Canberra-based singer/songwriter David Mason grew up in the Yorkshire Dales in the UK. Whilst he's played music at various points in his life starting out as a drummer and then a guitar player, he only wrote his first song during the Covid lockdowns.

David's songwriting is shaped by his interest in place, memory, myth and the folk tradition. It is also strongly influenced by his roots and connection to where he grew up. David mused on how those connections to home have become stronger in recent years and have had a lot to do with getting him started as a songwriter.

David stores a lot of song ideas in the "cupboard" of his mind. He typically starts by strumming his Celtic-tuned guitar to get ideas. These musical fragments suggest story ideas and David often spends quite a bit of time researching and finessing the lyrics to finish the song.

We discussed David's song "The Strid" which is a story song based on a legend from his homeland - a cautionary tale of a quiet wood, a rushing torrent and a luckless dreamer (or two). We played a recording of the song taken from David's album "Kite" and discussed how the studio producer also becomes part of the songwriting team.

David has written an ebook about The Strid - https://somefabulist.wordpress.com/about/

For more of David's music - https://david-mason.bandcamp.com/album/kite