On February 22nd, 2014, Ian Randall Thornton released his debut EP “End Where You Begin”, a six track continuous song series about the beauty and difficulty of love in the context of change, life, and death. This soulful folk record is a journey of breathtaking tension and release. Intricate, heartfelt acoustic guitar and Ian’s rich baritone blend with tasteful string arrangements and other instruments that seem to enter and exit like a brilliantly choreographed play. Poetic and descriptive lyrics draw you into a cinematic narrative that feels like a good conversation flowing from layer to layer of the weighty topic. For such a lofty conceptual album it remains approachable, human and personal while leaving the listener feeling enriched, embraced and contemplative. Ian has been a staple in his local music scene and played in such acts as, TONELOVE, The Vicars, Andylion, Skye Zentz and the Gents, Wynter Poe, Over the Ocean and The Collector. He has shared the stage with Edison Glass, The Last Bison, The Hunts, Soil and the Sun, Esbern Snare and Lowland Hum. Also, Thornton is a seasoned touring musician, and has been on several European and Stateside ventures. Here is part of a review on End Where you begin by Alen Jelercic: Ian Thornton wrote the kind of album you can sing along to on your second listening. Easily digestible in its lush and warm beauty. Accessible in its straight forward simplicity. Sung in a voice so powerful that you hang on to every word. This is a beautiful folk album. Very minimal in it’s genre bending and blending. It follows along a long line of traditional folk music but in a modern pop sensibility. Think Damian Rice, but more adventurous. The Low Anthem, but more polished and less angsty. Alison Krauss and Union Station, but if they grew up listening to Radiohead. But this isn’t an album that challenges anyone’s expectations of what a folk album should sound like. It is just done very well. And Ian harkens folk’s Christian roots, as well as his own, as is suggested by his lyrics. It never gets worship-y. Though, I can easily imagine a church choir joining him on stage, which would only heighten the angelic nature of the album. And I appreciate the intimate relationship between Ian and his creator. I mean, Love is God, God is Love…right? (Wait, the album release show will be in a church, so…) In this aspect, bands like Iron and Wine come to mind. That hushed intimacy of a singer’s spirituality can’t help but inform the music and subject matter of which he sings. And like Sam Beam, there’s an intelligence that permeates the music, and supports the maturity of Ian’s voice and lyrics. The production is absolutely stunning. The clarity of the record only lends to the solid vision. The passion behind each note and each word echoes out of my speakers. When he says that his heart is “fierce and fervent,” I believe it. And I found myself humming the melodies afterwards. A sign of strong songwriting-- but will the catchiness of the lyrics lend to the album’s sustainability? As he sings in the song "I’ve Been Told," “Did you know Time, she is a mother, and she can nurture you as her kin.” For fans of the aforementioned bands, I would definitely give it a listen. It isn’t anything new, but within the frames of folk music, I would consider it an ambitious album. And, more-than-likely, you too will be singing along to it on the second listen. Ian was nice enough to answer some questions. Here is our correspondence: Alan: I would just like to start by congratulating you. The production of this record blew me away. Very beautiful. Ian: Thanks Alan! Now, as it is clearly stated, Love is the central theme to this concept album, but halfway through the album, I notice that the word ‘love’ becomes ‘lord.’ Could you elaborate on the relationship between those two concepts as is expressed in your songwriting? I love writing meaningful songs in story form, and an essential part of good story telling is to lead the listener on a journey that ends in a much different place then it began. Everyone is on a journey of their own, so stories are one of the easier art forms to connect to. This song series was a chance for me to pretty much write a GIANT folk song, with each track functioning as a verse, chorus, or bridge within the greater context. It wasn’t my initial goal to write my relationship with God into the series in such a predominant way, but as I sought to write about love, his character naturally entered into the storyline of the series. Looking back I am glad it panned out that way. I feel it would be disingenuous for me to write about my experience of love and not include the one I experience it with most. I genuinely believe that God is love, and your art tends to express who you are and what you believe. The intimate autobiographical nature of folk music is a staple, but what is it about the confessional aspect that appeals to you? I love to play within many musical genres, but folk music is my favorite to write personal songs in. Though I love playing complex music, the simplicity of folk music makes so much room for an emotion to be fully expressed, without distraction from the meaning. I often write songs in a pursuit to understand and process my own overwhelming emotions. I don’t always share the most intimate songs with people (outside of my closest friends), but I felt it would be appropriate inside the theme of this project. Love takes a high level of vulnerability and honesty, so I tried to be vulnerable and honest as I wrote about it. In the opening track, you sing, “I forgot that I’ve been through this before, but each time I learn more,” something with which I can certainly relate. Tell us about your experience with human amnesia that lead to the insights you sing about in this track. I wrote "Suffer" not two years ago while my last romantic relationship was starting to deteriorate. Every song on the record is in chronological order to when it was written (letting the series grow with me over the past two years), so this track was sort of the initial inspiration for the series, and a starting point for me to search my own soul for what I believe love to truly be. This line is speaking of how we can tend to forget our failures, but how failure can teach us so much. This was probably one of the most vague lines in the series, but it carries a lot of emotion all the same. This concept is also alluded to in the next track when I sing, "I hope I’ll learn from my lover how to let go of all she brought... just as she will discover all my flaws which I forgot." In my favorite track, "Down in the Meadow," you sing, “Love is when you burn your lovers sin.” This line invokes some powerful imagery, from a chapter in the Ramayana where Sita steps into a fire but because of her purity isn’t harmed, to more risqué notions of passionate love. There are also other notions of fire throughout this song. Can you tell us the ways this fire speaks to you/through you? This song was partially accidental for me. I wrote the first verse to a more tribal beat initially and liked the imagery, but had no real meaning attached to it. I usually trash songs that don’t mean anything to me, but a couple months later the inspiration came for the rest of the song and retroactively attached a depth of meaning to the first verse. Fire is one of the most captivating things to me. I literally can and have stared at it until sunrise. It represents pure love in this song, and its ability to remove offense and enable unity. The single that’s available, "I was made to change," could almost be a new age anthem. Hear me out. You poetically talk about cells changing in relation to adapting to changing times in this pseudo-eastern thought of impermanence. Meaning, from moment to moment you both are and are not the same person. The cells of the body are constantly regenerating, but there is a core there that remains the same, what we might call the spirit. (But some will say that that is an illusion, a subject for another time.) Your music is obviously inspired by your Christianity. But how is your religiosity/spirituality inspired by these other notions that have crept into your music? I totally see where you’re coming from and how you could interpret that. However, This song was mostly influenced by general observation, and a conversation I had with my brother. In fact a good amount of my songs are rooted in conversations I’ve had with close friends and family. We were talking about the fundamental pillars of a good story, and its relation to our lives, history and love. I remember him saying, "You hear of people getting divorced and saying ‘he/or she just isn’t the person I married’... to which I always think... ‘DAMN RIGHT’! Of course they aren’t. I’m not the same person I was two weeks ago. Marriage is signing up to love a person, no matter what they change into.” The whole conversation stuck with me and lead to the creation of this song. As for how my spirituality is inspired by this concept, it reveals my need for a good and pure spirit to lead me into fruitful change. Now, I am one of these Joseph Campbell inspired neo-atheists, and I don’t subscribe to any particular dogma. And as death is concerned, I am fairly indifferent. (More or less.) But you sing of looking forward to death in a blissful manner, a theme I’ve noticed speaking with others whose music was inspired from their religion. To me it seems melodramatic. Shouldn’t we be concerned with life, the here and now? Trying to live in the moments that life offers us? Isn’t God always with us? I totally hear what you're saying, and agree with it in some senses. Some people want to escape from life, and hold all hope for the afterlife. I feel like today is so important and meaningful, and that there is so much of God and his goodness to see in this lifetime. However, I also believe that once this amazing life is done it will pale in comparison to a greater reality. I wrote the end reprise to simply state that although I just said a lot about love... I have only scratched the surface and don’t claim to know everything.. But I look forward to looking love in the face, and growing in revelation of what He is truly like. That being said, I don’t create art to convince people of my beliefs or ways of thinking. That would be propaganda. Rather I create as a response to life and as my expression of what is beautiful and meaningful to me. I’m glad you enjoyed it Alan. Thank you so much Ian for taking the time to speak with us, keep up the good work. Thank you for the engaging questions Alan. I really appreciate your depth.