don’t bother to write down the bad ideas you won’t get in the habit of writing down the good ideas. So, I just write and write and write. And I try not to be too afraid to scrap a song or a poem for parts, taking the good parts to a new song and leaving behind what doesn’t work.

I read that you’re going to be putting out a 10 song LP? Will that include the 3 EP songs or will it be a different sound?

There are going to be 10 new songs on the album. I actually wrote the album first, but I wanted to start with something a little less ambitious as a first release to get the new project off the ground. I started recording the album the weekend after the EP mastering session ended. I’ve been working closely with Tyler Klivickis at Chapel RCRDS in Chicago who has been engineering and mixing everything and we have really found a great workflow. The album is going to be similar sonically although it explores a larger range of genre and is more dynamic across the board. Some songs were written on the piano, some are stripped down acoustic guitar songs, and there’s even some big rock tracks in there. I am really looking forward to continuing to work on this album.