‘I don’t pull any punches’: Hamilton keyboardist locked himself in a cottage to finish song

Born out of a bona fide" existential crisis, Link" is Gareth Inkster's new single. The Golden Feather keyboardist hopes no one can relate to this song.

If you can relate to it, then you have probably experienced a lot of loss," Inkster said.

Inkster said the new song and upcoming solo album, which is still untitled, was inspired by a deep change of his beliefs. The musician doesn't try to mask his struggles while working on it, which at times felt obsessive."

When it came to this song and the rest of the album, I overcorrected. I was way too obsessive about getting things just right, worried about things that aren't going to make any difference to any other listener but myself. But eventually you gotta let it go," Inkster said.

The 30-year-old said the lyric Looking for a link that I can trust between the measurable and meaningful" is an emblematic part of the song Link."

When Steve Kiely of the band Monster Truck started a side project with a Grateful Dead vibe in 2020, they called on Inkster to be their keyboardist. Golden Feather released an EP in November of that year. The five-piece Hamilton band has a concert on Nov. 25 at Bridgeworks.

A year ago, Inkster went to northern Ontario and locked himself in a cottage until he was done with the song he had dreaded for so long.

Because of the downer time I was in when I wrote this song, it was kind of difficult to keep at it," Inkster said.

Inkster said he wanted to release the album in the fall, because the songs had a homelike feeling to them. But then lyrics became irrelevant to me again."

When Link" was finally done, Inkster felt a mix of relief and pride. What I love about this song is that it's very honest and I don't pull any punches," Inkster said.

Inkster was raised by musicians - his mother plays the piano and father plays guitar. He has been releasing music on Spotify since 2018.

Besides being a keyboardist for Golden Feather, Inkster, who lives in Stipley, teaches music privately and also at Hamilton District Christian High School.

Inkster said he expresses creativity in different ways. One of them is reaching out to songwriting when he is feeling down.

I have been commissioned to do jingles for podcasts and those always work really well. I'm able to come up with something by the end of the week I'm pretty happy about," Inkster said. Other than that, songwriting for me is very introspective, like journaling. If I'm able to put it into words and then put it into a song, it's almost like I can take it out of myself, hold it and look at it from different angles."

Inkster said he feels artistically limited because his songs are about sadness and what is on his mind. I hope I can grow out of this. So many songwriters I admire are much more versatile than that."

The new album was produced by Glen Watkinson, owner of Sheepdog Studios, and Inkster's brother, Robinson, played the bass. Inkster said some of his influences for the project were Fleet Foxes and Elliot Smith.

What is Inkster's hope for this album?

It would be really meaningful to me if people listened to it and found meaning in it for themselves," he said.

Inkster also said a new Golden Feather album is in the works.

Beatriz Baleeiro is a reporter at The Spectator.bbaleeiro@torstar.ca