Intentional songwriting with Natalie Reis

Natalie Reis is an independent folk singer/songwriter whose music is caught between bittersweet narratives and soaring melodies. Following her debut EP ‘Bones on Fire’ in 2020, Natalie has released six singles that have evolved her storytelling-lyricism and solidified her sound as a distinctive emerging artist. In the past year, she has had the opportunity to showcase her originals all across Ontario. In her latest release, “Elgin Street”, Natalie pairs poetic melancholy with an upbeat chorus that captures the joys and pains of growing up and moving on.

Natalie shared her song Elgin Street. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

• Our songwriting challenge for 2025 to write a song in an odd time signature
• Taylor Swift buys back rights to master recordings of first six albums
• How to Register Your Songs, with Allister Bradley
• How Natalie struggled for a long time (~6 months) to find the right chorus for this song
• The feeling of tension you get by never resolving to the tonic chord until the bridge
• Taking the time to figure out what works for your song
• Introducing small pop elements in a song that is otherwise not very poppy
• Considering the journey through an entire EP or album