“Never Let Go,” the new song from Newfoundland’s award-winning looping-flutologist Rozalind MacPhail, captures an uncomfortable sense of the inevitable, with just a thread of perseverance. Inspired by Joshua Jamieson’s LGBTQ short film, Waiting Outside, “Never Let Go” explores the grim possibilities of letting go of a world that you yourself are no longer at the center of, except as a steward, and the hope that it’s capable of carrying on without you—with the aid of an atmospheric omnichord, and percussive flute loops.
“‘Never Let Go’ is about leaving a loved one behind after being diagnosed with a serious illness,” explains MacPhail. “I composed ‘Never Let Go’ after being moved by the story behind Newfoundland and Labrador Director Joshua Jamieson’s award-winning LGBTQ short film, Waiting Outside.
“Having to leave a loved one behind after being diagnosed with a serious illness is a tough experience to put into words but Joshua Jamieson captured it so beautifully in his film. I always wanted to release the song as a single but I felt it needed a new musical direction before I did.”
Waiting Outside is the story of Simon who cares for his young daughter Scout while his husband Felix is deployed overseas. When Simon gets a serious diagnosis, his world is shaken and he must deal with it, and the future, alone.
Rozalind MacPhail’s “Never Let Go” initially appeared over the film’s end credit, but taking advantage of the ample downtime of the last two years, she added new flute parts and new vocal harmonies, along with ukulele bass from Terry Barrow, and a little extra magic on the mixing by Ottawa-base audio engineer Jason Jaknunas. Coming that with footage from Waiting Outside, we’re given a glimpse into something simultaneously heart-wrenching, but somehow buoyant; half aloft by MacPhail’s carefree approach to dance.
“We tried to shoot video footage twice in horrible winter weather conditions. I never felt like the footage was right for the video so the song remained on the shelf,” explains MacPhail about an earlier attempt to create a video. “When I was invited to do an Artist Residency through Unscripted Twillingate – Digital Arts Festival, it felt like it was meant to be. Twillingate and its breathtaking landscape was the perfect location to shoot this footage. We met brilliant local photographer and drone cinematographer, Julian Earle who captured everything so beautifully.
“We feature my favourite spots in Twillingate as we tell the story of riding my bike from sunrise to sunset as the story unfolds in Jaimeson’s touching film.”
If the song is any indication of what the rest of the film is like—with lines like, “Stop the time from passing by, I’m crashing down from my highest high, this broken body opens my eyes, I’ll be missing too much of your life”—it gives a preview of the number of tissues you’ll need to pack.
You can watch Joshua Jamiesons’ award-winning short film, Waiting Outside, on CBC Gem now as part of Reel East Coast.