Sailing Stones’ Songwriting Survival Kit

Sailing Stones’ Jenny Lindfors: “When my daughter went through her Disney phase, hearing that music on repeat got under my skin.”

From inspiring chord charts to Tarot cards, Jenny Lindfors reveals the tools, books, and creative rituals behind her new album

Irish-born, Bristol-based songwriter Jenny Lindfors records as Sailing Stones, crafting psychedelic folk songs that blend warm guitars, hazy woodwind, and otherworldly electronics. Her second album, Slow Magic, is out now explores the emotional upheaval of motherhood, drawing on the joy, exhaustion, anxiety, and disorientation of raising a young family.

Written in the years following the arrival of her first child, it finds Lindfors experimenting with alternate guitar tunings, unexpected chord changes, and a kaleidoscopic palette of sounds and colours. The record also reflects the creative practices that helped her find her feet as a songwriter again, from art therapy and Tarot to online songwriting workshops. Here, Lindfors shares some of the essential tools, objects and ideas that helped bring Slow Magic into being.

Sailing Stones’ Songwriting Survival Kit: “Because I know my drawings are pants, it helps me take myself far less seriously when making music!”

This is the space I carved out in the corner of my bedroom to write songs on motherhood. This picture shows the set-up when it was first put together (full disclosure: it was never this neat again!).

1. THE ‘HENGE’ TABLE

As our family grew, the music studio had to become our bedroom. When clearing out, I Iooked over at a bare corner of the room and had a sudden vision of a compact writing nook – a happy creative sanctuary where I could sit on a floor cushion with everything in reach. It was hard to find the right table, but this one was made-to-order on eBay, low and snug. My husband joked that it looked like the miniature Stonehenge from This Is Spinal Tap, and it’s been called the ‘Henge’ table ever since.

2. MARTIN DREADNOUGHT

My Road Series Martin was an impulse buy in a Dublin guitar shop. Usually, there’s only ever one left-handed guitar in a shop at a time. If I try it and experience instant chemistry, it’s hard to walk away. I was blown away by the tone and resonance of this lower-budget model. It’s a hardy beauty that converted me from playing smaller concert bodies to dreadnoughts. I got very deep into alternate tunings while writing this album, and this guitar was often tuned to a rumbling CADGAD.

3. RECORDING SET-UP

I love to record and arrange songs when they’re brand new. Having a Universal Audio interface gives access to dangerously good plug-ins that make digital recordings feel warm and full of character. Rather than having loads of virtual instruments, I had just a small sample library of vintage synths, keyboards, percussion, and homemade Mellotrons played in using the Minilab. Many of these original home recordings made their way onto the finished album, after being re-amped through vintage outboard gear at StudiOwz in Pembrokeshire.

4. CHARTS

When my daughter went through her Disney phase, hearing that music on repeat got under my skin. I was intrigued by the tearjerking power of the key changes. I started exploring music theory to incorporate similar harmonic twists into my songwriting. I quickly became a modulation addict, keeping chord charts pinned to the wall for inspiration. Whenever a chord progression felt predictable, I’d borrow chords from parallel keys or use the Circle of Fifths to pivot into a neighbouring key.

5. ART MATERIALS

Joni Mitchell referred to switching between painting and songwriting as ‘creative crop rotation’. I have never had any drawing skills, but after an art therapy course run by the brilliant Mothers For Mothers charity, I experienced the power of painting as self-expression. A vast spectrum of feelings turned into colours, resulting in each song on the album being ascribed its own shade. When the course finished, they gave me a sketchbook to keep doodling in. Playing with art supplies is a lovely, tactile process. Because I know my drawings are pants, it helps me take myself far less seriously when making music!

6. HOMEWORK PROMPT

My School of Song homework sits on the shelf. Those early motherhood years were wonderful, but I felt tired and out of practice, making it a challenge to finish songs. The School of Song online workshops were a lifeline. I learned from true masters who provided a homework prompt every Monday morning. By Saturday, I had to write and share a new piece with the group, with the masters themselves sometimes listening in! It was a scary process, but it restored my confidence. And because of these workshops, my album got written.

7. TAROT CARDS

I’ve quietly used Tarot for a long time, though it’s now having a fashionable moment! I don’t believe cards should be used for fortune-telling, but I stand by them as a source of universal truths, with the major arcana depicting human archetypes. The Tarot can provide a guiding light, wisdom, or a word of caution. I would occasionally draw a card and stick it to the wall. In this photo, I had drawn “The World” – an auspicious card representing wholeness, completion, pleasure, and meeting goals. A reassuring one when beginning a record!

8. BOOKS

In the digital age, tangible touchstones are nice to have nearby when working. These were some of the books on rotation during the writing of this record. The Secret Life Of Colour made me think about colour in a new way. Liz Berry’s poems in The Republic Of Motherhood are transcendent, reminding me of how powerful motherhood writing can be. I couldn’t get my head around Isaac Newton’s Opticks, but it did remind me that colour is a light wave travelling through space, waiting to be separated.

The new Sailing Stones album Slow Magic is out now. There’s music and more at thisissailingstones.com

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