“Gods going to talk through our gee-tars”. 

Last month, Asheville’s own Idle County, the project of Ben K. Lochen, shared Offerings, a hasty, yet hardy collection of songs that find the songwriter getting back to basics. Now almost a year since the release of his self-titled debut EP, Lochen has brought in new collaborators, Caelan Burris and Will Elliot, members of the formidable Asheville band, Tombstone Poetry. Tapping into a new recording setup, Offerings is fully indebted to the space in which it occupies. Recorded in one room with two guitars mic’d up, “playing free with feeling” as Lochen explains it, these songs are minimal, but their subtlety does not get lost in the weeds. Its lush, wooly instrumentation of robust acoustic guitars and jangled mandolin strings stick firmly to the hide that’s stretched out over the backs of these stories.

“Gods going to talk through our gee-tars”. He just might be. 

Lochen’s words are intuitive, tugging at the strings of rich tradition in southern storytelling, where stories of heartbreak and connection are just as natural to this world as a roaring river or a knot in a tree. “I saw my face in the water, heard my name in the wind. I had nothing to offer, so I reached out my hand. And I felt it pull me in”, he drawls with sincerity as “The Offer” plays to life’s loose ends. And is it God that’s really in those guitars? It’s hard to say. But Lochen’s trust in these songs makes these big questions, like, ‘why is it like this?’ or ‘how did we get here?’ feel more convenient, more inherent to what their answers might be. And as these songs unravel and the hardship and loneliness stain the tabletop, the aged cedar blushed with little rings from glasses raised and lowered with habit over the years, Idle County looks for what we need in the basics of what’s around us. 

We recently got to chat with Ben K. Lochen over email about Offerings, working with Caelan and Will, and writing a song that feels right. 

With just two guitars mic’d up, what sort of things do you think you got out of these songs by the way you recorded them? Do you feel like it had a hand in the way the songs came to be? 

There’s a conversational element that two acoustic guitars can have, especially when there’s someone like Caelan playing alongside you. I’d wanted to record that way with them ever since we started playing together because there’s just a freedom and joy that comes out and it’s super present and expressive. I just love the way they play guitar. Will Elliot, who played Mandolin and Pedal Steel, can play pretty much any instrument and brought some real depth to the tunes as well. 

Recording our guitars at the same time in the same room was really important to me, and really the guiding idea behind the whole session. We didn’t end up doing many takes at all. What made it special was the rawness and the immediacy of the performance. 

You brought in a new crew to help you out on these songs. How did this configuration come together and what did you find worked best for these songs?

I’m super fortunate to have met the people I have in the short time I’ve been making music, and these recordings came together in the most organic way. Lawson Alderson engineered, mixed and mastered these tunes (they’ll record the LP as well) and they have such an awareness of the moment and ability to execute a vision. I’m not great at communicating exactly how I see something coming together, but they took my weird, piecemeal ideas and patched them together in a way that was full and unique. They’re a true pro and a genuine human as well.

Offerings is made up of three songs recorded and released before you plan to head into the studio. Why did you choose to release them now, and where do they stand with you coming off of your debut EP and into what you have planned for the future? Did these songs find you somewhere in between?

Well, it’s been almost a year since the debut EP came out and I honestly just wanted to put more music out there. I get pretty caught up and anxious in trying to do everything the “right way” when it comes to releasing, but I’m getting more comfortable with just going with what I feel is true to me and the music because that’s the thing I love about it; writing it, making it, and putting it out in the world. 

My songwriting could never be just one kind of thing because truthfully I haven’t figured it out yet in the least bit. It comes and goes and the way the songs sound sort of ebb and flow with that. I try to approach writing rock songs and country songs the same way, and I love doing both. 

We’re really excited about recording in September. It will be Idle County’s debut LP and we’re hopefully doing it at Drop of Sun Studios here in Asheville. 

How did your songwriting shift when taking on these songs compared to your last EP? Did you find yourself trying anything new or focusing on different aspects of storytelling? 

I feel like an area I’ve grown in and tried to focus on in songwriting is not letting myself get caught up in what a song “has to be.” I’ve been trying to have fun with it and just let them go where they want. I thought that when I first started writing my songs had to be these intimate, dramatic folk ballads and sometimes they would end up sounding disingenuous. It works occasionally but only if the moment is right. The songs on “Offerings” came in a very spur-of-the-moment  way and the music and the chords inferred what ultimately came out lyrically.

There feels to be a lyrical focus on the natural world and how that can be connected to your own life. What sort of stories were you drawn to tell in this intimate setting?

I think that’s where I find the most peace. I’ve never been too good at taking things directly from my own life and putting them into a song because it feels like I’m almost doing them a disservice. Certain moments or certain people. I have definitely written about my life or stories from my life, but I always end up inserting a character in my place. At least that’s how I see it in my head. 

Growing up in the South exposes you to so many different facets of life and there’s a ton of inspiration to draw on. It’s where I’ll always feel more comfortable and it informs most of the writing. There’s so many small details that happen day to day and those details can really be the driving force behind a song. 

You can listen to Offerings out everywhere now via I’m Into Life Records.

Written by Shea Roney | Photo by Charlie Boss