Connor O'Neill - The Same Changes, Vol. II (2023)

Like the Same Changes, Vol. I, this album is a collection of stories—my thoughts, experiences, and reflections manifested as moments in time. However, Vol. II gives the listener a chance to connect specifically with experiences in my life that have tested me. I believe that “negative” experiences can be a forging fire to make us better people and better artists. The stories I tell in these songs helped give me purpose and direction, and my main hope is that they help someone else in a similar way.

Disordinance is the first song we recorded in the Same Changes volumes, and it is also my earliest composition from the collection. I wrote it in 2015 at a time when I was soaking up more music than ever. I feel, looking back, that Brad Mehldau and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah influenced this piece the most, because of their seemingly effortless ability to fuse styles of music from around the world into something personal and unique. Disordinance means a disturbance or discordance, which to me invoked the sensation of knowing something was about to go wrong, and not exactly knowing what.

Every artist I know has created at least one work in response to the COVID19 pandemic, and Another Moment Reconciled is mine. I wrote this piece at a time when it not only felt impossible to get through the day-to-day tasks, but also that it might be meaningless. And to get any real work done, creative or otherwise, felt like an even bigger mountain to climb. I eventually decided that it should not only be considered okay, but a great feat to get through each day with one’s sanity and sense of purpose intact, if nothing else. This is my journey about finding peace in working my way through life and putting more care into experiencing than producing.

I wrote Gears a while back with Mervin Toussaint. I included this song in my first large project to show the massive influence Mervin has had on my development as an artist and as a person. I think all great musicians have a few special bonds that push them through the years and really refine and focus their creative output. I’ve been playing music with Mervin consistently longer than any other musician in my life, and I’m proud to say how much it has impacted me.

Early Departure is a song about losing someone in your life without getting the chance to say goodbye. When I wrote it, I wasn’t thinking about the situation in a romantic way, although I realize that it can be interpreted that way. Jon Williams provided the lyrics, which make it so much more intimate and personal. I wrote the song with a technique called chromatic wandering, which basically means that as the song unfolds, the sound slowly changes, one note at a time, until you are left with something unrecognizable. The things we’re used to slowly change over time, until we find ourselves in a place that’s hardly recognizable. And we can only be at peace with the present if we accept how time has eroded our surroundings, even if that means accepting a great loss.

When I wrote Singularity, I was already deep into my lifelong study of the music of John Coltrane, the man who made me fall in love with music. When I first heard him, specifically his rendition of a classic standard “Body and Soul”, I was blown away. Nobody had to explain the music to me. I didn’t have trained ears to hear the intense reharmonization of the song, or the historical knowledge to compare his take with other famous takes, but I immediately felt the weight of Trane’s story. Since then, I’ve been on a journey to figure out how he managed to so perfectly imbue his soul into his sound. The title comes from our shared belief that all life is connected on this Earth, and that the actions and experiences of one being affect those of us all.

Jade is my anthem for better days ahead. It is about knowing that the hardest times are meant to prepare you for the best of times, about being gracious in giving yourself and your community space and agency for healing. The story begins with a small houseplant. After a year, it became clear that the plant wasn't thriving, and I wasn’t sure why. After a lot of worrying, I decided to start anew, to repot the plant and place it in a new window, to provide it with the care and attention that it needed. Very quickly, this plant, which was so close to its end, began to grow. This jade has now grown fuller and larger than ever before, over twice its size! This story taught me patience in dealing with the growth of myself and of the world around me. It has taught me not to blame, but to give direction and courage to start anew.

This project has meant the world to me. I am so happy to know that my first recorded creative endeavor not only is a good example of what I imagined my songs to be, but that it means something as a whole beyond just a portfolio. I really hope that these songs have provided you all with a new sense of purpose and confidence, and that you come back to them in times of doubt. Thanks to all of you for your continued support, which fuels my passion for making this music and sharing it with others. Thank you to my friends and family, and especially my band, for helping me realize this project.