Joshua Wentz Lets the First Idea Give Way

Joshua Wentz in his studio. Photo: Joshua Wentz.

A line from a keyboard solo displaced the melody Joshua Wentz had planned for Final Form, a track from his 2020 album Lifted, Into the Depths. He describes turning to the solo after struggling with his initial melodic concept.

“I ended up liking a line from that solo so much that I scrapped my initial idea and used that as the foundation for a new melody. The result was more natural and cohesive than what I had been struggling with,” Wentz said.

He says melody and lyrics usually come near the end of his songwriting process. The beginning often depends on which instrument makes him want to work.

“I have collected a lot of instruments over the years, and try to determine which one is inspiring me the most when I want to start a new project,” he said.

That might be a drum machine, a synthesizer he hasn’t used recently or a new effects pedal, Wentz says. For his upcoming album, he gave that search a specific boundary.

“For my next album, Alternate Places II, I wanted to specifically use all of the instruments I purchased during a trip to Japan, so that gave me some ideas to explore as well as some specific limitations to contend with,” he said.

“One of those instruments was a SOMA Laboratories Rumble of Ancient Times synth, which is a much more chaotic instrument than I am used to working with,” Wentz said.

Choosing the instruments gives him a place to begin; deciding what belongs remains an ongoing part of the composition. The change he describes in Final Form is one example of letting the developing song revise that first decision.

“As far as instrumentation goes, I try to avoid stereotypical arrangements and genre conventions, and I have learned not to fall in love too much with any one element of a song,” he said.

“Sometimes the riff or beat that inspired you at the start just doesn’t fit once you’re at the end of the journey. And you can always use it later for something else!” Wentz said. An idea can leave one song and still have somewhere to go.